NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, October 7, 2004

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NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, October 7, 2004

NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, October 7, 2004

United States

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. United States

1. DPRK Nuclear Talks

TASS (“KOREAN NUCLEAR TALKS UNLIKELY BEFORE 2ND HALF OF NOVEMBER – VIEW “, 2004-10-07) reported that Russia’s Foreign Ministry does not see the opportunity to convene the next round of six-party talks over the DPRK’s nuclear problem earlier than the second half of November, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev told reporters on Thursday. The accords on holding the fourth round of six-lateral talks over the DPRK nuclear problem in late September have not materialized. “It happened due to a number of subjective and objective reasons,” Alexeyev said. These include “serious disagreements and a high degree of mistrust between the United States and North Korea,” the diplomat said.

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2. KEDO on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Yonhap (“KEDO CHIEF HINTS AT EXTENDING SUSPENSION OF REACTOR PROJECT IN NK “, 2004-10-07) reported that the head of an international consortium charged with building two nuclear reactors in the DPRK indicated Thursday that the US$4.6 billion project could be suspended for another year. In a 1994 deal, the US-led Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization agreed to build two 1,000-megawatt power-generating nuclear reactors in the DPRK in exchange for Pyongyang’s agreement to freeze and eventfully dismantle its plutonium-based nuclear weapons program.

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3. Japan on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Donga Ilbo (“JAPAN MAY REFER N. KOREA`S NUCLEAR PROBLEM TO SECURITY COUNCIL IF SIX-WAY TALKS STALL”, 2004-10-07) reported that Hiroyuki Hosoda, the Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary, said on October 6 that he would consider referring the DPRK nuclear problem to the United Nations Security Council if the six-way talks don’t find their way out of the current stalemate. During a press interview, Hosoda said, “If North Korea refuses to change its mind even after persuasions, the matter can be only handled by the international society, in which the US plays a main role. The United Nations Security Council is a weighty organization.”

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4. IAEA on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Agence France-Presse (“ELBARADEI, JAPAN SHARE NUCLEAR CONCERNS ABOUT TWO KOREAS, IRAN”, 2004-10-07) reported that the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency said Thursday he shares Japan’s concerns about nuclear programs in the two Koreas and Iran, and called the DPRK nuclear crisis the biggest challenge for his agency. “For the IAEA and nuclear nonproliferation regimes, North Korea is the biggest challenge. We share the feeling (with Japan),” ElBaradei was quoted by the Japanese diplomat as telling Aisawa.

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5. ASEM on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Korea Times (“ASEM TO CALL FOR PEACEFUL END TO NK NUCLEAR STANDOFF”, 2004-10-07) reported that leaders of the 39 member states of the 5th Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) are poised to urge a peaceful resolution of the DPRK nuclear crisis, lending support for the six-party talks aimed at ending the DPRK’s nuclear arms programs. According to a draft of the chairman’s statement to be adopted at the end of the two-day biennial ASEM in Hanoi Saturday, the Asian and European leaders will express support for the international efforts to bring an end to the 24-month-long nuclear standoff in a peaceful manner.

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6. US on Relations with DPRK

Joongang Ilbo (“U.S. ENVOY SEES NO CHANCE OF RAID ON NORTH “, 2004-10-07) reported that media speculation that the DPRK might provoke a crisis on the peninsula this month and that the US might retaliate with a surprise surgical strike against the DPRK and its nuclear facilities was dismissed yesterday by Christopher Hill, the newly appointed US ambassador to the ROK. Speaking at a gathering of senior Korean journalists, he said, “There will be no October surprises coming from the US”

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7. DPRK on Human Rights Bill

Yonhap (“N. KOREA CALLS U.S. BILL ‘DECLARATION OF WAR'”, 2004-10-07) reported that the DPRK Thursday stepped up its rhetoric against the US, calling the US bill aimed at improving the DPRK’s human rights a “declaration of war.” It also warned that the US’s hostile policy toward the DPRK would disrupt all dialogue to resolve the nuclear standoff between the two sides. “We regard the US adoption of the North Korea human rights bill as a declaration of hostility and a declaration of war. We will take the toughest measures to crush the US attempt to isolate North Korea,” the DPRK’s Korean Central News Agency said.

