Korea – A Prosperous Multipolar World Leads to Peace and Sovereignty

Peter Koenig, who just presented this paper (live) at the Seoul Symposium… for a new unified, neutral, sovereign and democratic Republic of Korea.

80^th Anniversary of liberation of Korea — 35 years of Japanese Colonialism ended on 15 August 1945 – Seoul South Korea.

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Today we are celebrating the 80^th Anniversary of the liberation from 35 years of Japanese Colonial Rule over Korea, which ended on 15 August 1945, with Japan’s capitulation after WWII.

Korea during the past 125-plus years has gone from oppression to colonization to dependence almost non-stop until this day.

It is high time, that any and every form of colonization stops, and Korea becomes finally a prosperous, sovereign independent country in a multi-polar world, without any strings attached. This MUST be the way forward for Korea – even with an idea that today may seem to resemble a dream: A unified NEUTRAL democratic Korea with North and South Korea together as was the case until 15 August 1948.

Neutrality is key. Neutrality is the precursor, if not condition for lasting Peace.

After WWII, the super-powers of the United States and the then Soviet Union divided the country into South and North, into the Republic of Korea, south of the 38^th Parallel, controlled by the United States and North of the 38^th Parallel, into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), on 9 September 1948, under control of the then Soviet Union.

Brief Historic Background

Korea’s history is some 5,000 years old, much of it in parallel with China’s historic past.

To put today’s South Korea in context, we must understand her history of oppression before this arbitrary division of what once upon a time used to be a sovereign Korean country.

Japan was considered the Eastern Power in the latter parts of the 19^th and early 20^th Century. During the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, Japan also controlled from 1931 to 1945 parts of China, Manchuria [Northeast Asia, encompassing the northern part of present-day China and parts of the Russian Far East], as well as parts of Mainland China. This domination also ended with Japan’s surrender in 1945, after WWII.

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In the later 19^th and early 20^th Century, Japan was steadily increasing her influence over Korea, especially after her victory in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). This brought about a gradual erosion over Korean sovereignty.

As a result of the Taft-Katsura Agreement In 1905, Japan forced Korea to sign a so-called Protectorate Treaty which placed Korea under Japanese control.

[Just as a reminder: William Howard Taft, U.S. Secretary of War, and Prime Minister Taro Katsura of Japan, engaged in a discussion that resulted in a secret understanding. – The Taft-Katsura Agreement, also known as the Taft-Katsura Memorandum, was a 1905 discussion between the United States and Japan regarding their respective interests in East Asia, particularly regarding Korea and the Philippines. While not a treaty, it acknowledged Japan’s sovereignty over Korea and the United States’ control over the Philippines. Essentially, the agreement recognized Japan’s dominance in Korea, which would later be formally annexed in 1910, in exchange for the US retaining control of the Philippines.] 

Japan did not technically “invade” Korea in 1910. However, Japan annexed Korea through the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty signed on August 22, 1910. This treaty, came about through pressure and manipulation. Japanese officials threatened the Korean Emperor and manipulated pro-Japanese Korean officials to sign the treaty.

The Treaty was proclaimed in August 1910. It was opened to the public on August 29, 1910, establishing formally Japanese rule over Korea. Japan had been exerting increasing political and military control over Korea in the years leading up to the annexation, effectively ending Korean independence and sovereignty. The treaty stipulated the “complete and permanent cession to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan of all rights of sovereignty over the whole of Korea“.

When the Japanese Empire collapsed after WWII, Korea did not just become independent, as it should have. Instead, Korea was divided by the two remaining super-powers after WWII, the US, and the Soviet Union. The proposal to divide Korea was made by the US, and the Soviets accepted – the 38^th Parallel being the dividing line. And it stays divided to this day.

However, this was not the plan. Before the end of WWII the Allied Leaders reached an understanding that the division was temporary, hat eventually Korea would be placed under International Trusteeship, until Koreans would be deemed ready for self-rule.

One may ask: What is the international Trusteeship?

And who decides whether a country is ready for self-rule?

The International Trusteeship System, established by the UN in 1945, was a system for administering and supervising territories that were not yet self-governing, often former mandates of the League of Nations or territories taken from defeated countries after World War II. The goal was to prepare these territories for self-government or independence. The Trusteeship Council, a principal organ of the UN, was responsible for overseeing the system.

