KNOW THE FACTS: North Korea lost close to 30% of its population as a result of US bombings in the 1950s

Region:
In-depth Report:

The World is at a dangerous crossroads. 

The US is seeking a pretext to wage war on North Korea.

North Korea is said to constitute a threat to Global Security.

From the Truman Doctrine to Obama. The history of the 1950s Korean war confirms that extensive war crimes were committed against the Korean people. As confirmed by the statement of General Curtis Lemay: 

“Over a period of three years or so we killed off – what – twenty percent of the population.”1

North Korea lost close to thirty percent of its population as a result of US led bombings in the 1950s. US military sources confirm that 20 percent of North Korea’s  population was killed off over a three period of intensive bombings:

“After destroying North Korea’s 78 cities and thousands of her villages, and killing countless numbers of her civilians, [General] LeMay remarked, “Over a period of three years or so we killed off – what – twenty percent of the population.” It is now believed that the population north of the imposed 38th Parallel lost nearly a third its population of 8 – 9 million people during the 37-month long “hot” war, 1950 – 1953, perhaps an unprecedented percentage of mortality suffered by one nation due to the belligerance of another.”2

During The Second World War the United Kingdom lost 0.94% of its population, France lost 1.35%, China lost 1.89% and the US lost 0.32%. During the Korean war, North Korea lost close to 30 % of its population.

These figures of civilian deaths in North Korea should also be compared to those compiled for Iraq  by the Lancet Study (John Hopkins School of Public Health). The Lancet study estimated a total of 655,000 Iraqi civilian deaths, following the US led invasion (March 2003- June 2006). 



We call upon the people of  the US, Canada and NATO countries to put pressure on their governments. 

A war on North Korea would engulf the entire region.  

PEACE IS PATRIOTIC.

SAY NO TO A WAR ON KOREA

SAY NO TO MILITARY ESCALATION

Michel Chossudovsky,  Global Research, 27 November 2010 

NOTE
1. Curtis Lemay quoted in Richard Rhodes, “The General and World War III,” The New Yorker, June 19, 1995, p. 53.
2. See Brian Willson,Korea and the Axis of Evil, Global Research, October 2006
3. The population of North Korea was of the order of 8-9 million in 1950 prior the Korean war. 
US sources acknowledge 1.55 million civilian deaths in North Korea, 215,000 combat deaths. MIA/POW 120,000, 300,000 combat troops wounded. (Wikipedia) 
South Korean military sources estimate the number of civilian deaths/wounded/missing at 2.5 million, of which some 990,900 are in South Korea.
Another estimate places Korea War total deaths, civilian plus combat at 3.5 million.  

Compilation by estimates:

  • North Korea:
    • NoKo Military
      • 130,000 KIA (Pentagon: ¼ “KWM”)
      • 294,151 (Nahm93)
      • 214,899 KIA + 101,680 MIA (Wallechinsky; Clodfelter, citing [“highly suspect”] Defense Dept. est.) [=316,579]
      • 316,579 (COWP)
      • 350,000 (Rummel)
      • 520,000 (Small & Singer, FAS)
      • [MEDIAN: 316,579]
    • NoKo Civilian
      • 406,000 killed + 680,000 missing (Nahm93)
      • Up to 1,000,000 (Wallechinsky; Clodfelter)
      • 1,185,000 (Rummel)
      • [MEDIAN: 1,000,000]
    • NoKo Military + Civilian
      • 500,000 (Britannica)
      • 700,000 (Dictionary of 20C World History)
      • 926,000 (Compton’s)
      • 1,316,579 (Wallechinsky; Clodfelter)
      • 1,380,151 (Nahm93)
      • 1,535,000 (Rummel)
      • [MEDIAN: 1,316,579]
  • http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat2.htm

    Russia Today interview of Michel Chossudovsky

     

    North Korea has announced it will sever all ties and communication with the South in retaliation for what it calls a smear campaign over the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.

    US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Seoul for talks on the escalating row.

    An international investigation has found that Pyongyang fired the torpedo which sank the warship, killing 46 sailors.

    South Korea has called on the UN Security Council to impose new sanctions on its neighbor.

    Pyongyang has also threatened military action against the South, claiming Seoul’s navy trespassed into the disputed waters of the Yellow Sea.

    An international investigation found that Pyongyang fired the torpedo which sank the warship, killing 46 sailors.

    Michel Chossudovsky, the head of the Center for Research on Globalization, an independent Canadian think tank, argues that North Korea is more prey than a predator.

    “North Korea is portrayed in the international media as a threat to global security, but there is absolutely no evidence to that effect. On the other hand, North Korea is the only country in the world that has lost up to a quarter of its population in recent history [during the Korean War, when the North Korean population was wiped out by US bombings],” Chossudovsky told RT.


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    About the author:

    Michel Chossudovsky is an award-winning author, Professor of Economics (emeritus) at the University of Ottawa, Founder and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), Montreal, Editor of Global Research. He has taught as visiting professor in Western Europe, Southeast Asia, the Pacific and Latin America. He has served as economic adviser to governments of developing countries and has acted as a consultant for several international organizations. He is the author of 13 books. He is a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. His writings have been published in more than twenty languages. In 2014, he was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit of the Republic of Serbia for his writings on NATO's war of aggression against Yugoslavia. He can be reached at [email protected]

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