NAPSNet Daily Report Monday, January 09, 2006

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NAPSNet Daily Report Monday, January 09, 2006

NAPSNet Daily Report Monday, January 09, 2006

I. NAPSNet

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. NAPSNet

1. DPRK on Six Party Talks

Reuters (“N.KOREA SAYS NUCLEAR TALKS WITH US ARE ILLOGICAL “, 2006-01-09) reported that the DPRK said it was illogical for it to return to six party talks because of US sanctions against Pyongyang, adding Washington would probably veto any deal to end the DPRK’s nuclear ambitions anyway.

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2. US on Six Party Talks

BBC News (“US THREATENED NORTH KOREA WITH MILITARY ATTACK – JAPANESE DAILY”, 2006-01-05) reported that the US delivered a warning to the DPRK in April last year about the possible use of force unless the country returns to multilateral talks on its nuclear weapons programs, a conservative Japanese daily reported.

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3. PRC on Six Party Talks

Associated Press (“CHINA URGES U.S., N. KOREA BACK TO TALKS “, 2006-01-08) reported that the PRC urged the US and the DPRK to resolve a dispute over sanctions so that talks on dismantling the DPRK’s nuclear programs can resume. PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Beijing hoped for a quick resumption of the six-nation negotiations that also involve Japan, ROK and Russia. But he suggested that while the PRC stood ready to do its share, the US and the DPRK also need to make a good-faith effort to resolve disagreements.

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4. DPRK on Counterfeiting

Chosun Ilbo (“N.KOREA OFFICIALLY DENIES COUNTERFEITING CHARGE “, 2006-01-09) reported that the DPRK officially denied US claims that it has been involved in the production of counterfeit dollars. “The U.S. forwarded us documents that it says are the reasons behind their financial sanctions,” a DPRK Foreign Ministry spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency. “We have reviewed them, but our finding is that there is absolutely no evidence to support their claims.”

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5. PRC, Japan on DPRK Counterfeiting

Chosun Ilbo (“TOKYO, BEIJING AGREE ON N.KOREA SANCTIONS “, 2006-01-09) reported that Beijing and Tokyo agree that de-facto US economic sanctions against the DPRK are a separate issue from Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program under discussion in six party talks, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing said Monday. The Japanese press reported Japan’s chief negotiator at the six-party talks Kenichiro Sasae and his PRC counterpart Wu Dawei agreed during consultations in Beijing that the talks should resume. They said the US sanctions taken over the DPRK’s alleged counterfeiting activities must be treated as a separated issue.

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6. KEDO Project

The Korea Times (“DEATH OF KEDO PROJECT “, 2006-01-09) reported that The construction of light water reactors (LWRs) in the DPRK virtually came to an end on Sunday with the pullout of 52 RO Korean workers and five officials of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) from the Northern project site of Sinpo.

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7. DPRK-Japanese Relations

The Japan Times (“JAPAN ASSURES U.S. ON PLANS FOR N. KOREA “, 2006-01-09) reported that Senior Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki said Friday he has assured the US that Japan will not normalize ties with the DPRK unless the abduction, missile, nuclear and other pending issues are comprehensively resolved. Speaking at a news conference in Washington, Shiozaki said he has also agreed with the senior US officials to continue cooperating closely on moving the six party talks.

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8. Foreigners-Only Church in DPRK

The Korea Times (“NORTH KOREA TO WAIT LONGER FOR 1ST FOREIGN CHURCH “, 2006-01-09) reported that the construction of the DPRK’s first foreigners-only church has been delayed for more than a year, a ROK pastor working for the project said on Saturday. In an interview with the Radio Free Asia, a US-sponsored radio network, Pastor Lee Sung-woo from a missionary group leading the project said that “We received permission from the North Korean authorities in 2004 for the construction of the church in Pyongyang.” But the construction work has been suspended for over a year, as the DPRK has requested renovation of Chilgol Church located in Pyongyang instead of building a new church.

