Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. NAPSnet

1. US on Six Party Talks

Yonhap News (“U.S. SAYS LAST SIX-PARTY SESSION WAS USEFUL, LEAVES FORMAT OPEN”, 2005-11-15) reported that the US State Department expressed general satisfaction on Monday with last week’s six party talks and left open a number of possibilities on the format of upcoming negotiations. “The fact that you could get together, even though it was for a short period of time, served the purpose,” said a department official on condition of anonymity. “(It) also gives sort of an opportunity to mull over some of things that were talked about there and prepare for the next round,” he said.

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2. PRC on Six Party Talks

Chosun Ilbo (“SIX-PARTY TALKS ‘SHOULD RESUME BEFORE LUNAR NEW YEAR’”, 2005-11-15) reported that the PRC wants to resume six party talks at least before the lunar New Year on January 29, a government official said on Tuesday. He said the plan was proposed to Seoul by a PRC official at the APEC forum in Busan. Allowing for the lunar New Year holidays, the third week of January would be the most likely time for the six nations to reconvene in Beijing.

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3. DPRK Nuclear Program

Yonhap News (“NOW IS PERFECT TIME FOR N.K., U.S. TO STRIKE DEAL: EXPERT”, 2005-11-15) reported that a US expert on the DPRK said on Tuesday that DPRK leader Kim Jong-il should strike a deal with US President George W. Bush on the resolution of the nuclear arms issue “as soon as possible and as quietly as possible.” “As Bush is distracted by domestic issues and a war in Iraq now, he does need a victory (in diplomacy) and no more conflict,” said Balbina Hwang, an analyst at the Heritage Foundation. “The Bush administration is willing to negotiate, and has already made concessions to treat North Korea as a sovereign country and pledged no attack or invasion,” she said. As a step forward to solve the problem, Hwang said, the DPRK should freeze, if temporarily, the nuclear facilities at Yongbyon as a symbolic action.

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4. DPRK Nuclear Program at APEC

The Korea Herald (“KOREA, CHINA TO DISCUSS N. KOREA”, 2005-11-16) reported that ROK President Roh Moo-hyun meets PRC President Hu Jintao today, launching a series of summit talks with visiting leaders to the APEC forum being held in Busan this week. Roh is expected to seek greater support and effort in the progressing nuclear negotiations from his PRC counterpart. Hu, who visited the DPRK at the end of October, will give Roh a first-hand account of his trip to the country, government officials said.

(return to top) Yonhap News (“APEC LEADERS TO ISSUE STAND-ALONE STATEMENTS ON WTO, N. KOREA”, 2005-11-15) reported that the stalemated DPRK weapons issue will be seriously discussed by Pacific Rim leaders at the APEC summit, according to an informed forum source. “Wrapping up the APEC summit here, the leaders are to issue a statement calling for the resolution of the North Korean nuclear crisis,” said the source on condition of anonymity. It is still unclear how the statement will be issued, but the summit’s chairman, ROK President Roh Moo-hyun, is likely to make a verbal reference to the matter at the Nurimaru APEC House on the second day of the summit, he said. (return to top)

5. US on DPRK Nuclear Program

Reuters (“BUSH WANTS UNITY WITH ALLIES ON NORTH KOREA”, 2005-11-14) reported that US President George W. Bush will seek unity with Asian allies on how to persuade the DPRK to move ahead with its agreement to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, US national security adviser Stephen Hadley said on Monday. Hadley told reporters that Bush would stick to the US position that the DPRK would get no aid until it dismantles its nuclear program. “We’ll want to continue to have a dialogue on that issue to make sure that we continue to see that issue the same way,” Hadley said. He said Bush also wants the DPRK to get specific about a process to reveal its nuclear program and dismantle it in a verifiable way.

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6. ROK, Japan on DPRK Nuclear Program

Kyodo News (“N. KOREA’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM, MISSILES UNSTABLE FACTORS, ASO, BAN AGREE”, 2005-11-14) reported that during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC forum on Monday, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and his ROK counterpart Ban Ki Moon agreed that the DPRK’s nuclear programs and missiles are serving as unstable factors for the Korean Peninsula.

