US using South Korea as chess piece to serve its interests: Ex-US congressional staffer

The United States has artificially created South Korea and is using the country as a chess piece to serve Washington’s interests in its hegemonic policies in the East Asia region, an analyst and radio host in California says.

Rodney Martin made the remarks on Saturday when asked about a report showing American forces in South Korea are on a heightened state of alert amidst rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

David Shear, the assistant secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, said on Friday American forces were put on “enhanced status” because of the joint US-South Korean maneuver.

“US forces went on an enhanced status as part of the exercise. They are remaining in an enhanced status as part of the exercise, and of course to ensure adequate deterrence on the peninsula,” he said.

“The tensions have been high between the two Koreas, but we have to understand that South Korea is an artificially created country, artificially created by the United States to be a chess piece in its Cold War battle with the former Soviet Union,” Martin, a former US congressional staffer, told Press TV.

“What we see is that we have two Koreas that should be one, the people should exercise self-determination,” he said.

“The United States through its capitalism and corporatism has built up South Korea as a model while engaging in economic terrorism against the North, using embargoes and sanctions as it does around the world, to starve the population out and then blame the North Korean government for human horrendous tragedies that take place,” he noted.

On Friday, North Korea warned its southern neighbor to halt the “provocations” and its propaganda broadcasts against Pyongyang by Saturday afternoon or pay the price.

The South Korean Defense Ministry rejected the North’s ultimatum, with a spokesman insisting the country would “continue operating the loudspeakers.” The South also placed its military on high alert.

“I predict that probably what will happen is representatives from the two Koreas will probably deescalate the situation and the situation will resolve itself as it has in the past,” Martin stated.

“If we look to that past when these situations had occurred, it’s always been representatives of the two Koreas that have deescalated a situation that had essentially been created or inspired by the United States,” the analyst added.

Martin went on to say that “every country that exercises self-determination over its monetary system as well as full its sovereignty in defense of its people seems to be vilified and made an enemy by the West, and the West uses its pawns to attempt to take them down. And I dare say that North Korea is now moving up the list.”

The Korean Peninsula has been locked in a cycle of military rhetoric since the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953 and ended in an armistice. No peace deal has been signed since then, meaning that Pyongyang and Seoul remain technically at war.