NAPSNet Daily Report Monday, November 21, 2005

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NAPSNet Daily Report Monday, November 21, 2005

NAPSNet Daily Report Monday, November 21, 2005

I. NAPSNet

II. CanKor

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. NAPSNet

1. APEC on DPRK Nuclear Program

Yonhap News (“APEC LEADERS SUPPORT AGREEMENT ON N.K NUKE ABANDONMENT”, 2005-11-19) reported that Pacific Rim leaders urged the international community on Saturday to join forces to dismantle the DPRK’s nuclear weapons. “APEC leaders welcomed the positive progress made in the recent six-party talks for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a verifiable manner,” ROK President Roh Moo-hyun said, standing with other APEC leaders. The leaders expected such progress will help contribute to regional peace, stability and prosperity. “If we resolve the North Korean nuclear issue well, inter-Korean economic cooperation will develop very rapidly and a peace regime will be set up on the Korean Peninsula,” Roh said in a news conference winding up the annual meeting.

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2. US on DPRK Nuclear Program

Joongang Ilbo (“U.S. DELEGATE REJECT PYONGYANG PROPOSAL”, 2005-11-19) reported that US envoy Christopher Hill rejected the five-step plan laid out recently by Pyongyang for nuclear disarmament. Hill said the DPRK needs to stop operations at its Yongbyon reactor immediately, adding that the US would not succumb to pressure on this issue. Accompanying US President George W. Bush to the APEC forum, Hill said Pyongyang needed to declare all nuclear material and equipment for verification before dismantlement begins. He warned the DPRK would receive a “heavy blow,” if it conducts a nuclear test or transfers material abroad.

(return to top) Agence France Presse (“BUSH SEEKS PUTIN’S HELP ON IRAN, NORTH KOREA”, 2005-11-18) reported that US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin have met for talks focused on nuclear programs in Iran and the DPRK. The US president hoped to win support from Putin to ensure Iran does not get nuclear arms, and erase differences on six party talks aimed at convincing the DPRK to dismantle its atomic weapons programs, US officials said. The US president has made it clear that he aims to rally his partners in the six party talks in a show of unity aimed at wearing down Pyongyang’s resistance to dismantling its atomic weapons and programs. (return to top) Reuters (“US WANTS CHINA TO CLEAN UP N. KOREA NUCLEAR “MESS””, 2005-11-19) reported that the top US negotiator to six party talks on the DPRK’s nuclear programs urged the PRC on Saturday to “take a little more responsibility for cleaning up that mess.” Hill said he felt the PRC’s past failure to prevent the DPRK from gaining nuclear weapons meant it should work a little harder now to resolve the problem. “North Korea is saying, we need you first to recognize us, first give us help, give us a lot of economic help, and then we’ll think about getting rid of the weapons,” Hill said. “But it’s going to be the other way around.” (return to top)

3. US, PRC on DPRK Nuclear Program

Agence France Presse (“US DEMANDS NORTH KOREA HONOURS AGREEMENT TO SCRAP NUCLEAR WEAPONS: BUSH”, 2005-11-20) reported that the US demands that the DPRK honour its commitment to end its nuclear weapons program, US President George W. Bush has said during a visit to the PRC. Bush said the US and PRC both want “a Korean peninsula that is stable, peaceful and free of nuclear weapons.” He expressed appreciation to the PRC for playing a leading role in six party talks. PRC President Hu Jintao pledged to continue to work with the US to “move forward” the six party talks and “peacefully resolve” the nuclear issue at an early date.

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4. Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation

Joongang Ilbo (“NORTH REPLACES HEAD OF TOUR AGENCY”, 2005-11-22) reported that the DPRK has removed its official in charge of dealings with Hyundai Asan on the Mount Kumgang tour project, presumably to mend the rupture with its ROK business counterpart, Hyundai Asan. The Unification Ministry confirmed yesterday that Bang Jong-sam had been replaced as head of the Mount Kumgang International Tourism Company by Jang Wu-yong.

