North Korea, for the past few years, has been a bone of contention in world politics.
All this time, it appeared as if the war theatre would shift from the Middle East to the Far East in Korea. Newspapers and television headlines covered bold and provocative threats being fired by both the Western bloc and North Korea at each other.
These headlines and the stories attached to them were inflammatory enough to leave the world frightened that a devastating nuclear war was just around the corner.
Then came March 2018 and the frightened world was surprised to hear Donald Trump offering to meet Kim Jong-un. To the global audience that knew both leaders too well, this appeared too good to be true.
And then in April, the offer seemed to be materialising as American officials actually held a preparatory meeting with Kim Jong-un, paving way for the Trump-Jong-un meeting later on.
The early hours of 27 April 2018, around midday in Korea, had global news channels televising the heads of North and South Korea meeting for the first time in almost seven decades; an excellent example of how quickly the curtains fall and rise, how swiftly scenes change and how dramatically roles of actors transform on the stage of world politics.
The Korean Peninsula, historically speaking, has a longstanding history of not only being unstable itself, but also of causing instability to the entire region. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904 was probably the first time that Korea emerged in its position of “instability”.
Both Russia and Japan had ambitions to take control of the peninsula. The Siege of Port Arthur was to be a turning point in the war where Russia was heading steadily towards victory. The siege started in April 1904 but the Japanese troops received a massive blow of defeat, with casualties in their thousands.
Later on, the Japanese surprised the Russians by eventually making their way into the Russian occupied area of Manchurian. This followed a series of raids, strikes and conflicts and Japan was eventually victorious in the war.
By the end of April 1904, when the first Japanese attempt to siege Port Arthur failed, a Divinely appointed man of God, far away in a small hamlet called Qadian, in India, received a revelation:
“Korea Khatarnak Halat Mein Hei; Mashreqi Taqat”
[Korea is in dangerous situation. Eastern Power]
Hazrat Sheikh Yaqub Ali Irfanira, the then editor of Al Hakam published a note in Al Hakam stating:
“When the war started between Japan and Russia, and Japan had not yet achieved any significant victory, the Promised Messiahas received this revelation”.
This revelation was vouchsafed to the Promised Messiahas on 29 April 1904. This prophecy was fulfilled by Japan, an Eastern power, gaining sovereignty over Korea.
In the current climate, it is fascinating to see that almost exactly 114 years later, on 27 April 2018, the world saw North and South Korean leaders meet; a reminder of the revelation of the Promised Messiahas. North Korea is still in a “dangerous situation”.
Now, the question is: Will it join hands with its southern sister and become an “Eastern Power”?
