North Korean rhetoric is gaining support among anti-Israel supporters in the West. In particular, since the massacre of October 7, pro-North Korea activist Ju-Hyun Park of the Nodutdol For Korean Community Development has been promoting North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, DPRK) among anti-Israel supporters in the United States, on the basis of North Koreans and Palestinians sharing a common fight against "imperialism."
The Nodutdol organization describes itself as a group of "diasporic Koreans and comrades based in occupied Indigenous lands known as the United States and Canada," adding that its goal is to "organize for a world free of imperialism, and for Korea's re/unification and national liberation." In a statement in solidarity with Palestine, Nodutdol wrote: "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. From Baekdusan to Hallasan, Korea will be one."[1]
(Source: Nodutdol.org)
A statement by Nodutdol in solidarity with Palestine emphasized the common fight of North Korea and the Palestinians against their common enemies: the West and "imperialism." The organization's goal is to encourage anti-Israel protesters to support the DPRK, especially on U.S. campuses, by drawing parallels between the division of Korea and the "Zionist occupation."
Following are excerpts of Nodutdol's statement:
"There Is A Reason The Nakba And The Division Of Korea Both Happened In 1948, Backed By The Same Imperialist Interests"
"As anti-imperialist Koreans, we stand unequivocally with Palestine, its people, and its armed resistance against the Zionist occupation...
"As Koreans whose homeland is divided, we know that imperialism is our common enemy. Following our liberation from Japanese colonialism and the beginning of independent socialist construction in Korea, the US split our country in two and indiscriminately bombed and killed our people. There is a reason the Nakba and the division of Korea both happened in 1948, backed by the same imperialist interests."
"Both Korea and Palestine are geographically strategic sites for the US empire's grip across the world. Occupying Korea gives the US a foothold in East Asia, and funding the Zionist occupation of Palestine gives the US a foothold in the Middle East. The US knows that an independent Korea and a free Palestine would strengthen liberation struggles everywhere and threaten the imperialist partition of the world.
"The US's forever war in Korea shows us that a ceasefire does not end an occupation. Despite the 1953 ceasefire to the Korean War, our country remains divided and at war today. 70 years later, the US is still occupying the south and sanctioning the north. The ceasefire did not end the war – it only gave it new life. Therefore, we demand more than just an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. We demand an end to the Zionist occupation of Palestine, once and for all...
"As people living in the heart of the US empire, it is our duty to stand with Palestine. Zionism is not a religion. It is a political ideology created to serve Western capital, rooted in racism and colonialism. The Zionist forces bombing Palestinian hospitals also train police who terrorize us here in the US. We call on all Koreans to stand with the Palestinian people in their struggle against our common enemy. And we call on all who read this statement to materially support Palestinian organizations, and to join an organization if you are not in one already..."[2]
"US-Backed South Korea Has Allied With Israel' While 'North Korea Armed Palestinians And Provided Military Training"
While trying to gain support for North Korea, Nodutdol described South Korea as an ally of "imperialism" that should get no support: "US-backed south Korea has allied with Israel. The two signed a free trade agreement in 2019, and israel routinely supplies south Korea's military weapons. Although south Korean defense companies are prevented by law from selling to 'countries engaged in conflict,' they are working to circumvent this by increasing arms sales to the US, who will then sell those arms to Israel. On the other hand, North Korea has stood in solidarity with Palestine for decades. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, North Korea armed Palestinians and provided military training to Palestine's freedom fighters. To this day, north Korea refuses to recognize Israel, calling it an 'imperialist satellite.'"[3]
In another statement, the organization added: "In South Korea, the Yoon administration has abstained from UN votes calling for a ceasefire. Corporations like Hyundai have done business in Israel for years and profited from the oppression of the Palestinian people. And the US sells weapons to Israel that are made by South Korean defense companies. We reject South Korea's allegiance to Israel. We speak out as one people to join the international chorus demanding Palestinian liberation."[4]
Ju-Hyun Park: "After All Those Bombs, The DPRK – North Korea – Is Still Standing To This Day"
At the closing session of the People's Conference for Palestine on May 26, 2024 in Detroit, activist Ju-Hyun Park of Nodutol for Korean Community Development was invited to give a speech. In front a crowd that chanted "with our soul and our blood, we will redeem you, Al Aqsa!" and "Long live Intifada!" Ju-Hyun Park said: "Zionism is using a very old playbook, but they have not learned the lesson that America has refused to learn, which is that that playbook doesn't work. After all those bombs, the DPRK – North Korea – is still standing to this day. After all the bombs, after all the massacres in Gaza, the Palestinian resistance is still there, in fact it is stronger. It has never been clearer than now that Zionism is not burying Gaza, they are simply digging their own grave.
