On the Occasion of Korea Liberation Day: US OUT OF KOREA! Reunify the country!

protest signs at Korea Liberation Day gathering: “War of Aggression • Economic Exploitation • Interference in Internal Affairs: Get Out, U.S.!”

The International Women's Alliance honors Korean Liberation Day on August 15 and commemorates the moment the Korean Peninsula was freed from 35 years of Japanese colonial rule. 5 years after overcoming their colonizers, the Korean War started and lasted 3 years, resulting in the Korean people defeating the armed invasion of the imperialist allied forces headed by the United States, the signing of the Armistice Agreement cease fire, and establishing the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

Up until today the Armistice Agreement is in place but has never materialized due to the U.S.' neo-colonial rule over South Korea. Under the current terms of the US-South Korea alliance, the U.S. is allowed unrestricted access to the use of South Korean military bases and has combined command structures in place. In June, four U.S. soldiers harassed two Korean women who rejected their advances and then assaulted two men who intervened, resulting in their hospitalization. Due to the alliance, the four U.S. soldiers stationed in Camp Casey will most likely be legally protected from prosecution by South Korean authorities or civil lawsuits by the victims. Just last month there were emergency evacuations issued to residents due to a white phosphorus leak coming from Osan Air Base, a US base in Korea. The use of white phosphorus weapons against civilians and population centers is banned under international law but has been used in the past by the U.S. against civilians in Iraq and Syria. These most recent examples show the imbalance of this "alliance" between the two countries.

Yet the Korean people continue to fight for their true liberation today! Last year, Korean women issued a historic lawsuit that targeted both the South Korean and the United States governments over sexual violence and prostitution carried out by the military. Women globally continued to demand justice for Comfort Women and all victims of military sexualized violence through a global day of action on August 14. On August 15, thousands of people from South Korea’s progressive trade unions, student organizations, civil society groups and a Jaju solidarity brigade rallied at Camp Humphreys to demand U.S. Out of Korea and for the cancellation of the upcoming Ulchi Freedom Shield war games! As the U.S. inches itself closer for war against China, the U.S. only clings onto their neo-colony South Korea to continue building their military base. The protest signs reading "첨락전쟁• 경제수탈• 내정간섭 미국은 나가라!" roughly translating to "War of Aggression • Economic Exploitation • Interference in Internal Affairs: Get Out, U.S.!" makes it explicit that the Korean people want the U.S. out of Korea as they only protect their imperialist interests at the expense of the masses of Korean people. The Korean people are not shy of struggle from 1945 to 1953 and today, demanding for a demilitarized South Korea and with the people of the DPRK continuing to resist US-led wars of aggression.

Though the U.S. claims itself to be Korea's protector and "indispensable partner", the Korean people know that the relationship is unequal and that the U.S. is the principal threat against their safety and livelihoods. Korean people have the right to uphold national independence and sovereignty, to strengthen their struggle for a genuine pro-people system, and to call for an end of aggressive U.S. military presence and occupation of South Korea. The International Women's Alliance joins the call for the full and permanent withdrawal of U.S. military forces and weapon systems and paving the way for the peaceful reunification of Korea!