NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, June 29, 2004

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NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, June 29, 2004

NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, June 29, 2004

United States

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. United States

1. DPRK on Multilateral Talks

Korean Central News Agency of the DPRK (“DPRK FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN ON SIX-PARTY TALKS”, 2004-06-28) reported that a spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry issued the following statement Monday after the close of another round of the six-party talks in Beijing: This time the U.S. side said that it would take note of the DPRK’s proposal for “reward for freeze” and seriously examine it. An agreement was reached on such issues as taking simultaneous actions on the principle of “words for words” and “action for action” and mainly discussing the issue of “reward for freeze”. This was positive progress made at the talks. The DPRK delegation at the talks clarified details concerning its nuclear freeze on the premise that the U.S. withdraws its demand for CVID. It made it clear that the DPRK would freeze all the facilities related to nuclear weapons and products churned out by their operation, refrain from producing more nukes, transferring and testing them and the freeze would be the first start that would lead to the ultimate dismantlement of the nuclear weapons program. The reward which the DPRK delegation called for should include such issues as the U.S. commitment to the lifting of sanctions and blockade against the DPRK, the energy assistance of 2,000,000kw through the supply of heavy oil and electricity, etc. The DPRK delegation had exhaustive negotiations with the U.S. side for nearly two and half hours on the sidelines of the talks. The U.S. side recognized the reward for the freeze and advanced what it called “landmark proposal.” The DPRK will closely follow the U.S. future attitude, pushing forward as planned the work to increase its capability for self-defense to cope with the threat of aggression from outside forces.

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2. ASEAN on WMD Proliferation

Kyodo News (“ASIA-PACIFIC NATIONS TO PLEDGE NONPROLIFERATION OF WMD”, ) reported that twenty-three member countries of an Asia-Pacific regional security forum are expected to adopt a statement on the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which was recently proposed by the US. A copy of the latest draft statement, obtained by Kyodo News, says, “In the interest of international peace and security, ARF participants agree that it is vital that we prevent, with utmost vigilance and urgency, the proliferation of WMD, their means of delivery and related materials.” It urges ARF member countries to adopt measures such as beefing up their export control capabilities, sharing information, cooperating to thwart the illicit trafficking of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and strengthening legal frameworks for criminalizing exports of equipment and technology that could lead to the WMD production. Pledging to act in cooperation, the draft statement says, “ARF participants will implement effective export controls and enforcement measures to control the transfer of materials, technology and expertise that can contribute to the design, development, production or use of WMD and their means of delivery.” But it says the measures to be taken “shall not impede states’ efforts to acquire material, equipment and technology for peaceful purposes”.

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3. US – ROK Bomber Deployment

Chosun Ilbo (“10 U.S. STEALTH FIGHTERS DEPLOYED TO KOREA FOR TRAINING”, 2004-06-29) reported that the Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that ten U.S. F-117A stealth fighters would be deployed to a U.S. airbase in the southern part of the ROK to take part in military training that will last several months. An official with the Ministry said, “On Wednesday and Thursday, F-117A aircraft will move to Korea from Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico and will engage in military training in Korea for several months.” Sources familiar with the situation said the move has symbolic implications that demonstrate that despite USFK force reductions, U.S. fighting power in the ROK would be strengthened.

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4. Inter-Korean Relations

Xinhua news agency (“TOP BANKERS OF TWO KOREAS MEET FOR FIRST TIME”, 2004-06-29) reported that top bankers of the two Koreas have held their first-ever talks in Switzerland and discussed possible cooperation between the two central banks, officials at the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday (29 June). BOK Governor Park Seung met with his ROK counterpart Kim Wan-soo on the sidelines of the annual assembly of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) last week in Basel, Switzerland. Park is the head of the Central Bank of the DPRK. The Park-Kim meeting took place at a reception of the BIS assembly on Saturday. Kim, who has seldom participated in meetings of international financial organizations since assuming his post in 2000, attended the BIS meeting as an observer. Park had asked the general director of the BIS many times to invite the top banker of the reclusive country to the meeting. Park and Kim talked about the functions of each other’s bank as well as their role and organization, the officials said.

