NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, July 28, 2005
- 1. US-DPRK Relations at Six Party Talks
2. US-DPRK Bilateral Meeting at Six Party Talks
3. ROK-DPRK Bilateral Meeting at Six Party Talks
4. ROK on US Position at Six Party Talks
5. DPRK Uranium Program
6. US on DPRK Uranium Program
7. Expert on Six Party Talks
8. Inter-Korean Trade
9. Inter-Korean Marine Relations
10. DPRK Defector on Japanese Abductees
11. DPRK Asylum Seekers in PRC
12. ROK-Iran Isotope Export
13. Japan on UNSC Expansion
14. Japan Textbook Issue
15. Global Warming Pact
16. Russia Energy Trade
17. Sino-Russian Energy Cooperation
18. PRC Power Supply
19. PRC Currency Revaluation
20. US on PRC Military
21. PRC Streptococcus Suis Outbreak
22. PRC Environment
I. Unites States
1. US-DPRK Relations at Six Party Talks
Korea.net (“US ‘SEEKING N KOREA TALKS DRAFT’ “, 2005-08-28) reported that the US says fundamental differences remain over the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program. But it says it is trying to draft a list of agreed principles to give new life to a diplomatic process that has been deadlocked for over two years. Both the DPRK and the US have put fresh demands on the table at talks. The US says it is trying to narrow the differences with the DPRK, despite fundamental disagreements.
2. US-DPRK Bilateral Meeting at Six Party Talks
International Herald Tribune (“KOREA TALKS TURN TO THE ‘CONCRETE’ “, 2005-07-28) reported that US and DPRK envoys held their third face-to-face meeting Thursday amid talks aimed at persuading the DPRK to give up nuclear weapons, continuing a pattern of unusually frequent exchanges that has signaled a change in the US approach and raised hopes for a positive outcome. “We had a long discussion with them,” Christopher Hill, told reporters. “There’s certainly some points of agreement, but there continues to be points of disagreement.”
3. ROK-DPRK Bilateral Meeting at Six Party Talks
Reuters (“NORTH, SOUTH KOREA MINISTERS MEET ON NUCLEAR ISSUE”, 2005-07-28) reported that the DPRK and the ROK foreign ministers met for only the third time on Thursday and agreed on the need for substantial developments in multilateral talks. “Both sides agreed that we wanted substantial developments in the six-party talks, which will be important for a resolution of the nuclear issue, peace on the Korean peninsula and regional security,” the two foreign ministers said in a statement.
4. ROK on US Position at Six Party Talks
Chosun Ilbo (“SIX-PARTY TALKS MUST STAY FOCUSED ON ESSENTIALS “, 2005-07-28) reported that a ROK government official said it was not the DPRK but the US that was creating obstacles in the initial stages of six-party talks on the nuclear dispute. “The US has proposed including North Korean human rights in a written agreement, that departs from a rough draft already prepared by South Korea, the US and Japan. The draft envisaged a joint offer by the three countries, he went on, but now they must each propose their independent solutions”.
5. DPRK Uranium Program
ITAR-TASS News Agency (“N KOREA DENIES PURSUING SECRET URANIUM PROGRAMME “, 2005-07-28) reported that the DPRK delegation categorically denied pursuing a secret uranium enrichment program in an answer to US accusations at bilateral consultations in Beijing on Tuesday. However, the US with Japanese support does not intend to drop the suspicions concerning the uranium enrichment, which may impede working out of the agreement at the Beijing consultations, Kyodo Tsushin reported.
6. US on DPRK Uranium Program
Financial Times (“URANIUM ISSUE PUT ASIDE FOR N KOREA TALKS”, 2005-07-28) reported that the US signaled it would put the DPRK’s purported uranium enrichment program to the side during the six party talks, underlining Washington’s keenness to break the year-long deadlock.