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9. DPRK Abductees

Korea Herald (“ABDUCTEES DEMAND COMPENSATION”, 2006-01-08) reported that four abductees to the DPRK who have returned to the ROK demanded yesterday that the DPRK government compensate each with $100 million for their “miserable” lives in the DPRK. “We want to request a realistic amount for the North to pay us,” said Kim Byoung-do, one of the four abductees who returned to South in 2003.

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10. DPRK POWs

Agence France Presse (“NORTH KOREA DEMANDS BILLIONS FOR SOUTH’S “TORTURE” OF WAR PRISONERS “, 2006-01-08) reported that the DPRK is demanding billions of dollars in compensation for alleged atrocities against its prisoners of war and spies formerly held in the ROK, state media and officials said. The complaint insisted Seoul compensate former DPRK long-term prisoners for their time in “nightmarish prisons” run by former authoritarian governments in the ROK. “The physical damage, except mental damage done to them, stands at one billion US dollars even according to a preliminary estimate made by specialists of the DPRK in line with international practice,” the agency said on Saturday.

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11. DPRK Officals

Yonhap News (“N. KOREAN LEADER CALLS FOR ‘YOUNG BLOODS’ IN CABINET”, 2006-01-05) reported that DPRK leader Kim Jong-il has called for efforts to replace aging officials with young talents, a recent publication from the DPRK obtained by Yonhap News Agency revealed Thursday. “I highly valued the workers that our dear leader (Kim Il-sung) personally trained and allowed them to continue working,” Kim said in a 2001 meeting with central committee members of the North’s powerful Workers’ Party.

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12. Joint US-Japanese War Games

The Associated Press (“JAPANESE TROOPS HEAD TO US TO CONDUCT JOINT WAR GAMES”, 2006-01-09) reported that Japanese soldiers left for the US on Tuesday to conduct training with the US Marines simulating the recapture of an island from enemies, an official said. It will be the first joint war game between the allies premised on an invasion of an isolated island off Japan, an official of Japan’s Defense Agency said on customary condition of anonymity.

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13. Japan on UNSC Reform

The Associated Press (“JAPAN WON’T JOIN SECURITY COUNCIL PLAN”, 2006-01-09) reported that Japan has refused to join Germany, India and Brazil in a new bid for permanent seats on an expanded UN Security Council, deciding instead to negotiate with the US to come up with an alternate proposal. Japanese diplomat Shiniichi Iida said Friday that Tokyo would continue as part of the so-called Group of Four, however, calling it the “primary driving force for council reform.”

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14. Sino-Japanese Territorial Dispute

Kyodo (“JAPAN, CHINA REMAIN APART OVER GAS ROW, AGREE ON NEXT TALKS”, 2006-01-09) reported that Japan and the PRC failed to bridge their differences over gas and oil exploration rights in the East China Sea on Monday, agreeing only to hold formal negotiations on the topic in late January or early February in Beijing, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. “The Chinese side said it found Japan’s proposal problematic,” the Japanese official said. “Chinese officials said they plan to present a new plan at the next meeting.”

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15. Taiwan Military

Agence France Presse (“TAIWAN HAS PRODUCED THREE PROTOTYPES OF CRUISE MISSILE: JANE’S”, 2006-01-09) reported that Taiwan has produced three prototypes of a new cruise missile which could be used to strike the east coast of rival PRC, an authoritative defence magazine has said. The cruise missile, called Hsiung Feng 2E (Brave Wind), “will be deployed on mobile land-based platforms and initial plans are for the production of up to 50 missiles before 2010 and up to 500 missiles after 2010,”

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16. PRC Military

Reuters (“CHINA MILITARY ‘LEAN, RESPONSIVE’ AFTER CUTBACKS”, 2006-01-09) reported that the PRC’s military has cut back its troops by 200,000, the official mouthpiece of the People’s Liberation Army said on Monday, reinforcing its high-tech military ambitions to overtake rival Taiwan. Troop numbers were down by 230,000, or just over 9 percent. The reforms included reducing layers in the command hierarchy, cutting non-battle units such as schools and farms, and rearranging officer duties.

