NAPSNet Daily Report 2 July, 2008

Recommended Citation

"NAPSNet Daily Report 2 July, 2008", NAPSNet Daily Report, July 02, 2008, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-daily-report/napsnet-daily-report-2-july-2008/

NAPSNet Daily Report 2 July, 2008

NAPSNet Daily Report 2 July, 2008


Contents in this Issue:

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. NAPSNet

1. Six Party Talks

Yonhap News (Lee Chi-dong, “CHINA PROPOSES DATE FOR SIX-WAY TALKS ON N. KOREAN NUKE”, Seoul, 2008/07/01) reported that the PRC, the host of the six-way talks on the DPRK nuclear program, has proposed that negotiations resume next week, an informed source here said. “China formally proposed that a new round of six-party talks be convened in the latter half of next week,” the source said, refusing to specify further apparently due to a diplomatic protocol. “The South Korean side received the notification on late Monday,” he said.

(return to top)

2. US on DPRK Nuclear Program

Joongang Ilbo (“U.S. TO FUND NORTH’S DENUCLEARIZATION “, Washington, 2008/07/02) reported that US President George W. Bush signed a bill enabling his administration to finance the retirement of the DPRK’s nuclear facilities over the next five years under a multilateral deal. HR 2642, the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008, overrides the Glenn Amendment, which bans any financial aid to states that have conducted a nuclear test, while permitting sales of nonlethal articles and controlled dual-use equipment or goods necessary for these activities. The bill also earmarks $15 million in energy aid to the DPRK.

(return to top)

3. UN on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Xinhua (“UN CALLS FOR COMPLETE DENUCLEARIZATION ON KOREAN PENINSULA”, Tokyo, 2008/07/01) reported that visiting United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon lauded the latest development in resolving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and called on all parties of the six-party talks to grasp the opportunity for complete denuclearization. With regard to the issue of the DPRK’s past abduction of Japanese nationals, Ban said he hopes the DPRK’s consent of reinvestigation would turn to be a chance to address the long-lasting issue. Ban called on the Japanese government to deal with the issue by conducting in-depth dialogue with the DPRK side, and expressed his expectation that the DPRK should fulfill its commitment.

(return to top)

4. Inter-Korean Relations

Korea Times (Michael Ha, “SEOUL WILLING TO DISCUSS OCT. 4 SUMMIT ACCORD WITH PYONGYANG”, 2008/07/01) reported that <!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Batang; panose-1:2 3 6 0 0 1 1 1 1 1; mso-font-alt:”Arial Unicode MS”; mso-font-charset:129; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 151388160 16 0 524288 0;} @font-face {font-family:”@Batang”; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:129; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 151388160 16 0 524288 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:Batang;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> President Lee Myung-bak is willing to discuss with the DPRK the specifics of the October 4, 2007, declaration made between then-President Roh Moo-hyun and the DPRK leader Kim Jong-il, Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong said. He said it was still possible for the two Koreas to implement the provisions in the joint accord. The statement is a subtle change from the conservative administration’s previous policy and may encourage the DPRK to come to the negotiation table, analysts said.

(return to top)

5. Inter-Korean Athletics

Joongang Ilbo (Jung Ha-won, “CO-KOREAN OLYMPIC MARCH PROPOSED”, 2008/07/01) reported that the International Olympic Committee recently asked the two Koreas to march together at the opening and closing ceremonies of the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics, according to a senior ROK government official. IOC President Jacques Rogge made the proposal to both Seoul and Pyongyang, said the Korean official, declining to be named.

(return to top)

6. Sino-DPRK Border Security

Chosun Ilbo (“N.KOREAN BORDER GUARDS ‘SHOOT TO KILL DEFECTORS'”, 2008/07/01) reported that DPRK border guards armed with Russian Dragunov sniper rifles shot dead citizens who tried to flee the impoverished nation by fording the Duman or Tumen River into the PRC, the Sunday Times reported citing human rights campaigners. “The shootings indicate a coordinated change in tactics by North Korea and China to deter refugees from crossing… The two countries, nominally socialist allies, have agreed to tighten security measures to ensure ‘stability’ in the run-up to the Olympic Games and to stop any embarrassing demonstrations by the refugees.”

