NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, December 02, 2004

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NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, December 02, 2004

NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, December 02, 2004

I. United States

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. United States

1. US on DPRK Nuclear Talks

Yomiuri Shimbun (“ARMITAGE CALLS FOR 6-WAY TALKS IN JAN”, 2004-12-02) reported that US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Tuesday he hoped the fourth round of the six-nation talks over the DPRK’s nuclear development program would start by the first week of January. “We all hope to get the talks started again, maybe sometime in December or the first week of January,” Armitage said at the US State Department during an exclusive interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.

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2. Japan on DPRK Nuclear Talks

Kyodo News (“JAPAN PESSIMISTIC ON HOLDING SIX-WAY TALKS BEFORE 2005 – OFFICIAL”, 2004-12-02) reported that the Japanese government thinks it is getting hard to believe the next round of six-party talks on the DPRK’s nuclear ambitions will be held by the end of the year, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Thursday 2 December. “North Korea remains reluctant to hold the next talks at an early date. Whether our push will help the talks to be held this year is hard to say,” the top government spokesman said in a press conference.

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3. US on PRC Role in DPRK Nuclear Talks

The Associated Press (“CHINA CAN DO MORE TO DETER NUKE SPREAD-US LAWMAKER”, 2004-12-02) reported that a US congressman accused the PRC on Thursday of standing in the way of America’s efforts to halt nuclear weapons programs in the DPRK and Iran, calling Beijing shortsighted and irresponsible. Rep. Henry Hyde, head of the US House of Representatives’ International Relations Committee, criticized the PRC for not doing more to stop the DPRK’s nuclear weapon program, given what he said was Beijing’s vast influence over the country.

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4. US on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Yonhap (“US WANTS TO EXPLAIN TO NORTH KOREA BENEFITS OF LIBYAN MODEL IN NUCLEAR ISSUE”, 2004-12-02) reported that the US wants to explain to the DPRK how much it can benefit if it follows Libya’s footsteps but has not been able to do so, because the DPRK is balking at six-country nuclear talks, a US diplomat said Thursday (2 December). “I think Libya provides an excellent model for North Korea… We very much want to have the opportunity to explain the details of this model to the DPRK side,” Mitchell Reiss, policy planning director at the State Department, told a meeting of dozens of ROK college students.

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5. ROK on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Joongang Ilbo (“ROH SAYS SOUTH CALLS TUNE ON NORTH CRISIS”, 2004-12-02) reported that President Roh Moo-hyun and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain met yesterday to discuss efforts to wind down the nuclear crisis with the DPRK, hours after Mr. Roh declared no other country could impose a solution to the problem without the consent of the ROK people.

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6. US Policy on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Financial Times (“US REFUSES TO BUDGE AS N KOREA IMPASSE DRAGS ON”, 2004-12-02) reported that the US signaled it would not budge from its hardline approach towards the DPRK, despite its allies’ increasing pleas for more “flexibility”, saying that doing so would send the wrong message to Pyongyang. The PRC, Japan and the ROK – three of the members of the six-party talks – have been urging the US to take a more “realistic” approach than its current insistence on complete disarmament before rewarding the DPRK.

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7. ROK on Relations with the US

Donga Ilbo (“THE KOREAN GOVERNMENT VERSUS NICHOLAS EBERSTADT IN THE SECOND ROUND”, 2004-12-02) reported that the ROK government has demanded that the Weekly Standard publish a report to refute the story of senior researcher Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). The researcher harshly criticized the ROK government’s DPRK policy in his article. Under the name of spokesman Oh Soo-dong of the ROK Embassy in the US, the government demanded on Wednesday to Chief Editor William Kristol of the Weekly Standard that it would print a report refuting Eberstadt’s arguments that the US should interfere with the ROK’s domestic policies and take military actions against the DPRK.

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8. ROK – US on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Yonhap (“SOUTH KOREAN PARTIES TO SEND JOINT TEAM TO US TO DISCUSS NORTH NUCLEAR ISSUE”, 2004-12-02) reported that a group of ruling and opposition lawmakers is to leave for the US this week to visit and discuss with US officials a number of pending issues, including the stand-off over the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program, party officials said Thursday 2 December.

