Stephen Cho | Coordinator of the Korean International Forum
The current world situation can be summarized in one sentence: “The flames of World War 3, perpetrated by imperialism, are spreading from Eastern Europe to Western Asia (Middle East) and then to East Asia.” The provocateur of World War 3 is imperialism, and although the current war is in Ukraine, it is likely to expand to Eastern Europe; the war in Palestine is expanding to West Asia, and the crisis of the looming wars in the “ROK” and Taiwan is escalating in East Asia. The war in Ukraine triggered the war in Palestine and West Asia. The wars in Ukraine and West Asia are triggering the war in East Asia. If the war in East Asia breaks out, it will, in turn, promote the expansion of war into Eastern Europe and the escalation of the war in West Asia.
World War 3 began with the war in Ukraine, has intensified with the war in West Asia, and will enter full swing with the war in East Asia. The reason we describe the war as having the three stages of beginning, intensification, and being in full swing is that, in reality, not only do wars often progress through these stages, but also there are many different opinions about the concept, nature, and beginning of war in general. This implies that although there may be different views on the beginning of war, no one disputes the existence of a war once it reaches the full-swing stage. The war in Ukraine is a good example. It is said to have started in 2022, but it actually began in 2014 with the Maidan coup. The eight-year war in the Donbas was an intensification of this war, and it entered full swing with Russia’s “special military” operation in February 2022. There may be disagreements about the Maidan coup as the beginning of the war, but there is no doubt that the war in Ukraine has been ongoing since the “special military” operation. From this perspective, the war in West Asia began with Palestinian Hamas’ Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in October 2023, intensified with resistance from Lebanese Hezbollah, Yemeni Ansar Allah, etc., and then entered full swing with Iran’s Operation “True Promise” in April 2024. It can also be analyzed that World War 3 began with the war in Ukraine and is intensifying with the war in West Asia, and it is expected to enter full swing in the war in East Asia. We agree with the view that World War 2 began with the Manchurian Incident, the Japanese invasion of China in 1931, intensified thereafter, and then entered full swing with the German invasion of Poland in 1939.
A world war is a major war between two camps on a global scale. World War 1 was fought between the Allies and the Central Powers as an inter-imperialist war, and World War 2 was fought between the antifascist and fascist camps as an antifascist war. World War 3 is an anti-imperialist war fought between the anti-imperialist and imperialist camps. The war in Ukraine is essentially a war between an anti-imperialist country, Russia, and the NATO imperialist powers. The NATO imperialist forces, centered on the USA, are waging a proxy war, insidiously using Zelensky’s Ukraine, a fascist and a puppet of imperialism. The imperialist camp, which is plotting and provoking World War 3, has made proxy wars a basic doctrine to avoid mutually assured destruction (MAD). The imperialist forces are waging proxy wars against the “axis of resistance” in West Asia, through an imperialist puppet and zionist Netanyahu, while against the DPRK and China, through their puppet and fascist, Yoon Seok-yeol’s “ROK” and another puppet, Lai Ching-Te’s Taiwan respectively.
We agree with the view that the war in East Asia has already begun if we do not limit the concept of war to “high-intensity” warfare but include “low-intensity” conflict. US imperialism has been annually accelerating the continuous joint military exercises of the US, the “ROK” military, and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, especially in and around the Korean Peninsula, aimed at the DPRK and China, as nuclear war exercises. As a result, the military and diplomatic confrontation in Northeast Asia between the DPRK, China, and Russia on one axis and the USA, the “ROK”, and Japan on the other has become increasingly intense. It is natural that the defense budget has increased proportionally and military exercises have become more frequent. The gravity of the problem cannot be overstated: war in East Asia is highly likely to involve tactical nuclear weapons. The USA has a history of nuclear threats against North Korea and China dating back to the immediate aftermath of World War 2. It is no secret that even during the Korean War in the 1950s, the USA was actively considering a nuclear strike on the DPRK and China, as proposed by its commander. In the end, China and the DPRK were forced to arm themselves with nuclear weapons as a deterrent to nuclear war, and now, together with Russia, they are nuclear and missile superpowers with all kinds of nuclear weapons and delivery systems. This is why even if the USA plans to wage war in East Asia, which is an integral part of World War 3, it will not be an all-out nuclear war between the USA and DPRK-China, but a limited nuclear war, i.e., proxy war and tactical nuclear war. The USA has been overtly practicing nuclear war drills against North Korea that mobilize tactical nukes since the 1990s, with specific operation names, and it has reached the stage where the DPRK has vowed to respond with tactical nuclear weapons, and China also has been conducting military exercises to counterattack with tactical nuclear weapons. China recently held a military exercise to surround Taiwan in response to the inauguration of Lai Ching-Te. Judging from media reports alone, the likelihood of tactical nuclear use in East Asia is higher than in Eastern Europe.
