The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has begun talks with the South that leave the US out of the discussion. This move is wholly just as the issue is an inter-Korean issue, not one that the US has any right to be speaking on. The division of the peninsula and the possibilities of unification is a Korean issue. The US has been nothing but the cause and perpetuation of the division.

This decision by the South and the North to negotiate without the interference of the US says much about the state of the relationship between the South and the US. For the longest time, the US has had near dictatory control over the foreign policy of the South. Often they’ve demonstrated a fair amount of influence over domestic policy as well. It is no secret that the US is carrying out a military occupation there. Any sign of disagreement between them is rare and usually significant.

The election of the current president of the South, Moon Jae-in, was one based on a softer tone towards the DPRK. The population of the South certainly isn’t interested in hostilities with the North. No one wants a war on the peninsula, with perhaps the US as the exception with their provocative acts over the last few years. The South and the North are happy to negotiate a peaceful co-existence without interference.

What we have seen is the opposite by the US. Trump and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are very hostile and demanding towards the DPRK. They have repeatedly demanded that the DPRK abandon its right to self-defence measures against US invasion, as a precondition for talks. What they want to talk about is the removal of sanctions against them. The US has CAUSED the recent hostilities by placing sanctions provoking them. Yet, they then turn around and act like the DPRK is simply acting irrationally.

It seems that the South is fed up with the provocative acts of the US, and the childish, ignorant words of president Trump. The South seems to be moving away from US demands regarding their relationship with the North. The actions of the US has been alienating it away from its “ally” in the South. If the US is to keep the South under its thumb it must take a much more diplomatic role towards the DPRK.