I. NAPSNet

1. DPRK Removal from Terror List

Agence France-Presse (“NORTH KOREA CLOSER TO BEING STRUCK OFF US TERROR LIST”, 2007-09-05) reported that the DPRK is closer to being removed from the US state sponsors of terrorism list following commitments to end its nuclear weapons program. US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill told the DPRK at a Geneva meeting that there were only a few more issues that needed to be resolved before Pyongyang’s removal from the blacklist.

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2. DPRK-Japan Working Group

Voice of America (“JAPAN, NORTH KOREA TAKE ON TOUGH ISSUES IN RARE BILATERAL TALKS”, 2007-09-05) reported that Japan and the DPRK have opened rare one-on-one talks in Mongolia. Although the two countries are seeking a normal relationship, some bitter issues from history pose major diplomatic challenges. The DPRK demands billions of dollars in compensation for Japan’s brutal historical rule, and Tokyo says the DPRK’s history of abducting Japanese citizens during the Cold War remains a major obstacle to progress. The two countries have scheduled a second and final day of meetings for Thursday.

(return to top) Asahi Shimbun (“JAPAN TO ANSWER N. KOREA’S CALL”, 2007-09-06) reported that Japan took a more flexible stance in talks with the DPRK, saying Tokyo will respond in good faith to Pyongyang’s demand for a settlement of the unfortunate past between the two nations. Japan apparently hopes that its conciliatory stance will prompt the DPRK to take specific steps to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s. (return to top)

3. Russian Aid to DPRK Flood Victims

Itar-Tass (“NORTH KOREA RECEIVES RUSSIA’S HUMANITARIAN CARGO”, 2007-09-05) reported that two planes of the Russian Emergencies Ministry have delivered a 53.5-tonne cargo to residents of flood-stricken regions of the DPRK.

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4. DPRK on Spies

Voice of America (“NORTH KOREA ARRESTS SPIES”, 2007-09-05) reported that the DPRK says its National Security Service has arrested several of its citizens who were working as spies for a foreign country. The official Korean Central News Agency reports Wednesday that a foreign espionage agency coerced the DPR Koreans with money, sex and blackmail. Several foreigners were also arrested. It did not identify the foreign country or the spy agency.

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5. Japan-ROK Trade Relations

Kyodo News (“JAPAN, S. KOREA TRADE CHIEFS TO MEET FREQUENTLY TO ADVANCE FTA TALKS”, 2007-09-05) reported that trade ministers from Japan and the ROK agreed they will “meet frequently” to discuss bilateral trade issues, paving the way for the resumption of free trade agreement talks that have been suspended since November 2004. Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari said after meeting the ROK Trade Minister Kim Jong Hoon that Kim proposed that they meet frequently, in response to Amari’s call that the two sides should meet to try to find ways to break the stalled FTA negotiations.

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6. ROK-US Trade Relations

Chosun Ilbo (“KOREA-U.S. FTA HEADING TO PARLIAMENT FOR APPROVAL “, 2007-09-05) reported that the ROK government will hand over the free-trade deal signed with the US sometime this week to the National Assembly. Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon says Seoul hopes lawmakers will ratify the FTA during the Roh Moo-hyun administration. Minister Kim added while Korea is also holding free-trade talks with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Canada and Mexico the focus for now will be on talks with the European Union.

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7. Asia-Pacific Intelligence Summit

The Associated Press (“INTELLIGENCE CHIEFS DISCUSS TERROR, PIRACY IN INAUGURAL MEET”, 2007-09-05) reported that top military intelligence chiefs from 19 nations gathered for the first time to discuss terrorism, maritime security and disaster relief. The first Asia Pacific Intelligence Chiefs Conference — conceived and organized by Malaysian and the US — is chaired by Lieutenant General Michael Maples, director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency. Attending the three-day talks are representatives from Australia, Bangladesh, Britain, Brunei, Cambodia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, the ROK, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the US and Vietnam.

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8. APEC Meeting

Kyodo News (“APEC LEADERS CALL FOR STRICTER FOOD, PRODUCT SAFETY IN REGION”, 2007-09-05) reported that Asia-Pacific leaders will agree “on the need to develop a more robust approach to strengthening food and consumer product safety standards and practices in the region” during their summit in Sydney, according to a draft of their declaration. Although the draft statement does not single out the PRC, it suggests the leaders from the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will effectively press Beijing to do more to ensure the safety of its exports amid rising concern, especially in the US, over the safety of PRC-produced food and other products.

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9. Quadrilateral Initiative Naval Drill

BBC News (“FIVE-NATION NAVAL EXERCISES BEGIN”, 2007-09-05) reported that the navies of the US, Australia, India, Japan and Singapore have begun a massive naval exercise, codenamed “Malabar”, in the Bay of Bengal. Thirty-four ships and submarines from the five countries have joined the six-day exercise, about 100 nautical miles off the Andaman archipelago. Some analysts say the war games are an attempt by these countries to contain the PRC’s growing power. The participants deny this, but Beijing has expressed its concerns. “This will perhaps be the biggest ever peace-time joint naval exercise in Asia,” Indian navy spokesman Captain Vinay Garg said.

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10. Cross Strait Relations

Kyodo News (“CHINA CONDUCTS SURPRISE MILITARY DRILL WITH TAIWAN IMPLICATIONS”, 2007-09-05) reported that the PRC’s military entered its third day of a surprise, four-day military exercise in northeast PRC that has jarred Taiwan with maneuvers widely interpreted as practice for an invasion of the self-governing island. The PRC’s People’s Liberation Army trumpeted the exercise on the Shandong Peninsula through state-run media, taking many in Taiwan and the US by surprise amid a convergence of politically sensitive developments in the region.

(return to top) The Associated Press (“TAIWAN LEADER HITS BACK AT U.S. CRITICISM ON REFERENDUM”, 2007-09-05) reported that Taiwan’s President Chen Shui-bian has defiantly restated his country’s statehood while hitting back at US criticism of the island’s planned UN membership referendum, in a television interview. Chen has vowed to press ahead with a referendum on whether to apply for the United Nations membership under the name “Taiwan” despite opposition from Washington and Beijing. He also dismissed concerns that the planned referendum would be a step towards declaring independence for the island and a deviation from the status quo. (return to top)

11. PRC Cyberattack

Taiwan Sun (“UK GOVERNMENT COMPUTERS’, THE LATEST VICTIM OF CHINESE HACKERS”, 2007-09-05) reported that the PRC may be denying reports that its hackers have raided government cyber sites in Germany and the US, but last night, the hackers were again accused of penetrating computer networks of the British Government. The so-called “Cyber attacks” on governmental networks in the UK by PRC hackers are thought to have been going on for at least four years, according to a report in The Guardian.

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12. PRC Party Congress

The Associated Press (“CHINA’S HU TESTS POWER AT COMMUNIST CONGRESS”, 2007-09-05) reported that When President Hu Jintao opens the 17th PRC Communist Party congress on October 15, he will be seeking to oust key rivals, name a successor and finally emerge from the shadow of his once powerful predecessor, Jiang Zemin. A stronger grip on power could allow Hu to speed up his drive to balance breakneck but uneven economic growth, improve the lives of poor farmers, build a social safety net, halt rampant environmental degradation and promote “fair and just” policies.

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