(return to top) The Korea Times (“HYUNDAI, NK PLEDGE TO DEVELOP TOUR PROGRAM”, 2005-11-20) reported that the ROK’s Hyundai Group and the DPRK pledged on Saturday to further develop the group’s tour program to Mt. Kumgang. They made the pledge during a ceremony to mark the seventh anniversary of the landmark tour program. Before the ceremony, Ri Jong-hyok, chairman of the Northern committee, said that another tour program to Kaesong will take time, while a pilot sightseeing tour to Mt. Paekdu will be possible next year. (return to top)

5. DPRK-US Relations

Joongang Ilbo (“AMERICAN PUBLIC VIEWS NORTH AS BIGGEST THREAT”, 2005-11-19) reported that the DPRK is viewed as the biggest threat to the US by American opinion leaders, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, a US-based institute. In the survey, released on Thursday, the Center questioned 2,006 adults from the US general public and 520 influential Americans, including people involved with the media, foreign affairs, security, state and local government, universities, and research organizations. The DPRK is cited as the biggest threat, followed by the PRC and Iran. The report noted, “Prior to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States, there was broad concurrence, if not a consensus, that China represented the greatest danger to the United States. Today, opinion leaders mention China, North Korea and Iran, each about as frequently.”

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6. Aid to DPRK

Agence France Presse (“PUTIN FLOATS NEW ECONOMIC INCENTIVES FOR NORTH KOREA”, 2005-11-19) reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for drawing the DPRK into large-scale development projects as a way of helping to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula. Following bilateral summit talks with ROK President Roh Moo-Hyun, Putin said it would be “genuinely realistic” to widen the warming Russian-ROK relationship to include the DPRK in some fields. “It can become cooperation in a three-sided format: Russia, South Korea and North Korea, in the areas of energy and transport,” Putin said. Roh seemed to give a measure of support to Putin’s initiative, saying the question of linking the Korean peninsula with the European continent was a project of “high interest” to both the ROK and Russia.

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7. Expert on Aid to DPRK

Joongang Ilbo (“AID AGENCIES QUESTION NORTH’S FOOD CAPABILITY”, 2005-11-19) reported that while some analysts argue that food shortages in the DPRK will worsen in the next few years, Kim Young-hoon, the DPRK agriculture research team director at the Korea Rural Economic Institute says, “The North’s request to international relief agencies to leave the country is evidence that it has escaped the worst of the food crisis.” Kim postulated a general flow of long-term development for the DPRK. Seoul seems willing to support Kim proposal and carry out farming development programs in the DPRK despite the price tag. According to a Unification Ministry estimate, 560 billion won will be invested in the DPRK over the next five years to develop the country’s agriculture sector. Every year, 112 billion won will be spent to operate joint farms and reforest mountains in the DPRK, as well as to provide farming technology and experts.

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8. DPRK Human Rights

Chosun Ilbo (“URI PARTY SEES VOTE ON NK HUMAN RIGHTS AS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE”, 2005-11-18) reported that the ROK government’s decision to abstain from voting at the UN General Assembly on an EU-sponsored resolution condemning the DPRK’s human rights violations was both prudent and considerate, ruling Uri Party spokesperson Jun Byung-hun said on Friday. Jun’s Uri Party colleague, Representative Choi Sung, concurred. “It is significant that half of the UN member countries attending the vote opposed the resolution or abstained from voting, thus supporting the view that the North Korean human rights issue should be carefully tackled in order to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he said. The Grand National Party criticized the government’s abstention in a statement, saying that the ROK would be recorded in history as a backward country in terms of human rights development.

