NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, September 01, 2005

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NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, September 01, 2005

NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, September 01, 2005

I. United States

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. United States

1. ROK on DPRK Nuclear Program

The Washington Post (“S.KOREA: NORTH’S NUKE PLANS NOT AN ISSUE”, 2005-09-01) reported that according to an ROK diplomat, the DPRK’s professed desire for a peaceful nuclear program should not become an issue that overshadows disarmament talks. Meanwhile, a leading DPRK expert said a DPRK official told him the country was researching how to create lightly enriched uranium, which could be used to fuel a reactor for non-weapons use, as opposed to the highly enriched uranium deployed in atomic bombs.

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2. PRC on DPRK Nuclear Program

Reuters (“N.KOREA ENTITLED TO NUCLEAR POWER UNDER NPT -CHINA “, 2005-09-01) reported that according to the PRC, the DPRK should be entitled to a peaceful nuclear power program if it fulfils its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and accepts supervision. “According to relevant rules of the NPT, a country could enjoy certain rights if it assumes due obligations,” Zhang Yan, director-general of PRC Foreign Ministry’s arms control department, told a news conference when asked if DPRK should be allowed to maintain a light water reactor, used to produce electricity. “In this sense, if a country joins the treaty and accepts the supervision of safety guarantee by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear power peacefully.”

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3. DPRK on DPRK Nuclear Program

RIA Novosti (“NORTH KOREA DEFENDS ITS RIGHT TO PEACEFUL NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENTDATE “, 2005-09-01) reported that according to the DPRK Ambassador to Moscow Pak Ui Chun, the DPRK does not intend to give up its right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. “This is a matter of principal, concerning our sovereign right to nuclear energy and the sovereignty of the state, which we cannot give up in any way,” the ambassador said.

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4. ROK on Six Party Talks

The Korea Times (“RESUMING NUKE TALKS MAY TAKE LONGER”, 2005-09-01) reported that according to Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki-moon, the six party talks may still have a long way to go even when the negotiations resume and reach an agreement on the principles of denuclearization. “We need to be cautious as we know that the devil is in the detail,” Ban said in a speech to foreign envoys and local politicians. “Even after an agreement on the broad principle of denuclearization, I expect that we may still have a long way to go to clear up the details in all regards.”

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5. PRC on Six Party Talks

The Donga IIbo (“HU JINTAO LIKELY TO ASK FOR U.S. CONCESSIONS ON NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR ISSUE”, 2005-09-01) reported that according to Department of North American and Oceanic Affairs Director General He Yafei, PRC President Hu Jintao might urge the US, during his visit, to be more flexible in the six party talks.

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6. POWs Return to ROK

Yonhap News (“FOUR S. KOREAN POWS RETURN HOME AFTER 50 YEARS IN N.K. CAPTIVITY”, 2005-09-01) reported that four former ROK soldiers returned home last month, about half a century after being taken prisoner by DPRK during the Korean War, a civic group said Thursday. The former POWs, including former Army second lieutenant, named Chang Seon-saeng, arrived in ROK on Aug. 26 via the PRC, where they stayed after fleeing the DPRK, said Dong Hee-yun, an official at the Citizen’s Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees and DPRK Refugees.

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7. Inter-Korean Cabinet-Level Talks

Yonhap News (“KOREAS CHANGE VENUE FOR HIGH-LEVEL TALKS TO PYONGYANG”, 2005-09-01) reported that according to the ROK’s Unification Ministry, the DPRK asked the ROK to change the venue for upcoming Cabinet-level talks from Mount Paektu to Pyongyang, citing poor preparations due to bad weather. On Tuesday, DPRK said the changing of the venue was inevitable as construction work to lay the runway at Samjiyon airfield at Mount Paektu was behind schedule. ROK has accepted the DPRK request.

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8. Inter-Korean Maritime Relations

Yonhap News (“COURT REJECTS ARREST WARRANTS FOR BORDER-VIOLATING CAPTAINS “, 2005-09-01) reported that a local court turned down a police request to issue arrest warrants against the captains of three fishing boats that crossed into DPRK waters, saying they had taken little from the illegal fishing.

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9. Russian Energy Security

RIA Novosti (“RUSSIA INCREASINGLY PROACTIVE IN PROTECTING ITS ENERGY SECURITY–EXPERT”, 2005-09-01) reported that Russia has recently taken a more proactive approach to protecting its energy security, a senior member of the lower chamber of Russia’s parliament said Thursday. Addressing students at Moscow University, Andrei Kokoshin, chairman of the State Duma’s CIS committee, said that this policy envisaged, specifically, tougher control over the use of the nation’s hydrocarbon reserves and restrictions on foreign companies’ access to strategic deposits.