It is also important to note that military tensions in East Asia are escalating in conjunction with political and economic crises in the “ROK”, Taiwan, and Japan, such as the Netanyahu administration in Israel, which is facing the biggest political crisis. The Kishida government’s approval rating is hitting rock bottom due to the corruption scandal of the Liberal Democratic Party, and Taiwan’s ruling party lost the recent local elections outright. In particular, the Yoon Suk-yeol government of the “ROK” faces the risk of impeachment after the crushing defeat in the last general election. Just before the Korean War in the 1950s, the Rhee Syngman government in the “ROK” was also amid a political crisis after losing the general election. It is not surprising that the ruling fascists would choose war as a way out of the political and economic crisis.
At the root of the political crisis in Ukraine and Israel, which are already at war, and in the “ROK” and Taiwan, where war is imminent, is the economic crisis and the collapse of people’s livelihoods, which also stem from the global economic crisis caused by the imperialist forces. The imperialist powers are slyly trying to deflect from its political and economic crisis by launching a major war on a global scale while blaming their proxies for the global economic crisis caused by boundless greed, savage plunder and invasion of capital and for the economic crisis and public welfare disaster in each country caused by capitalism and neocolonialism. This is why they are using the deception of “de-risking” by launching the “New Cold War” strategy with World War 3. In recent centuries, wars have been the biggest money-making opportunities for monopoly capital, and the arms dealers and the military-industrial complex have always been behind world wars. It is the military-industrial complex and oil barons who are profiting from the wars in Ukraine and West Asia, and it is the people, including workers, who are dying from bombing and fighting, conscription and recruitment, destruction of buildings, and inflation.
The people are a peaceful force that loves peace and hates war. As the root of war is imperialism, it is inevitable and natural for peace forces to engage in anti-imperialist struggles. Since 2014, the people of the Donbas region in Eastern Europe have been resisting the Ukrainian fascist forces in armed struggle; the people of the “axis of resistance” including the Palestinian people in West Asia have been staging armed struggles against the Israeli zionist forces; the people of the “ROK” in East Asia have been uprising against the pro-US fascist warmongers, and the people of Taiwan have been fighting against the pro-US separatist forces. It is no coincidence that the pro-Palestinian and anti-zionist, anti-war peace protests of the US university students are spreading around the world, including Europe. The Israeli zionist genocide of Palestinians and war provocations eventually made even Western European countries such as Spain recognize Palestine as a state. Just as all capital exploits the world unitedly, the people are also united on a global scale to resist it. The world is moving toward a great transition through the resistance and struggle of anti-imperialist forces in the great upheaval period of World War 3. The DPRK, the most steadfast socialist country, has become the strongest nuclear and missile power, occupying a key position and playing an important role within the anti-imperialist camp. In this camp, China, a socialist country with Chinese characteristics, and Russia, a country with socialist heritage, are forming the leading force with the DPRK, and the world’s anti-imperialist forces, including the two billion Muslims, form the auxiliary forces. The imperialist camp lost its pretext for war due to the logical contradiction between its anti-Russian and pro-Israeli propaganda. The imperialist camp is losing in both military and pretext. It has neither the will nor the ability to win in three major theaters simultaneously: Eastern Europe, West Asia, and East Asia. The victory of the anti-imperialist countries in the war in East Asia will be a decisive step for the victory of the world’s anti-imperialist camp in World War 3, just like the Battle of Stalingrad was in World War 2.
The World Anti-imperialist Platform, which was formed in Paris, France, in October 2022 by anti-imperialist forces around the world, centered on communist forces in each country, has been holding anti-imperialist conferences with important political declarations and organizing popular anti-imperialist rallies in Belgrade, Serbia, in December 2022, Caracas, Venezuela, in March 2023, Seoul, South Korea, in May 2023, and Athens, Greece, in November 2023, and carrying out anti-imperialist joint struggles on a global scale. Chanting the slogans of “Workers of the world, unite!” and “The people, united, will never be defeated!,” the World Anti-imperialist Platform continues to innovate and move forward to fulfill its three goals: mass struggle against imperialism, ideological warfare against pro-imperialist opportunist forces, and the strengthening of the international communist movement. Today, we are gathered in Madrid, Spain, to analyze the world situation and seek the path of justice, peace, and victory, which will serve as a guide to illuminate the popular and revolutionary practical struggle of the future.
It is an immutable truth proven by history that the people are the true masters of society, marching toward a society in which they carve out their own destiny. We are convinced that the just world peace and anti-imperialist forces will achieve the final victory and usher in a new world of independence and peace without imperialism and fascism, and a new world of progress and equality where the people become masters.
