CONTENTS
1. Japan on DPRK Nuclear Weapons
2. Japan-DPRK Talks
3. DPRK on DPRK Nuclear Weapons
4. DPRK Nuclear Speculation
5. PRC-US Relations
6. PRC Domestic Politics
7. Post-PRC-US Summit
8. DPRK Economic Survey Team
9. ROK on DPRK Economic Sanctions
10. DPRK-Canada Relations
II. Republic of Korea 1. APEC Countries Cooperation against Terrorism
2. DPRK-Japan Normalization Talk
3. ROK-Chile Summit Talk
III. People’s Republic of China 1. PRC-US Relations
2. PRC Commentary on PRC-US Relations
3. Japan-DPRK Relations
4. DPRK-ROK Relations
5. DPRK-US Relations
6. US, Japan and ROK’s Attitude towards DPRK Nuclear Issue
I. United States
1. Japan on DPRK Nuclear Weapons
The Wall Street Journal, (Sebastian Moffettm “JAPAN WILL DEMAND NORTH KOREA CEDE ARMS PROGRAM, ABDUCTEES,” Tokyo, 10/29/02) reported that when Japanese officials meet their DPRK counterparts in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday to start negotiations aimed at forging diplomatic relations, they will have two major demands for the DPRK: first, that the DPRK abandon its nuclear program; second, that five Japanese abducted more than 20 years ago be allowed to live in Japan permanently with their children. As of Tuesday, the abductees will have been back in Japan for two weeks. But rather than returning them, the Japanese government is demanding the five be allowed to stay permanently in Japan and that their children living in the DPRK be allowed to join them. Before the start of the Kuala Lumpur talks, the North Korean government hadn’t responded to the demand. A refusal might hold up bilateral negotiations and the hope of bringing North Korea into international society and making it conform to its rules. More likely, say Japanese analysts, Pyongyang will agree to let the five stay and their children follow — though without setting a date for the children. “I think they will agree in principle to Japanese demands,” says Hajime Izumi, a Korea expert at Japan’s Shizuoka University. “But there won’t immediately be any tangible results from these talks.” [This Wall Street Journal article originally appeared in today’s edition of the US Defense Department’s Early Bird News Summary.]
2. Japan-DPRK Talks
The Associated Press (Teruaki Ueno, “JAPAN,NKOREA GET OFF TO ROUGH START OVER KEY ISSUES,” Kuala Lumpur, 10/29/02) reported that Japan and the DPRK got off to a rough start in high-profile talks on Tuesday but agreed to keep talking about the two key issues of the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program and Japanese citizens abducted decades ago. The two-day talks, the first full-scale negotiations between Japan and the DPRK in two years, come as international pressure mounts on the DPRK to scrap a nuclear arms program it has pursued in violation of a 1994 agreement. Asked to comment on the first day of talks, Japan’s top negotiator, Katsunari Suzuki, said: “Not much progress.” Japanese officials denied that the abduction issue had been basically resolved, although a DPRK negotiator earlier told reporters that the “core problem” had been settled. The two sides did agree, however, that a small group of representatives from both sides would meet later in the evening for “intensive working level discussions” on the topic. “North Korea insisted that it has been dealing sincerely with the abduction issue and said it wanted a ‘clean settlement’,” the Japanese official said
3. DPRK on DPRK Nuclear Weapons
The Associated Press (“N. KOREA REJECTS CALL TO GIVE UP NUCLEAR WEAPONS,” 10/29/02) reported that the DPRK has rejected demands that it give up its nuclear weapons program, a Japanese official indicated as Japan and the DPRK were engaged in talks aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations. “Japan expressed grave concern on nuclear issues and we also referred to the statement issued last week by Japan, the United States and South Korea. To put it in one sentence North Korea’s response was they do not accept it at all,” said the official. The statement by the three countries, issued on Saturday, demanded the DPRK immediately give up its quest for nuclear weapons. The Japanese official said the response came from the head of DPRK’s delegation to the talks in the Malaysian capital, DPRK’s roving ambassador Jong Thae-Hwa, who “went on to say America’s hostile stance toward North Korea is to blame.”