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7. Inter-Korean Athletic Cooperation

The Korea Times (“PUSAN BIDS TO CO-HOST OLYMPICS WITH NK”, 2005-11-15) reported that Pusan’s Mayor Huh Nam-sik announced the city’s bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games on Tuesday, expressing hope to co-host the global sporting event with Pyongyang. Asked for a possibility of forming a united inter-Korean team in the 2020 Olympics, Huh said he is willing to make utmost efforts to realize that goal. “It depends on, I think, the progress of inter-Korean relations,” Huh said. “But if really happens, that will be a significantly meaningful step toward peace on the Korean Peninsula and world peace.” However, he said the city does not have a detailed plan for the co-hosting issue or any contact with DPRK authorities.

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8. DPRK-US Relations

The Korea Times (“US MAY EXPAND BROADCASTS TO NK”, 2005-11-14) reported that the US will consider expanding its broadcasts to the DPRK and providing literature for its people to learn about the outside world, a US government report said on Sunday. Non-governmental organizations have proposed a number of ways to reach the people in the DPRK, which include expanding Korean-language broadcasting, increasing medium-wave radio broadcasts, and providing radios or other devices capable of receiving foreign broadcasts in the DPRK. “The Department of State would explore these and other proposals through a formal process to determine which would be the most effective programs in reaching an audience inside the DPRK without involuntarily putting people in danger of increased harm at the hands of authorities,” the report said.

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9. Development Aid to DPRK

Forbes (“AUSTRALIA OFFERS AID IF NKOREA ABANDONS NUCLEAR WEAPONS”, 2005-11-14) reported that Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia would offer a broad range of aid to the DPRK if the country abandoned its nuclear ambitions. “Once the North verifiably abandons its nuclear programs, Australia is willing to provide significant development aid, energy assistance and nuclear safeguards expertise to assist dismantlement,” said Downer. ‘As a major trading partner of South Korea, we have a lot to lose from conflict or chaos on the Korean peninsula, which would devastate the Korean and Northeast Asian economy,’ he said. Downer also said that the DPRK was wrong in insisting that nuclear weapons guaranteed its security.

(return to top) Yonhap News (“S. KOREAN RED CROSS URGED TO BOOST SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN N.K.”, 2005-11-15) reported that the DPRK Red Cross delegation asked the ROK on Tuesday to help the country turn its economy to a sustainable development track rather than providing food relief to residents of disaster-hit areas. Korean National Red Cross head Han Wan-sang replied that the matter of supporting the DPRK’s sustainable development requires consent from the ROK government, because it needs enormous funding. “But we can positively cooperate with the North in the medical field, such as assisting in the modernization of the North Korean Red Cross Hospital,” he said. (return to top) Yonhap News (“RUSSIA READY TO HELP RESOLVE N. KOREAN NUCLEAR TENSION: MINISTER”, 2005-11-15) reported that according to a source in Seoul, Russia may be considering providing electricity to the DPRK as part of its role in resolving the dispute over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. Asked about the authenticity of the report, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “The six-party talks are not about Russia providing electricity to anybody. “But he added, “Russia, together with other participants including South Korea, including Japan and including the United States, is ready to contribute to these goals.” “We all want to see the Korean Peninsula denuclearized and we all want to see the legitimate needs of North Korea to be satisfied and recognized,” he said after his meeting with ROK Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon in Busan. (return to top)

10. DPRK Human Rights

Chosun Ilbo (“CNN FILM SHOWS HORRORS OF THE TRUE N. KOREA”, 2005-11-14) reported that the DPRK’s public executions became a great deal more public on Sunday, when CNN aired a documentary combining horrific footage shot by dissidents in the DPRK. Titled “Undercover in the Secret State”, the film showed a public execution of a man suspected of aiding a defector, scenes from a concentration camp for political dissidents, and images of people starved to death. According to the broadcaster, dissidents used small digital cameras and camcorder phones to show the outside world what is really happening in the DPRK. Footage also showed a dissident defacing a Kim Jong-il poster to draw attention to growing internal opposition to the leader.

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11. ROK on DPRK Human Rights

Chosun Ilbo (“SEOUL WILL ABSTAIN ON N. KOREA RESOLUTION AT UN”, 2005-11-15) reported that the ROK government decided on Tuesday to abstain on a resolution in the UN General Assembly condemning human rights violations in the DPRK. A ROK official said the government made the decision after several meetings among related ministries and will announce its position soon. “The government is concerned about the human rights violations in the DPRK, but after taking sensitive inter-Korean relations into account, it has decided to maintain its position that persuading the North to improve human rights through economic cooperation is better,” the official said.

