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Quotations
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| Reunification and independence are the greatest desire of the entire nation. Therefore, when we ask our people to self-determine our problems, we dare not say anything other than reunification and independence. But Korean issues have become internationally relevant as one of the world’s problems and Korea have been divided and occupied by the two major powers in the world, the United States and the Soviet Union. In addition, because the United States and the Soviet Union could not reach a consensus on the solution of the problem, the South tried to establish a central government through general elections in the regions where it was possible, and the North was going to promulgate the Constitution of the People’s Republic. So the North and South openly talked about plans to divide into separate countries, and the situation in front of us came close to being realized.
If the U.S.-Soviet Union establishes the so-called 38th parallel as the border and further forms two governments or two countries, it is clear that our brothers and sisters in the North and South will start the outposts of the U.S-Soviet war and face each other with bayonets. This will be the worst calamity within the same nation. To foreigners, the destruction of the Korean nation and the disappearance of the Korean name from the world map may not be a great concern, but to us, the Korean people, there is no greater problem. Therefore, we cannot allow our national interests to be ignored and our fate to be determined solely by the policies of the United States or the Soviet Union. The global confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union has caused almost all of the world’s humanity to suffer, but the peoples under the divided occupation of the two countries have suffered even more. There is Germany in Europe and Korea in Asia. Germany was the enemy of the allied powers, but we were not, and even if Germany were to be divided and have its governments in the west and east, they would not have as great a fear of fratricidal war as we do. Therefore, we are the unfortunate people who are suffering the most in the present world. It would be disgrace and dishonor to both the United States and the Soviet Union to fail to abide by the promises of ‘Cairo’ and ‘Potsdam,’ which were proclaimed before the world. The Unites States has taken up responsibility for the preservation of human freedom, reason and democracy and the Soviet Union has self-named it an apostle of the liberation of the oppressed and weak, but instead they seek to inflict further misery on our unfortunate people by shifting blame from one to the other. The day when the United States and Soviet Union establish two governments in the North and South respectively, dividing our people and our land, there will be a prolonged presence of both armies, whether as a protective force or as a peacekeeping force, and even in matters of civil affairs, the people's income will not be increased, but their burdens will be massively increased, so that it will be difficult to find any means of improving, let alone solving these problems. In the South, the only hope will be the American dollar aids, which will be entrusted to the full discretion of opportunistic capitalists or the profiteers, as we have seen in China, or as we hear in Greece, so that the profits will be taken by the such private individuals but the responsibilities will be borne by the common people. From our point of view, we cannot but conclude that the plan for the division of the North and the South is extremely harmful while no single piece of benefit to the people of Korea. It seems to make sense to say that half of the country should be independent first and then unified with the rest, but in reality, both the independence of one half and the unification of the other half are not possible and will only intensify the bloodshed within the nation. Our problem will not be solved by ignoring the international relativity, and it is unjust and unnatural to try to solve it by settling the views of the U.S.-Soviet Union while ignoring our own national views. Unjust and unnatural things cannot continue forever. Since neither the U.S.-Soviet Joint Commission nor the United Nations can solve our problem, the only way forward is for our people to self-determine. That is the genuine way. Therefore, in order to honor both nations and to preserve the spirit of the Atlantic Charter, the United States of America and the Soviet Union should seek to unanimously provide Koreans with an opportunity of self-determination and that the United Nations should play its part in facilitating this opportunity. We know understand that since variability in politics and flexibility in movement are unavoidable, it is beneficial for everyone of us to adopt the given situation. But it cannot be allowed in view of national conscience to facilitate a national disaster at the cost of the interests of individuals and thus we will not participate in the so-called ‘general election only in available area’ intended to establish a government in the half of our homeland. And we firmly swear before my fellow countrymen that we will devote our life to achieving unified independence. March 12, the year of Tangun, 4281 Kim Gu, Cho Soang, Cho Wangu, Cho Seonghwan, Kim Kyusik, Kim Changsook, Hong Myeonghee |