4. DPRK Nuclear Speculation
Agence France-Presse (“NORTH KOREA BELIEVED TO POSSESS UP TO 4,000 TONNES OF BIOCHEMICAL WEAPONS,” 10/29/02) reported that the ROK believes the DPRK possesses some 4,000 ton of biochemical weapons and has built as many as three crude nuclear weapons, the ROK’s intelligence agency chief told lawmakers. In testimony to the parliament’s Intelligence Committee Monday, Shin Kun, director of the National Intelligence Service, said the DPRK was capable of producing some 4,500 tons of weapons annually. Pyongyang began its biochemical weapons program about four decades ago. “The North is believed to have a stockpile of between 2,500-4,000 ton of biochemical weapons,” an opposition Grand National Party (GNP) lawmaker, Lee Yoon-Sung, quoted Shin as saying. “We are unable to judge how powerful those biochemical weapons are as we have yet to confirm the accuracy of their delivery systems and whether the North has made those weapons compact enough to deliver.” The weapons would have been built using some seven to 22 kilograms (15 to 49 pounds) of plutonium the DPRK is believed to have extracted before it opened nuclear facilities to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections in 1992.
5. PRC-US Relations
Reuters “US AND CHINA SAID TO RESUME MILITARY TIES,” Beijing, 10/29/02) reported that the PRC and the US have agreed to resume military-to-military ties with plans to hold talks at senior level in the near future, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said on Tuesday. US President George W. Bush and PRC President Jiang Zemin agreed to resume the links, when they met in Texas on Friday, Liu said. “Both sides agreed to resume the communication of their armies and will hold defence consultations at the vice-ministerial level in the near future as well as other exchange projects,” Liu announced. “In the meantime, both sides decided to set up a consultation mechanism at the vice-ministerial level on strategic security, multilateral arms control and non-proliferation,” he said.
6. PRC Domestic Politics
Reuters (“CHINA’S JIANG HEADS BACK WITH EYE ON SUCCESSION,” Beijing, 10/29/02) reported that PRC President Jiang Zemin returns from the US and Mexico on Tuesday with his international profile and his standing at home bolstered in the final days before a leadership handover. With 10 days until the 16th Communist Party Congress, when he is expected to retire as party chief, Jiang appears to have succeeded in stacking the new leadership with allies to preserve his political power, analysts and PRC sources said. PRC’s most sweeping reshuffle in more than a decade was basically settled before Jiang left for the United States last week, but the new line-up is shrouded in secrecy, they said. There is still uncertainty about whether Jiang, 76, will oust his rival, Li Ruihuan, 68, and keep his third post as head of the Central Military Commission, they said.
7. Post-PRC-US Summit
The Associated Press (Audra Ang, “CHINESE GOVERNMENT SAYS BUSH HAS ACCEPTED INVITATION TO CHINA,” Beijing, 10/29/02) and Reuters (“BUSH TO VISIT CHINA AGAIN CHINA’S,” 10/29/02) reported that PRC President Jiang Zemin has invited US President George W. Bush to visit the PRC again and Bush has accepted, the foreign ministry in Beijing announced. “I can confirm that President Jiang Zemin has invited President Bush to visit China again and that President Bush has already accepted the invitation with pleasure,” spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters Tuesday. He did not give dates for the planned trip or any other details. The invitation was made during the leaders’ meeting Friday at Bush’s ranch in Texas, a foreign ministry spokeswoman added separately. US Vice President Dick Cheney is due to visit the PRC as well in early 2003, Bush announced after his talks with the PRC leader.
