I. United States

1. US – DPRK Relations

UPI (“U.S. URGES N. KOREA TO STUDY ITS PROPOSAL”, 2004-07-13) reported that the US Tuesday urged the DPRK to seriously study its proposal for ending the current nuclear dispute. “It’s a thorough and comprehensive proposal (offering) a way of achieving the goal of denuclearization,” U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a news briefing in Washington, adding, “And we still think it’s very important for the North Koreans to study it seriously.” Earlier Tuesday, a DPRK official rejected an offer U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice presented last week during a visit to South Korea. Rice offered a “surprising compensation” to North Korea if it gave up its nuclear program. The DPRK’s Deputy Ambassador to the U.N. Han Sung-ryol, however, turned down Rice’s proposition, saying Pyongyang was “not interested.”

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2. DPRK on Nuclear Program

Yonhap (“N. KOREA PLEDGES TO MAINTAIN PEACEFUL NUKE PROGRAM”, 2004-07-14) reported that despite a prolonged nuclear standoff with the United States, the DPRK vowed Wednesday to keep its peaceful nuclear program intact. “Peaceful nuclear programs should not be frozen or dismantled because they constitute our sovereign rights,” a spokesman from North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in an interview with the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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3. US – DPRK Relations

Kyodo (“KOREA MUST RETURN HIJACKERS TO BE REMOVED FROM TERROR LIST”, 2004-07-14) reported that the repatriation of Japanese radicals who hijacked a commercial jetliner to Pyongyang in 1970 is one of the conditions by the US to remove the DPRK from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, the State Department said Monday. “I think we’ve made clear that there are steps that North Korea needs to take, particularly regarding its residual ties to terrorism,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. “This may be among them.”

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4. Russian on DPRK Nuclear Impasse

The Associated Press (“RUSSIAN ENVOY SLAMS US OVER N KOREA NUCLEAR FREEZE PLAN”, 2004-07-14) reported that a U.S. proposal calling for DPRK to freeze work on its nuclear weapons program over three months doesn’t allow enough time, a Russian diplomat said Wednesday. Russian special envoy Alexander Alexeyev said the DPRK considers the three months a preliminary period during which it could build trust with the U.S., the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. “According to Pyongyang, before it freezes its nuclear program, it is necessary to accumulate the potential of mutual trust with Washington,” ITAR-Tass quoted Alexeyev as saying. “It needs more time than the proposed three months for dismantling.”

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5. DPRK – Russian Relations

Kyodo (“N. KOREA ASKS RUSSIA TO WRITE OFF $127 MIL. DEBT”, 2004-07-14) reported that the DPRK asked Russia to write off debts of 3.7 billion rubles ($127 million) when the country’s leadership met visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russian government sources said Tuesday. The request was made July 5 during Lavrov’s official visit to Pyongyang. The foreign minister did not make an immediate response, the sources said. Lavrov talked with DPRK leader Kim Jong Il for about 90 minutes on that day. Before his talks with Kim, the foreign minister met his DPRK counterpart, Paek Nam Sun, and Kim Yong Nam, the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly.

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6. US on DPRK Defectors

Donga Ilbo (“INTERNATIONAL MUTUAL ASSISTANCE FOR NORTH KOREAN DEFECTORS”, 2004-07-14) reported that Chairman of the U.S.-Korea Interparliamentary Exchange Committee and U.S. Representative Ed Royce (Republican, California) announced on July 13 that an international mutual assistance system is needed to support DPRK defectors. Congressman Royce held a joint press conference this day at Washington with Korean representatives and stated as such while explaining the North Korea Human Rights Bill, which passed the House International Relations Committee recently. The North Korea Human Rights Bill includes contents for the U.S. to recognize DPRK defectors as refugees while providing safe shelter and strengthening the radio broadcasting system for DPRK residents. Congressman Royce was quoted as saying, “In the past, radio advertising was effective in Eastern Europe,” and added, “Even though the residents of North Korea will not be able to listen directly to the radio advertisements, it will change the military and the leaders of North Korea.”