(return to top)

7. Japan, Australia, US Joint Disaster Response

Voice of America (Phil Mercer , “AUSTRALIA SIGNS NEW DISASTER RESPONSE PACT WITH US, JAPAN”, Sydney, 2008/06/30) reported that the Australian government says it is working towards a “coordinated and instantaneous” response to disasters in the Asia-Pacific region with two of its closest allies, the US and Japan. The disaster pact between Washington, Tokyo and Canberra was agreed to at a weekend meeting of foreign ministers in Kyoto, Japan. The three countries have called for greater military cooperation and joint emergency response exercises. The Australians will host a meeting of disaster officials later this year, most likely in November, where the specific guidelines of the disaster accord will be discussed.

(return to top)

8. US-Japan Security Alliance

The Asahi Shimbun (“GSDF ACKNOWLEDGES THEFT OF JAPAN-U.S. DRILL DATA”, 2008/07/01) reported that the Ground Self-Defense Force acknowledged the arrest of an officer suspected of stealing a still-missing flash memory device containing data related to a Japan-U.S. joint simulation drill. He told the GSDF’s police unit that he dumped the memory device in a garbage can in the Middle Army compound, they said. The USB device has not been found.

(return to top)

9. Cross Strait Relations

The Associated Press (“TAIWAN TO KEEP CHINESE TOURISTS FROM FALUNG GONG”, Taipei , 2008/07/01) reported that authorities will try to avoid confrontations between Falun Gong followers and PRC tourists when charter flights between Taiwan and the mainland resume this week, a Taiwanese official said. Last week, Falun Gong followers turned down requests by Tainan municipal government in southern Taiwan to stay away from several popular tourist sites. Taiwan authorities want guides handling PRC tour groups to report any encounters with possible protesters and police will also be monitoring, Chang said.

(return to top)

10. US Export Restrictions to the PRC

Reuters (Jeremy Pelofsky, “BUSH EASES EQUIPMENT EXPORT BAN FOR CHINA OLYMPICS”, 2008/07/01) reported that US weapons restrictions meant to keep firearms and other equipment out of the PRC were eased so that athletes and television crews can use them during the Beijing Olympic Games. President George W. Bush sent a notification to Congress that he had temporarily eased export restrictions to allow American firearms to be used by athletes competing in shooting events. Bush also eased restrictions on the military gyroscopes in high-definition television camera systems used by U.S. filming crews.

(return to top)

11. UN on PRC Peacekeeping Role

Reuters (“U.N.’S BAN CALLS ON CHINA TO BE BIGGER PEACEMAKER”, Beijing, 2008/07/01) reported that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the PRC to match its growing economic and political clout with more funding and troops for peacekeeping operations to meet growing international crises. The PRC, a relative latecomer to global peacekeeping, has about 1,800 peacekeepers deployed abroad, making it the second largest contributor after France from among the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. “This is an area where China stands tall,” Ban said in a speech given to students at Beijing’s Foreign Affairs University.

(return to top)

12. PRC Earthquake

Agence France-Presse (“NEARLY 2 MLN WITHOUT LIVELIHOOD AFTER CHINA QUAKE: STATE PRESS “, Beijing, 2008/07/01) reported that the PRC’s devastating earthquake has left nearly two million people without a means to make a living, state press said. The 8.0-magnitude quake in the southwest has left 700,000 people unemployed and deprived 1.15 million farmers of their livelihood, Xinhua news agency said, quoting provincial vice-governor Li Chengyun. The number of jobless jumped after it was determined that the quake had cost 372,000 urban residents their jobs, the report said.

(return to top)

13. PRC Internet Use

Shanghai Daily (Li Xinran, “INTERNET A BOOST FOR CHINESE DEMOCRACY”, 2008/07/01) reported that seventy percent of a China Youth Daily survey believe that the Internet has become a new medium where the PRC people can freely express their opinions. The survey was made after President Hu Jintao made his first public online chat on June 20. Hu told netizens that reading news, both domestic and international, was what he enjoyed the most when surfing the Internet. More than 67 percent of 2,874 surveyed said the Internet had become a major medium for the government to learn about the daily lives of people and to understand their thinking.

