NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, November 9, 2004

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NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, November 9, 2004

NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, November 9, 2004

I. United States

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. United States

1. US on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Donga Ilbo (“U.S. SETS THE “RED LINE” ON THE N. KOREA NUCLEAR ISSUE “, 2004-11-09) reported that by quoting a high-ranking official of the US government, Japan`s Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday that the US finalized its policy to draw a limit line (“Red Line”), referring to a scenario in which the DPRK transfers nuclear-related materials to a third party, and that the US would take strong countermeasures “immediately” if the DPRK steps over this line.

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2. PRC on DPRK Nuclear Talks

Yonhap (“CHINA REITERATES HOPE FOR EARLY RESUMPTION OF NUCLEAR TALKS “, 2004-11-09) reported that the PRC restated its hope Tuesday that the six-way talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program can be convened as soon as possible. The remarks by a PRC foreign ministry spokeswoman came after the DPRK’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong-il held consultations with PRC Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei.

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3. PRC – DPRK on Nuclear Talks

The Associated Press (“N KOREAN MIN VISITS CHINA TO DISCUSS STALLED 6-WAY TALKS”, 2004-11-09) reported that the DPRK’s deputy foreign minister visited Beijing Tuesday to discuss stalled six-nation talks on the DPRK’s nuclear program, and PRC appealed to all parties to show flexibility and get a new round started. Kim Yong Il was to meet PRC Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and other officials to discuss “how to resolve the nuclear issue,” said PRC Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue.

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4. DPRK Sanctions

Yonhap News (“JAPANESE PAPER SAYS US CONSIDERING ACTION AGAINST NORTH KOREA”, 2004-11-09) reported that the US has set a “red line” the DPRK should not cross, and has decided to consider a military strike if the North transfers nuclear materials to a third party, a Japanese newspaper reported Tuesday 9 November. Quoting an unidentified high-level US official, the Yomiuri Shimbun said the US has settled on a policy that immediate measures will be taken against the DPRK if it hands over nuclear materials to third-party countries.

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5. DPRK Abductee Talks

Korean Central News Agency of the DPRK (“JAPANESE DELEGATION ARRIVES IN NORTH KOREA”, 2004-11-09) reported that a government delegation of Japan led by Mitoji Yabunaka, chief of the Asia and Oceania Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, arrived here today to participate in the DPRK-Japan inter-governmental working-level contact.

(return to top) BBC News (“JAPAN, N KOREA TO DISCUSS MISSING”, 2004-11-09) reported that Japanese negotiators are in the DPRK for fresh talks on the fate of Japanese nationals allegedly abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 80s. Officials from the two countries have already met twice this year to discuss the issue, but failed to make progress. Senior members of Japan’s ruling party are calling for economic sanctions if this round of talks is unfruitful. (return to top)

6. PRC on DPRK Defectors

International Herald Tribune (“CHINA TAKES HARD LINE ON NORTH KOREA DEFECTORS”, 2004-11-09) reported that the ROK media reports that the PRC had repatriated 62 would-be defectors from the DPRK appear to confirm fears that the PRC is taking a harder line against DPRK asylum seekers, whom Beijing classifies as economic migrants and returns under a treaty with the DPRK.

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7. Mongolia on DPRK Defectors

Yonhap (“MONGOLIA COLD ON N. KOREAN REFUGEE CAMP PLAN “, 2004-11-09) reported that the Mongolian government responded negatively to a non-governmental organization’s plan to build a DPRK refugee camp on its territory, officials in Seoul said Tuesday. “A ranking official from the Mongolian government made it clear during a recent visit to Seoul that his country will not support the idea,” a Unification Ministry official said.

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8. DMZ Incursion

Chosun Ilbo (“U.N. COMMAND SAYS ‘SKILLED’ INDIVIDUAL CUT HOLES IN DMZ FENCE “, 2004-11-09) reported that in relation to the mysterious holes cut in the barbed-wire fences along the midsection of the Demilitarized Zone in Cheorwon County, Gangwon province, on Oct. 26, Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Kane, deputy chief of staff at the U.N. command, said he presumed a skilled individual had made the cuts, because they were very precise. His opinion is contradictory to the Korean military’s view that an unskilled person had made the holes in an awkward way, considering the shape of the holes and method to camouflage the cuts.