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5. Inter-Korean Cultural Exchange

Korea Times (“POPULAR SOUTH KOREAN EPIC DRAMA TO AIR IN NORTH KOREA “, 2004-06-29) reported that a local television drama about the life of an empress in the late Choson period will be shown in the DPRK in the near future. The KBS drama “Myongsong hwanghu (The Last Empress)” is set to broadcast in the DPRK after an agreement was reached in Hong Kong yesterday between Shin Hyun-taik, chairman of Korea Foundation for Asian Culture Exchange (KFACE), and Choi Hyuck-woo, president of North Korean Movie Import and Export Corporation. According to the agreement, the KFACE will donate the drama to its DPRK counterpart, who will air it through the DPRK’s state-run Chosun Central TV. The broadcast dates have yet to be decided. The show depicts the life of Empress Myongsong, who wielded a great deal of political power but was assassinated by a group of Japanese samurais in 1895. As part of the agreement, singers from the DPRK will be invited to perform at the Asia Pop Festival, to be held in Seoul October 29, as a way to promote further bilateral cultural exchanges.

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6. PRC – DPRK Relations

Korean Central News Agency of the DPRK (“CHINESE ECONOMIC DELEGATION VISITS DPRK”, 2004-06-28) reported that a PRC government economic and trade delegation led by Chen Jian, assistant to the minister of commerce of China, arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday (29 June). He was greeted at the airport by Kim Jong-gi, vice-minister of foreign trade, Yun Su-ryong, vice-minister of construction and building-materials industries, officials concerned, PRC ambassador EP To the DPRK Wu Donghe and staff members of the embassy here.

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7. ROK – PRC Relations

Korea Times (“DJ TO MEET JIANG ZEMIN”, 2004-06-29) reported that Former President Kim Dae-jung on Tuesday started his tour of the PRC, which is to include a series of meetings with senior Chinese officials and lectures on the subject of lasting peace on the Korean peninsula. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kim is to meet with Jiang Zemin, chairman of the PRC’s Central Military Commission on Wednesday to discuss ways of solidifying peace on the peninsula. It will be their seventh meeting. Kim will also deliver a lecture at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Friday. The title of his speech is “Peace on the Korean peninsula and ROK-China cooperation.” A PRC diplomatic association organized Kim’s five-day visit in Beijing with his wife Lee Hee-ho. PRC Ambassador to the ROK Li Bin, who accompanied Kim to the airport, said that PRC leaders anticipate meeting the creator of the sunshine policy or engagement with the DPRK. Kim replied: “During the five-year term in Chong Wa Dae, Chinese leaders, including Jiang Zemin, then Chinese president, much contributed to the development of the ROK-China relationship. Now the two countries have entered into a full-scale cooperative relationship.”

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8. PRC on DPRK Refugees

BBC News (“CHINA JAILS JAPANESE AID WORKER”, 2004-06-29) reported that the PRC has jailed a Japanese aid worker for trying to smuggle two DPRK refugees out of the country. Takayuki Noguchi, 32, was sentenced to eight months in prison and fined 20,000 Yuan ($2,400) for human trafficking. He was arrested on 10 December with a DPRK couple who had crossed into the PRC and traveled to its southern province of Guangxi. His case caused concern in Japan, and criticism from rights groups of the PRC’s handling of DPRK refugees. A court spokesman said the aid worker could be released in August since he has already been in detention for six months. He is then likely to be deported to Japan. The two DPRK refugees he was helping were both born in Japan but are believed to have returned to the DPRK in the 1960s. Their whereabouts are no longer known, although the PRC usually repatriates people found to have fled the DPRK, a close ally. Between 100,000 and 300,000 DPRK refugees are thought to have fled to the PRC in recent years.