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9. ROK – UK on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Yonhap (“ROH, BLAIR REAFFIRM PLEDGE TO RESOLVE N.K. NUKE CRISIS PEACEFULLY”, 2004-12-02) reported that the ROK and Britain agreed Thursday to make joint efforts to revive the stalled six-party talks on the DPRK’s nuclear weapons ambitions as soon as possible. President Roh Moo-hyun and British Prime Minister Tony Blair also reaffirmed during their summit here that they will make efforts to resolve the DPRK nuclear issue peacefully at the earliest date.

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10. DPRK on KEDO LWR Suspension

Donga Ilbo (“REPORTS THE NORTH HAMPERED LIGHT-WATER REACTOR CONSTRUCTION”, 2004-12-02) reported that the DPRK has imposed suspension on the construction equipment and vehicles of ROK companies, and called for compensation from the US for the delayed construction, the AP news agency reported Wednesday. It also said that the DPRK has blocked 93 heavy construction equipment and 190 vehicles, including bus and small-sized cars, which the DPRK is trying to use as a bargaining chip for the nuclear crisis.

(return to top) Chosun Ilbo (“N.K. DEMANDS COMPENSATION FOR STALLED REACTOR PROJECT”, 2004-12-01) reported that the DPRK threatened to seize construction equipment and cars belonging to ROK companies at the construction site of light-water reactors, demanding that the US pay compensation for the suspended construction work. The news agency said, “North Korea has barred the removal of 93 pieces of heavy construction equipment and about 190 South Korean cars and some buses from the site at Kumho, [and] Pyongyang has threatened to go in and seize the equipment along with computers, office equipment and any technical documents still on the site, but has made no move to do so.” (return to top)

11. Japan on DPRK Sanctions

Kyodo News (“LAWMAKERS PUSH FOR SANCTIONS ON N. KOREA AT 1ST PANEL MEETING”, 2004-12-02) reported that a House of Representatives panel probing the abductions of Japanese nationals to the DPRK held its first deliberations Thursday, with many members urging the Japanese government to exert more pressure on the DPRK and impose economic sanctions. Hirasawa questioned whether Japan can resolve the issue with its current approach, centering on working-level talks. “Economic sanctions will give the message (to North Korea) that Japan is taking a firm stand,” he said.

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12. DPRK – Iranian Relations

The New York Times (“IRAN REPORTEDLY HIDES WORK ON A LONGER-RANGE MISSILE”, 2004-12-02) reported that Iran is secretly developing a longer-range ballistic missile than it has publicly acknowledged, with the capacity to strike targets as far away as Berlin, an opposition group plans to assert publicly on Thursday. The group says the missile, which it says could have the capacity to carry nuclear warheads, is being developed with help from DPRK scientists, even as Iran has agreed to curbs on its nuclear program in a new pact with three European countries. In recent years, the DPRK has been the most important source of Iranian missile technology.

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13. US on DPRK, PRC Sanctions

Agence France-Presse (“US IMPOSES SANCTIONS ON FIVE CHINESE, NORTH KOREAN ‘PROLIFERATORS'”, 2004-12-02) reported that the US has imposed sanctions on four PRC entities, including a state-run firm, and one DPRK company for selling weapons or cruise and ballistic missile technology and equipment to Iran, the State Department said. Andrew K. Semmel, acting assistant secretary of state for nonproliferation, said in a statement that two-year sanctions would be imposed against the five entities effective November 24 under the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000.

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14. ROK on Nuclear Experiment

Korea Times (“SEOUL WILLING TO EXPLAIN LAB TESTS TO PYONGYANG”, 2004-12-02) reported that the ROK is prepared to explain its controversial nuclear research activities to Pyongyang at the six-party talks on the DPRK nuclear issue, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Thursday. He added, however, that the experiments should not be a big issue at the six-nation meeting as it was designed to focus on the DPRK’s nuclear weapons development.