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7. Sino – DPRK Relations

Korean Central News Agency of the DPRK (“TALKS BETWEEN DPRK MINISTER OF PAF AND CHINESE MINISTER OF DEFENCE”, 2004-07-12) reported that talks between Vice-Marshal of the Korean People’s Army Kim Il Chol, member of the National Defense Commission of the DPRK and minister of the People’s Armed Forces, and Colonel General Cao Gangchuan, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, state councilor and minister of Defense, were held at the August 1 Building in Beijing Monday. At the talks both sides exchanged views on the issue of boosting the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries and the two armies of the DPRK and PRC and other issues of mutual concern. Present at the talks from the DPRK side were the members of the DPRK military delegation, Choe Jin Su, DPRK ambassador to China, and the military attaché of the DPRK embassy in Beijing and from the Chinese side the deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, the deputy director of the General Political Department of the CPLA and others. The talks took place in a friendly atmosphere. The DPRK military delegation led by Kim Il Chol arrived here Monday.

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8. DPRK Internet

Yonhap (“NORTH KOREA OPERATES INTERNET PORTAL SITE “, 2004-07-14) reported that the DPRK was found on Wednesday to be operating its first Internet portal site to sell merchandise and propagandize its system to the rest of the world. The existence of the portal site became known when the July issue of Korea, a monthly photo journal issued by a sub-organization of the North Korean Workers’ Party, carried an advertisement for it.

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9. Inter-Korean Maritime Security

Chosun Ilbo (“WARNING SHOTS FIRED AT N KOREAN PATROL BOAT IN WEST SEA”, 2004-07-14) reported that a DPRK patrol boat crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) at around 4:47 p.m. on Wednesday, but retreated after the ROK Navy fired warning shots. This is the first time that a DPRK patrol boat has trespassed the NLL since the North and South’s military authorities activated the hot line on June 15 to prevent accidental confrontation between the two nations. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the DPRK patrol boat crossed the NLL 0.7 miles towards the south while controlling Chinese ships engaging in illegal operations 15 miles west off the sea from Yeonpyong Island. But it retreated 7 minutes after the South’s Navy fired warning shots. A JSC official said, “Considering that four Chinese fishing ships were operating on the northern sea when the North Korean patrol boat crossed the NLL, we think that they crossed the line accidentally while supervising illegal fishing activities.”

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10. Inter – Korean Military Relations

Yonhap (“S. KOREA MULLS SCRAPPING CONCEPT OF N. KOREA AS ‘MAIN ENEMY’ “, 2004-07-14) reported that the ROK is seeking to drop the controversial term “main enemy,” a reference to its arch-rival DPRK, from a military white paper due in October, a presidential aide said Wednesday. “The Defense Ministry is considering changing the main enemy concept into a modernized expression,” the senior official at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said, requesting anonymity.

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11. Inter-Korean Business Relations

Chosun Ilbo (“OVERSEAS S. KOREAN BUSINESSMEN TO VISIT PYONGYANG IN OCTOBER”, 2004-07-13) reported that overseas Korean businessmen are being invited on a rare opportunity to visit Pyongyang this October. According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, participants in the 3rd World Korean Business Convention scheduled on October 26th for six days on the southern island of Jeju, will fly to Pyongyang via a chartered DPRK Koryo Airlines flight. One of the organizing groups, the Overseas Korean Traders Association, is planning to send a group of representatives to sign documents outlining the terms of agreement regarding the plan at the end of this month. Some 1400 overseas Korean businessmen from more than 40 countries are expected to take part in this year’s World Korean Business Convention.

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12. ROK on Pro-DPRK Investigations

Chosun Ilbo (“ULD PROPOSES TO INVESTIGATE PRO-N.KOREA ACTIVITIES”, 2004-07-14) reported that in connection with the Uri Party’s revised Japanese Collaborator Fact Finding Law, the United Liberal Democrats (ULD)’s spokesperson Lee Kyu-yang announced a statement Wednesday and proposed to form a committee to investigate pro-DPRK activities. Spokesperson Lee said the Uri Party seemingly intends to use the Japanese Collaborator Fact Finding Law for political retaliation targeting former President Park Jung-hee and newspaper companies like the Chosun Ilbo and Donga Ilbo. This attempt would not avoid public criticism and the ULD proposed to establish a pro-DPRK activity fact-finding committee, the spokesperson said.

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13. Abductee Reunion

Kyodo (“JENKINS WILLING TO VISIT JAPAN; TOKYO ASSUMES NO U.S. AGREEMENT”, 2004-07-14) reported that Charles Jenkins, an accused U.S. Army deserter and the husband of a repatriated Japanese abductee, has expressed willingness to visit Japan, while Tokyo is planning to realize his visit even without an agreement from Washington to prevent his extradition, Japanese government sources said Wednesday. Jenkins, 64, has told a Japanese government official that while he is anxious, he would like to trust Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who in a May 22 meeting in the DPRK persuaded him to come to Japan, the sources said.