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9. PRC on Proliferation

Outlook India.com (“CHINA NOT IN FAVOUR OF ACCORDING NUCLEAR STATUS TO INDIA, PAK”, 2004-06-29) reported that the PRC today said it was not in favour of welcoming India and Pakistan into the five-member exclusive nuclear club and hoped the international community would stick to principles of Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty as well as the spirit of the UN Security Council resolution passed soon after the South Asian nuclear tests of May 1998. “The international community should stick to the spirit and principles enshrined in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as well as the consensus reached in the UN Security Council resolution 1172,” PRC Assistant Foreign Minister, Shen Guofang, told a group of Indian journalists here. “In our region, we have seen many wars and conflicts, which have been either due to historical reasons or mutual non-confidence. So we believe that peace and development should be the main principles and policies for the countries in this region,” he said.

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10. PRC Domestic Energy

Washington Post Foreign Service (“OUT OF THE DARK IN RURAL CHINA ELECTRICITY TRANSFORMING VILLAGE LIFE”, 2004-06-25) reported that as China seeks to secure sufficient stocks of energy to fuel its industrial expansion, most attention is focused on coastal cities, where power is being rationed in the face of voracious demand from steel mills, auto factories and skyscrapers. But while urban areas may be the most visible sign of the refashioning of China’s economy, the scene in Yunnan province, some 1,500 miles from the coast, underscores a subtler change reshaping poorer, rural areas: Villages are being wired with electricity, altering the way people cook, work, secure cash and pass the evening. Television now penetrates the most remote corners of the country, giving people who have never traveled beyond a day’s walk from their homes an inkling of the world beyond. Isolated farmers are seeing for the first time how a growing nouveau riche lives in China’s largest cities, recognizing at once how quickly their country is developing and how little new wealth is reaching them. Some 98 percent of all Chinese households now have electricity, yet that leaves tens of millions of people without, according to a recent report in the official China Daily newspaper. But if electricity has elevated material conditions, it has also heightened awareness of how poor this area is. “It makes us frustrated,” he said. “We are so far away from the development. In the city, they have everything. Here, we have nothing.”

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11. PRC Anti-Corruption Measures

Reuters (“CHINA PROVINCIAL PARTY CHIEF JAILED FOR LIFE FOR GRAFT”, 2004-06-29) reported that the PRC has jailed a provincial Communist Party chief for life for accepting more than $800,000 in bribes, the latest in a string of officials punished in an intensified campaign against corruption. Liu Fangren, 68, former party chief of the PRC’s southwest province of Guizhou, was also ordered to hand over all his personal property and repay the bribe money, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday. He has 10 days to appeal. In February this year, a former vice governor of Anhui province was executed for accepting bribes. A former director of the Guizhou transportation department was sentenced to death in May for the same offence. The PRC’s leaders have warned in recent years that the Communist Party faces self-destruction if it fails to crack down on corruption, a scourge that toppled several imperial dynasties.

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12. PRC Media Control

The New York Times (“DESPITE AN ACT OF LENIENCY, CHINA HAS ITS EYE ON THE WEB “, 2004-06-27) reported that a PRC court recently announced that an Internet democracy advocate charged with subversion would get a suspended sentence instead of a long prison term, with the case drawing criticism from human rights groups and serving as a rallying cry for this country’s growing number of online commentators. Both in the PRC and abroad, some commentators quickly applauded what seemed like an official show of leniency toward the accused man, Du Daobin, a prolific author of online essays on issues of democracy and free speech. But many among the PRC’s rapidly growing group of Internet commentators are warning that what appears to be government magnanimity in this high-profile case conceals a quiet but concerted push to tighten controls of the Internet and surveillance of its users even though the PRC’s restrictions on the medium are already among the broadest and most invasive anywhere. Internet cafe users in the PRC have long been subject to an extraordinary range of controls. They include cameras placed discreetly throughout the establishments to monitor and identify users and Web masters, and Internet cafe managers who keep an eye on user activity, whether electronically or by patrolling the premises.

