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IN TODAY’S REPORT:

I. United States

IN TODAY’S REPORT:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. People’s Republic of China

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. Food Aid Found on DPRK Submarine

The Associated Press (“US DONATED FOOD FOUND ON NKOREA SUB,” Seoul, 10/17/97) reported that the ROK Defense Ministry said Friday that a label from a can of US-donated beef was found in a DPRK submarine that ran aground off the ROK in September last year. The label was found by US Navy officers taking part in a US-ROK military exercise in August. Legible portions of the label said the beef was “Food for relief, in the name of Christ,” donated by “Mennonite Churches of Va.,” ministry officials said. A ministry spokesman said the discovery prompted the ROK to ask the US and international aid groups to seek closer monitoring of food aid to the DPRK out of concern that some might be diverted to its military.

2. DPRK Famine

The AP-Dow Jones News Service (“N.KOREA FAMINE RAMPANT DESPITE AID, HARVEST – U.S. LAWMAKER,” Tokyo 10/17/97) and Reuters (Brian Williams, “U.S. CONGRESSMAN: N.KOREA ON BRINK OF DISASTER,” Tokyo 10/17/97) reported that US Representative Tony Hall, following his third visit to the DPRK, said, “International food aid is getting through and the harvest will buy a little more time, but people in the countryside continue to teeter on the brink of massive disaster.” Hall also said that many hospitals are functioning without electricity, heat, medicine or food. He said that the situation “calls for a strategy that begins with emergency assistance and carries through with reforms that can rescue ordinary Koreans from the whims of both politics and nature.” The UN’s World Food Program plans to send in an assessment team on October 25 that will remain in the DPRK for 10 days and report on the food needs there. Hall also met top DPRK officials in Pyongyang, including Foreign Minister Kim Yong-nam and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye-gwan, and said he was optimistic that the DPRK would rejoin peace talks, possibly before the end of the year. He said that the ministers were most concerned that food aid not be used as a political weapon during the talks. Hall added that he was convinced that US and other aid was getting through without diversion to the DPRK’s military.

PRNewswire (“AMERICARES TO LAUNCH SECOND MEDICAL AIRLIFT TO NORTH KOREA,” New Canaan, Connecticut, 10/17/97) carried a company press release from AmeriCares, an international humanitarian relief organization, announcing that it has reached agreement with the DPRK government for a second airlift of medicines and medical supplies to aid in famine-related suffering. The airlift, scheduled for October 30, will carry nearly 100,000 pounds of antibiotics, other medicines, and medical and nutritional supplies. The flight will also carry a special AmeriCares team of physicians and medical personnel. Robert C. Macauley, chairman and founder of AmeriCares, stated, “Throughout AmeriCares’ first emergency airlift the government of the DPRK went out of its way to be helpful and cooperative with our team in the distribut

In today’s Report: I. United States 1. DPRK Famine 2. ROK Presidential Elections 3. Human Rights in ROK 4. US-PRC Relations 5. Global Land Mine Ban 6. Japanese Nuclear Development II. Republic of Korea 1. DPRK Military Buildup 2. Alleged DPRK Interference in ROK Elections 3. DPRK-Russian Relations 4. ROK-Japan Fishing Pact   I. United […]

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. Extended Excerpts

I. United States

1. Food Aid for DPRK

The Associated Press (“U.S. OFFERS FRESH HELP TO N KOREANS,” Washington, 10/14/97) and United Press International (“N.KOREA TO GET $5 MILLION IN U.S. AID,” Washington, 10/14/97) reported that US State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said Tuesday that the US will give the United Nations Children’s Fund with US$5 million to provide medicines and other supplies to help needy people in the DPRK. “We expect the food crisis to deepen. This grant is designed to help clinics deal with vulnerable groups,” Rubin said. He predicted that the current harvest in North Korea may alleviate the famine conditions there, but only temporarily. He said the US expects the UN World Food Program to issue a new appeal for food relief from donor countries in November.

The Washington Times (Willis Witter, “FOOD AID STAVES OFF NORTH KOREAN FAMINE,” Tokyo, 10/15/97) reported that Trevor Rowe, a spokesman for the UN World Food Program, said on Tuesday that the DPRK’s food needs are currently being met. The “bad news,” Rowe said, “is that the harvest is going to produce enough food for only four months, and then it will be winter.” Young Namkoong, a professor at Korea University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, speculated that the availability of food may have had a role in Kim Jong-il’s decision last week to assume the formal leadership of the country as general secretary of the Workers’ Party. “At the moment he became general secretary [Kim] could release some food from the harvest,” Young said.