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12. DPRK Defector

Chosun Ilbo (“N. KOREAN DISSIDENT HEADS SOUTH AFTER U.S. REJECTION,”, 2005-11-15) reported that a DPRK defector who was featured in a CNN documentary on human rights abuses in the country will head to the ROK after the US rejected his appeal for political asylum. The head of Citizen’s Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees and North Korean Refugees said on Monday the dissident identified as Park had hoped to find asylum in the US but was rejected. Bae Jae-hyun added Park’s case has been approved by the ROK government. People involved in DPRK rights groups in Washington say they urged the US government to grant Park’s request for political asylum since they consider him a symbol of internal opposition in the DPRK, but to no avail.

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13. US on DPRK Abductions

Chosun Ilbo (“U.S. CONGRESSMAN SLAMS N.K. SILENCE ON ABDUCTIONS”, 2005-11-14) reported that the chairman of the US House Committee on International Relations wrote to the DPRK’s UN mission early this month to demand that the country reveal the whereabouts of ROK and Japanese abductees. Henry Hyde sent the letter to the DPRK’s UN Ambassador Park Gil-yon on November 4. Officials said Hyde was trying to make it clear that the abductions are not merely domestic issues for Seoul and Tokyo but a basic and global human rights issue to which the whole world including the US is paying attention.

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14. Japan-US Relations

Washington Post (“BUSH ARRIVES IN JAPAN TO START ASIA TRIP”, 2005-11-15) reported that President Bush arrived in Japan aboard Air Force One on Tuesday, with no public appearances scheduled until Wednesday morning local time Tuesday evening in Washington. He was to tour the Golden Temple, meet with youth leaders and sit down with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi before delivering remarks on the power of democracy.

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15. APEC Talks

Forbes (“LAMY WARNS FAILURE IN HONG KONG WOULD DAMAGE WTO-SOURCE”, 2005-11-15) reported that WTO chief Pascal Lamy warned today that a failure of global trade talks in Hong Kong would damage the World Trade Organization’s credibility and make it hard to start new negotiations, an official told AFP.

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16. Territorial Dispute in Japan

Japan Today (“AINU GROUPS SAY JAPAN, RUSSIA HAVE NO CLAIMS TO NORTHERN ISLANDS”, 2005-11-15) reported that groups of Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido, and civic groups delivered a joint statement to the Japanese Foreign Ministry and Russian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday, saying neither Japan nor Russia has the right to claim the disputed northern islands as they belong to the Ainu people.

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17. Japanese Youth on Nuclear Disarmament

Japan Times (“STUDENTS HOPE PLAY WILL DEFEAT NUKES ON SUBCONTINENT”, 2005-11-15) reported that university students have been performing an antinuclear drama in Tokyo in the Urdu language that they hope will persuade people in India and Pakistan to urge their governments to abandon nuclear arms.

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18. Japan Royal Family

BBC News (“JAPANESE PRINCESS WEDS COMMONER “, 2005-11-15) reported that Japan’s Princess Sayako has lost her royal status after she married commoner Yoshiki Kuroda, in a ceremony in Tokyo. Thousands of well-wishers lined the streets between the royal palace and the city hotel where the half-hour marriage rite took place. Marriage to Mr. Kuroda, 40, means Princess Sayako loses her title and will have to adjust to a new lifestyle.

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19. Sino-US Relations

Xinhua (“FORUM URGES CLOSER SINO-US TIES”, 2005-11-15) reported that the PRC and the United States should expand mutual interests, which will “not only maintain the stability of, but also add strong vigour to, the development of bilateral relations.” Former Vice-Premier Qian Qichen said this at a four-day forum on Sino-US relations which opened in Beijing yesterday.

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20. Japan-PRC Relations

Japan Times (“NO JAPAN-CHINA SUMMIT DURING APEC”, 2005-11-15) reported that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is unlikely to hold talks with PRC President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meeting, a PRC government spokesman said Monday.

