Gordon Chang: US, NKorea Have Been at War Since 1950

The United States has actually been at war with North Korea for 67 years, journalist and author Gordon Chang told Newsmax TV.

During an appearance on "Newsmax Now," Chang told host Bill Tucker that North Korea has violated the terms of the 1953 armistice that put a halt to the Korean War several times over the years — and it has been working on nuclear weapons since the 1960s.

"We are at war with the North Koreans, and we have been since June of 1950, when they invaded South Korea," Chang said. "There was an armistice in July of 1953, but that only stopped the fighting. It was an agreement not to use force. It didn't end the state of war."

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Chang, the author of "The Coming Collapse of China," then explained the frosty relationship between the U.S. and North Korea has nothing to do with President Donald Trump.

"This is not about President Trump," Chang said. "Kim Il Sung, the founder of the North Korean regime, has had a nuclear weapons effort since at least 1965 when he talked to Mao Zedong, the leader of China, about borrowing Chinese technology. And some people think that Kim actually wanted to have nukes before then.

"Also, we've got to remember one thing and that is the core goal of the Kim regime . . . is the taking over of South Korea. And so they want these weapons that they'll be able to intimidate us to break our mutual defense treaty with South Korea, get our 28,500 troops off the peninsula and then intimidate Seoul into submission. So that is the game here."

North Korea's foreign minister Ri Yong Ho said Monday he believes Trump has declared war on North Korea, which gives the North Koreans the right to shoot down any U.S. military aircraft — even if they are in international airspace.

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