8. DPRK Economic Survey Team
The Associated Press (Paul Shin, “NORTH KOREAN ECONOMIC SURVEY TEAM EAGER TO LEARN FROM SOUTH KOREA,” Seoul, 10/29/02) reported that top DPRK economic officials test-rode a “bullet” train and toured science and industrial facilities Tuesday during a study tour of it’s the ROK, officials from the ROK said. The 18-member DPRK economic survey team, headed by the DPRK’s top economic planner, has been keeping busy “beyond our expectations” since arriving Saturday, said Kim Soo-hae, an official at the Ministry of Finance and Economy. The DPRK officials have visited information technology plants, a confectionery, an amusement park and shopping malls, and mixed briefly with ordinary South Koreans on a Seoul subway. “They are unusually frank and eager to learn far more than we expected,” Kim said. Officials on the DPRK economic team avoided the nuclear issue and other sensitive topics, said ROK officials. The Northern delegation is headed by Park Nam Gi, chairman of the government committee that oversees economic development, and Chang Sung Taek, a senior official in the communist Worker’s Party and brother-in-law of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Other delegates include top officials in trade, tourism, the chemical industry, engineering, computers and agriculture. On Tuesday, the DPRK delegates rode a French-designed “bullet” train on a test run near Daejeon in central South Korea. When completed in 2004, the train will halve traveling time between Seoul and Busan, the nation’s second largest city, to 2 1/2 hours. The DPRK delegation is most interested in the information technology sector, ROK officials said. While visiting a small information technology company in Seoul on Monday, the chief DPRK delegate asked if the firm was interested in investing in a new free-trade zone Pyongyang plans to set up near the border with the ROK. The company said it will study the possibility.
9. ROK on DPRK Economic Sanctions
The Associated Press (Sang-Hun Choe, “SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT: ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST NORTH KOREA WILL ONLY ESCALATE CRISIS,” Seoul, 10/29/02) reported that ROK President Kim Dae-jung fears threatened economic sanctions against the DPRK over the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program could trigger a war that would kill millions. Kim is categorically opposed to suggestions among some Republicans in Washington that US President George W. Bush withdraw from a 1994 arms control accord with the DPRK and impose sanctions against them. “If economic sanctions are imposed, then North Korea will say, ‘OK, we will go ahead and make our own nuclear weapons,’ and that will raise the risk of nuclear war,” Kim said in a speech to Korean nationals in Seattle on Monday. Kim said a possible new war would be more devastating than the 1950-53 Korean War. Experts in the past have estimated that a nuclear conflict would kill 490,000 South Korean soldiers and 1 million civilians. “Now the casualties would be much bigger if war breaks out,” Kim said. “The only solution is to resolve it peacefully through dialogue.” He called on North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions immediately and promised “corresponding measures” if it did so. He did not elaborate.
10. DPRK-Canada Relations
Reuters (“NORTH KOREA PLANNING TO OPEN EMBASSY IN CANADA,” Ottawa, 10/29/02) reported that the DPRK, which established diplomatic relations with Canada in February 2001, now plans to open an embassy in Ottawa, Canadian officials said on Tuesday. “The (North Koreans) informed us of their intention to establish a mission in Ottawa in August of this year. An administrative advance team has been in Ottawa for some weeks assessing their requirements,” said Canadian foreign ministry spokeswoman Kimberly Phillips. The closest DPRK representation to Canada is the country’s United Nations mission in New York, where an official declined to comment on the matter. Canada, which has yet to open an embassy in the DPRK, says it wants to pursue its goals of economic development and trade and promote “Canadian values” such as human rights, democracy and assistance to the poor. Earlier this month Ottawa scrapped what would have been the first visit to the DPRK by a government minister after it emerged that Pyongyang had violated a 1994 deal to control its nuclear program. Canada was the fourth member of the Group of Eight powerful nations after Russia, Italy and Britain to fully recognize the DPRK.
II. Republic of Korea
1. APEC Countries Cooperation against Terrorism
Joongang Ilbo (Kim Young-sae, “ECONOMIC BAIT DANGLED AT NORTH,” Los Cabos, 10/29/02) reported that twenty-one leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting nudged DPRK to abandon its nuclear-weapons program with a bait of “economic benefit.” The leaders wrapped up a two-day meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico, Monday, agreeing on the importance of “fighting terrorism.” That was as much reference there was in the leaders’ main declaration to the tension surrounding developments in DPRK or Iraq. The leaders reaffirmed their determination to enhance cooperation in countering and responding to terrorism. They released a separate statement on DPRK, saying there was a “potential” for DPRK to “benefit economically” through greater participation as a member of the regional community, which would in turn be possible by abandoning its nuclear weapons program. Multilateral discussions by ROK, US and Japan now move to the working level, based on the two principles of a commitment to peaceful resolution of the issue and the call to DPRK to dismantle the nuclear program. The Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group will meet in early November. US Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit Seoul for a meeting of the Community of Democracies, a gathering of foreign ministers, also in November.
