Anti-US Struggle Headquarters, 21st Century Che Guevara, PDP Joint Statement: US Imperialism, Immediately Cease the Provocations for Nuclear War!
The dark clouds of nuclear war are gathering. On August 5, Elbridge Colby, US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, recklessly spoke at the US Strategic Command Deterrence Symposium about using tactical nuclear weapons as a “rational nuclear option.” On August 13, he babbled on about the operational practicality of nuclear weapons, asserting that “the key element is the act of crossing the nuclear threshold itself and its effects.” As the Nuclear Posture Review—which includes the use of tactical nuclear weapons—is slated to be released, the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to the ‘Republic of Korea (the ‘ROK’)’ and Japan is becoming a reality. Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense is reviewing plans to convert existing nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) into nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines (SSGN) capable of carrying small nuclear warheads to contain China. Cruise missile submarines have been discussed as an alternative force for the tactical nuclear weapons that were withdrawn from the ‘ROK’ in 1991. In whatever manner it occurs, the deployment of US tactical nuclear weapons is the most dangerous provocation inviting war onto this land.
Japan is accelerating its nuclear armament. On July 31, Japan decided to build additional nuclear reactors and invest in nuclear power under the pretext of preparing for power shortages caused by replacing aging reactors. This is an extension of last year’s decision in the Basic Energy Plan to increase the proportion of nuclear power generation while maximizing the use of nuclear power. Ahead of the revision to the key “Three National Security Documents” later this year, and amid discussions regarding reviewing the “Three Non-Nuclear Principles,” what else is the intention behind such nuclear energy policy if not nuclear armament? As a result of the USA permitting Japan to reprocess spent nuclear fuel through the revised US-Japan Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in 1988, Japan currently possesses approximately 45 to 47 tons of plutonium—an amount capable of producing over 6,000 nuclear bombs. Japan’s nuclear armament is only a matter of time.
Is the Ukrainian war expanding into an Eastern European war? Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian neo-Nazi, spouted that he “wants to receive support from South Korea the air defense systems,” claiming that “The more [DPRK] missiles and soldiers are used, the more they correct their shortcomings and blind spots, the greater the danger will later be for the ‘Republic of Korea.'” In short, by bringing up DPRK troop deployments, he is dragging the ‘ROK’ into the Ukrainian war. Last February, Russia explicitly stated that “the direct or indirect supply of lethal weapons to Ukraine is unacceptable,” declaring that assistance provided through the US-led Priority Capabilities List would also be subject to retaliation. Against the backdrop of Ukraine going wild with drone attacks against Russia while simultaneously attempting to use the Iranian war as an opportunity to spark an Eastern European war, the imperialism forces’ maneuvers toward world war are openly revealed.
The full-scale outbreak of World War 3 is imminent. Wars planned and induced by imperialist aggressor forces are raging fiercely in Ukraine and West Asia. The Ukrainian war, which continues to expand into an Eastern European war, and the Palestinian and Iranian wars, which expanded into a West Asian war immediately upon launching, are headed toward East Asia and the Korean Peninsula. Even now, after the 2024 East Asian war centered on the ‘ROK’ failed and the 2026 East Asian war centered on Taiwan was thwarted, imperialist aggressor forces are constantly provoking a war in the ‘ROK.’ The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to the ‘ROK,’ Japan’s nuclear armament, and weapons support for Ukraine are obvious signs of war to anyone. Today, on the 81st anniversary of liberation from Japanese imperialist aggression, the warmongering of imperialism once again threatens the destiny of our people and nation. If it is not sovereignty, it is subjugation; if it is not peace, it is war. Our people will crush imperialist aggressive maneuvers, withdraw the US imperialist aggressive military, and bring forward a new world of independence and peace.
August 15, 2026, in front of the US Embassy at Gwanghwamun, Seoul
Anti-US Struggle Headquarters, 21st Century Che Guevara, People’s Democracy Party
