[2017-02-21]
In 1876 Japan forced the feudal Joson dynasty into concluding the “Kanghwado treaty” by dint of military threat, blackmail and intrigue in an attempt to commence military occupation and colonial rule over the country.
Japan that set the conquest of Korea as its state policy in the mid-19th century buckled down to the preparations for this. It orchestrated an armed provocation by sending the Unyogo close to Korea’s Kanghwa Island on the pretext of surveying sea routes in August 1875. After the ship was attacked and sunken by Korean guards, Japan dispatched seven warships loaded with eight cannons and over 800 troops to raid the island in January 1876 and eventually forced the Korean government to sign a treaty containing brigandish demands.
As a result the 12-article Kanghwado treaty was concluded on February 27.
It stipulated that Korea should open its ports for “free trade” with Japanese merchants and ensure Japan’s freedom of survey of Korean coasts and map-drawing, which paved the way for Japan’s economic plunder and military invasion of Korea.
International law specifies duress as a main factor that determines the unlawfulness and invalidity of treaties.
The Kanghwado treaty is a completely illegal document as it was concluded under military threat and blackmail.
After the fabrication of the treaty Japan stepped up economic plunder and military aggression against Korea. It cooked up the Ulsa five-point treaty in 1905 and the Korea-Japan annexation treaty in 1910 to deprive Korea of its diplomatic rights and to reduce the country to its colony.
Japanese colonial rule brought untold misfortune and sufferings to the Korean people.
More than a million of them were killed, over 8.4 million young and middle-aged people were taken to battle fields and sites of slave labour and 200 000 women were violated by Japanese soldiers.
Nevertheless, Japan still tries to justify its past crimes on the plea of these preposterous documents.
Facts prove that Japan remains unchanged in its aggressive and gangster-like approach toward Korea even after well over a century.
Japan must know clearly that making a sincere apology and reparation for the past crimes is the unanimous demand of the international community.
By Han Jong Chol PT
Fifth Conference of IUAFW expresses solidarity with Korean people's struggle
The Fifth Conference of the International Union of Agricultural and Foodstuff Workers (IUAFW) held in Senegal from April 10 to 12
April 19, 2024
The Fifth Conference of the International Union of Agricultural and Foodstuff Workers (IUAFW) held in Senegal from April 10 to 12
