By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer

What, if Pyongyang had succeeded in its military drive to reunite the Korean Peninsula into one single country following the unnatural division of 1948 after the end of the Japanese occupation!
It is obvious Southeast Asia would have been a peaceful region with no US occupation troops south of the 38th parallel and a united people pursuing their national interests, rather than serving as serfs to the Americans whose military brutally bombarded the northern parts during the 1950-53 war to detach the southern part of the peninsula and turn it into a vassal state.
It is now seven decades since the artificial partition of a great nation, so why don’t the two parts which speak the same language and share the same culture unite into a single country in order to restore the glory of Korea’s past?
The answer is evident. The Americans will never allow authorities in Seoul to even think of such an idea, let alone speak about its prospects or take steps in this direction, because this will deprive the US of any pretext to continue its illegal presence in the Korean Peninsula.
Thus, it is rather unfortunate that even though the people of South Korea very much like to join their brothers in the North to kick out the Americans, their rulers are afraid of this eventuality.
And the sad result is that, Seoul, in spite of being a member of the United Nations, is not a truly independent country, which means it has to sacrifice the long term interests of the people it rules at the altar of American interests.
Those in doubt, are advised to have a closer look at the functioning of the government of South Korea, which a couple of years ago violated international laws by blocking the 7 billion dollars it owes to the Islamic Republic for crude oil imports, on the flimsy pretext of Washington’s sanctions against Tehran.
Iran, as part of its goodwill, has held several rounds of negotiations with the South Korean authorities but without result. Even the meagre sum of 220 million dollars which Iran needs for purchase of Covid-19 vaccine from international supplies through payment via South Korean banks has been withheld.
Now, South Korea’s Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun is in Tehran, along with representatives of Seoul’s Central Bank, and has been told by his Iranian hosts not to beat around the bush anymore.
On Monday, he held talks with Iranian officials, including Central Bank governor, Abdun-Nasser Hemmati, who made it clear that South Korea should immediately pay Iran the 7 billion dollar it owes, along with the interest accrued, irrespective of whether the US agrees or not.
It is Iranian money, and South Korea should pay it without delay, without wasting any more time, and without trying to politicize the issue of detention of a South Korean oil tanker on Iran’s southern coast for violating maritime rules and polluting regional waters.
If Seoul thinks that its American masters will come to its rescue, then it is deceiving itself. And if it thinks that a ship carrying South Korean commandos that is reportedly on its way to the Persian Gulf will intimidate Iran into releasing the defaulting tanker, then it is living in a fool’s paradise.
The Iranian naval forces will not allow any such vessel to approach Iran’s territorial waters, and if the Korean Corsairs were to make one wrong move, they will be taught an unforgettable lesson.
The Islamic Republic will not allow any side to play tricks, and expects the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Korea to resolve the issue of payment of Iran’s seven billion dollars before he leaves Tehran, unlike Seoul’s long record of breaking promises every time after finalizing them with Pyongyang.
In the words of one influential North Korean official, who has decided to remain anonymous: "The reason that the north-south agreements which were so wonderful did not see any light of even a single step of implementation was due to the noose of the pro-US flunkeyism into which South Korea has put its neck.”