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14. Sino – Korean Relations

Korea Times (“SEOUL PROTESTS BEIJING’S DISTORTION OF KOGURYO”, 2004-07-14) reported that the ROK government called in the PRC’s top diplomat in Seoul to protest against Beijing’s recent deletion of Koguryo, one of the three kingdoms of ancient Korea, from an introduction to Korean history on the Web site of its Foreign Ministry. Vice Foreign Minister Choi Young-jin met with PRC Ambassador to Seoul Li Bin at the ministry headquarters to deliver the government’s firm stance on the dispute and dissatisfaction at the PRC’s move, according to the Foreign Ministry. In another complaint against the neighboring nation, Seoul has also lodged a formal protest with the Chinese authorities through diplomatic channels, a ministry official said. “We conveyed our discontent toward the Chinese government via Ambassador Kim Ha-joong in Beijing,” the official said asking not to be named. “We cannot disclose details for the present since diplomatic procedures are underway.” Seoul’s move drew attention as it is the first official response to the PRC’s alleged move to distort historical facts about the ancient kingdom of Koguryo, officials said.

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15. ROK Cyberattacks

Chosun Ilbo (“IDENTITY OF CHINESE HACKER CONFIRMED “, 2004-07-14) reported that the Munhwa Ilbo reported Wednesday that at least some of the hackers who hacked into the computers of major national institutions like the National Assembly, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and Korea Institute for Defense Analyses were from the PRC. In particular, one of the PRC hackers has some Korean ability and could send emails in Korean, and the paper reported that the government has secured this concrete information on the individual such as his identity and his educational background. Accordingly, the government has designated “a group of some size” operating in the PRC as the principal offender in this hacking incident, and strengthened joint investigations with Taiwan, which was similarly victimized early this year and in June. The government also plans to seek the cooperation of the Chinese government with investigations in connection with Interpol.

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16. US – PRC on Taiwan, Hong Kong

Washington Post (“CHINA WARNS U.S. ON POLICIES BEIJING SAYS STANCES ON TAIWAN, HONG KONG MAY HURT RELATIONS “, ) reported that the PRC lashed out yesterday at the Bush administration’s policies on Taiwan and Hong Kong, declaring it is “gravely concerned” that the issues will undermine progress on U.S.-PRC relations. “The important thing is for the United States to honor its commitments,” Sun said, calling the situation across the Taiwan Strait “severely tested.” Otherwise, he warned, it would harm bilateral relations and affect the PRC’s cooperation on such issues as the DPRK nuclear crisis. A senior administration official who had traveled with Rice played down the spokesman’s comments in a conference call with reporters. “The relationship with China, while we are not wearing rose-colored glasses, is productive and stable,” he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity under guidelines set by the White House.

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17. PRC Intellectual Property Rights

The Associated Press (“PFIZER CHIEF EXPECTS TO WIN PATENT APPEAL”, 2004-07-14) reported that Pfizer Inc., the U.S. maker of Viagra, expects to win an appeal of last week’s decision by PRC regulators to overturn the company’s patent there, according to the company’s top executive. We intend to appeal this decision and I think we have a very good chance of prevailing. Our patent is valid,” Hank McKinnell, Pfizer chairman and chief executive, said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires. McKinnell – who was interviewed late Tuesday on the sidelines of the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok – said overturning the ruling would have little effect on Pfizer’s bottom line. However, the move would be welcomed by foreign investors wary of the PRC’s stance on intellectual property rights, he said.

Agence France-Presse (“CHINA TASTES ITS OWN MEDICINE AS 2010 EXPO OFFICE SUES FOR IPR VIOLATION”, 2004-07-14) reported that the PRC got a taste of its own medicine after Shanghai’s municipality filed a suit against a local real estate company for copyright infringement, alleging the group copied its 2010 Shanghai Expo logo. Shanghai is seeking 500,000 yuan (60,000 dollars), a public apology and a promise from Honghui Real Estate Development that it will stop using the logo it is accused of emulating. The city’s No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court Tuesday began hearing the case filed by the Shanghai World Expo office. “The flood of pirated goods and (copyright) infringements is a global phenomenon, it is not only China,” Tao Xinliang, a lawyer representing Shanghai’s World Expo office, told AFP.

