NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, December 07, 2006

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"NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, December 07, 2006", NAPSNet Daily Report, December 07, 2006, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-daily-report/napsnet-daily-report-thursday-december-07-2006/

NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, December 07, 2006

NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, December 07, 2006

I. NAPSNet

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. NAPSNet

1. US DPRK Policy

Kyodo News Service (“HILL LIKELY TO BE NAMED AS POLICY COORDINATOR FOR N. KOREA: REPORT”, 2006-12-06) reported that Christopher Hill, the top U.S. delegate to the six-party talks is likely to be named as policy coordinator for DPRK. According to a dispatch from Washington, Hill, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, is expected to double as top nuclear negotiator and policy coordinator for the DPRK. The 2007 National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law in October, requires President George W. Bush to appoint a DPRK policy coordinator within 60 days, a deadline which expires on Dec. 17. The coordinator is to conduct a full and complete interagency review of U.S. DPRK policy, including security and human rights issues, and provide a policy direction for negotiations with Pyongyang. The coordinator is required to submit a report on the policy to the president and the Congress within 90 days of appointment.

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2. Russia-DPRK Relations

Associated Press (“NORTH KOREA, RUSSIA’S SAKHALIN REGION SIGN ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT”, 2006-12-06) reported that the DPRK oil-rich Russian region of Sakhalin have signed an agreement on economic cooperation. According to officials from the region, the agreement foresees allowing about 1,000 DPR Korean laborers and specialists to work in Sakhalin enterprises including construction, timber, agriculture and fishing. Both sides also expressed interest in widening the agreement and the DPRK is interested in the prospect of refining oil from Sakhalin’s rich offshore fields, the statement said. Currently Sakhalin, a vast island about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) northeast of the DPRK, is home to six enterprises that have DPRK investment.

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3. ROK on PSI

Chosun Ilbo (“ROH SAYS SEOUL ‘WILL COOPERATE’ IN PSI”, 2006-12-07) reported that on the second day of visit to Australia, President Roh Moo-hyun, asked at a joint press conference with the Australian PM if the ROK refuses to actively support the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), responded, “South Korea supports the PSI in principle. But we seek to avoid any armed conflict with North Korea.” “We will cooperate,” he said. “We just think that it is wise to refrain from doing something that could lead to clashes between the South and North.”

(return to top) Joong Ang Ilbo (“ROH SAYS SEOUL KNOWS THE NORTH KOREANS BEST”, 2006-12-08) reported that ROK President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday gave a vigorous defense of his administration’s refusal to join in applying pressure on Pyongyang. He was in Canberra, meeting with Australia’s prime minister, John Howard. Roh also said that the possibility of clashes between the Koreas were a more immediate danger to the South than the North’s nuclear weapons. “Nuclear disarmament and preventing nuclear proliferation are both important,” he said, “but they are actions to prevent dangers in the future. South Korea cannot do something that would lead to present problems to prevent a future danger.” In a speech before he and Mr. Howard sat down to eat, and referring to urgings from other countries for ROK cooperation in enforcing shipping sanctions, Mr. Roh added, “International society must not urge South Korea to do it.” He scolded nations who lectured Seoul on its responsibilities in that regard. In turn, Mr. Howard noted that Australia and the ROK have differences about the initiative, but added that those differences did not mean there were strains in bilateral relations between Canberra and Seoul. (return to top)

4. DPRK-Japan Relations

Associated Press (“REPORT: FORMER JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER MULLING VISIT TO NORTH KOREA”, 2006-12-06) reported that Japan’s former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is mulling a visit to the DPRK. Koizumi told senior ruling party lawmaker Taku Yamasaki during a meeting late Wednesday that he was considering a trip as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s special envoy. Koizumi wants to urge the DPRK to abide by the 2002 Pyongyang Declaration, a bilateral pact in which the DPRK promised to maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia and freeze its missile program.

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5. Inter-Korean Relations – Sports

Associated Press (“TAEKWONDO UNIFICATION COULD PACE WAY FOR NORTH KOREA’S ENTRY IN INTERNATIONAL EVENTS”, 2006-12-07) reported that the chasm in international taekwondo is closer to being bridged after meetings in Doha between the Seoul-based World Taekwondo Federation, which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, and the DPRK-backed Vienna-based International Taekwondo Federation, which is not. International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) athletes could be allowed to compete in international events next year if the unification process maintains the pace generated by an agreement between rival world bodies during the ongoing Asian Games. As it stands, because the DPRK’s national association is not affiliated with the WTF, it cannot enter athletes in international taekwondo events.