(return to top) Donga Ilbo (“UN HUMAN RIGHTS RESOLUTION PASSES”, 2005-11-21) reported that the UN General Assembly adopted a DPRK human rights resolution on Thursday. The resolution expressed serious concerns about human rights conditions in the DPRK, citing abuse of human rights, torture, public execution, prison camps of political prisoners, prostitution, infants killing and kidnapping of foreigners. It urges the DPRK to guarantee its people human rights and basic freedom. It also calls on the DPRK to provide humanitarian organizations and groups such as the World Food Program and non-governmental organizations with free access to every part of the nation. (return to top)

9. DPRK Defectors

Reuters (“THAIS HOLD 12 NORTH KOREANS FOR ILLEGAL ENTRY”, 2005-11-21) reported that Thai police have arrested 12 DPR Koreans on suspicion of illegal entry after they crossed into the north of the country across the Mekong river. “They took a boat ride along the Mekong. Most of them came as a family,” police colonel Yongyuth Narong-indra in the northern town of Chiang Saen said on Monday. It is not yet known whether the 12 will be deported to a third country or returned to the DPRK, Yongyuth said.

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10. Ted Turner on DMZ

The Associated Press (“TED TURNER WANTS KOREAN DMZ MADE INTO PARK”, 2005-11-19) reported that media mogul Ted Turner wants to turn the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas into a peace park and a UN-protected World Heritage Site to honour the thousands of young men who died during the Korean War. Turner first raised the idea of a peace park during a visit to the region this summer, but went further at a dinner on Thursday night, saying the DMZ should also be declared a World Heritage Site, which would ensure that dozens of species unique to the area are preserved along with its history.

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11. DPRK Commitment to Kyoto Protocol

Yonhap News (“N. KOREA ACCEDES TO KYOTO PROTOCOL”, 2005-11-20) reported that the DPRK, which had acceded to the Kyoto Protocol on April 27, appears to be stepping up efforts to conform with the pact, a ROK official said on Saturday. The official said, on condition of anonymity, that the DPRK’s move is seen as part of its strategy to criticize the US for not joining the protocol. Also, the DPRK is expecting the transfer of technologies and financial aid from advanced countries through membership in the protocol, he said.

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12. US-Mongolian Relations

Steve Noerper (“BUSH TO MONGOLIA: RIDING FORWARD WITH A NEW US COMMITMENT”, 2005-11-21) reported that the arrival of President Bush in Mongolia marks the first visit by an US President and is an opportunity for the US to explore new notions of democratic support, small state realities, and opportunities for assistance in resolving problem areas like the DPRK. In 1990, Mongolia cast off seven decades of communism, and this nation of nomads began the arduous ride toward free and fair governance and market liberalization. Mongolia has established democratic institutions that make it a harbinger for the autocratic nations of Central Asia and for the DPRK – only 1800 miles to the east.

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13. ROK Iraq Troop Cut

Agence France Presse (“SOUTH KOREA’S GOVERNMENT APPROVES IRAQ TROOP CUT “, 2005-11-21) reported that the ROK government has approved a proposed plan to reduce its military presence in Iraq by one-third next year, officials in the prime minister’s office said. A cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Lee Hae-Chan endorsed the defense ministry bill to withdraw 1,000 troops from the 3,200-strong ROK contingent in Iraq in the first half of 2006, they said.

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14. ROK on Yasukuni Shrine Issue

The New York Times (“SOUTH KOREAN TELLS JAPAN’S LEADER TO STOP VISITING SHRINE”, 2005-11-21) reported that President Roh Moo Hyun of the ROK urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan to stop visiting a nationalistic Japanese war memorial in a meeting here between the leaders on Friday, saying the visits raised fears of a revival of Japanese militarism.

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15. Okinawa on USFJ Troop Relocation

The Associated Press (“OKINAWA CITY URGES TOKYO TO SCRAP PLAN “, 2005-11-21) reported that a city on Japan’s southernmost Okinawa island Monday urged Tokyo to scrap a plan to move a US Marine facility to another location on the island, while two other cities rejected proposed changes at the US military bases they host, officials and a news report said. On Monday, the Nago city assembly in Okinawa adopted a resolution urging Tokyo to reject a plan to relocate Futenma Air Station to Nago from nearby Ginowan city, said city assembly official Takafumi Tomoyose.