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8. Sino-US on DPRK, Cross Strait Relations

Agence France-Presse (“BUSH, HU DISCUSS NORTH KOREA, TAIWAN”, 2004-10-07) reported that US President George W. Bush told PRC President Hu Jintao he supports reunifying Taiwan with the mainland but warned against “any unilateral attempt” to do so, a White House spokesman said. In a wide-ranging telephone conversation, Bush and Hu discussed the fate of Taiwan, the PRC’s exchange rate, as well as the PRC’s support for the multilateral effort to defuse the DPRK nuclear crisis, said Scott McClellan. On the DPRK nuclear issue, President Hu reiterated the PRC’s commitment to the six-party talks,” McClellan told reporters.

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9. DPRK on US Presidential Elections

Yonhap (“N. KOREA SHOWS APATHY TO US PRESIDENTIAL POLL”, 2004-10-07) reported that the DPRK restated Thursday that it does not care who will become the next US president, insisting that it would only consider the US policy toward it as its yardstick. So far, the DPRK has been believed to prefer Democratic challenger John Kerry to President George W. Bush in the Nov. 3 election. There also is a widespread view that the DPRK wants to bide its time until the US election. Choson Sinbo, a pro-DPRK newspaper based in Japan, said that the resumption of six-party talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear arms program is linked to whether the US changes its “hostile policy” toward the DPRK.

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10. Sino-DPRK Relations

Chosun Ilbo (“10,000 CHINESE TROOPS DISPATCHED TO N. KOREAN BORDER”, 2004-10-07) reported that 10,000 PRC Peoples Liberation Army regulars were hastily deployed on Monday and Tuesday to the towns of Shahe, Kaishantun and Nanping of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, a district on the border with the DPRK, a local source said. A Korean-Chinese said he heard from soldiers that they were sent to the region ahead of the winter season to prepare for the possibility of mass defections by armed DPRK soldiers. He added that the soldiers said the sudden deployment was because there were “more-than-clear” signs in the DPRK of an impending mass defection.

Donga Ilbo (“CHINA DEPLOYS 30,000 SOLDIERS NEAR THE APROK RIVER”, 2004-10-07) reported that the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported on October 7 that at the beginning of the month, the PRC deployed 30,000 soldiers of its People’s Liberation Army near the Aprok River, the border between the PRC and DPRK. It reported that another reliable source has informed that the DPRK is also dispatching its crack contingent to the Aprok River area, and the movements of both nations are very active in the border area. The reliable source said, “It seems that China is either preparing for a large scale drill or trying to enforce rigidly the regulations of North Korean defectors.” The Sankei Shimbun assumed that the deployment of the PRC army is either to check the DPRK’s missile launch and nuclear test or to make preparation against a possible civil war, which might occur in the DPRK surrounding DPRK leader Kim Jong-il’s succession system.

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11. DPRK Food Shortages

Yonhap (“RICE PRICE SURGES IN N. KOREA FOLLOWING SUMMER FLOOD: REPORT”, 2004-10-07) reported that Good Friends, a ROK religious group which sends food aid to the DPRK, said on Thursday that rice prices in the DPRK have soared this year, following summer floods. The group said a kilogram of rice cost 1,000 DPRK won in Pyongyang General Market in early September, compared with the country’s average labor income of 2,000 to 3,000 won a month.

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12. US – DPRK Relations

The Yomiuri Shimbun (“U.S. DROPPED THE BALL ON N. KOREA, EXPERT SAYS”, 2004-10-07) reported that the US government has failed to engage seriously with the six-way talks on the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program, according to a senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Speaking to the Yomiuri Research Institute in Tokyo, Joseph Cirincione, senior associate and director of the Non-Proliferation Project at the US think tank, said: “The six-party talks is the right process, but there’s not enough substance in that process. We’ve decided the shape of the table–now we have to put some meat on that table.”

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13. Inter – Korean Relations

The Associated Press (“NORTH, SOUTH KOREA MILITARY OFFICIALS MEET”, 2004-10-07) reported that military officials from the DPRK and the ROK met Thursday to discuss land routes across their border, following a three-month hiatus in military dialogue. ROK officials used the meeting to urge the DPRK to participate soon in a separate round of military talks that was canceled in July, the ROK’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. “North Korea didn’t give a response to our position,” it said.

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14. Kim Dae-jung on Inter – Korean Relations

Korea Times (“EX-PRESIDENT HINTS AT NK ENVOY ROLE”, 2004-10-07) reported that former President Kim Dae-jung expressed his willingness to assume an active role in resolving the ongoing nuclear standoff over the DPRK’s nuclear programs, drawing renewed speculation that he will be appointed as special envoy to the DPRK. During an interview with a local daily, the former head of state said he will seek ways to help the government resolve the nuclear crisis even though he no longer has an official role in the administration. “I think I should play a supporting role and keep a low profile, although I may have to go (to the DPRK),” Kim told the Kyunghyang Shinmun.