State Department spokesman James P. Rubin (“STATE DEPARTMENT NOON BRIEFING,” USIA Transcript, 10/14/97) stated that “there has been no change in our policy regarding food aid to North Korea — all of which is provided on a humanitarian basis.” Rubin added, “we are sending a needs assessment team to work with the World Food Program and the DPRK to enhance its effectiveness.” However, he said, the US has “confidence that there is no significant diversion [of food aid], using the monitoring system we have in place.”

2. US-ROK Relations

State Department spokesman James P. Rubin (“STATE DEPARTMENT NOON BRIEFING,” USIA Transcript, 10/14/97) stated that “the US policy on the South Korean election is clear, firm and consistent. It is up to the people of South Korea to select their president. We don’t favor any candidate over any other.” Rubin added, “The premise that we have a problem with the South Koreans in pursuing the four-party talks is incorrect.” Rubin said that while there are no new developments regarding the four-party talks, “that doesn’t mean we’re pessimistic. … We believe there will be progress, because that is in the interest of all the parties concerned.” He added that “questions about the present hiatus in the talks should be directed at Pyongyang, not Seoul. The timing of the election of Kim Jung-Il as General Secretary may have been a factor.” [Ed. note: See “Four-Party Peace Talks,” in the US Section of

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. ROK-DPRK Trade Relations

The AP-Dow Jones News Service (“S. KOREA AUTHORIZES FIVE COMPANIES TO INVEST IN N. KOREA,” Seoul, 10/14/97) reported that the ROK government on Tuesday authorized the state-run Korea Land Corporation to build an industrial park in the DPRK’s Rajin-Sonbong free trade zone. The government also approved plans by four private companies to do business or invest in the free trade zone for general trading, building fishing and logistical facilities, and manufacturing bicycles. The action brought to 26 the total number of ROK firms that have been authorized to do business or invest in the DPRK.

2. DPRK-PRC Relations

The AP-Dow Jones News Service (“CHINA SENDS HIGH-LEVEL MILITARY MISSION TO N. KOREA – REPORT,” Beijing, 10/14/97) reported that the PRC’s state-run Xinhua News Agency said that a delegation of the People’s Liberation Army left Tuesday for the DPRK on the first high-level visit by PRC officials since Kim Jong-il’s appointment as Secretary General of the Workers Party.

3. US Position on ROK Presidential Elections

The AP-Dow Jones News Service (“U.S. DECLARES NEUTRALITY IN S. KOREA ELECTIONS,” Seoul, 10/14/97) reported that the US Embassy in Seoul issued a statement at the request of the ROK’s Foreign Ministry which said, “We do not favor any candidate over any other” in the upcoming ROK presidential election. “U.S. government policy on the (South Korean) election has been clear, firm and consistent: it is entirely up to the people of Korea to select their president,” the statement said. [Ed. note: See “Four Party Peace Talks,” in the US Section of the October 13 Daily Report.]

4. ROK President’s Son Convicted

The New York Times (Nicholas D. Kristof , “SEOUL’S MIGHTY, ONCE IMMUNE, NOW FEEL THE ARM OF THE LAW,” Tokyo, 10/14/97) carried an analysis which argued that the conviction of ROK President Kim Young-sam’s son for bribery and tax evasion “at one level … underscored the corruption of Korean politics and the trades of favors and money among politicians and tycoons. But at a broader level, what was most astonishing was not that graft occurred, … but rather that anyone so close to a president should actually be sentenced to prison for it.” The article quoted chief judge Sohn Ji-yeol as saying “Some members of the Korean public view this as a political trial or a trial of public opinion. But we have adhered strictly to the law in carrying out this trial.”

The Los Angeles Times (Sonni Efron, ” S. KOREA SPLIT ON SENTENCING OF PRESIDENT’S SON,” Seoul, 10/14/97) carried an analysis which said that, while to some ROK citizens, the conviction of President Kim Young-sam’s son is proof that the ROK is finally learning the rule of law, to others he is “a scapegoat for a changing Korean political culture that is retroactively applying new standards of accountability.” The report quoted Han Sang Jin, a p

