NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, October 04, 2005

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NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, October 04, 2005

NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, October 04, 2005

I. NAPSnet

II. CanKor

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. NAPSnet

1. US on DPRK Nuclear Program

Chosun Ilbo (“U.S. KEEPS UP PRESSURE ON N. KOREA AHEAD OF TALKS”, 2005-10-04) reported that the US State Department kept up pre-negotiation pressure on the DPRK over a uranium enrichment program Washington claims it operates. Speaking to the UN General Assembly on Monday, Stephen Rademaker, the acting assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, said Pyongyang must comply with the Non-Proliferation Treaty and abandon all its nuclear weapons programs, both plutonium- and uranium-based. Rademaker also reiterated his government’s fear that “rogue states” could supply terrorists with weapons of mass destruction.

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2. Expert on Six Party Talks

The Korea Times (“‘RIGHTS ISSUE COULD DETRACT 6-WAY TALKS’”, 2005-10-04) reported that, according to a US expert on the DPRK, Seoul must urge its allies to focus on nuclear disarmament, the main issue of six party talks, as Washington is paying substantial attention to human rights in the DPRK. “It is important that all parties focus all of their energies on achieving the goal of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula and leave all of the other considerations, however important, aside for separate negotiation forums,” wrote Eugene B. Kogan in an article for Korea Policy Review. Kogan said the ROK must play a “leading role” in bringing the six nations together before the resumption of the talks in early November in order to agree on a common approach to negotiations with the DPRK.

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3. Inter-Korean Cooperation on Humanitarian Issues

The Korea Times (“SOUTH KOREA TO REPATRIATE LONG-TERM PRISONERS TO NK”, 2005-10-04) reported that the Unification Ministry indicated on Tuesday that the government will decide this week to allow former DPRK spies imprisoned in the ROK, or so-called “long-term prisoners”, to return the DPRK. The move has infuriated relatives of ROK POWs captured during the Korean War and RO Koreans abducted after the war, believed to be still held in the DPRK, as the ministry made it clear that it would not deal with the matter in an “action-for-action’’ approach. A Seoul civic organization pushing for the repatriation of former DPRK spies estimates there are 28 long-term prisoners who wish to return to the DPRK.

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4. Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation

Donga Ilbo (“NORTH KOREA SEEKING INVESTMENT, JOINT VENTURES FROM SOUTH KOREAN FIRMS”, 2005-10-04) reported that the DPRK held its first-ever investors relations meeting (IR) for ROK companies on October 1 in Pyongyang. The National Economic Cooperation Association (NECA), which is engaged in attracting investment from ROK businesses, explained its overall business plan to some 100 ROK business leaders. The Pyongyang Hemp Textile Company, a joint venture of the ROK’s Andong Hemp Textile and the DPRK’s Saebyol General Corporation, received the first certificate for operation from the NECA and held its inauguration ceremony on October 1. The DPRK is planning to organize a second round of IR talks by the end of this year in Mt. Baekdu.

(return to top) Joongang Ilbo (“NORTH KOREA WOOS, BERATES SOUTH’S FIRMS”, 2005-10-04) reported that trust was one of the themes sounded by DPRK members during a investors relations meeting held by the DPRK’s National Economic Cooperation Federation (NECF) on Saturday. “We created this event so that North and South Korea can trust each other and our businesses can proceed smoothly,” said Kim Chon-gun, the vice chairman of the federation in his opening speech. “Like South Korea’s Andong Hemp Textiles and North Korea’s Saebyol General Trading Company, I hope other companies can form similar joint ventures with trust in carrying out business.” In private consultations with group members, DPRK officials sounded another theme: dissatisfaction with DPRK-ROK business links. (return to top) The New York Times (“REBUILDING A TEMPLE, NARROWING A GAP”, 2005-10-02) reported that the Holy Valley Temple project, near the Mount Kumgang tourist zone in the DPRK is symbolic the ROK’s “sunshine policy” of engagement and eventual reunification with the DPRK. The ROK’s Unification Ministry is paying for more than half of the $10 million project to reconstruct 14 buildings in the temple complex. When the prayer hall opens in the spring, Holy Valley is expected to attract hundreds of ROK tourists on their way to Mount Kumgang. “Culture is the way to find common ground for both Koreas,” said the Venerable Jejeong, the monk who oversees the temple. “As for culture and sentiment, we have a lot in common. But when it comes to politics, economy and defense, it is a long process.” (return to top)

5. DPRK-PRC Economic Cooperation

South China Morning Post (“LONG ROAD LIES AHEAR FOR PORT DREAM”, 2005-10-03) reported that PRC entrepreneur Fan Yingsheng has succeeded in securing a deal with the Pyongyang regime to open and develop the dilapidated port of Rajin, on the Sea of Japan. Provisions in the 50-year contract include building and managing the road from the PRC border to Rajin’s port; renovating, upgrading and managing port facilities; developing and managing five sq km of land as a re-export tax free zone; and the right to build and manage a tourist zone near the port. The PRC-DPRK joint venture will be important to PRC manufacturers who, up to this point have been without access to ports on this coast. “You just have to look at a map to see the benefit of the Chinese gaining access to a North Korean port,” says Paul French, author of the recently published North Korea – Paranoid Peninsula. Operations are scheduled to begin in June 2007.