2. DPRK-Japan Normalization Talk
Joongang Ilbo (Oh Dae-young, “JAPAN, NORTH RESUME TALKS ON NORMALIZATION,” Tokyo, 10/29/02) reported that under circumstances vastly different from a breakthrough summit meeting in Pyongyang last month, DPRK and Japan enter talks to normalize relations Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Diplomats from both countries are in the Malaysian capital to resume discussions to establish formal ties, picking up where they left off two years ago. A breakthrough came during the meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Sept. 17, when DPRK admitted abducting Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s. Koizumi said after a meeting with the presidents of ROK and US over the weekend in Mexico that normalization “would not be concluded” unless DPRK moves to comply with its commitments on the nuclear issue. Peace and security, including the nuclear program, are major items on Japan’s agenda for the talks. Issues of the past, including compensation for abductions and Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula in the early 20th century, are also listed as topics.
3. ROK-Chile Summit Talk
The Koreaherald (“SOUTH KOREA, CHILE AGREE TO PROMOTE VISA WAIVER PACT,” Los Cabos, 10/29/02) reported that ROK and Chile pledged to conclude negotiations for the reinstatement of a visa waiver agreement. President Kim Dae-jung met Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Escobar Sunday, which followed the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between their countries last week. “President Kim stressed that the two countries should seek to reinstate the visa waiver agreement to boost civilian-level visits and exchanges on the occasion of the settlement of the FTA,” Kim’s top economic aide, Hyun Jung-taik, said. In the summit talks held after the closure of the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Kim hailed the successful FTA conclusion as an epoch-making event in developing bilateral relations that marked the 40th anniversary this year, his aide said. Lagos responded that ROK-Chile agreement will help the two continents of Asia and South America come closer, hoping that bilateral trade and economic cooperation will be expanded, according to the aide.
III. People’s Republic of China
1. PRC-US Relations
China Daily (Gao Anming, “JIANG: NATION ‘FORCE FOR GOOD,'”, Houston, 10/25/02, P1) reported that visiting PRC President Jiang Zemin delivered an English speech to 600 guests, including former US President George Bush on October 24 at the George Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University. It reported that in the speech, Jiang said that PRC will stick to the principles of “honesty, harmony and good faith” in its diplomatic activities, with the purpose of safeguarding world peace and advancing common development. Jiang reiterated a peaceful settlement of the Taiwan question would not only contribute to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large, but would secure US interests on the island. Jiang also promised to co-operate more closely with US to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula and prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In the speech, Jiang re-emphasized the common interests PRC and US share in the global fight against terror. “The Chinese and Americans have stood together and carried out effective co-operation”, Jiang said in the report.
China Daily (Meng Yan, “FM: FBI OFFICE IN BEIJING A POSITIVE MOVE”, 10/25/02, P1) reported that US is working closely with PRC in fighting terrorism and enforcing law by establishing the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Office in the US embassy in Beijing. The report said that the move was hailed by Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao as a positive step towards enhanced exchanges and co-operation between the two. The establishment of the FBI office was announced by visiting US Attorney General John Ashscroft on October 24. Noting that PRC has always opposed terrorism in any form and actively participated in international counter-terrorism cooperation, Liu said “China hopes and believes that the new FBI office will help promote Sino-US exchanges and cooperation in counter-terrorism and law enforcement on a mutually beneficial basis”. Both sides agreed that their cooperation is an integral part of international counter-terrorism efforts and an important part of constructive Sino-US cooperation, Liu said. The report also said that the East Turkistan Islamic Movement has masterminded a string of violent terrorist activities during the past two decades in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and some other places in mid-Asia. Liu revealed that PRC’s special envoy to the Middle East is expected to visit the strife-torn region early next month, said the report.