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15. Inter – Korean Relations

Yonhap (“SOUTH KOREA HAS ‘ILLUSIONS’ ON N. KOREAN REFORMS: N.K. RADIO”, 2004-12-02) reported that the DPRK is disgusted by the ROK officials’ demands that the DPRK pursue reform and opening-up policies, a Pyongyang-based radio station said Thursday. “Whenever chances are given, South Korean government officials make comments like ‘it’s important to bring the North to the road of reform’,” Radio Pyongyang said.

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16. Inter – Korean Summit

Chosun Ilbo (“UNIFICATION MINISTER HOPES FOR INTRA-KOREAN SUMMIT IN 2005”, 2004-12-02) reported that Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said in an interview Thursday with the Internet media outlet Oh My News that he would work to boost optimism regarding peaceful diplomacy among the Korean people next year and aim to resume summit talks between the DPRK and ROK.

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17. Inter – Korean Athletics

Joongang Ilbo (“UNIFIED KOREAN TEAM FOR 2006 ON THE TABLE”, 2004-12-02) reported that the prospect of fielding a joint ROK and DPRK soccer team for the 2006 World Cup in Germany will be discussed during a visit to Seoul later this month by Sepp Blatter, the president of the International Football Federation Association, or FIFA. Yun Jong-su, coach of the DPRK squad, hinted earlier this year that consolidating teams was possible.

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18. ROK on DPRK Defector/Spy Issue

Joongang Ilbo (“DEFECTOR-SPY IMBROGLIO GROWS”, 2004-12-02) reported that after news reports that prosecutors are investigating a DPRK defector for espionage activities, Chung Dong-young, minister of unification, acknowledged yesterday that there had been similar cases of DPRK defectors here returning to the DPRK. Based on the information, the ROK has begun an investigation of two or three suspects, the official added.

(return to top) Donga Ilbo (““SECRET REENTRANCE OF NORTH KOREAN DEFECTORS INTO THE NORTH” CREATING A STIR”, 2004-12-02) reported that a huge loophole in the government’s DPRK defection management was disclosed as one of them was found to have re-entered the ROK secretly after returning to the DPRK and receiving espionage training. With the number of DPRK defectors entering the DPRK via the PRC increasing recently, cases of “acts benefiting the enemy” are also surging. (return to top)

19. DPRK Political Stability

TASS (“POLITICAL SITUATION IN NKOREA STABLE-UN OFFICIALS”, 2004-12-02) reported that in the DPRK, no signs of political instability, reported by a number of foreign media, are noticeable, many staff members of UN agencies and other non-governmental organizations that work in Pyongyang have told Itar-Tass.

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20. DPRK Communications

Chosun Ilbo (“CELL PHONES SPARK ‘COMMUNICATION REVOLUTION’ IN N.K.”, 2004-12-02) reported that in the DPRK, mobile phones are serving as conveyer belts of information from the outside world to help combat decades of state-sponsored propaganda and misinformation, opening up a new channel of communication between the two sides. The fact that the two sides are now connected in this way is entirely thanks to PRC cell phones. As PRC communication firms expand their cell phone services, they have begun installing relay stations along the Sino-DPRK border, which has kindled a cell phone boom in the DPRK.

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21. DPRK Leadership

Yonhap (“NORTH KOREA’S NUMBER THREE REPORTEDLY IN CHINESE HOSPITAL”, 2004-12-02) reported that Jo Myong-rok, a close military aide to DPRK leader Kim Jong-il, is in the PRC for treatment of a worsening kidney problem, a source in Seoul said Thursday 2 December . The 74-year-old army vice-marshall “arrived in Beijing on Monday by Air Koryo special flight,” said the source well versed in DPRK affairs, requesting that he not be identified.

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22. DPRK Tourism

The Christian Science Monitor (“WELCOME TO NORTH KOREA. RULE NO. 1: OBEY ALL RULES.”, 2004-12-02) reported that in the past six years, 760,000 tourists, 99 percent of them ROK, have quietly traveled through the heavily mined DMZ into the DPRK, bringing welcome cash with them. They can spend several days trekking in the rugged mountains, soaking in hot springs at a spa, and generally pinching themselves that they’re actually inside one of the members of the “axis of Evil.”