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15. US – Japan Intel on DPRK

Asahi Shimbun (“: SATELLITE SPIES: BLACK HOLE: DESPITE THE LAUNCHING OF ASTRONOMICALLY PRICED DOMESTIC SPY SATELLITES, JAPAN REMAINS DEPENDENT ON U.S. INTELLIGENCE”, 2004-10-07) reported that with the DPRK in its backyard, Japan has become a new player in the high-priced field of espionage. Japan has pumped billions of yen to put into orbit spy satellites that defense officials say are crucial in gathering information. But in terms of accuracy, the same officials say Japanese satellites and those of the US are like night and day. And without information provided by the US, Japan would be left in the dark on a number of issues concerning its unpredictable neighbor to the west.

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16. Jenkins Case

The Associated Press (“COURT MARTIAL DATE SET FOR U.S. DESERTER”, 2004-10-07) reported that Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins will face a court martial beginning on Nov. 3, the spokesman for the US Army in Japan said Thursday. The announcement of the date strongly indicated that Jenkins has decided to admit guilt to at least one of the charges against him, probably in exchange for a light sentence.

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17. US – ROK Relations

Chosun Ilbo (“U.S. AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES NK HUMAN RIGHTS, CHANGING KOREA-U.S. RELATIONS”, 2004-10-07) reported that at an invitational debate held at the Kwanhun Club on Thursday, US Ambassador to the ROK Christopher Hill said that DPRK human rights were not just an issue on the Korean Peninsula, but also an international point of interest. He also said that DPRK human rights could not be improved overnight and that continuous effort was needed to improve the human rights situation in the DPRK. The question of direct discussions with the DPRK was raised during the Bush-Kerry debate. “I wasn’t going to discuss internal US politics. However, neither party will tolerate the DPRK’s possession of nuclear weapons. If I could say something clearly, it’s that this isn’t just a US problem, but it’s everyone’s problem.”

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18. ROK on US Troop Realignment

The New York Times (“U.S. EXTENDS TROOPS’ EXIT FROM SOUTH KOREA”, 2004-10-07) reported that in response to heavy ROK pressure, the US has agreed to stretch out over the next three years the withdrawal of one third of US troops here, dropping an earlier deadline of next year, US and ROK officials said Wednesday. This summer, 3,500 US troops left here for Iraq, the first of a total of 5,000 US troops that are to be withdrawn this year from the ROK. Under the new schedule, the next 5,000 are to leave by the end of 2006. The final 2,500 are to leave by the end of 2008, according to a new calendar announced here Wednesday by the US Embassy and the ROK Defense Ministry.

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19. ROK Sex Trade

Agence France-Presse (“SOUTH KOREAN PROSTITUTES RALLY AGAINST SEX TRADE CRACKDOWN”, 2004-10-07) reported that about 2,800 prostitutes wearing face masks and sunglasses to shield their identities marched on parliament to protest at a police crackdown on the ROK’s sex trade. Blocked by a cordon of riot police 500 meters from the National Assembly compound, the sex workers staged a sit-down protest and chanted “Protect our livelihoods”, witnesses said. Police turned a blind eye to the illegal but flourishing sex trade until last month when a massive crackdown closed brothels nationwide and put tens of thousands of prostitutes out of business.

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20. ROK – Japanese Relations

Donga Ilbo (“”JAPAN POSSESSES 40 TONS OF PLUTONIUM” “, 2004-10-07) reported that the Embassy of the ROK to Japan said in a report turned in to the National Assembly on October 8 that Japan is in possession of over 40 tons of plutonium. Rep. Hong pointed out the ROK government’s failure to offer a diplomatic reaction, saying, “With that much plutonium, Japan can make 540 nuclear warheads. It’s nonsense that Japan, in possession of so much plutonium, is showing so much concern over South Korea’s plutonium extraction experiments, which are far different from making nuclear weapons.”

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21. Japan on US Troop Realignment

Reuters (“REPORT: JAPAN WANTS SOME U.S. OKINAWA TROOPS MOVED”, 2004-10-07) reported that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi plans to ask Washington to move some US troops from the southern island chain of Okinawa to locations outside Japan as part of the US government’s review its global military forces, Kyodo news agency reported Thursday. The move would be aimed at reducing what many people in Okinawa see as an unfair burden of hosting the bulk of the US military’s 47,000 personnel in Japan.

