In today’s Report:
I. United States
Reuters (“N.KOREAN DEFECTOR FINDS HAVEN IN PHILIPPINES,” Manila, 3/18/97) and the Associated Press (“N.KOREA DEFECTOR IN PHILIPPINES,” Manila, 3/18/97) reported that Philippine military officials, requesting not to be identified, said Tuesday that earlier in the day DPRK defector Hwang Jang-yop flew from Beijing to the Philippines. At least three senior Philippine military officers confirmed that Hwang and his aide, Kim Duk-hong, arrived on a chartered Air China plane at the Clark Special Economic Zone, the site of the former US air force base north of Manila. Hwang & Kim reportedly left Seoul’s consular compound Monday night, slipped in unmarked vehicles past reporters waiting outside the tight police cordon. The two then spent the night at a military airport on the outskirts of Beijing before being flown to the southeastern port of Xiamen, where they boarded the Air China plane to Clark. After being welcomed by ROK and Philippine officials, the two were then taken by Philippine military helicopters to Baguio, a mountain resort city 125 miles north of Manila, the officials said. There was no official confirmation that Hwang had arrived in Baguio. A senior airport official at Clark said Hwang, 74, appeared healthy. The Philippine government refused to say where or for how long Hwang is expected to stay. The PRC and the ROK confirmed only that Hwang left Beijing, but neither named the destination. The PRC issued a br