U.S. Forces' pullback from South Korea called for
KCNA
Pyongyang, February 23 (KCNA) -- There is an unprecedentedly strong call in the U.S. for the withdrawal of its forces from South Korea, an indication that this matter has become an urgent demand and an irresistible trend of the times, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article.
It goes on:
In the period of the cold war the U.S. always asserted that its troops should be present in South Korea to deter the Soviet Union's southward advance and repel North Korea's invasion of the south.
But such assertion and pretext no longer stand to reason as the agreement on non-aggression and the June 15 Joint Declaration were adopted by the north and the south of korea.
The organizations and people from all walks of life in South Korea are now strongly demanding the U.S. troops' pullback from South Korea under the slogans of independence against the U.S. and "By Our Nation Itself," accusing the bush administration of taking a hard-line stand toward the DPRK in a bid to hamstring the process of reconciliation between the north and the south of Korea and their reunification.
Active in South Korea are the headquarters of the movement for the U.S. Forces' withdrawal from South Korea, the headquarters of the movement for the return of the U.S. military base in Ryongsan and the joint measure committee to retake our land, U.S. military bases, and many other anti-U.S. organizations.
The South Koreans are angered by the U.S. which is hamstringing the efforts to warm the north-south relations, standing in their way of cooperation and unity and inciting confrontation between them after unilaterally scrapping the DPRK-U.S. Agreed Framework.
The world people are also demanding the immediate withdrawal of the U.S. troops from South Korea. These voices ringing out more loudly than ever before reflect the requirement of the times.
If the U.S. keeps pursuing its policy of military presence in South Korea, lending a deaf ear to the voices at home and abroad demanding its troops' pullback from South Korea, it will stand more strongly censured and rejected at home and abroad.