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13. PRC Trade Status

The Associated Press (“CHINA APPEALS TO EU ON STATUS REJECTION “, 2004-06-29) reported that the PRC government appealed Tuesday to the European Union to reconsider its rejection of the PRC’s request to be recognized as a market economy, saying such status would help both sides. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue disputed the EU’s statement Monday that the PRC had too much state interference in its economy. “We believe that the European Union should fully recognize the current status of China as a market economy, which is a matter of fact,” Zhang said. “It will benefit not only China but the cooperation between the EU and China.” The PRC has been lobbying for market status because it would strengthen its position when its exporters are accused of selling products below fair market prices. The private sector makes up “a considerable part of the national economy” in the PRC, Zhang said. “Some statistics show that the prices of 90 percent of goods are set by the market.” The PRC still must make progress in “state interference” in the economy, corporate and banking law and its financial sector before the EU would grant market economy status, an EU spokeswoman said Monday.

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14. ROK Hostage Death

The Associated Press (“SOUTH KOREA PROBES HANDLING OF KIDNAPPING “, 2004-06-28) reported that President Roh Moo-hyun urged the nation Monday not to jump to conclusions as investigators look into the government’s handling of the abduction of a ROK citizen who was beheaded in Iraq. Roh last week ordered the Board of Audit and Inspection to investigate he circumstances surrounding the killing of Kim Sun-il amid concerns that the government could have done more to secure his release. “We should not hold somebody responsible just because of the social atmosphere without first determining where the responsibility lies,” Roh was quoted as saying by his spokesman, Yoon Tae-young. “Until we have investigative results from the Board of Audit and Inspection, we are not going to hold anyone responsible just based on speculation,” the president said. The Foreign Ministry late Friday acknowledged that it was asked in early June whether a South Korean was missing in Iraq – several weeks before Kim was beheaded. Ministry spokesman Shin Bong-kil said no report of the inquiry was forwarded to senior officials.

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15. ROK Labor Unrest

The Associated Press (“SOUTH KOREAN AUTO WORKERS STRIKE OVER PAY”, 2004-06-29) reported that the ROK’s auto industry was hit by nationwide strikes Tuesday as unions demanded higher wages and better working conditions. The 41,000-member union at Hyundai Motor Co., the nation’s top auto manufacturer, staged a full-day strike after partial walkouts Friday and Monday. Another 23,000 laid down their tools at Kia Motors Corp., a Hyundai affiliate, while Ssangyong Motor Co. was hit by a four-hour morning shutdown. Hyundai’s union said it will stage another full-day strike Wednesday. Workers there have demanded a 10.5 percent wage hike. They also asked that contract workers be guaranteed pay amounting to 80 percent of regular salaries, and that management set aside 5 percent of the company’s net profit to establish a welfare fund for contract workers. Negotiations with Hyundai management broke down earlier this month.

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16. ROK Prime Minister

Chosun Ilbo (“NATIONAL ASSEMBLY APPROVES LEE HAI-CHAN AS PRIME MINISTER”, 2004-06-29) reported that the National Assembly approved Lee Hai-chan as the new prime minister at a general meeting on Tuesday. With 289 out of 299 lawmakers participating, the confirmation bill was passed by a 200-84 vote, with five votes ruled invalid. As Lee was confirmed as prime minister, President Roh Moo-hyun is to give Lee the letter of appointment Wednesday morning. With the recommendations of the new prime minister, Roh will carry out a partial reshuffle to officially launch the 2nd cabinet of his administration. Former Uri Party chairman Chung Dong-young was de facto designated as the Minister of Unification, and Uri Party lawmakers Kim Geun-tae and Chung Dong-chae as the Minister of Health and Welfare and the Minister of Culture and Tourism. There may be a second cabinet reshuffle after July 10 because it is known that Roh is considering making a partial personnel move in the diplomatic and security areas when the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea releases the results of its investigation into the death of Kim Sun-il. However, if no clear reasons for disciplinary action are found, the personnel shift is expected to be minimal.