2. PRC Commentary on PRC-US Relations
China Daily (“SUMMIT BRINGS TWO NATIONS CLOSER”, 10/28/02, P4) carried a commentary that the fruitful summit between President Jiang Zemin and US President George W. Bush at the latter’s ranch in Crawford on October 25 brought the two nations closer. Commenting that Jiang’s US visit was successful, highly constructive and forward-looking, the article said that the consensus the two leaders reached on bilateral relations and international affairs will usher in a better relationship between the two countries. It said that on the Taiwan question, Bush clearly expressed US opposition to Taiwan independence and his adherence to the one-China policy, which is hoped by PRC. The article said that a series of visits between the top leaders of the two countries will follow Jiang’s visit. The two presidents’ resolve to increase contact will help the two countries understand each other better, which will include the resumption of bilateral military exchanges and the introduction of consultations at the vice defence ministerial level on defence issues. The article optimistically said that different cultures and social systems should be no barrier to our co-operation. The two countries will continue to share their information and the responsibility of removing such violence, which has wreaked havoc and has already killed too many people in the world, the article said. The two presidents also agreed to make joint efforts to ensure a peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue. As for bilateral relations, concerted efforts from both sides have pushed forward relations to a more constructive stage in the past year. PRC economies are highly complementary and US people should understand that PRC’s development will pose no threat to any country in the world, the article said. More importantly, as President Jiang has pointed out, the more developed and open PRC becomes, the more closely PRC is integrated with the world and the more anxious and determined PRC will be to have a long-term peaceful and stable international environment. With Jiang’s US visit a great success, the mission ahead is to implement the important consensus reached by the two presidents and take more concerted actions to nurture the constructive and co-operative relationship between PRC and US, the article said.
3. Japan-DPRK Relations
China Daily (Tokyo, 10/25/02, P11) reported briefly in a sentence that an official from DPRK said Pyongyang will allow the permanent return of five Japanese it kidnapped nearly a quarter of a century ago and permit their families to join them, a Japanese newspaper reported on October 24.
4. DPRK-ROK Relations
China Daily (Wu Yixue, “ACHIEVEMENTS MADE ON NUCLEAR ISSUE”, 10/25/02, P4) reported that the eighth ministerial talks between DPRK and ROK ended on October 23. The report said that the Korean Peninsula is again in the global spotlight, as US has released DPRK’s admission that it has a secret nuclear weapons program. It reported that DPRK official Kim Yong-nam conveyed to ROK the DPRK’s wish for a solution through dialogue and ROK President Kim Dae-jung also said the issue only can be settled through consultations. It said that as two major players on the Korean Peninsula, there is no doubt their response will play a key role in the peninsula’s concerns. The report optimistically said that the latest DPRK-ROK meeting sent an explicit signal to the world they will not give up on reconciliation. The US is going to seek a common strategy for dealing with DPRK’s nuclear program during weekend talks with Asian leaders and such attitude clears the way for dialogue rather than rushing into pre-emptive and unilateral action, the report said.
People’s Daily (Zhao Jiaming and Xu Baokang, “DPRK, ROK MINISTERIAL TALKS BORE FRUITS”, 10/24/02, P3) reported that DPRK and ROK issued a joint statement in the early hours of October 23 following the eighth inter-Korean ministerial talks in Pyongyang, saying the two sides will make joint efforts to ensure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula under the spirit of above joint declaration and actively cooperate with each other in resolving relevant issues, including nuclear issue, through dialogue. The statement said that both sides shall positively speed up the reconstruction of inter-Korean railways and roads, and plan to discuss details related to the scheduled launching of the construction of Kaesong Industrial Complex in the DPRK, and the former will open an office inside the complex when it is completed. The report said that the two delegations also agreed to hold a working-level officials meeting at Mount Geumgang in the DPRK in November to talk on inter-Korean maritime cooperation issue, mainly on ensuring the safe passage of civilian ships through each other’s seas, and striking a maritime accord, according to the statement. The report also quoted words of the ROK delegation spokesman that this talk has achieved “significant results” and “laid a foundation for continuing efforts towards peace, reconciliation and cooperation”.
5. DPRK-US Relations
China Daily (“PYONGYANG PROPOSES PEACE PACT WITH US”, Pyongyang, 10/26-27/02, P1) reported that DPRK considers it a “reasonable and realistic” solution to the nuclear issue to reach a non-aggression treaty with the US, a spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry said on October 25. The spokesman said that DPRK is ready to seek a solution to the problem on three conditions: the US recognition of the DPRK’s sovereignty, the US’s assurance of non-aggression against the DPRK, and non-hindrance to the DPRK’s economic development. The report said that US dismissed the conditions on October 25. The White House National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said in the report that “we are working very closely with friends and allies to address this issue”.