7. Expert on Six Party Talks
Korea Times (“PRAGMATIC APPROACH NEEDED TO STRIKE AGREEMENT ON NK NUKES: US EXPERT”, 2005-07-28) reported that according to Daniel Poneman, negotiator at the first round of six party talks, the nations participating at the talks should not expect quick results. Daniel Poneman said a patient and pragmatic approach is needed to forge an agreement. “I think it is appropriate to be cautious and keep people from an unhealthy ramping up of expectations. Experience instructs us that there will be no quick deal because of the deep mistrust that exists between the parties,” he said.
8. Inter-Korean Trade
Associated Press (“TRADE BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA INCREASED 39.5 PERCENT IN FIRST HALF OF 2005”, 2005-07-28) reported that trade between the ROK and DPRK in the first half of 2005 amounted to US$454.1 million, a 39.5 percent increase over the same period last year. The increase was predominantly driven by the new industrial complex in the city of Kaesong, which accounted for 17.3 percent of the total, according to statistics released by the Korea International Trade Association and the ROK’s Unification Ministry.
9. Inter-Korean Marine Relations
Korea Times (“2 KOREANS TO BLOCK ILLEGAL FISHING IN WEST SEA “, 2005-07-28) reported that the ROK and DPRK agreed to join hands in fending off illegal fishing boats from a “third country,” presumably meaning the PRC, from their territorial waters in the West Sea. The agreement is part of the six-point results obtained from the three-day working-level consultations on marine cooperation.
10. DPRK Defector on Japanese Abductees
Yonhap News (“15 JAPANESE ABDUCTEES WERE ALIVE OVER A DECADE AGO: N. KOREAN DEFECTOR”, 2005-07-28) reported that a DPRK defector testified to the Japanese parliament Thursday that as many as 15 Japanese abductees were alive in the DPRK more than a decade ago. “A total of 15 Japanese abductees, including Megumi Yokota, were alive in North Korea between 1988 and 1991,” Ahn Myeong-jin said in testimony to an ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives.
11. DPRK Asylum Seekers in PRC
Associated Press (“NORTH KOREAN DEFECTORS DETAINED IN CHINA “, 2005-07-28) reported that according to a Japanese Embassy spokesman, five people claiming to be DPRK asylum seekers tried to enter a foreign compound in eastern PRC but were stopped by security guards who turned them over to police.
12. ROK-Iran Isotope Export
Asia Pulse (“S KOREA REJECTS CLAIM OF ILLEGAL ISOTOPE TRADING WITH IRAN”, 2005-07-28) reported that a ROK trading company exported radioactive nickel isotopes to Iran last year, but the sale was conducted in accordance with the law, officials said. The confirmation came after the German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Monday that a ROK company had been involved in the export of nickel-63 (Ni-63) and tritium, a hydrogen-based radioactive isotope, to Iran.
13. Japan on UNSC Expansion
The Associated Press (“JAPAN MAY BE PRESSED TO CUT U.N. DUES”, 2005-07-28) reported that Japan will face strong public pressure to cut its financing for the United Nations if it doesn’t win a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, the country’s foreign minister said Wednesday.
14. Japan Textbook Issue
Reuters (“TOKYO SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS DISPUTED HISTORY BOOK”, 2005-07-28) reported that Tokyo’s education board adopted a history textbook on Thursday that critics say whitebres past Japanese militarism for use at 26 junior high schools in the capital, a decision that could anger the PRC and the ROK. The six-member Tokyo education board adopted the textbook for use at four state-run schools and 22 schools for the blind and deaf and the physically and mentally handicapped, said an official at the Tokyo metropolitan government.
15. Global Warming Pact
Agence France-Presse (“US, FIVE ASIA-PACIFIC NATIONS UNVEIL NEW CLIMATE INITIATIVE”, 2005-07-28) reported that the US, PRC and four Asia-Pacific nations announced a partnership to cut greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Australia, India, Japan and the ROK joined with the world’s top two polluters on Thursday in presenting the initiative, which they said could help reduce gas emissions while still promoting economic growth.