The aberration of this decision is clear from the outset.

Who decides over a country and her people’s capacity for self-rule? The United Nations?

The new-born UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, with 51 members, almost all of them leaning in favor of the west, i.e., the United States.

So, the United States decides when a country is ready for self-rule? – Unfortunately, this is still true today, with 193 UN member countries. The UN is fully dominated by Washington.

In December 1945 the Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers decided to put Korea’s Trusteeship into control of the four powers, United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and China, including the decision that a four-power trusteeship of up to five years would be needed before Korea attained independence.

Both the political left and political right of Korea opposed this trusteeship plan, suggesting this plan would make Korea a vassal of the four Powers.

However, in early January 1946 Korea’s Communist Party reverted to the Trusteeship, as they felt having closer allies in the USSR and China than with the two western Trustee partners, the US and the UK.

The shift of the left away from the anti-trusteeship movement led to intensified confrontation between the left and right, leading eventually to the Korean War in 1950. The Korean war was an armed conflict in the Korean Peninsula, confronting the North, with a majority Communist Party, supported by the Soviet Union and China, while the South was supported by the US, as well as the United Nations.

Imagine, the United Nations, supposedly a neutral world body.

Remember, like today, the UN with then only 51 members was heavily dominated by the west, i.e., the US, as it is today, with 193 members. The US could and would not allow their eastern most ally, Korea, falling into the control of communist Russia and China.

Washington, thus, engaged in one of the bloodiest and most murderous war in recent histories, the Korean War (1950-53), in which about 4 million were killed, half of them civilians – about 13% of the then total Korean population of about 31 million in 1950. Korea was totally devastated.

At the proposal of Washington, Korea was divided into North and South at the 38^th Parallel. As of this day, there is only an Armistice but no Peace Agreement between the two Koreas.

Today, South Korea hosts one of the US’s largest military bases (except for Okinawa) in the Pacific Region; probably with an undefined number of nuclear warheads.

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Why is this complex background important?

Because, only knowing what Korea went through in the last more than 125 years, one can understand the plight of Koreans, a country divided and still not free. Looking forward to a brighter future, one must know the past.

Or, as the saying goes, “You have to know where you come from, in order to know where you are going.”

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Globalism or Unipolar vs. Multipolar – the West vs. Global South

It is equally important to understand the real objectives of Globalization and how the Global South and its concept of a multipolar world came about, and is confronting globalization, and how Korea would benefit socially and economically from belonging to the Global South, to a multipolar world.

We must comprehend the crucial role that Ukraine plays in a globalist domination.

In his book, “The Grand Chessboard” (1997), the famous US geo-strategist Zbigniew Brzeziński, wrote that the west must control Ukraine to keep Russia in check. Brzeziński wrote: “Ukraine, a new and important place on the Eurasian chessboard, is a geopolitical pivot because its very existence as an independent state contributes to Russia’s transformation.”

He continues arguing that if Russia can be kept small, or made weak, it will be possible to engage in confrontation with China to restore the unipolar world order.

The West follows the Brzeziński chessboard theory that Ukraine must be separated from Russia, with an everlasting war and conflict, to weaken Russia militarily as well as morally and strategically, as Ukraine may no longer be an ally of Russia.

Yet, Ukraine and Russia are indeed sister nations. Even with economic inequalities between the two “sisters”, Russia and Ukraine have 300 years of common history. They share the same roots in medieval Kievan Rus. The languages also have some similarities. After WWI, in 1922 Ukraine was granted republic status by Stalin within the USSR.

The western strategy of separating Ukraine from the USSR, as described by Brzeziński, to weaken the Soviet Union, is followed to this day.

Shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union, in December 1991 Ukraine in a referendum voted with over 90% to exit the Russian Federation and become an independent country. What role western propaganda played in this referendum is an open question. Brzeziński’s idea was alive and kicking, well before it was described in his “Grand Chessboard” in 1997.

The Grand Chessboard is alive to this day. It is the blueprint for the division between East and West, which the West is adamant in achieving, so that its Globalist Empire’s tentacles may reach around the world.

As a parenthesis, The European Union has foreseen a trillion-Euro military budget by 2030, literally to fight Russia, according to the unelected European Commission (EC) President, Madame Von der Leyen.