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17. Cross Strait Relations

The Associated Press (“CHINA TO OFFER TWO PANDAS TO RIVAL TAIWAN “, 2006-01-09) reported that PRC said Friday it has picked a pair of pandas to offer to rival Taiwan as part of efforts to boost public support for uniting with the PRC. Taiwan, however, accused Beijing of acting rudely by announcing the gift without consulting the island.

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18. Sino-Bolivian Relations

The Associated Press (“BOLIVIA’S MORALES, CHINESE PRESIDENT MEET “, 2006-01-09) reported that Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales on Monday met with PRC President Hu Jintao and called the PRC an “ideological ally,” a day after he invited the PRC to develop Bolivia’s vast gas reserves. Morales’ visit to the PRC came at a propitious time for Beijing, which is also eager to develop links with Latin America.

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19. PRC Energy Supply

Agence France Presse (“CHINA’S CNOOC TAKES 45 PERCENT STAKE IN NIGERIAN OIL”, 2006-01-09) reported that the PRC’s largest gas and oil producer CNOOC said it had agreed to buy a 45 percent stake in an oil block off the coast of Nigeria for almost 2.3 billion dollars. The Hong Kong-listed unit of the China National Overseas Oil Corporation said it had signed a firm agreement with Nigeria’s South Atlantic Petroleum to acquire the stake in the OML 130 block in the Niger Delta.

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20. PRC Chemical Spills

Agence France Presse (“NEW CHEMICAL SPILLS THREATEN WATER SUPPLY FOR MILLIONS IN CHINA”, 2006-01-09) reported that two major new toxic spills in the PRC have threatened water supplies for millions of residents, officials and state media said, as local governments took emergency measures. In the eastern province of Shandong a 60 kilometer-long (37 mile) diesel oil slick flowing down the Yellow River forced the province to stop pumping water from it. In the central province of Hunan a mismanaged silt clean-up project allowed the industrial chemical cadmium, which can cause neurological disorders and cancer, to flood out of a smelting works and into the Xiangjiang River on Wednesday.

(return to top) The Los Angeles Times (“$3-BILLION CLEANUP OF TAINTED RIVER IS PLANNED”, 2006-01-09) reported that the PRC will invest more than $3 billion over the next five years to clean up the Songhua River, a key source of drinking water for tens of millions of people that was polluted in November by a toxic spill, reports said. The effort will cover four provinces that are home to more than 62 million people, the Beijing Youth Daily reported. (return to top)

21. PRC Bombing

The Associated Press (“REPORT: BOMBER KILLS 5 IN CHINESE COURT “, 2006-01-09) reported that a farmer angry over a court ruling set off a bomb in a PRC courthouse, killing himself and four other people, a news report said Saturday. The explosion Friday in Minle County in the northwestern province of Gansu killed the president of the county court and a local Communist Party official, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

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22. PRC Anti-Corruption Campaign

The Associated Press (“CHINA’S PRESIDENT URGES CORRUPTION FIGHT “, 2006-01-09) reported that the PRC’s ruling Communist Party called on its members Saturday to do more to fight widespread corruption and politically explosive problems such as unpaid back wages for migrant workers. The appeal warned against complacency in a multiyear anti-graft campaign.

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23. Commemoration of Zhao Ziyang

The Associated Press (“CHINESE ACTIVISTS PUT UNDER HOUSE ARREST “, 2006-01-09) reported that the PRC police blocked a private observance Monday of the anniversary of deposed Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang’s death, detaining the organizer and putting activists under house arrest. The move underscored the government’s ongoing sensitivity over Zhao, purged from his position in 1989 after sympathizing with pro-democracy protests centered around Tiananmen Square.

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