NOTAM: Impact Zones for the DPRK Satellite Launch

This is the full Notice to Mariners (NOTAM) for the anticipated DPRK satellite launch. The first impact zone is in the East Sea/Sea of Japan while the second is in the Pacific Ocean. The anticipated path of the launch is within 100 kilometers of the Rokkasho Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.

NAPSNet Daily Report 26 March, 2009

Japan’s Nuclear Policy Future: Policy Debate, Prospects, and U.S. Interests

Emma Chanlett-Avery, Specialist in Asian Affairs, and Mary Beth Nikitin, Analyst in Nonproliferation, write, “Japanese officials and experts remain remarkably uniform in their consensus that Japan is unlikely to move toward nuclear status in the short-to-medium term. However, as the security environment has shifted significantly, the topic is no longer toxic and has been broached by several leading politicians.”

Policy Forum 09-023: The Role of the Military in the Fall of the Ceausescu Regime and The Possible Relevance for a Post-Kim Jong-il Transition in North Korea

Greg Scarlatoiu, Director of Public Affairs and Business Issues of the Korea Economic Institute, writes, “Dissent at the top or within the military ranks may seem unlikely for as long as Kim Jong-il is in power, given the authority he seems to wield, in particular after the establishment of the military first policy after his father’s death. However, previous reports of a couple of failed attempted coups in the early to mid-1990s indicate that the North Korean military has not always thought favorably of hereditary succession. In a post-Kim Jong-il scenario, developments may unravel in a way reminiscent of Romania 1989.”

NAPSNet Daily Report 24 March, 2009

‘N. Korea Yelling to Seek Equal Footing in Talks’

‘N. Korea Yelling to Seek Equal Footing in Talks’, Dong-a Ilb, 23 March 2009 Peter Hayes, executive director of the Nautilus Institute in San Francisco, said “The North is doing preparatory work to get what it wants”, referring to the North’s preparation for a missile launch, rejection of U.S. food aid, and the detention of […]