This is the plan, or shall we say a western dream. It will not happen. The East will not fall to the wannabe globalist emperor of the US of A and her western vassals.

This growing “eternal” imperialist idea started maybe as far back as 200 years ago, but became heavily accentuated and exacerbated with the 9/11 fiasco. The US / western aggression towards world dominance, incited China and Russia to create in 2006 the BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa] which became the guiding principle for the emerging Global South.

In 2024, during the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024, six new countries were added to the BRICS [Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates]. During the same conference, thirteen (13) new “BRICS partners”, or associate members were admitted to the club. They include, Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Nigeria.

This solid foundation of the newly shaped multi-polar Global South is a serious contender and counterweight to the globalist west. The Global South stands for Peace and harmony, and is driving socio-economic development and wellbeing.

What the 24 non-western aligned countries have in common is free trade. It is the lead-up to a multi-polar Global South construct which functions within its ranks as a free-trade zone, trading in local currencies or any one of the member countries currencies, but not in the sanction-prone US dollar.
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Why is this background important for Korea’s future?

Because, a future independent, neutral, democratic Republic of Korea – if possible, a re-joined North and South Republic of Korea – would be booming in more ways than one in a Global South economy.

There is a significant number of new opportunities for a neutral, sovereign Korea.

One of them is becoming an active member in the Global South.

Today, the Global South comprises some 85% of the world population and more than 40% of the world’s GDP, soon outranking the outdated self-styled, unelected western G7 (currently about 45% of GDP).

In addition, and by no means least, there is China’s Belt and Road (B&R), President Xi’s formidable invention to connect the world through joined investments and projects. The B&R is a peaceful program that connects people from countries all over the world. The Belt and Road currently consists of some 6 or 7 “roads” across different Continents, most are land-based – rail- and road transport, some are maritime roads, others are combinations of land and maritime.

The Belt and Road has already more than 150 member countries and international organizations – and is growing. Why? Because it is NOT imposed; it is voluntary. Countries across the globe have an interest in becoming part of the Belt and Road, because they see their socioeconomic benefits – and way more. Connecting people, has a dynamic dimension, creating cultural relations, trading partners, friendships.

The Belt and Road is diplomacy in High Gear.

Then there is the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) which was established in August 1967 in Bangkok (Thailand) to accelerate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development and to promote Peace and stability in the region.

Related free trade organizations include the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), including 15 Asia-Pacific countries. RCEP is aiming at reducing trade barriers and foster economic integration within the region, of which South Korea is already an associate member along with Australia, China, Japan, and New Zealand; and the

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) with these members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The CPTPP aims at deepening trade liberalization in goods and services, covering areas like tariffs, services, investments, e-commerce, intellectual property, and state-owned enterprises; and the IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity) which is a broader economic framework focused on various pillars like supply chains, clean energy, and fair economy.

All of these agreements aim at promoting an equilibrium of economic stability and prosperity among the members. And all of them are open and available for a free and sovereign Korea to participate.
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Imagine, an independent, sovereign, NEUTRAL, democratic, and UNIFIED Korea becoming part of this dynamic independent MULTIPOLAR Global South development scheme!

Neutral, the basis for Peace, means no special or unique relations with China, Russia, or the US, but equal friendship and trading with the different poles in a new multi-polar world.

South Korea’s economic growth in 2024 was 2.0%, and it is projected to slow down to 1.7% in 2025. This is a typical “western growth pattern” that reflects countries which put their resources in armament – destructive investments – rather than in constructive investments, like infrastructure, education, and health – people’s well-being.

Today South Korea’s military budget makes up for about 2.8% of GDP. President Trump requests that Korea increases it to 5%, as he did with the Europeans, who stupidly accepted.

President Trump argues, as he did with Europe, that NATO is protecting them and they should pay for it. In Korea the same Trumpism spiel goes, saying that the US’s huge military base protects Korea, and Korea must pay for it. Korea does that already, as they must upgrade their war equipment for every military exercise they carry out together with the Pentagon – and mostly directed to North Korea, hence the already high military budget.

If Korea keeps listening to and accepting Washington’s orders, it is possible that one day the US will use her Korean air and naval military base to attack Taiwan, starting yet another proxy-war, this time against China, that would make Korea complicit in a war against China. Such a disastrous possibility should never be given a chance to even exist.

