NAPSNet Daily Report 18 November, 2010

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NAPSNet Daily Report 18 November, 2010

Previous day’s Issue

Contents in this Issue:

 

1. DPRK Entity Sanctions

Reuters (Sandra Maler, “TREASURY SANCTIONS TWO NORTH KOREAN ENTITIES”, New York, 2010/11/17) reported that the Treasury Department said on Thursday it would sanction two DPRK firms linked to Office 39 of the Korean Workers’ Party, a DPRK entity that Washington accuses of drug smuggling and other illicit activities. The Treasury Department named the two entities as Korea Daesong Bank and Korea Daesong General Trading Corporation, which it described as “key components of Office 39’s financial network supporting the DPRK’s illicit and dangerous activities.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101118/wl_nm/us_korea_north_usa_sanctions_1

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2. Japan Arms Export Strategy

The Yomiuri Shimbun (“EASING ARMS EXPORT BAN EYED / DRAFT DEFENSE STRATEGY PROPOSES WEAPONS TRADE WITH LIMITED NATIONS”, 2010/11/18) reported that new arms export principles will limit the nations to which Japan’s embargo on arms exports applies, according to a draft review of defense guidelines that has been compiled by a Democratic Party of Japan panel, it has been learned. The government is scheduled to formulate new National Defense Program Guidelines, which are expected to involve revisions to the three basic principles on arms exports, by the end of this year. The draft, recently compiled by the Foreign Relations and Security Research Committee chaired by House of Representatives member Masaharu Nakagawa, also says development and production programs conducted jointly with other nations should be allowed.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T101117005061.htm

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3. Sino-US Relations

Mail Online (“CHINA ‘HIJACKED’ 15% OF THE WORLD’S INTERNET TRAFFIC AS U.S. GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY WEBSITES ARE TARGETED”, 2010/11/18) reported that the PRC ‘hijacked’ highly sensitive Internet traffic on US government and military websites earlier this year, it has been revealed. Vast amounts of data to major corporate websites and U.S. military and government sites were routed via PRC servers for 18 minutes in April. The incident occurred when China Telecom sent incorrect routing information which told US and other foreign Internet traffic to travel through PRC servers. Other servers around the world quickly adopted these paths, routing all traffic to about 15 percent of the internet’s destinations through servers located in the PRC.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1330849/China-hijacked-15-worlds-internet-traffic-US-websites-targeted.html

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4. Russia-PRC Energy Cooperation

Bloomberg (Wang Ying and Chua Baizhen, “CHINA TO PUSH RUSSIAN GAS TALKS DURING WEN’S VISIT”, 2010/11/18) reported that the PRC, seeking to import gas from Russia, will seek to narrow the divide in pricing expectations when Premier Wen Jiabao visits Moscow this month, an official from the National Energy Administration in Beijing said. The current gap in expectations is $100 per thousand cubic meters, Gu Jun, deputy director-general of the NEA’s international department, said at a media briefing in Beijing today. The PRC can grant loans as part of the gas deal, “depending on Russia’s needs,” she said. Russia and the PRC have agreed on all the main points of the supply contract except for the price, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said in September. OAO Gazprom, Russia’s gas export monopoly, has discussed the possibility of loans with the PRC, Deputy Chief Executive Valery Golubev said today at an oil and gas conference in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-18/china-to-push-russian-gas-talks-during-wen-s-visit-update1-.html

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5. US-PRC Solar Venture

Reuters (“CHINA’S GCL ENTERS U.S. SOLAR POWER-PLANT BUSINESS”, San Francisco, 2010/11/18) reported that a subsidiary of the PRC’s GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd has formed a joint venture with SolarReserve, a California developer, to build photovoltaic power plants in the United States. The deal, to be announced Thursday, marks a major bid by a PRC solar company to enter a market dominated by European and U.S. firms. Last week, GCL obtained a commitment from Wells Fargo to provide $100 million in financing for its solar projects. “We value the U.S. market as one of the most important markets for us and we wanted to get into the development side of the game,” Yumin Liu, president of GCL Solar Energy Inc, the company’s San Francisco-based subsidiary, said in an interview.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1724554120101118

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