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9. DPRK on ROK Iraq Dispatch

Yonhap (“PYONGYANG DENOUNCES SEOUL FOR ATTEMPTING TO EXTEND IRAQ DEPLOYMENT “, 2004-11-09) reported that the DPRK denounced the ROK Tuesday for trying to extend its troop deployment in Iraq by a year, accusing the move of being “ugly toadyism to the United States.” The DPRK’s state-run Korean Central Broadcasting Station claimed the ROK government’s move is an anti-national, anti-peace crime in defiance of requests by ROK citizens and the international community.

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10. Inter – Korean Economic Cooperation

Joongang Ilbo (“FAMILYMART TO OPEN OUTLET IN GAESEONG “, 2004-11-09) reported that a ROK convenience store chain will open at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the DPRK. Bokwang Corp.’s FamilyMart was granted business operation rights by the Ministry of Unification, and will open a shop later this month, selling fast food, drinks and other convenience goods. Bokwang said that a ROK store manager will hire three DPRK workers to operate the store.

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11. US – DPRK MIA/POW Joint Recovery Efforts

Stars and Stripes (“TALKS WITH NORTH KOREA ON 2005 MIA RECOVERY EFFORTS START NEXT WEEK”, None) reported that US and DPRK representatives will meet next week in Thailand to negotiate next year’s remains recovery missions, officials said this weekend. Radio Free Asia, the US-funded radio network, reported that top officials from the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) want to build on the success of 2004’s five joint missions.

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12. UN Monitors Move to DMZ

Kyodo News (“U.N. ARMISTICE MONITORS RELOCATE FROM SEOUL TO DMZ”, 2004-11-09) reported that the UN watchdog overseeing a cease-fire on the divided Korean Peninsula relocated Tuesday from Seoul to the border between the two Koreas to better monitor increasing traffic between the former battlefield foes. The armistice monitors left the main US military base in central Seoul on Tuesday and relocated to posts around Panmunjom, a border village in the Demilitarized Zone about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the ROK’s capital.

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13. IAEA on ROK Nuclear Issue

Joongang Ilbo (“IAEA NUCLEAR REPORT SET FOR NEXT WEEK “, 2004-11-09) reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency will issue its report next week on ROK’s past nuclear activities, Agence France Presse said yesterday, quoting diplomats in Vienna where the IAEA has its headquarters. According to the wire service report, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei will release the findings ahead of the agency’s board meeting on Nov. 25.

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14. Roh US Visit

Agence France-Presse (“SKOREA’S ROH TO VISIT LOS ANGELES EN ROUTE TO APEC”, 2004-11-09) reported that ROK President Roh Moo-Hyun will make a two-day visit to the US city of Los Angeles this week on his way to an APEC summit in Chile, officials said. Roh is scheduled to hold a summit with US President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which will be held in Santiago on November 20 and 21.

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15. US – Japanese Military Relations

The Associated Press (“JAPAN, U.S. TO LAUNCH 10-DAY JOINT MILITARY DRILLS”, 2004-11-09) reported that the US and Japan will carry out joint military drills this week aimed at increasing their ability to defend against security threats, officials said Tuesday. “Exercise Keen Sword” will begin Wednesday and will involve air, ground and sea operations at US and Japanese military installations throughout Japan, the US Fifth Air Force headquarters said in a statement released in Tokyo.

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16. Sino – Japanese Relations

United Press International (“CHINA DENIES PLANS FOR WAR WITH JAPAN”, 2004-11-09) reported that the PRC’s foreign ministry rejected reports from Japan Tuesday saying the PRC had prepared three separate plans for armed conflict with Japan. “As to what basis such reports are based on, I think you need to ask the Japanese side why they are sending these kind of signals,” Zhang said “They are completely unfounded and completely unreasonable.”

