Re: Tremendous Damage Caused by U.S. Imperialists to S. Korea Estimated

[Joe Brennan <jbren1@optonline.net>]

I don't find that number, 2mil, really unbelievable. Is there a better one
in a source anyone knows? I think it's certainly distorted to say "US
killed" 2mil, and after all NK decided to start the war, but in a very poor
country as Korea was at the time (and North Korea still is) death rates by
indirect effects of war, hunger and disease, are often horrendous. For
example 3mil people killed in the recent Congo war mostly indirectly. And
2mil said to have died in NK's peacetime famines just a few yrs ago. I've
read that US research into the root of NK/China's claims of US bio warfare
concluded disease was in fact rampant in the North but apparently natural.

Also as anyones who's studied the US air campaign knows, civilian population
centers were frequently targetted in the belief they billeted troops and
contained supplies, which they undoubtedly did. Thus civilian deaths rates
to air action were probably very high by standards of what's acceptable
today, though not compared to WWII necessarily nor does anything like 2mil
to that cause alone seem likely.

Joe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Davino" <mdavino@yahoo.com>
To: <KOREAN-WAR-L@listproc.cc.ku.edu>
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2003 10:19 PM
Subject: Tremendous Damage Caused by U.S. Imperialists to S. Korea Estimated


> Here is what the North Koreans believe the war cost
> Korea.  What is really incredible is that they
> actually believe this propoaganda.  Its more than 43
> trillion dollars.  Does anyone want to check their
> math?
>
> Mike Davino
>
> http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2003/200312/news12/01.htm#16
>
> Tremendous Damage Caused by U.S. Imperialists to S.
> Korea Estimated
>     Pyongyang, November 29 (KCNA) -- The Committee for
> the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland and the
> National Reunification Institute made public a
> memorandum on November 28 after making a joint
> comprehensive survey of the human and material damage
> caused by the U.S. imperialists to the south Korean
> people since it occupied south Korea on September 8,
> 1945 and estimating its total amount. The memorandum
> said:
>     The U.S. imperialists killed in cold blood at
> least 2,240,000 civilians and patriots or 10 percent
> of the population of south Korea right after their
> occupation of south Korea (September 1945-May 1950)
> and during the Korean war of aggression (June
> 1950-July 1953). At least 83,000 innocent people were
> killed by the U.S. imperialists' firing, violence,
> terrorism, robbery, rape, arson, deliberate traffic
> incident, spread of contagious diseases and spray of
> defoliant in the postwar period (August 1953-present).
>
>     According to compiled data, a total of over
> 2,323,000 people were killed and 6,520,000 wounded.
>     The amount of damage inflicted by the U.S.
> imperialists upon the south Korean people runs into
> astronomical figures. If the victims are considered to
> be still alive and the income to be earned by them
> during their lifetime plus its interest and the
> changed value of U.S. dollar, etc. are estimated by
> the calculation method according to the international
> usage, the amount of damage caused to the dead is
> estimated to be 9,343,020,050,000 U.S. dollars, the
> amount of damage to the wounded 13,105,728,120,000
> U.S. dollars, bringing the total amount of human
> damage to 22,448,748,170,000 U.S. dollars.
>     If a total amount of damage including the
> confiscation of "enemy property," the levy of taxes,
> extortion of grains is estimated at the present price,
> it amounts to 4,281,665,880,000 U.S. dollars.
>     A total amount of damage caused by destruction
> runs into 5,145,398,340,000 U.S. dollars when
> estimated at the present price, and the amount of
> damage resulting from "aid" totals 2,341,469,900,000
> U.S. dollars and the amount of damage incurred by
> trade and the market opening totals 1,413,903,760,000
> U.S. dollars.
>     If the amount of damage caused by the infiltration
> of U.S. monopoly capital plus its interest is
> estimated at the present price, it comes to
> 4,233,270,160,000 U.S. dollars.
>     This means, in the final analysis, the U.S.
> imperialists have inflicted upon south Korea material
> and economic losses worth 17,415,708,040,000 U.S.
> dollars through plunder, destruction, "aid," trade and
> the market opening and the infiltration of capital
> since their occupation of south Korea.
>     Meanwhile, the loss south Korea has suffered due
> to the U.S. military bases totals 127,792,170,000 U.S.
> dollars and the loss incurred by its payment of the
> expenses for the upkeep of the U.S. troops in south
> Korea is estimated at 705,395,760,000 U.S. dollars.
>     South Korea's loss caused by the forced purchase
> of war equipment totals 1,083,633,580,000 U.S. dollars
> when its interest and the changed value of a U.S.
> dollar are taken into account.
>     The U.S. imperialists have staged a total of
> 13,700 war exercises of various forms in south Korea,
> counting only those made public. The amount of damage
> caused by them is estimated to be 577,742,910,000 U.S.
> dollars.
>     If the amount of damage caused to the land,
> forests and rivers and streams by environmental
> pollution and destruction is estimated on the basis of
> the expenses for restoring them to their original
> state, it totals 780 billion U.S. dollars.
>     A total amount of military damage the U.S.
> imperialists have inflicted upon south Korea totals
> 3,274,564,420,000 U.S. dollars.
>     They have vandalized and looted at least 38,100
> cultural treasures since their occupation of south
> Korea. They are valued at hundreds of billions of U.S.
> dollars.
>     They have smuggled drug worth 12 billion U.S.
> dollars into south Korea during their presence in
> south Korea, rendering the people mentally and
> physically deranged.
>     They have brutally violated many south Korean
> women and reduced them to sexual slaves, producing
> hundreds of thousands of foreigners' whores and
> mixed-bloods.
>     The sexual damage caused by the U.S. imperialist
> aggressor troops to south Korea amounts to more than a
> hundred billion U.S. dollars even when it is
> calculated according to the standard of compensation
> to be made for the sexual slavery for the Imperial
> Japanese Army.
>     The above-said estimates are based on a scientific
> review of various data quoted by statistical yearbooks
> officially released by the south Korean authorities,
> publications printed in south Korea and abroad,
> testimonies of individuals, information available from
> political, financial, academic, press and various
> other circles of south Korea and reports of the U.S.,
> Japanese and other foreign media.
>     The damage was surveyed according to the
> international usage and in conformity with the
> specific conditions of south Korea.
>     The amount of damage was estimated according to
> the formula commonly used worldwide.
>     The total amount of human and material damage the
> U.S. imperialists have inflicted upon the south Korean
> people for nearly 60 years since their occupation of
> south Korea runs into 43,139,020,630,000 U.S. dollars.
>
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