People’s Daily (Tan Weibing, “US-DPRK NUCLEAR PACT EFFECTIVELY DEAD, SAYS POWELL”, 10/22/02, P3) reported that US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on October 20 that the Bush administration considers the 1994 nuclear accord between US and DPRK effectively dead. Powell said in the report that during a meeting between US and DPRK officials in Pyongyang earlier this month, the DPRK officials “blamed us for their actions and then said they considered that agreement nullified”. “An agreement between two parties, one of whom says it’s been nullified, makes it sort of a nullified agreement,” Powell said. Under the framework agreement signed in October 1994, the two sides agreed to cooperate in replacing the DPRK’s graphite-moderated nuclear plants with light-water reactors and move toward full normalization of their political and economic relations, said the report.
6. US, Japan and ROK’s Attitude towards DPRK Nuclear Issue
People’s Daily (Wang Shubai, Ge Xiangwen and Yan Feng, “LEADERS URGE DPRK TO HALT NUKE PROJECT”, Los Cabos, 10/28/02, P3) reported that US President George W. Bush, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and ROK President Kim Dae-Jung on October 26 reaffirmed their commitment to a peaceful Korean Peninsula which is free of nuclear weapons and urged the DPRK to give up its nuclear weapons program. The report said that Bush, Kim and Koizumi warned DPRK that its relations with the international community now rest on “prompt and visible actions” to dismantle its program to produce highly enriched uranium for nuclear weapons. They also agreed to continue close consultation on the issue. According to the report, Bush noted in the statement that US has no intention of invading the DPRK, while Kim and Koizumi said they would continue their countries’ normalization talks with the DPRK to maintain the channel of communications open. Briefing reporters after the trilateral summit, US Secretary of State Colin Powell however ruled out the possibility of resuming talks with the DPRK in the near future, saying that US was not prepared to offer assistance to the DPRK in exchange for its scrapping of the nuclear program. According to a statement issued on October 25, a spokesman for the DPRK foreign ministry accused US of violating the framework by listing the DPRK as part of the “axis of evil” and threatening the Asian country with preemptive strikes. But the spokesman also said that the DPRK side is ready for dialogue to address US concerns if both sides could strike a mutual non-aggression treaty, the report said.
China Daily (“US DIPLOMAT URGES DIALOGUE ON DPRK”, Seoul, 10/23/02, P12) reported that US Ambassador to ROK Thomas Hubbard reiterated on October 22 that US hoped for a peaceful resolution of the DPRK nuclear issue. Hubbard said in the report that US is seeking a peaceful solution to the issue while repeated the US declaration of the nullification of the 1994 deal. It reported that president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK Kim Yong-nam told ROK that “the DPRK was ready to resolve security concerns on the country through dialogue, if the United States has a will to scrap its hostile policy.” According to the report, US President George W. Bush in response told a press conference that “I believe we can do it peacefully”.
China Daily (“DISPUTES OCCUR ON DPRK NUCLEAR ISSUE”, 10/22/02, Seoul, P1) reported that ROK and Japan appeared to be at odds with US on October 21 over the DPRK’s nuclear program, working to keep afloat an arms control pact pronounced dead by US. The report said that the ROK called for consultations with allies to keep alive the 1994 Agreed Framework under which the DPRK vowed to freeze its nuclear program. Under the 1994 deal, a consortium is building safe, light-water reactors on the DPRK, as well as shipping fuel oil for the country. The consortium, the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), has been funded mainly by the ROK, Japan, US and EU. The report said that ROK’s efforts drew support from Japan and gained momentum when the DPRK hinted it was ready to discuss halting its nuclear drive in return for US support. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi characterized KEDO as “a realistic framework” to stop the DPRK’s nuclear development. However, an apparent policy rift was prompted by remarks by US officials that US views the 1994 deal as “nullified”, following DPRK’s alleged admission it has facilities to produce enriched uranium for nuclear weapons. At the same time, ROK and DPRK are both ready for dialogue, said the report.
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