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17. US and Cross Strait Relations

Kyodo News (“TAIWAN’S PARLIAMENT BLOCKS HUGE ARMS PURCHASE DEAL”, 2004-11-09) reported that chances for a massive US arms deal to be approved by this year have dimmed after Taiwan’s parliament failed to place a bill on the agenda for a vote Tuesday ahead of the monthlong election recess. Opposition parties, which control the majority in the legislature, argued that the arms package worth US$18 billion is overpriced.

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18. PRC Espionage Charges

The Associated Press (“TAIWANESE SPY SUSPECT JUMPS BAIL, POSSIBLY FLEEING FOR CHINA”, 2004-11-09) reported that a Taiwanese businessman awaiting trial on charges of spying for rival PRC has jumped bail and fled the island, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Yeh Yu-chen, accused of passing secrets about Taiwan’s anti-missile systems and other weapons to the PRC, was freed on bail last December. The High Court ordered him not to leave his home in the northern city of Taoyuan.

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19. Sino – US Relations

Agence France-Presse (“BUSH, CHINA’S HU DISCUSS TAIWAN, TIES”, 2004-11-09) reported that PRC President Hu Jintao on Monday had a telephone conversation with US leader George W. Bush who reiterated Washington would not change its stance on Taiwan, state media said. “Bush reiterated the US government will not change its stance on the Taiwan question,” the report added.

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20. PRC on Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Movement

The Associated Press (“REPORTS: SENIOR CHINESE OFFICIAL LASHES OUT AT REFERENDUM PROPOSAL FOR FULL DEMOCRACY IN HONG KONG”, 2004-11-09) reported that a senior PRC official has warned opposition lawmakers against holding a referendum on full democracy in Hong Kong, saying they were “playing with fire,” newspapers reported Tuesday. The PRC in April ruled out demands that Hong Kongers be allowed to pick their next leader in 2007 and all lawmakers in 2008, stirring public outrage.

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21. PRC Ethnic Unrest

Reuters (“CHINA CLASHES THROW SPOTLIGHT ON ETHNIC FAULT LINE”, 2004-11-09) reported that ethnic rivalries have sparked recent violent clashes in the PRC, where the government has its hands full trying to control a country of 1.3 billion people as economic differences bubble into unrest with growing frequency. Social disparities have long been the cause of dispute, but the clashes in the central province of Henan, the most violent in a string of unusually large recent protests, highlight a cultural fault line.

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22. PRC Graft

Reuters (“CHINA GRAFT-BUSTER UNDER SURVEILLANCE-SOURCES”, 2004-11-09) reported that the Communist Party chief of a PRC county, who wears a bullet-proof vest because of death threats, has been placed under surveillance after accusing his bosses of blocking corruption probes, sources said on Tuesday. Seven people were secretly detained after they tried to help Huang Jin’gao, party chief of Lianjiang county in southeastern Fujian province, two sources familiar with his plight said, a move that threatens to undermine the PRC’s pledge to fight graft and promote the rule of law.

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23. PRC Dam Protest

The Associated Press (“CONSTRUCTION OF CHINESE DAM SUSPENDED AFTER PROTESTS”, 2004-11-09) reported that construction of a massive PRC dam has been suspended while authorities look into complaints that prompted a protest by thousands of villagers who say they aren’t being paid enough for lost homes, officials said Tuesday. Hong Kong news reports said more than 50,000 protesters took part.

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24. PRC Climate

Reuters (“CHINA IN FOR EXTREME WEATHER AS CLIMATE CHANGE FELT”, 2004-11-09) reported that the PRC can expect more droughts, floods and other extreme weather as it struggles to balance rapid development with environmental concerns, a report on climate change released on Tuesday said. The report, part of the PRC’s commitment to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, comes as parts of south PRC suffer their worst drought in 50 years, withering crops, drying up reservoirs and cuts to power supplies.

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