(return to top) Associated Press (“SOCCER SHOWDOWN: NORTH KOREA VS. SOUTH KOREA”, 2006-12-07) reported that the Koreas will play each other at the Asian Games. The two countries will meet on the soccer field in the quarterfinals. The confrontation was set up today when the DPRK beat Japan 2-1 in a final round-robin game. The Koreas marched behind a united flag at the opening ceremonies last week and are discussing the possibility of fielding a unified team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Getting by Japan was a big hurdle for the DPR Koreans, whose fans raced down to the field to congratulate their team, lifting the players into the air. The last time the Koreas played each other in soccer was November 2005, and the DPRK won 2-0 in Macau at the East Asian Games. (return to top)

6. US-ROK Trade Relations

Chosun Ilbo (“KOREA-U.S. FREE TRADE TALKS DEADLOCKED OVER DUMPING”, 2006-12-07) reported that the fifth round of free trade negotiations between Seoul and Washington was deadlocked as talks in the three key sectors of trade remedies, pharmaceuticals and autos collapsed or were suspended. The Korean negotiators walked out of talks on trade remedies as their US counterparts failed to offer a clear response to their demands on anti-dumping measures and countervailing duties for Korean exporters.

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7. US-ROK Security Alliance

Agence France-Presse (“US SAYS SKOREA PAYING TOO LITTLE FOR ITS TROOPS”, 2006-12-07) reported that US military authorities have complained they are being paid too little by the ROK for the stationing of US troops on the peninsula next year, expressing concern about joint defense. General Burwell B. Bell, the commander who would lead the US-ROK combined forces in case of war, “expressed his concern over the ability of USFK to maintain its warfighting readiness” after the accord, the statement said.

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8. ROK-Australian Relations

Agence France-Presse (“SOUTH KOREAN LEADER ENVISIONS HIGH-TECH FUTURE WITH AUSTRALIA”, 2006-12-07) reported that ROK President Roh Moo-hyun shared his vision of a high-tech partnership where Australia and the Asian powerhouse could forge new technologies for the lucrative games and movie industries. On the final day of his whirlwind visit to Australia, Roh said the future of the two countries’ relationship lay in pooling resources to develop a range of new digital gadgets for the international market.

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9. Japan Iraq Contribution

Kyodo News (“JAPAN TO DECIDE FRIDAY TO EXTEND AIR FORCE MISSION IN IRAQ”, 2006-12-07) reported that the Security Council of Japan confirmed that the Cabinet will decide to extend the deployment of Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force in Iraq until July 31 next year, government sources said. The ASDF has been transporting personnel and supplies between Iraq and Kuwait for the United Nations and multinational forces operating in the region.

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10. Japan Defense Policy

Kyodo (“DEFENSE CHIEF QUESTIONS JAPAN’S SUPPORT FOR U.S.-LED WARS”, 2006-12-07) reported that Japan’s defense chief Fumio Kyuma played down the country’s stated backing of the 2003 Iraq War and also raised questions about the special law which opened the way for Japanese sailors to support the US-led antiterrorism campaign in Afghanistan. Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s expression ofoutright support for the US-led invasion of Iraq “was not made officially”. As for the special law under which a Maritime Self-Defense Force fleet in the Indian Ocean refuels the warships of countries participating in Afghanistan, Kyuma said it is “legally most risky” in terms of compliance with the Constitution.

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11. PRC-World Bank on African Aid

The Associated Press (“WORLD BANK, CHINA PARTNER ON AFRICAN AID”, 2006-12-07) reported that the World Bank and the PRC plan to work together in African aid projects as Beijing expands ties with the continent, a World Bank vice president said. The partnership is aimed at applying lessons that the PRC has learned during two decades of economic reforms that have helped lift millions out of poverty, said James Adams, the bank’s vice president for East Asia and the Pacific region.

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12. PRC-Indian-Russian Oil Pipeline

The Hindu (“INDIA, CHINA, RUSSIA MULLING TRANS-BORDER OIL PIPELINE: EXPERT”, 2006-12-07) reported that an oil pipeline running from resource-rich Russia to energy-hungry India and the PRC is under “active consideration”, an industry expert has said. One plan is for the pipeline to run from Russia to Altay in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest PRC, climb the Tianshan Mountain, and extend south to Kunlun Mountain till it reaches India.

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13. PRC Anti-Corruption Measures

The Los Angeles Times (“CHINA MOVES QUIETLY TO KEEP ITS CADRES HONEST”, 2006-12-07) reported that the PRC’s Communist Party leaders have quietly filled top anti-corruption spots in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin this week in a bid to stem embarrassing scandals linked to public pension funds and the construction industry. Although Hu has a reputation for tackling corruption many analysts believe the problem is so widespread that the party risks collapse if it adopts a zero-tolerance policy. Others say anti-graft campaigns are selective, often tied to ulterior political motives.

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14. PRC Unrest

BBC News (“CHINA ‘EXECUTES DAM PROTESTER'”, 2006-12-07) reported that the PRC authorities secretly executed a man who took part in violent protests against a hydroelectric project in 2004, his lawyer said. Chen Tao was among tens of thousands who demonstrated against the Pubugou dam in Sichuan province. The protests turned into a riot which left a policeman dead. Mr Chen was found guilty of killing the policeman. Mr Chen’s lawyer, Ran Tong, said he had not been allowed to attend his appeal.

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