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10. Japan on Iraq Dispatch

Kyodo (“KOIZUMI TO JUDGE WHETHER TO EXTEND SDF MISSION AFTER IRAQ REFERENDUM “, 2005-09-01) reported that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday he will decide whether to extend the mission of Japanese troops in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah for reconstruction assistance beyond the Dec. 14 deadline after Iraq’s constitutional referendum in October. “There will be a referendum in October (in Iraq), and we should examine its outcome before making a decision,” Koizumi said in an interview with Kyodo News and other media organizations.

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11. Sino-Japanese Territorial Dispute

The Japan Times (“JAPAN WANTS TO EXPAND CORAL UNDER DISPUTED EEZ ISLETS”, 2005-09-01) reported that Japan plans to study how it could expand coral reefs around a pair of Pacific Ocean outcroppings at the center of a territorial dispute with the PRC, the government said Wednesday. The three-year research plan is the latest in a series of steps by Japan to fortify the tiny islets, which it uses as the basis for extending its exclusive economic zone, which is larger than Japan itself, far into the Pacific.

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12. PRC on Cross Strait Relations

Agence France-Presse (“CHINA WARNS US HELP TO TAIWAN ON MISSILE DEFENCE WILL ERODE TRUST “, 2005-09-01) reported that the PRC has warned any help given to Taiwan to protect itself against a missile threat would erode trust and undermine regional peace and stability. The comments were made in a white paper — China’s Endeavours for Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation — issued ahead of a visit to the US next week by President Hu Jintao.

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13. Sino-Australian Military Cooperation

Xinhua (“CHINA, AUSTRALIA TO STEP UP CO-OP BETWEEN ARMED FORCES”, 2005-09-01) reported that the current relations between the PRC and Australia are in the best shape, said PRC minister for National Defense Cao Gangchuan at a meeting with visiting Australian navy commander Russ Shalders here Thursday. Cao, also vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission and state councilor, said the two countries trust each other politically and have kept strengthening cooperation in the areas of economy, trade, energy and culture.

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14. PRC on UNSC Expansion

Outlook India (“CHINA MUM ON SUPPORTING INDIA’S UNSC BID”, 2005-09-01) reported that the PRC today said reform of the UN Security Council should focus on increasing representation of developing countries but was mum on whether it supported India’s bid. “The Chinese position on the reform of the UN Security Council is clear. We support its reform,” Liu Jieyi said. “The purpose of the reform should be to expand or increase the representation of developing countries, to increase the efficiency of the Security Council and enhance its capacity to deal with the challenges it is facing now,” he said.

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15. PRC Nuclear Weapons

Agence France-Presse (“CHINA SAYS IT WILL NEVER BECOME INVOLVED IN A NUCLEAR ARMS RACE”, 2005-09-01) reported that the PRC said Thursday it was committed to peaceful development and would never seek hegemony or be the first to use nuclear weapons as it set out its policy on arms control in a position paper. “China will never seek hegemony and never be the first to use nuclear weapons,” it said. “These policies will not change.” “China has persistently exercised the utmost restraint on the scale and development of its nuclear weapons and has never taken part and will never take part in any nuclear arms race,” it said.

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16. EU on PRC Arms Ban

Agence France-Presse (“EU-CHINA SUMMIT TO INK AGREEMENTS BUT ARMS EMBARGO TO STAY PUT: SOLANA “, 2005-09-01) reported that a “wealth of agreements” will be reached at an EU-China summit next week, but lifting the EU arms embargo on the PRC will not be one of them, according to European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana. The summit will cover a wide range of topics, including political, economic and energy cooperation, the new framework agreement, and the PRC’s participation in the Galileo space project and the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER).

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17. PRC Protest

Agence France-Presse (“CHINESE POLICE ARREST DOZENS ON HUNGER STRIKE OVER LAND DISPUTE, GRAFT “, 2005-09-01) reported that PRC police have arrested about 50 people staging a hunger strike in southern PRC in protest at a village chief’s alleged corruption and land requisition, a lawyer said. “About five o’clock this morning, the Panyu district government mobilised military police and arrested the villagers who are on hunger strike,” lawyer Guo Feixiong told AFP.

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18. PRC Clean Coal

BBC News (“UK, CHINA IN CLEANER POWER PLAN “, 2005-09-01) reported that Britain and the EU will next week announce plans to hand the PRC the technology for a power station designed to combat climate change. The coal plant will capture its own emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) and bury them in porous rock measures underground.

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19. PRC Energy Supply

Foreign Affairs (“CHINA’S GLOBAL HUNT FOR ENERGY “, 2005-09-01) reported that a booming domestic economy, rapid urbanization, increased export processing, and the PRC people’s voracious appetite for cars are increasing the country’s demand for oil and natural gas, industrial and construction materials, foreign capital and technology. These new needs already have serious implications for the PRC’s foreign policy. Since the PRC remains a relatively centralized, government-driven economy, Beijing has been able to adapt its foreign policy to its domestic development strategy.

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