(return to top) Agence France-Presse (“ENVIRONMENTALISTS CONDEMN NEW GLOBAL WARMING PACT”, 2005-07-28) reported that environmentalists have condemned a new pact against global warming agreed by the US and five Asia-Pacific countries, saying it was self-serving and would not work. “Although detail on the ‘secret plan’ is difficult to access, it appears to contain no binding commitments,” spokesman Cam Walker told AFP. In Geneva, the environmental group WWF said: “A deal on climate change that doesn’t limit pollution is the same as a peace plan that allows guns to be fired.” (return to top)
16. Russia Energy Trade
RIA Novosti (“RUSSIA READY TO HELP ASEAN RESOLVE ENERGY PROBLEMS”, 2005-07-28) reported that Russia is ready to help the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) resolve its energy problems, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday after a meeting of ASEAN member states and their ten partners. Russia will help ASEAN countries build pipelines, train personnel and extract minerals, he said.
17. Sino-Russian Energy Cooperation
RIA Novosti (“RUSSIA, CHINA TO START BUILDING FLOATING NUCLEAR PLANT”, 2005-07-28) reported that Russia and the PRC have signed an $86.5-million contract for the construction of the world’s first floating nuclear power plant, Vladimir Uryvsky, deputy department head at the Federal Nuclear Energy Agency, told the newspaper Trud. The PRC will build the body and Russia will be responsible for the power block. The plant will look like a ten-story 140m-long and 30m-wide floating building with the displacement of 21,000 tons.
18. PRC Power Supply
Xinhua (“CHINA’S POWER PRODUCER ACQUIRES INTEREST OF AUSTRALIAN COAL PROJECT “, 2005-07-28) reported that the PRC’s top power producer China Huaneng Group (CHNG) has acquired part of interest of a large Australian coal project. CHNG on Thursday entered into the Monto Coal Joint Venture – Sale Agreement with Australia’s Macarthur Coal Limited (Macarthur Coal) in Brisbane, capital city of the state of Queensland, where the signing ceremony was held. Under the agreement, CHNG will acquire a 25.5-percent interest in the Monto Coal Project for a total consideration of 29.423 million Australian dollars (22 million US dollars), subject to the exercise of pre-emptive rights and satisfaction of other conditions, CHNG said in a statement.
19. PRC Currency Revaluation
The New York Times (“CHINA SAYS IT DOES NOT PLAN MORE REVALUATION”, 2005-07-28) reported that just days after the PRC modestly revalued its currency and did away with its longstanding peg to the American dollar alone, the nation’s central bank issued a statement Tuesday denying that there were any plans for further revaluation of the currency. The People’s Bank of China released the statement in what appeared to be an effort to quell widespread speculation that over the next year the PRC would allow its currency, the yuan or renminbi, to further appreciate against the dollar.
20. US on PRC Military
Agence France-Presse (“EXPERTS TROUBLED BY CHINA ARMS BUILDUP”, 2005-07-28) reported that experts told a congressional panel that the PRC’s weapons buildup poses a major challenge to the US and its Asian allies, despite administration assurances that Beijing is not considered a threat. The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Duncan Hunter, said he called the hearing on the PRC’s growing military might as US lawmakers increasingly become concerned about Beijing’s intentions.
21. PRC Streptococcus Suis Outbreak
Reuters (“PIG-BORNE ILLNESS KILLS 24 IN CHINA PROVINCE”, 2005-07-28) reported that the death toll in an outbreak of pig-borne disease in the southwest PRC province of Sichuan has risen to 24, with an additional 117 people thought to be sick, state media reported on Wednesday. Victims were being treated with antibiotics, but with the death toll mounting doctors said that approach was unsatisfactory. Although state media have said no human-to-human infections have been found in the Sichuan outbreak, the death toll is unusually high.
22. PRC Environment
Agence France-Presse (“CHINESE LIST WATER AND AIR QUALITY AS TOP ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS”, 2005-07-28) reported that water and air quality, waste disposal, destruction of vegetation and desertification are among the top environmental concerns of the PRC people, a government survey showed. According to a survey by the official All China Environmental Federation, which polled four million residents in 31 provinces and regions, people are most worried about the water they drink and the air they breathe. More than 96 percent of respondents said the PRC was facing a water shortage crisis and building a water-saving society was the most effective way to solve the problem, the China Daily cited the survey as showing.