The upcoming summit between President Lee and President Trump, around the 25 August 2025 is an opportunity to address this point by Korea, requesting US withdrawal from her territory, as a step of regaining Korean sovereignty and NEUTRALITY.

A lower military budget would certainly be an engine for Korea’s development and her people’s wellbeing.

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Compare Korea’s current meager economic growth in 2024, with 2024 economic expansions of neutral Asian democracies, such as Vietnam (7%), Malaysia (5.1%), Indonesia (5%), and the Philippines (5.6%). These countries are not involved in wars and conflicts, nor are they tied to one of the Super-Powers; except for the Philippines which is again strongly leaning towards the US.

But none of them feeds the war industry with otherwise productive resources.

People surrounded by Peace have also Peace at mind; they are content and productive for society.

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The Way forward….

After more than 125 years of oppression, colonization, and neo-colonization under the US, Korea deserves a break – and a new, prosperous, and independent future.

A prosperous Korean future must or should have short- and medium-term goals: First, in the short term – converting the Armistice into a Peace Agreement and becoming an autonomous, fully sovereign democracy; and second – unifying South and North Korea into a Neutral democratic Republic of Korea, because Neutrality is the basis, or the “A and O”, for lasting peace.

The political and economic path to a prosperous, sovereign, unified and neutral Korea is to become part of a multipolar world. The concepts of a single polarity, or a globalist world, or a dual polarity, as we still have today—a division between East and West—will never be peaceful.

As described before under the Brzeziński theory, a Globalist World requires a form of an Emperor who controls the world. Such strategies are currently under way, driven by the West, under the leadership of Washington and London, with Australia, Canada and New Zealand, the core countries of the Anglosphere, or the British Commonwealth, as close allies.

As has been visible for the past seven decades, basically since the beginning of the Cold War, with NATO as the growing military power, such a Globalist World will never be in Peace. Wars and conflicts are their brandmark – literally their life-blood. Wars, destruction, and killing are also their economic growth model.

It is estimated that since the end of WWII, conflicts and wars initiated or driven by the US / NATO have killed between 30 and 40 million people around the world, and caused uncountable trillions of dollars-worth of infrastructure and livelihood destruction.

In today’s Orwellian world, NATO and wars are sold to the public as instruments for Peace.

Just recently, after bombing Iran, President Trump told the world he was bombing Iran for the sake of Peace. Imagine! – This dystopian world by far exceeds George Orwell’s “1984”. And what’s worse, much of the west goes along with. So, another lie has become the truth.

These wars and self-induced conflicts are part of – divide to conquer – an ongoing strategy dating back thousands of years. “New” thinking Eastern and Global South leaders, are seeking Peace arrangements, rather than continue warfare for the benefit of a few, especially the western war industry.

The new Forward Korea – should, in my humble opinion, not go the NATO way.

The “new” thinking of cooperation and collaboration, the concept of togetherness, may succeed in bringing Peace, prosperity, and a people-balanced economic growth.

By far most of the world’s population wants lasting Peace.

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A word to Korea and Technology
South Korea is one of the world’s technologically most advanced countries.

S. Korea is the first country in the world planning to replace 10% of its workforce by robots.

It is not said in wat time span.

S. Korea’s unemployment rate as of June 2025 is a relatively low 2.6%.

In any case, 10% robotization is a significant challenge, even with the currently relatively low unemployment rate. 10% robotization is a “linear” input, the results of which are unlikely remaining linear, but will evolve dynamically.

Depending in how well robotization is planned over time, it could lead to an explosion of unemployment.

Prudence with digitization and robotization is of the order.

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Multipolarity may not be the final panacea for world Peace and Prosperity for all, but in our dynamic world it is an expanding means in the right direction.

A new sovereign – Neutral – and unified Korea may become part of the Belt and Road, of the Global South, of the different ASEAN international trade agreements, free of political and military associations with a Big Power.

Peace and inter-country cooperation brings socioeconomic development, people’s well-being. – It leads to sharing of common benefits. Wars, instead, destroy everything, physically, sociologically and spirituality. War drains resources away from needed economic and social investments – infrastructure, education, health.

A united, Neutral, and democratic Korea in a multi-polar world may lead to sovereign self-esteem, choosing Peace over War – and a vision of a solidary and a shared future of mankind.

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Thank you.
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Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst, regular author for Global Research, and a former Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020).

Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.