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23. DPRK on AIDS Issue

Agence France Presse (“NORTH KOREA CLAIMS ZERO CASES OF HIV INFECTION”, 2004-12-02) reported that the DPRK has no cases of AIDS and has adopted a plan to block infiltration of the killer syndrome from outside the country, a top Pyongyang health official said, according to a report monitored here Thursday. “In our country there is no AIDS patient,” Choe was quoted as saying. “But activities for AIDS prevention and control are being conducted to prevent its infiltration from the outside.”

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24. DPRK Defector on Gov’t in Exile

Yonhap (“SENIOR DEFECTOR REJECTS IDEA OF N.K. GOVERNMENT-IN-EXILE”, 2004-12-02) reported that Hwang Jang-yop, the highest-ranking DPRK official ever to defect to the ROK, has expressed opposition to establishing a DPRK government-in-exile, saying the idea is “inadequate” for the DPRK’s situation, an aide to Hwang here said Thursday. The former secretary of the DPRK’s ruling Workers’ Party, who defected in 1997, has been considered the leader of the envisioned government.

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25. DPRK Defectors in the PRC

Agence France Presse (“15 N KOREAN ASYLUM SEEKERS ALLOWED TO LEAVE JAPANESE EMBASSY IN BEIJING”, 2004-12-02) reported that fifteen DPRK asylum seekers held in protective custody at the Japanese embassy in Beijing since the beginning of September have been allowed to leave the PRC, diplomats said Thursday. The 15, including several elderly persons and three children, left the PRC on Wednesday and were expected to make their way to the ROK via a third country, a Japanese embassy spokeswoman told AFP.

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26. Jenkins Case

Kyodo News (“US ARMY DESERTER JENKINS’ FAMILY DELAYS MOVE TO WIFE’S HOMETOWN IN JAPAN”, 2004-12-02) reported that Charles Jenkins, a US army deserter released from a military jail near Tokyo last week, and his family have decided to put off moving to the hometown of his Japanese wife Hitomi Soga in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, until after next week, the Sado municipal government announced Thursday (2 December).

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27. US – ROK Relations

Arirang TV (“SEOUL AND WASHINGTON TO HOLD THE 1ST MEETING TO DISCUSS U.S. VISA EXEMPTION”, 2004-12-02) reported that officials from the ROK and US are expected to hold their first meeting next Tuesday on possibly exempting visas for ROK tourists entering the US. The two sides agreed to establish their own working-level groups to review and fine-tune details of the visa-exemption issue.

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28. Japan on UNSC Bid

Kyodo News (“KOIZUMI HOPING TO USE U.N. REPORT TO PUSH JAPAN’S UNSC BID”, 2004-12-02) reported that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday that Japan plans to take advantage of a U.N. panel report on Security Council reforms to push its bid for permanent membership. “It is the first time a reform has been proposed (for the U.N. Security Council). Japan hopes to make use of this chance given the rise in momentum for reforms,” Koizumi told reporters at his office.

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29. PRC on Cross Strait Relations

Reuters (“CHINA WARNS TAIWAN AGAINST MISCALCULATION”, 2004-12-02) reported that a PRC major general-turned-vice minister, speaking days before Taiwan’s parliamentary elections, warned the island against miscalculating Beijing’s determination to crush its separatist dreams. “There can be no peace (if) Taiwan (becomes) independent, there can be no stability (if) Taiwan splits,” the official People’s Daily on Thursday quoted Wang Zaixi, a vice minister of the policymaking Taiwan Affairs Office, as saying.

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30. PRC Investment

The Associated Press (“CHINA TO EXTEND CONTROLS ON BANK LENDING”, 2004-12-02) reported that the PRC’s leaders plan to extend restrictions on bank lending and investment in real estate and other industries in 2005 as they try to hold down inflation while keeping the booming economy growing at a stable rate, state media said Thursday. The directive issued Wednesday after a Communist Party meeting led by President Hu Jintao calls for “prudent fiscal and monetary policies,” the official Xinhua News Agency and other media reported.

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