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22. Mongolia Archeology Find

Los Angeles Times (“GENGHIS KHAN SITE UNCOVERED, TEAM SAYS”, 2004-10-07) reported that archeologists have unearthed the site of Genghis Khan’s palace and believe that the grave of the 13th century Mongolian warrior is somewhere nearby, the head of the excavation team said. A Japanese and Mongolian research team found the complex on a grassy steppe 150 miles east of the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator, said Shinpei Kato, professor emeritus at Tokyo’s Kokugakuin University.

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23. Sino – US Economic Relations

Reuters (“BUSH, HU DISCUSS CHINESE CURRENCY POLICY”, 2004-10-07) reported that President Bush spoke to PRC President Hu Jintao on Thursday about what the White House called Beijing’s commitment to steadily move to a flexible exchange rate. “The leaders … discussed economic issues, including China’s commitment to move forward firmly and steadily to a market-based flexible exchange rate,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. Bush and Hu spoke by telephone. Beijing has held firm to its gradual approach toward more foreign exchange flexibility despite pressure from the US.

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24. Cross Strait Relations

Reuters (“TAIWAN SAYS U.S. TIES TO SUFFER IF ARMS DEAL FAILS”, 2004-10-07) reported that Taiwan’s Foreign Minister warned lawmakers on Wednesday that ties with the US would be hurt if parliament failed to approve an $18 billion budget to buy advanced US weapons. Mark Chen, the minister, spoke after the Pentagon’s top policymaker for Asia said passage of the budget was a litmus test in US eyes. Earlier on Wednesday, Chen told lawmakers any rejection of the arms deal “will affect the foundation of mutual trust between Taiwan and the United States.”

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25. PRC – UN Relations

Xinhua (“CHINA PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE IN UN: ANNAN “, 2004-10-06) reported that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that the PRC, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, plays an important role in the world body. “It is now playing an increasing role in global economy. The impact of Chinese dynamic economy is felt around the world,” Annan said in an interview with PRC reporters on the eve of his trip to the PRC.

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26. PRC Diplomatic Relations

Voice of America (“CHINA’S ECONOMIC POWER BRINGS GROWING DIPLOMATIC CLOUT”, 2004-10-07) reported that as the PRC’s economic power expands around the world, it also has been carrying out a diplomatic offensive that experts say has presented the nation as a major power other countries want to work with. Randall Schriver, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Asia, says the PRC’s efforts with the DPRK are just one reason his assessment of current US-PRC relations is basically positive. “The United States has essentially ceded the North Korean issue to China, and China is doing what it can to resolve the issue in a way that is, perhaps reluctantly, satisfactory to the United States, but is also in its [the PRC’s] own interests,” he said.

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27. PRC Human Rights Report

Agence France-Presse (“BEIJING LASHES OUT AT US CONGRESS REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA”, 2004-10-07) reported that the PRC has slammed a US congressional report on human rights as interference in its internal affairs and urged US lawmakers to end their “irresponsible remarks.” The report issued in Washington, “ignores the facts and makes preposterous accusations on human rights, religion, Tibet, Hong Kong and other issues,” foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan said in a statement released late Wednesday. “It grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs. We express our resolute opposition,” he said in the statement on the ministry’s website.

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28. PRC Energy Supply

Prime-TASS news agency (“KAZAKH-CHINA PIPE TO BE FILLED WITH RUSSIAN OIL “, 2004-10-07) reported that the 1,000-km Atasu-Alashankou oil pipeline linking the Kazakh town of Atasu with the PRC’s western provinces with an annual throughput capacity of 10m tons “will be filled with Russian oil,” said Kazakhstan’s energy and mineral resources minister, Vladimir Shkolnik, at an international oil and natural gas exhibition. Construction of the Atasu-Alashankou oil pipeline was officially started on 28 September. The first stage of the pipeline is to be completed in 2006. The pipeline is being built by Kazakhstan’s state oil and gas company KazMunaiGaz and the PRC’s National Oil and Gas Corporation.

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29. US on PRC Activist Arrest

The Associated Press (“U.S. SENATORS SEEK RELEASE OF ACTIVIST”, 2004-10-07) reported that a group of American lawmakers is appealing to the PRC to release a US-based PRC activist who is imprisoned on charges of spying and entering the country illegally. A letter calling on President Hu Jintao to parole Yang Jianli when he becomes eligible Oct. 26 was delivered Wednesday to the PRC Embassy in Washington, said Jared Genser, a lawyer for Yang’s family. The letter was signed by 21 senators and 85 members of the House of Representatives, Genser said by telephone from Washington.