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6. Expert on DPRK Economic Reform

The Korea Times (“N. KOREAN OFFICIALS KEEN ON INTERNATIONAL FINANCE”, 2005-10-03) reported that according to Bernhard Seliger, resident representative of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Seoul, the ROK’s unconditional economic aid to DPRK “could be an obstacle to (the North’s) reform because it takes the pressure out of the reform process.” “The more aid without strings attached, the less the need for reform. So from the international community’s point of view, that might not necessarily be the best solution,” said Seliger. Also of concern to the German researcher is the recent news that the public distribution system has been reintroduced on a larger scale in the DPRK. “That would mean there is a kind of retrogression from reform,” he said.

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7. UN on DPRK Human Rights

Chosun Ilbo (“UN SLAMS N. KOREA’S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD”, 2005-10-04) reported that the UN has urged the DPRK to reduce its military spending and use the money to tackle the country’s food crisis and other social problems. The UN also asked neighboring countries to classify those who flee the DPRK to escape persecution or terrible living conditions as refugees and to give them humanitarian assistance. In a report submitted to the General Assembly on Monday, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the DPRK, Vitit Muntarbhorn, writes that there is still plenty of evidence of torture, detention without trial, public executions and capital punishment for political dissidents. The report also expressed concern about the lack of an independent judiciary, which makes the rule of law impossible, and urged Pyongyang to improve its judicial system.

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8. DPRK Food Rationing

The Korea Herald (“IS FOOD RATIONING SYSTEM BETTER FOR NORTH KOREA?”, 2005-10-04) reported that the DPRK’s return to hands-on management of its food markets is a tool to allow the government to regain tight control of its people. “The food rationing system might promise the same or equal provision of food to the poor who couldn’t afford high-priced food in the markets, but in the long term, more people will become increasingly dependent on the government to survive,” said Yoo Ho-yeol, professor of DPR Korean Studies at Korea University. Experts speculate that Pyongyang’s decision to resume food rationing has come in expectation of a bigger harvest this year. “There might be a bigger harvest this year, but we don’t know whether or not the North can ensure food security in the long-term,” Yoo said.

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9. DPRK Leadership

Reuters (“N. KOREA MAY SOON NAME KIM JONG-IL SUCCESSOR: TASS”, 2005-10-04) reported that the DPRK could announce this month an eventual successor to Kim Jong-il, according to a diplomatic source in Pyongyang. “An announcement about the appointment of a successor could be made as early as this month, timed for the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the (North Korean Labour Party),” the unnamed source told Russian news agency Itar-Tass. The source added that the successor would be one of Kim Jong-il’s sons, all of whom had “roughly equal chances.”

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10. US on USFK Inspections

Yonhap News (“USFK DENIES REPORT ON NUCLEAR INSPECTION”, 2005-10-04) reported that the US military denied news reports claiming it will allow the DPRK to conduct nuclear inspections at its facilities in the ROK. “Any agreement to allow access to our facilities would be negotiated by the Government of the United States and the nations currently engaged in the six-party talks,” the US Forces Korea said in a statement on Monday.

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11. USFK Troop Reductions

Korea Times (“USFK DENIES ADDITIONAL TROOP CUTS”, 2005-10-04) reported that the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Tuesday it does not have any plan to further reduce the number of its troops after 2008, dismissing news reports on additional troops cuts in line with the ROK’s military reform plan.

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12. USFJ Troop Repositioning

Kyodo (“FUTEMMA BASE RELOCATION TALKS IN FINAL STAGE: ONO”, 2005-10-04) reported that Japan-US talks on where to relocate the US Marine Corps’ Futemma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture have entered the final stage, Japanese Defense Agency chief Yoshinori Ono said Tuesday. “We’re narrowing down (a list of) candidate sites,” the agency’s director general told a press conference. “We’re in the final stage of thrashing out which is better.”

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13. Japan Disposal of Contaminated Soil

The Associated Press (“JAPAN SHIPS URANIUM-CONTAMINATED SOIL TO U.S. FOR DISPOSAL”, 2005-10-04) reported that Japan’s nuclear research and development agency shipped uranium-contaminated soil to an undisclosed location in the US for disposal, officials said. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency sent 290 cubic meters (10,150 cubic feet) of radioactive soil from a uranium ore plant in western Japan, said Atsushi Oku, an official of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

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14. Japan Afghan Mission

The Associated Press (“JAPAN EXTENDS AFGHAN MISSION FOR ONE YEAR “, 2005-10-04) reported that Japan’s Cabinet endorsed a one-year extension of the country’s naval mission to support US-led troops in Afghanistan on Tuesday, citing renewed concerns about terrorism after the recent bombings in Indonesia. “We decided one year was necessary,” said Hiroyuki Hosoda, chief government spokesman. “The problem of terrorism has again become more serious with terrorist activities intensifying from London to Bali.”