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18. PRC Pro-Democracy Movement

Agence France-Presse (“HONG KONG’S DEMOCRATS SEEK DIALOGUE WITH CHINA”, 2004-07-14) reported that toning down its traditionally critical voice, Hong Kong’s opposition Democratic Party says it wants more cooperation with PRC but insists it will not soften its call for democracy. The party has long been a vocal critic of the Hong Kong government and its demand for universal suffrage has collided with the PRC’s refusal to allow direct elections for Hong Kong’s leaders and legislature by 2007 and 2008. However, in the run-up to legislative elections in September, Democrats have toned down their opposition rhetoric and adopted a more conciliatory tone towards the city’s communist rulers in Beijing. “We believe the central (Chinese) government has the sincerity to understand the Democratic Party — we can feel it,” said party chairman Yeung Sum, at an end-of-legislative year press conference. Half the legislature’s 60 seats will be chosen by direct election on September 12 and pro-democracy parties are tipped to make big gains over parties that support the regime in Beijing.

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19. PRC Gas Leak Trial

The Associated Press (“CHINA PUTS 6 ON TRIAL IN GAS LEAK DEATHS”, 2004-07-14) reported that six gas company employees went on trial Wednesday over a disaster that killed 243 people in December when a burst gas well spewed toxic fumes over mountain villages in the PRC’s southwest. The Dec. 23 blowout near the city of Chongqing was one of the PRC’s deadliest industrial accidents. The cloud of natural gas and hydrogen sulfide left villages over a 10-square-mile area strewn with bodies and injured more than 9,000 people. Investigators blamed the blowout on negligence by a drilling crew who they said dismantled equipment that would have contained the gas. The trial in the Chongqing No. 2 Intermediate Court began Wednesday and was scheduled to last three days, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. It didn’t give any details of the charges or possible penalties.

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20. Japanese – ROK Relations

Asahi Shimbun (“KOIZUMI TO VISIT S KOREA IN A WEEK”, 2004-07-14) reported that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will visit the ROK for two days from July 21 to discuss issues concerning the DPRK, it was announced Tuesday in Tokyo. Koizumi will meet with President Roh Moo Hyun on Cheju Island, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said. “We will discuss friendship between Japan and South Korea as well as the North Korean issue,” Koizumi told reporters. Hosoda also touched on other areas the talks would cover. “The abduction issue will naturally be a topic,” he said. Hosoda indicated Koizumi will likely ask for South Korea’s support in resolving problems concerning the fate of 10 missing Japanese believed to have been abducted by DPRK agents. Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions will also be up for discussion.

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21. Flooding in Japan

The Associated Press (“N. JAPAN FLOODING FORCES 20,000 TO FLEE “, 2004-07-14) reported that torrential rains and flooding in northern Japan killed at least six people, injured several more and forced nearly 20,000 others to evacuate to higher ground, officials said Wednesday. Four people were missing. At the epicenter of the flooding, in Tochio, 135 miles northwest of Tokyo, 17 inches of rain had fallen in two days. Authorities broadened an evacuation order to 19,788 households late Wednesday, mostly in the city of Sanjo, north of Tochio. Some 22,300 homes had been flooded, including 14,760 in Sanjo, where the fast-flowing waters of the Ikarashi River broke through a stone-and-dirt embankment in several areas. Dozens of schools were closed.

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22. Australia on Nuclear Waste Disposal

Agence France-Presse (“AUSTRALIA LOOKS FOR PACIFIC SOLUTION TO NUCLEAR WASTE PROBLEM”, 2004-07-14) reported that Prime Minister John Howard has proposed sending Australia’s low-level nuclear waste to an offshore island after being forced to abandon plans for a radioactive waste dump on a remote mainland site. The repository was to have been built on a sheep farm acquired for the purpose near Woomera in South Australia, but after years of wrangling with state authorities, Prime Minister John Howard said his government had dropped the plan. The decision came after Howard’s Liberal colleagues expressed fears over the electoral implications of foisting the dump on South Australia in which three key marginal seats are under threat at the election due by the end of this year. Howard blamed a recent Federal Court ruling against the forced acquisition of the land and the failure of the states to cooperate with Canberra in finding a national solution.