Reports in the domestic media on the death of Queen Elizabeth II of England and the legitimization of North Korea’s nuclear power show the serious nature of the commercial media steeped in interesting articles. Interest-oriented news is pouring in about the death of Queen Elizabeth II, but there have been only ceremonial articles about North Korea’s nuclear policy, such as taking measures so that the United States becomes a major power and South Korea becomes a slave
The North Korean nuclear issue is not only an issue for the United States, but is directly related to the fate of the Korean Peninsula, and is a topic that has a major impact on future efforts for peaceful reunification. However, most of the domestic media report articles tailored to a reporting pattern on North Korea only such as ‘North Korea’s intentions appear to be 00’, and there is little report on a case the current situation, its solutions, and future prospects.
Articles about Queen Elizabeth II focus mainly on peripheral nerve stimulation. The main focus is solely on the death of the news maker known as the Queen, the funeral procession, and the succession to the throne. It is very rare to find articles about British imperialism, which has nothing to do with the British constitutional monarchy, and which committed the crime of global colonial rule over the past hundreds of years.
British imperialism occurred mainly in the 16th and 18th centuries in various forms such as self-governing states, colonies, and mandates. Its area covered 24% of the world’s total land area, so it was called the ‘Empire where the sun never sets’. British imperialism carried out atrocities such as the extermination of indigenous peoples in the colonies and suppression of human rights through illegal rule, expropriation of resources, and the slave trade. Britain, in particular, handled drugs in India and sold them in China, triggering a drug war that was criticized as ‘the most immoral war in history’.
It is difficult to fathom the wealth that was stolen from British colonies over the past centuries, but in today’s dollars, it is estimated that India is worth 45 trillion dollars. Although there is little data on the direct involvement of the British King and others regarding the violence and various conspiracies carried out by the British Empire in the course of aggression around the world, there are many critics who point out that there is no responsibility and no they can be. see The vast wealth of the British imperial family is not immune from such criticism.
Britain played a direct role in the occupation of the Korean Empire in Japan. On August 12, 1905, Britain signed the Second Anglo-Japanese Alliance with Japan, providing diplomatic guarantees for Japanese sovereignty over Korea. Accordingly, Britain took measures to secure Japan’s political, economic and military interests in Korea, and Japan defended British dominance over India and interests in the border area. In July of that year, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Katsura and US Secretary of the Army Taft signed the “Katsura-Taft Secret Agreement,” which states that “the United States recognizes Japan’s supremacy over Korea and Japan recognizes American sovereignty over the Philippines.” It was taken immediately after signing.
Meanwhile, reports in the domestic media about North Korea passing a law specifying a nuclear pre-emptive strike as a means of self-defense on the 8th are generally far from detailed coverage. This step by North Korea comes at a time when Russia and China are making visible measures to take joint support against the attack of the United States, and is interpreted as a refusal to hold talks on denuclearization in the future, anticipating the the situation will be on the Korean Peninsula. intensify in the future.
North Korea’s measures are expected to have a profound impact on the efforts to peacefully reunify the two Koreas, and an analysis of why this happened will be needed before a solution can be found, but there are no such articles in domestic media reports .
It can be said that one of the most important reasons for North Korea’s recent measures is the US strategy towards North Korea. The US State Department has designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, stipulating that North Korea threatens world peace with nuclear weapons and missiles, or North Korean missile tests, as a provocation.
Since 1997, the US has revised the pre-emptive strike to attack North Korea’s major nuclear facilities after North Korea’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons every time the president changes, but South Korea has never been the subject of discussion in advance (Jungang Ilbo, September 19 , 2020) Work). This is said to be due to the legal system where the United States does not discuss plans to use nuclear weapons, a strategic weapon, with its allies in advance.
US military experts acknowledge that the US has a specific nuclear attack plan against North Korea and that South Korea’s consent is not required for a nuclear attack against North Korea with an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of threatening mainland US (Chosun Ilbo 2020) September 16th).
When the US government discusses a pre-emptive strike, Article 2 of the US Constitution and the ‘AUMF’ are presented as legal bases. The United States also offers these two reasons for North Korea. Although the preemptive strike of the United States against North Korea means total war on the Korean Peninsula, and the loss of lives on the southern side is an astronomical number, the United States excludes South Korea from the preemptive strike planning stage. This is because they insist on the selfish idea of conducting military operations to protect the lives and property of the American people independently without obtaining foreign consent.
Another reason for North Korea’s emphasis on unique nuclear weapons is believed to be the Ukraine-Russia war. At the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine was the third largest nuclear power in the world after the United States and Russia. This is because the former Soviet Union used nuclear weapons in Ukraine aimed at the United States and Western Europe. In 1994, Ukraine signed the Budapest Memorandum with Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, pledging security and economic aid in exchange for denuclearization and the abandonment of nuclear weapons.
However, when Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014, the US and Britain took no action, so the memorandum had no power. Another Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and a counterattack by Western powers, including the United States, is happening inside and outside of Ukraine. Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons and received security promises, but has since faced a crisis like the threat of aggression by a major power. Analysts say this situation will have many implications for North Korea, which requires denuclearization.
Meanwhile, North Korea’s announcement that it would respond with nuclear weapons to an external attack on its supreme leader was not only an ‘execution operation’ contained in the ROK-US coalition’s strategy towards North Korea, but also the US is developing new weapons for the sake of the war on terrorism It seems that he is aware of continuing and the operation to eliminate them. At the end of July, the United States killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, 71, known as the head of the international terrorist organization al-Qaeda, with an ‘R9X’ missile to assassinate him with a very precise assassination called a ‘ninja bomb’. It is known that this missile is a new weapon designed to kill only those designated as the target of the attack with six sharp blades instead of firing explosives (Yonhap News, August 2, 2022).
It seems that South Korea’s efforts to actively respond to North Korea’s strengthening of its nuclear weapons are necessary, but the trend of only looking and imitating the United States continues. If the United States considers North Korea as a target for a preemptive strike, the situation that excludes South Korea cannot be left unattended. At the same time, the Yun Seok-yeol administration should take all possible steps to create a dialogue channel with North Korea and make a breakthrough to solve the nuclear issue to reassure the people.
The issue of reports ignoring the Queen’s waiver of the crimes of British imperialism or an active response to North Korea’s nuclear program
In the above, we looked at the reporting trends on the death of the British Queen and the enactment of North Korea’s nuclear force. Regardless of how the media reports it, the important thing is not to neglect the public interest and public welfare. In the 21st century, it is difficult to see the mass media fulfilling its duties to simply focus on the interest of the strange constitutional monarchy while ignoring the colonial history that has also suffered damage in Korea or ignoring whether Korea can play a leading role in resolve the inter-Korean issues. .
Domestic media focus on the fact that the Queen of England is the longest reigning monarch and head of the Commonwealth, having reigned for 70 years, but silence about the historical crimes committed by the British Empire and the relationship between family British royalty, etc. It invites criticism for being caught up in attention. President Yun Seok-yeol is also scheduled to attend the Queen’s funeral on the 19th, so it’s worth noting how the Queen’s news will lead in the future.
The enactment of North Korea’s nuclear weapons puts inter-Korean relations in a different position than in the past. Prolonged tension between the two Koreas is also not a desirable situation, so the need for media attention and proposals for solutions is growing. Peaceful reunification will become more difficult if the situation around the Korean Peninsula is divided into South Korea, the United States, Japan, and North Korea, China and Russia and the Cold War intensifies. Since the Korean Peninsula issue is different from the interests and dimensions pursued by neighboring powers, the media should focus on this issue and take the lead in raising awareness in politics, academia, and civil society.