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Russian Federation

I. United States

1. Four-Party Peace Talks

The Washington Post (R. Jeffrey Smith “U.S. AIDES PESSIMISTIC ON KOREA TALKS: NO PROGRESS EXPECTED SOON AS NORTH MAKES DEMANDS, SOUTH AWAITS ELECTIONS,” Washington, 10/13/97, A24) reported that senior US officials have little hope of making progress soon in the four-nation peace talks for the Korean peninsula, due both to what the officials describe as a series of unacceptable and surprisingly inflexible DPRK conditions for conducting the talks and to the ROK’s opposition to making concessions to the DPRK. One unnamed senior US official said that the slumping popularity of the ROK’s ruling party has left its leaders preoccupied with campaigning for the December 18 presidential election and “politically paralyzed” on foreign policy matters. US officials have argued in private that an opposition victory in the ROK would create a new opportunity for direct dialogue and expanded ties between the DPRK and ROK, but they say that even if opposition leader Kim Dae-jung is elected and inaugurated in February, three to six months may pass before he puts forward any new major policies for dealing with the DPRK. An unnamed senior official said that the temporary easing of the DPRK’s food shortage makes the lack of progress less worrisome, because DPRK leaders are less desperate and somewhat less likely to engage in provocative behavior to gain attention and leverage. Some administration officials had hoped for an early agreement on such partial measures as setting up a “hot line” between the DPRK, the ROK, and the US for communicating in a crisis, exchanging visits by military officers and providing advance notice of all military maneuvers. US officials said that for now, military analysts are slightly less worried that the DPRK might heighten tensions to gain leverage in the negotiations. However, due to the continuing military risks, “there is no interest — anywhere in the U.S. government — in pulling back and letting them implode or explode,” a senior official said, speaking on condition he not be named. He added that the US considers a delay in peace talks acceptable partly because the declining DPRK economy is seen as working to the US advantage by forcing DPRK officials to take economic reform more seriously.

2. Kim Jong-il’s Ascension

The Washington Post carried an editorial (“NORTH KOREA’S DYNASTY,” 10/13/97, A26) which said that, given the DPRK’s “cult of personality, it should not have been surprising that when Kim Jong Il assumed the title this week of general secretary of the Workers Party of Korea, thousands of his subjects were said to have taken to the streets in spasms of spontaneous celebration.” The editorial argued that “Although U.S. and South Korean officials have expressed hope that Kim Jong Il now would lead his nation on a more conciliatory path, nothing in his record to date gives any reason for optimism. Indeed, the thousands of (hungry) Koreans reportedly celebratin

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. Japan

I. United States

1. Kim Jong-il’s Ascension

Reuters (“NKOREA’S KIM MAKES 1ST POST-ELECTION APPEARANCE,” Tokyo, 10/10/97) and the Associated Press (“NORTH KOREAN LEADER HONORS FATHER,” Tokyo, 10/10/97) said that the DPRK’s official Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported that Kim Jong-il on Friday visited the tomb of his father, Kim Il-sung, during ceremonies marking the 52nd anniversary of the founding of the WPK. It was his first public appearance since his election on Wednesday as head of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), DPRK analysts said that the country’s official media had made no changes in listing the names of dignitaries attending functions since Kim took control of the party, indicating he had so far made no changes in the country’s power structure. In Moscow, Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency reported that sources close to the DPRK Embassy said that Kim Jong-il will also become president of the country this year, “possibly in one week’s time.” Also, an unnamed DPRK diplomat was quoted as saying, “So far we don’t know when Comrade Kim Jong-il will be named president but of course we want this to happen.”

The New York Times said in an editorial (“DYNASTIC POLITICS IN NORTH KOREA,” 10/10/97) that while the appointment of Kim Jong-il as General Secretary of the Workers’ Party “suggests there has been orderly passage of power to Mr. Kim,” and “may also mean that the country’s dogmatic military leaders will take orders from civilian authorities,” nonetheless, “neither development augurs any great change in North Korea’s self-imposed isolation.” Speculating that Kim will continue to cooperate with the US-DPRK Agreed Framework on nuclear weapons and seek to improve relations with the US and Japan, the editorial argued that “Washington should encourage these diplomatic feelers, while insisting that progress not come at South Korea’s expense. America should also do what it can to prevent a sudden and dangerous collapse of authority in North Korea. And it should be generous in providing food aid, with careful monitoring to make sure the aid goes to civilians in need rather than the military and the party elite. ” The editorial concluded that “Mr. Kim’s two overriding challenges will be to establish a regional role for his country that does not depend on military might, and to begin opening up the economy.”

2. DPRK Food Aid

Reuters (“USAID SEES NEW WFP FOOD APPEAL FOR N. KOREA IN NOV,” Washington, 10/9/97) reported that an anonymous official from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said Thursday that the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) will likely issue a new food aid appeal for the DPRK in mid to late November, after it completes its assessment of the DPRK harvest. Based on a preliminary estimate, North Korea faces a shortfall of about 2.0 million to 2.5 million tons of food in 1997-98. Current expectations are that the WFP will ask donors for enough food assistance to cover the upcoming year, the o

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. Kim Jong-il’s Ascension

Reuters (“A MERRY DAY IN NORTH KOREA,” Moscow, 10/9/97) said that Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency correspondent Alexander Valiyev reported that “North Korean people continue merrymaking” to celebrate the appointment of Kim Jong-il as head of the Wokers’ Party. “Dancing people are seen everywhere in Pyongyang,” he said. Valiyev said the main DPRK daily newspaper, Rodong Shinbun, filled most of its front page with a color photograph of Kim, and that television and radio stations were dominated by repeated broadcasts of the news. Tass also reported that the PRC’s ambassador to Pyongyang had presented “an appropriate official” with a basket of flowers and told a diplomatic gathering that Kim’s election had been a great inspiration to the PRC. Meanwhile Itar-Tass quoted a Russian Foreign Ministry official as saying, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia respects the choice of the North Korean people and considers the election of Kim Jong-il a purely internal matter for that country.”