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15. Sino-Japanese East Sea Gas Dispute

Agence France Presse (“‘BALL IN CHINESE COURT’ ON GAS FIELD DISPUTE, JAPAN SAYS”, 2005-10-04) reported that Japan called on the PRC to jointly develop a contested gas field in the East China Sea but said the “ball was in the Chinese side of the court” after the latest talks on the dispute stalled. “Considering the benefits, I think joint development would be more cost effective than developing the area separately,” Koizumi told a parliamentary session.

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16. PRC-ROK Cultural Exchange

Chosun Ilbo (“CHINA STARTS TO SEE BACKLASH AGAINST KOREA WAVE”, 2005-10-04) reported that the PRC is beginning to see a backlash against a ROK pop culture boom there, and parts of the PRC press and some local stars are decidedly hostile. Rep. Kim Boo-kyum from the ruling party pointed to PRC attempts to curb the spread of the ROK pop culture there, saying that the PRC government applies strict standards to the import of cultural products with regulations and a set of official “opinions on the introduction of foreign capital into the cultural industry.”

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17. PRC-US Cultural Exchange

Xinhua (“CHINA CALLS FOR ENHANCED SINO-US CULTURAL EXCHANGES”, 2005-10-04) reported that the PRC and the US should enhance cultural exchanges to promote the heart-to-heart communication between the peoples of both countries, PRC Culture Minister Sun Jiazheng said here on Monday. In a keynote speech at the National Press Club in downtown Washington, Sun said there are many differences between the PRC and the US which will undoubtedly bring about some confrontations and friction, but it is these differences that have produced great curiosity and mutual appeal between the two countries.

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18. India and Cross Strait Relations

Asia Times (“CHINA OIL RIVALRY PUSHES INDIA, TAIWAN CLOSER”, 2005-10-04) reported that frustrated in their futile attempt to team up with the PRC in the search for new energy sources, Indian companies are mulling oil alliances with Taiwanese partners and drawing plans for future joint exploration in areas aggressively targeted by PRC oil firms.

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19. PRC Internet Control

Agence France Presse (“CHINA SHUTS THREE INTERNET WEBSITES IN NEW CRACKDOWN “, 2005-10-04) reported that the PRC has shut down three popular Internet websites as part of a new drive to keep out content seen as anti-government and potentially inciting unrest, human rights groups said. The closure of the Yannan forum on September 30 and two Inner Mongolian websites on September 26 came days after the PRC issued a revised set of regulations governing potentially sensitive Internet news content.

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20. PRC Divorce Rates

The New York Times (“WOMEN IN CHINA EMBRACE DIVORCE AS STIGMA EASES”, 2005-10-04) reported that divorce was once a dreaded fate for women in the PRC. Now, many younger urban women like Ms. Cai view it almost as a civil right, which has helped drive up divorce rates. One government study found that women had initiated 70 percent of divorce applications here in Guangdong Province, where the number of divorces increased by 52 percent last year.

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II. CanKor

21. #220

CanKor (“IAEA RESOLUTION WELCOMES DPRK NUCLEAR DISMANTLEMENT “, 2005-10-04) The 139-nation IAEA General Assembly passes a resolution by consensus welcoming DPRK’s pledge to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme. China and Russia decline to co-sponsor the resolution, unhappy that it focuses too much on US priorities. The PR China wished to include wording focusing on incentives. The USA wished to take Pyongyang to task for violating the NPT, without changing any understanding agreed to at the Six-Party Talks.

(return to top) CanKor (“”NOT A SINGLE NUKE NEEDED” IF USA NO LONGER A THREAT”, 2005-10-04) A statement made by the DPRK delegate to the plenary session of the Geneva Conference on Disarmament on 22 September underlines in clear language that the DPRK “will feel no need to keep even a single nuclear weapon,” if the USA provides a light water reactors as evidence of its peaceful intentions. (return to top) CanKor (“FIRST INTER-KOREAN BUSINESS OFFICE TO OPEN IN KAESONG”, 2005-10-04) The Koreas will open their first joint business office in the Kaesong Industrial Complex north of the DMZ next month to promote inter-Korean trade. More than 170 South Koreans have been invited for an unprecedented investor relations event to take place in October. This week’s CanKor FOCUS features stories that back up Hyundai-Asan’s mission to “opening the way” to peace and prosperity through inter-Korean business relations. The notion of the DPRK as a commercial black box is outdated, according to Hyundai-Asan, as the Kaesong Industrial Park is transformed into a hive of commercial activity. (return to top) CanKor (“HYUNDA-ASAN SHOWCASES INTER-KOREAN BUSINESS NEWS”, 2005-10-04) Two articles are featured in this week’s OPINION section. The first, by John Feffer, analyses the use of ambiguous language in the agreement reached at Six-Party Talks, which is meant to satisfy hard-liners in both the US and DPRK camps, while giving diplomacy a chance to work out a clear agreement next time. The second is an op-ed piece in the Washington Post by S. Haggard and M. Noland that reiterates the link between human rights and international food aid, which the DPRK says is no longer needed after 2005. (return to top)