(return to top)

14. Mongolia Elections

Agence France-Presse (“VIOLENT PROTESTS ERUPT IN MONGOLIA AMID POLL DISPUTE: WITNESSES”, Ulan Bator, 2008/07/01) reported that thousands of people staged a violent protest in Mongolia’s capital on Tuesday voicing outrage over what they claimed were rigged elections, forcing police to fire gunshots, witnesses said. The headquarters of the former communist Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party in the centre of Ulan Bator was set alight and looted, according to an AFP reporter and other witnesses on the scene. The roughly 6,000 protesters from the rival Democratic Party, which claims the MPRP bought votes and used other tactics to win Sunday’s election, threw rocks at firefighters who arrived to put out the blaze.

(return to top)

II. PRC Report

15. PRC Civil Society

China NPO website, http://www.chinanpo.gov.cn (“GUANGDONG: 6 BREAKTHROUGHS TO PROMOTE THE ROLE OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS”, 2008/06/30) reported that Civil Administrator of Guangdong Province Liu Hong proposed 6 breakthroughs to promote the role of social organizations. First, promote the civilization of social organizations; second, promote the government to transfer functions to social organizations and purchase their services; third, develop support policies for social organizations; fourth, promote social organizations to participate in politics in accordance with the law; fifth, innovate the management systems of social organizations; sixth, innovate party construction management systems of social organizations.

(return to top)

16. PRC Environment

Xinhua News Agency (Liu Haoyuan, “CHINA REAFFIRMING ITS POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARD ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE”, Tokyo, 2008/06/30) reported that at the Councillor Forum of Climate Change which opened on June 28 in Tokyo, the PRC reaffirmed that it would positively address climate change. The PRC proposed three suggestions: first, adhere to the main channel status of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol, and insist on the principal of “common but also distinguishing responsibility”; second, respect different national conditions, and ensure that developing countries can address climate change under the framework of sustainable development; third, insist on cooperation and technical innovation. Developed countries should transfer funds and techniques to developing countries according to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol.

(return to top)

17. Sino-Japanese Territorial Dispute

Xinhua Net (“CHINA LODGES SOLEMN REPRESENTATION OVER JAPANESE COUNCILORS’ ‘AERIAL INSPECTIONS’ OF DIAOYU ISLANDS”, 2008/07/01) reported that the Director of the Asian Department of the PRC Foreign Ministry was ordered to meet with officials of the Japanese Embassy in the PRC and lodged solemn representation over the issue of Japanese councilors’ “aerial inspections” of the Diaoyu Islands. The Director pointed out that Diaoyu Islands are the PRC’s territory since ancient times. The PRC has indisputable sovereignty over them. Japan must stop the activities violating the PRC’s sovereignty and prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.

(return to top)

III. ROK Report

18. Korean Peninsula Peace Treaty

PRESSian (“FOR THE PEACE STRUCTURE”, 2008/07/02) wrote that the Lee Myung-bak administration chose an anachronistic power balance rather than peace and reconciliation. A new peace structure was eliminated from all diplomatic security strategy. The Lee administration should recognize the importance of the Korean Peninsula peace structure in the DPRK nuclear facility dismantlement process. The disablement process is almost done and complete dismantlement is being discussed. The Lee administration should no longer postpone the ‘Korean peninsula peace structure discussion’ which was already agreed in the 9.19 joint declarations. It is time to start four-party talks. The role of the ROK is very important here.

(return to top)

19. Inter-Korean Relations

Kyunghyang Shinmun (“CHANINGING DYNAMICS IN KOREAN PENINSULA, AND INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS”, 2008/07/01) wrote that the Korean Peninsula is going to the era of ‘détente’, while inter-Korean relations are not following the trend. The Kaesong Industrial Complex, which celebrated its 5 th anniversary yesterday, is temporarily closed due to trouble between companies and the DPRK government. The DPRK government refused to accept 50,000 tons of corn support as well. The ROK should recognize the importance of the issue and try to revitalize inter-Korean relations before it is too late.

Changbi Weekly Commentary (“FOR REVITALIZATION OF INTER KOREAN RELATIONS”, 2008/07/02) wrote that the two Koreas should share the common goal to promote their national interests, and linking the nuclear issue with inter-Korean relations should be avoided. These should be new principle of the Lee Myung-bak administrations’ so-called ‘creative utilitarianism’. The Lee administration should introduce the principle of peaceful coexistence and prosperity as the basic common goal for two Koreas. It should also fulfill the 10.4 summit declarations.