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16. Sino-Japanese Relations

The Associated Press (“JAPAN: CHINA MILITARY BUILDUP BIG CONCERN “, 2005-11-21) reported that Tokyo is worried about the PRC’s recent arms buildup but wants to build friendly relations to prevent conflict between the Asian giants, Japan’s defense chief said Sunday. “We have to be careful and deepen our exchanges (with China) before these things actually turn into military threats,” he said, proposing joint defense exercises and defense policy dialogue between the two countries.

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17. Russo-Japanese Territorial Dispute

The Associated Press (“RUSSIA, JAPAN ACKNOWLEDGE OLD LAND DISPUTE “, 2005-11-21) reported that the leaders of Russia and Japan said Monday the settlement of a 60-year-old dispute that kept their nations from formally ending their World War II hostilities requires closer economic cooperation and patient trust-building as Tokyo backed Moscow’s bid to join the World Trade Organization. “We have agreed to seek a resolution that can be acceptable to both countries,” Koizumi said.

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18. Russia on Pacific Pipeline

The Los Angeles Times (“PUTIN SAYS HE’LL STICK TO PACIFIC PIPELINE PLAN”, 2005-11-21) reported that President Vladimir V. Putin, speaking in Tokyo, said that Russia remained committed to building an oil pipeline that would deliver Siberian crude to Japan and other Pacific nations. “The construction of the oil pipeline, leading from eastern Siberia to the Pacific Ocean, opens big prospects,” Putin said in a speech before 500 Russian and Japanese business leaders.

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19. Japan on Russian Nuclear Subs

Vladivostok News (“JAPAN TO INVEST IN SCRAPPING MORE RUSSIAN NUCLEAR SUBS “, 2005-11-21) reported that Japan and Russia will sign an agreement in late November on dismantling five Russian nuclear submarines in the country’s Far East, Ria Novosti reported. Japan plans to invest a sum of about $30 million for the purpose. Dismantling work is scheduled for completion by the end of 2006.

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20. Russia on Pacific Pipeline

Vladivostok News (“PACIFIC OIL PIPELINE TERMINAL STILL OPPOSED “, 2005-11-21) reported that Russia’s Ministry for Natural Resources has approved the schedule of constructing the oil pipeline from East Siberia to the Pacific coast but still objects its final point in Perevoznaya Bay near Vladivostok as ecologically the worst option, Ria Novosti reported Monday citing a press statement from the ministry. According to Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev, the 4.188 kilometer pipe running from the Siberian town of Taishet to the Pacific coast should have its terminus near Nakhodka. “This option is far more reasonable, ecologically safe, cheaper and effective,” the minister was quoted by the press statement as saying.

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21. Sino-US Relations

The New York Times (“CHINESE LEADER GIVES BUSH A MIXED MESSAGE”, 2005-11-21) reported that in a day of polite but tense encounters, President Hu Jintao of the PRC told President Bush on Sunday that he was willing to move more quickly to ease economic differences with the US, but he gave no ground on increasing political freedoms.

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22. PRC on Cross Strait Relations

Agence France Presse (“CHINA’S HU TELLS BUSH BEIJING WILL NOT TOLERATE TAIWAN’S INDEPENDENCE “, 2005-11-21) reported that the PRC will not tolerate Taiwan’s independence, PRC President Hu Jintao told his US counterpart George W. Bush during a meeting. “I reaffirmed to President Bush that the Chinese government and Chinese people are committed to peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits,” Hu said in a statement after their meeting. “And we’re ready to do our utmost with all sincerity to strive for the prospect of a peaceful reunification of our country.

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23. PRC Diplomacy in Africa

The New York Times (“CHINA WAGES CLASSROOM STRUGGLE TO WIN FRIENDS IN AFRICA”, 2005-11-21) reported that as the teacher, a career PRC diplomat, spoke, his class of African diplomats scribbled furiously. Since 2000, PRC trade with Africa has more than tripled, reaching nearly $30 billion in 2004. Beijing has signed at least 40 oil agreements with various African countries. Medical teams from the PRC are training counterparts in numerous African countries and providing free equipment and drugs to help fight AIDS, malaria and other scourges. The PRC’s appeal to Africa and much of the third world centers on the idea that nations will be drawn to an emerging superpower that does not lecture them about democracy and human rights or interfere in what Beijing considers “internal affairs.”

