In Maehyang-ri, on the coast southwest of the capital, hundreds of villagers and their supporters continued protests begun in early May, calling for an end to bombing runs and other U.S. military exercises.

The U.S. and south Korean governments have insisted that the troops will stay.

Washington has maintained a massive military presence in south Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Around 4 million people died in that war, in which Washington led an invasion under the United Nations flag. Despite massive destruction and loss of lives, the U.S. imperialists failed to conquer the north, where working people overturned capitalist rule. Since Washington signed an armistice dividing the country in two, north and south Korea have remained officially at war.

Washington and Seoul have maintained an aggressive military and diplomatic stance against north Korea and have sought to isolate it economically. The 37,000 U.S. troops in the south conduct yearly exercises with the half-million strong south Korean army.

In recent years, a rise in political protests and union struggles has opened up democratic space for the population in the south. The demand for the reunification of the country--for which the Pyongyang government in the north has long campaigned--is increasingly being expressed among working people in the south, despite the fact that its public advocacy is still illegal.

The recent Pyongyang summit between the heads of state of north and south Korea reflected these changes, and dealt a blow to the demonization of the workers state in the north by Washington and Seoul. Washington is a little harder-pressed than before to publicly justify its military presence.

Nonetheless, the U.S. rulers cannot reconcile themselves to the existence of the workers state in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and they are concerned about the rebelliousness of working people in the south. On a visit to south Korea June 23, U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright said that "the situation in North Korea, while promising, has not been resolved."

Albright described the troops as a force for "stability"--the same word earlier used by the south Korean president Kim Dae Jung --and, in the words of a Washington Post reporter, said they will stay "for the foreseeable future." She stressed that "the United States is a Pacific power as well as an Atlantic power." The message could not be clearer that the U.S. troops and weaponry are aimed at Koreans in both the north and south.

As the streets of Seoul echoed to the chants of "Yankee go home," Seoul canceled a military parade and battle reenactment scheduled to commemorate the war's 50th anniversary. The move followed Pyongyang's cancellation of all ceremonies. At the same time Kim Dae Jung ordered south Korea's military to remain on alert.

Red Cross officials from south and north Korea signed an agreement June 30 to begin reuniting families divided for more than 50 years--a step outlined at the recent summit. South Korean officials estimate that there are nearly eight million people in the south with relatives in the north.

The agreement also addressed the situation of prisoners of war held in the south. The New York Times reported that "the prisoners were kept...for several reasons: most refused to denounce Communism...and the south sought to use them as bargaining chips in negotiations with the North."

Meanwhile, U.S. corporations continue to buy into south Korean conglomerates weakened by the capitalist economic crisis that rolled through Asia in the late 1990s. On June 29 Ford Motor Co. beat out several competitors to win buying rights to the Daewoo Motor Co. The negotiating price of $6.9 billion does not include the assumption of any of Daewoo's estimated $18 billion debt. The bargain purchase of a company with a productive capacity of two million vehicles a year provides Ford's owners with a production base in Asia, a region they hope will provide an expanding market.

A Ford spokesperson sought to dampen union fears of mass layoffs. In April unions organized stoppages at Daewoo and other south Korean auto manufacturers to oppose the company's sale to foreign investors.

The combativity of working people in south Korea--and the nature of the government in the south--was exemplified during a hotel workers strike in Seoul that began in early June. On June 29 some 2,000 riot police mounted a predawn raid on the Lotte Hotel, employing smoke bombs, batons, and riot shields to expel 1,100 striking unionists.The workers, who defended themselves from the assault for two hours, have been demanding wage increases for all and improved conditions for part-time and casual workers.  
 
 
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