"When we talk about our shared solidarity, what we mean is joint struggle. We don't just mean that we believe the same things. We don't just mean that we feel for each other. The DPRK has never once recognized the Zionist tumor that goes by the name of Israel. Throughout its history, the solidarity between the Korean and the Palestinian people has not only been moral but material. Where did George Habash receive his training? It was in Pyongyang."
Click here to view a clip of the video of Ju-Hyun Park on MEMRI TV.
(Source: MEMRI TV)
Ju-Hyun Park: "There Is A Reason That The United States Wants Korea Divided And Palestine Occupied At The Same Time"
On July 9, 2023, the Palestinian Youth Movement and other organizations held a rally in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City in support of the Palestinian resistance in Jenin and of imprisoned terrorist Walid Daqqa, who was part of a cell of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) comprised of Arab Israelis who kidnapped IDF soldier Moshe Tamam in 1984, gouged his eyes out, and castrated him before shooting him.
At the rally, activist Ju-Hyun Park expressed his support for Palestinian resistance "by any means necessary." He stated that North Korea has been training and arming the Palestinian resistance for decades. He quoted North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung as saying that the Korean people will "resolutely support the Palestinian people in liberating their homeland." Ju-Hyun Park also said that Koreans and Palestinians have a common enemy and that they will have a common future when "imperialism has fallen, and we have built socialism in its stead."
Below is the transcript of Ju-Hyun Park at the rally:
Ju-Hyun Park: "We are struggling for national liberation and the reunification of our homeland, and we stand unwaveringly with the Palestinian struggle. We are here today because we abhor the Zionist entity's illegal imprisonment of Walid Daqqa. We are here today because we despise the Zionist colonization of Palestine. And we are here today because we love humanity, because we love freedom, and we love Palestine and its people. We are here today because we support the right of Palestinians to resist imperialism and colonization by any means necessary.
"Do you support this right? Do all people have the right to resist by any means necessary?"
Crowd: "Yes!"
Ju-Hyun Park: "Do Palestinians have this right?"
Crowd: "Yes!"
Ju-Hyun: "Do you have this right?
Crowd: "Yes!"
Ju-Hyun Park: "As Koreans, we know that imperialism is our common enemy. There is a reason that the United States wants Korea divided and Palestine occupied at the same time. The imperialists tremble at the thought of our independence, because it is our dependence that keeps them rich. There is a reason the Nakba and the division of Korea began at the same time, backed by the same interests. There is a reason that while South Korean corporations copied from Zionism, North Korea has spent decades arming and training the Palestinian resistance.
"Kim Il-Sung once said that the Korean people will continue to resolutely support the Palestinian people in liberating their homeland. We will always remain a close comrade-in-arms to the Palestinian and Arab people in the struggle against the common enemy. We are here today to fulfil that obligation. Do you share this obligation?"
Crowd: "Yes!"
Ju-Hyun Park: "Do you share this obligation?"
Crowd: "Yes!"
Ju-Hyun Park: "The recognition of our common enemy, of our common history, and our common future, when imperialism has fallen, and we have built socialism in its stead – that is why we are here today."
Click here to view a clip of the rally on MEMRI TV.
(Source: MEMRI TV)