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24. PRC-Brazil Relations

The New York Times (“BRAZIL WEIGHS COSTS AND BENEFITS OF ALLIANCE WITH CHINA”, 2005-11-21) reported that the Brazilian government is pushing to construct a dam that could end up being the world’s second-largest, generating huge amounts of hydroelectric power. But the main beneficiaries of the project are not likely to be the Indian tribes or other local residents, but instead a government halfway across the world, in the PRC. To satisfy the appetite of a rapidly growing industrial base, state-owned PRC companies have begun involving themselves in mining projects in the eastern Amazon, ranging from aluminum and steel to nickel and copper. Processing each of those materials requires large amounts of electricity, and the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, intent on forming what he calls “a strategic alliance” with the PRC, is eager to perform that task.

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25. PRC Bird Flu

Washington Post (“CHINA’S REMOTE VILLAGES PORTEND A TOUGH FIGHT AGAINST BIRD FLU”, 2005-11-21) reported that chickens ranged freely down the single mud lane of Wu Yuegou village, pecking at stray seeds and scattering with excited clucks when the dogs came barking. Nobody knows of any plans to vaccinate them against bird flu, their owners said, despite the clarion calls in Beijing for a nationwide campaign to check the feared disease. More than half the country’s 1.3 billion residents live in the countryside, presenting health officials with an atomized and hard-to-reach target as they try to curb the spread of bird flu among tiny flocks raised by farmers for their own use.

(return to top) Reuters (“CHINA THREATENS POLICE ACTION IN FIGHT ON BIRD FLU “, 2005-11-21) reported that the PRC unveiled new rules to combat bird flu on Monday, threatening fines and police action against people who do not cooperate. “Any practices which affect the reporting of epidemic diseases, including deception, false or late reporting, are forbidden,” Yin said. If needed, the police and even the army may be called in. Officials could be demoted or fired for not reporting outbreaks. (return to top)

II. CanKor

26. Report #227

CanKor (“Current Events”, 2005-11-21) The Canadian Foodgrains Bank, a faith-based humanitarian agency that has supplied more food aid to the DPRK than any other NGO, will wrap up its operation by Christmas. The CFGB has been a member of the consortium of NGOs that founded and supported the Food Aid Liaison Unit (FALU) within the WFP offices in Pyongyang. The DPRK has given notice that the FALU office must close by the end of the year. UNICEF does not plan to close or scale down its work in the DPRK, according to its regional director. UNICEF is recognized as having already been involved in capacity building in a way that has gained the support of DPRK officials. Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis will help the DPRK rebuild its medical production facilities. ROK Minister of Unification predicts that by 2020, South and North Korea will have formed at least an economic union. A joint North-South bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics may also be in the works. Canada’s new ambassador to the DPRK will travel to Pyongyang in early December to present his credentials. Marius Grinius is already Canadian ambassador to the ROK, and will join a small number of ambassadors with accreditation to both Koreas. The fifth round of Six Party Talks closes inconclusively. Talks are unlikely to resume before the year’s end. However, the DPRK did offer a five-step plan that included agreement not to test or produce more nuclear weapons, and not to transfer nuclear technology or materials to other nations. But these steps depend on the USA offering concessions first.

(return to top) CanKor (“Focus: INSIDE DPRK”, 2005-11-21) Signs of change continue to emerge in the regimented DPRK, as demonstrated by the interest shown by the younger generation in Western icons such as Harry Potter and Britney Spears. CanKor takes a peek at this anecdotal evidence in this week’s INSIDE DPRK Focus. Reports from travelers and journalists now suggest that the influence of American pop culture is beginning to seep into the one of the world’s most isolated countries. As the DPRK opens its borders to American tourists for the first time, a young woman writes about her experience as an American in Pyongyang. Despite these changes, there are still attempts to thwart Western influence, lately by a government campaign to stop North Korean women from wearing pants. (return to top)