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17. DPRK on Japanese Abductees

Jiji Press (“SOGA FAMILY REUNION IN INDONESIA UP TO JENKINS: N. KOREA’S PAEK”, ) reported that DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun said Monday that a reunion of Hitomi Soga, a repatriated Japanese victim of DPRK abductions, with her family members still in the DPRK is up to her American husband, Jiji Press learned. Paek made the comment at a dinner meeting here with his Indonesian counterpart Noer Hasan Wirajuda, an Indonesian Foreign Ministry source said. This is the first time that a DPRK cabinet minister has indicated approval of Soga’s reunion with her husband, Charles Robert Jenkins, and their two daughters in Indonesia. Jenkins, a former U.S. serviceman who is believed to have defected to the DPRK, has refused to go to Japan to see his wife out of fear that he would be extradited and face prosecution in the US. Japan has proposed to the DPRK that Soga meet with Jenkins and their daughters in a third country, citing Indonesia as the most desirable candidate.

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18. Japanese UN Role

The Japan Times (“JAPAN PREPARES PUSH FOR PLACE ON SECURITY COUNCIL”, 2004-06-29) reported that the United Nations should allow a “limited number of nations,” including at least one country that does not possess nuclear weapons, to join the Security Council as permanent members, according to a report compiled Monday by an advisory panel to the foreign minister. The report, submitted to Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, is aimed at providing the government with fresh ammunition to achieve its longtime ambition of becoming a permanent UNSC member. The panel also said the UNSC needs to reflect the “realities of the international community in the 21st century.” It urged the government to position U.N. reform as its “most important diplomatic task” and set up a body or a new position of special envoy toward this end. The new permanent council members should be selected by vote and be able to exercise the same veto right as the current five permanent members, the report says.

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19. DPRK Historical Sites

Yonhap News (“N. KOREAN GOGURYEO SITES TO RECEIVE WORLD HERITAGE STATUS”, 2004-06-29) reported that historical sites of an ancient kingdom put forward to UNESCO by both the DPRK and the PRC will likely receive international recognition, ROK officials participating in a meeting of the U.N. body here said Tuesday. Historical sites of the Goguryeo Dynasty (37 B.C.-668 A.D.) in the DPRK will likely be given World Heritage status for the first time this week, Park Heung-shin, the ROK’s chief delegate, said.

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20. DPRK – Indonesian Relations

Kyodo News (“INDONESIAN, NORTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTERS HOLD TALKS”, 2004-06-29) reported that Foreign Minister of the DPRK Paek Nam-sun held talks Tuesday (29 June) with his Indonesian counterpart Hasan Wirayudha on bilateral and regional issues, including the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. The two ministers exchanged views on how to develop the friendly relations between the two countries and other issues of mutual concern, Paek Nam-sun told reporters at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry compound after the meeting. Paek Nam-sum arrived here on Monday and is due to meet President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Wednesday to convey a message from DPRK leader Kim Jong-il. He will extend his stay to join the 11th gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) on Friday, to which US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi have confirmed their participation. Paek said Wirayudha had told him his participation in the ARF would mean contribution towards peace and stability in the region.

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21. DPRK – New Zealand Relations

The Associated Press (“NZ FOREIGN MIN PLANS FOR SECURITY TALKS AT ASEAN FORUM”, 2004-06-29) reported that New Zealand’s foreign minister is planning talks with his Indian and Russian counterparts, as well as the DPRK’s foreign minister in Jakarta this week at the annual meeting of partners of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Phil Goff said Tuesday the talks with DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun, Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will focus on terrorism and other security concerns. He said he also hoped to confirm a proposed November summit meeting between Asean leaders and the premiers of New Zealand and Australia. “It would set a framework for more extensive policy engagement and practical cooperation with Asean in the future,” he said in a statement. Following the Jakarta meeting, Goff will visit Vietnam and the Philippines. Asean’s members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.