The New York Times (Nicholas D. Kristof, “NORTH KOREAN RULER NAMED LEADER OF COMMUNIST PARTY,” Tokyo, 10/9/97) quoted Kim Myong Chol, who formerly edited a North Korea-affiliated newspaper in Japan and has ties with members of the leadership in the North Korean capital, “North Korea is now headed for a free- market economy,” adding, “In Kim Jong Il’s mind, not everything about capitalism is bad.” It also quoted a senior ROK government official as saying on Wednesday, “We’ve always been aware that North Korea was under the control of Mr. Kim Jong Il before this official announcement. But now that he will have the actual post of head of the party, the North Korean government may be more stable, more responsible and more predictable.” The Times also said that the DPRK’s New Korea News Agency press has reported “mysterious natural phenomena,” which indicate that “comrade Kim Jong Il is indeed the greatest of great men produced by Heaven and that flowers come into bloom to mark the great event.” The Times also noted that, in a major essay published in August, Kim wrote that “Improving the relations between the North and the South is an urgent requirement.” He called for putting into effect long-frozen accords between the two Koreas and expressed willingness to negotiate with the ROK and also improve relations with Japan and the United States. “We have no intention to regard the United States as our eternal sworn enemy,” Kim wrote. “We hope to normalize the Korea-U.S. relationship.”

The Washington Post (Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan, “NORTH KOREA’S KIM IS FORMALLY NAMED TO LEADERSHIP POST,” Tokyo, 10/9/97) quoted officials of the Chosen Soren, the largest DPRK residents’ association in Japan, as saying in a statement: “We have been waiting for a long time for this historic event. . . . We are full of enthusiasm and joy.” Meanwhile in Washington, an u

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. Kim Jong-il’s Ascension

Reuters (“NORTH KOREA NAMES KIM JONG-IL AS PARTY CHIEF,” Tokyo, 10/8/97) and the Associated Press (Reid G. Miller, “KIM JONG IL NEW N. KOREA LEADER,” Seoul, 10/8/97) reported that the DPRK’s Korean Central News Agency issued a special communique announcing that Kim Jong-il has been elected general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea. Kim Jong-il “has strengthened and developed our party to be an invincible, veteran revolutionary party which enjoys full support and trust from all the people, has trained our people as an independent people with indomitable faith and will and has opened a new era of the Kim Il-sung nation’s prosperity, with tireless revolutionary activities over the past 30 odd years,” the communique said, adding that “the whole country raised cheers,” at the news. ROK President Kim Young-sam said he expected no immediate major changes in the DPRK, and his government called on Pyongyang to “open up … and build peace with the South.” Ryoo Kihl-jae, a political science professor at Kyung-nam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, said, “The economy is [Kim Jong-il’s] primary concern,” adding that “North Korea will open more … roughly following the trail of China.” Ryoo said, “But I doubt North Korea will go as far as China has.” Park June-young, a political scientist at Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul, predicted, “Kim will try more aggressively to establish diplomatic ties with the United States and persuade Washington to remove the economic embargo against his country.” Park added, “In short, North Korea under Kim Jong Il will be more confident in leading its society to openness in a tightly controlled manner.” [Ed. note: See related item in ROK section below.]

Reuters (“CHINA CONGRATULATES N.KOREA’S KIM JONG-IL, Beijing, 10/8/97) said that PRC state radio reported that on Wednesday PRC Communist Party chief Jiang Zemin, in a message of congratulations to Kim Jong-il on his formal election to Secretary-General of the Workers Party of Korea, lauded the “historical and traditional friendship” between the PRC and the DPRK. The PRC’s official news agency quoted Jiang’s message as saying that Kim’s formal accession would help carry on the ideas of his father Kim Il-sung. “The North Korean people, tightly uniting around the North Korean Workers’ Party headed by you… will use firm will and determination to overcome all kinds of difficulties,” Jiang said. He added, “Strengthening friendly cooperative relations [between the PRC and DPRK] has great significance for realizing peace, stability and development on the Korean Peninsula.”

2. ROK-DPRK Aviation Pact

The AP-Dow Jones News Service (“KOREAS SIGN OPEN-SKIES PACT, SHORTENING AIRLINES’ ROUTES,” Seoul, 10/8/97) reported that ROK officials said that on Wednesday the ROK and DPRK signed a treaty in Bangkok, Thailand, to open their skies to each other’s commercial flights for the first time in half