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21. Sino-US Trade Relations

Xinhua (“US TRADE DEFICIT WITH CHINA TO TOP $200B”, 2005-11-15) reported that US Trade Representative Rob Portman said the PRC’s trade surplus with the United States was likely to exceed 200 billion dollars this year, roughly 40 billion dollars more than 2004.

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22. US on Cross Strait Relations

Cincinnati Post (“REP: U.S. NEEDS TOUGHER STANCE WITH CHINA”, 2005-11-15) reported that as President Bush visits the PRC during an eight-day swing through Asia, US Rep. Steve Chabot is calling for the US to take tougher stances on the PRC-Taiwan conflict.

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23. Cross Strait Relations

China Post (“CHINA WON’T COMPROMISE IN ITS CLAIM OVER TAIWAN: GENERAL”, 2005-11-15) reported that the PRC will never compromise with any nation, including the U.S., in its claim of sovereignty over Taiwan, PRC’s second most senior military officer said Monday. “On the Taiwan issue, we see it as a domestic issue,” General Xiong Guangkai, deputy chief of general staff of the People’s Liberation Army, said at a conference in Beijing. “We will never compromise on this. Taiwan is an issue to be settled among the PRC people.

(return to top) China Post (“VISIT FROM TOP CHINA OFFICIAL IS UNLIKELY: ANALYSTS”, 2005-11-15) reported that Taiwan yesterday asked the PRC to organize bilateral talks to pave the way for a visit from its top Taiwan policy maker, who has been invited here by an opposition party, in a request analysts said was a political gesture unlikely to bring results. (return to top)

24. PRC on Political Commemoration

The New York Times (“CHINA TO GIVE MEMORIAL RITE TO HU YAOBANG, PURGED REFORMER”, 2005-11-15) reported that despite strong internal opposition, the PRC Communist Party later this week will officially restore the reputation of a liberal-leaning party leader whose death helped inspire pro-democracy protests, people informed about the plans said. The party has not publicly honored the late leader, Hu Yaobang, since his death in April 1989, which gave rise to student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.

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25. Gender Equality in PRC

Xinhua (“PROGRAMME OFFERS FUTURE FOR RURAL GIRLS”, 2005-11-15) reported that About 6,000 girls who don’t attend school in poor western regions will have the chance to develop specific skills next year, thanks to an explorative Sino-UK programme to promote gender equality in rural areas. The programme started five years ago in six counties in the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Gansu, and will conclude at the end of next year, having received a combined fund of 2 million pounds (US$3.49 million).

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26. Bird Flu

China Post (“APEC LEADERS TO PLEDGE COOPERATION ON BIRD FLU “, 2005-11-15) reported that World Health Organization experts left Beijing on Monday to investigate the site of a bird flu outbreak in poultry in central PRC, while Indonesia’s president said his country could not afford to slaughter all poultry in bird flu-infected areas.

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27. Japan on Possible Flu Pandemic

Yomiuri Shimbun (“GOVT UNVEILS FLU ACTION PLAN”, 2005-11-15) reported that the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on Monday unveiled a domestic action plan against a pandemic of a new type of influenza that is likely to develop in the near future. According to the plan, the health, labor and welfare minister will declare a state of emergency in the event of a large-scale epidemic. The plan also aims to have both the public and private sectors stockpile anti-flu drugs for a total of 25 million people before the end of March 2007.

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28. PRC Bird Flu

The New York Times (“CHINA VOWS TO VACCINATE 14 BILLION POULTRY AGAINST BIRD FLU”, 2005-11-15) reported that Vietnam slaughtered thousands of birds in its two largest cities on Tuesday, while other Asian nations boosted efforts to halt the spread of deadly avian flu. The PRC vowed to vaccinate its entire stock of 14 billion poultry against bird flu, with the government promising to help pay for the process. The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu is endemic in poultry in parts of Asia and has killed more than 60 people in the region.

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29. Taiwan Bird Flu

Reuters (“UK SAYS 53 BIRDS FROM TAIWAN DIED IN QUARANTINE”, 2005-11-15) reported that more than 50 birds imported from Taiwan died last month in a British quarantine centre where they are believed to have introduced a lethal strain of the bird flu virus, the government said on Tuesday. Officials said tissue samples from the finch-like mesias were pooled so while tests had shown the H5N1 strain of avian flu was present it was impossible to say how many of the 53 dead birds had been killed by it.

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