NAPSNet Daily Report 7 September, 2009

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"NAPSNet Daily Report 7 September, 2009", NAPSNet Daily Report, September 07, 2009, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-daily-report/napsnet-daily-report-7-september-2009/

NAPSNet Daily Report 7 September, 2009

Contents in this Issue:

Preceding NAPSNet Report

MARKTWO

I. Napsnet

1. DPRK Nuclear Program

Arirang News (“‘NO EVIDENCE’ OF RECONSTRUCTION AT YONGBYON REACTOR”, 2009/09/07) reported that the Institute for Science and International Security, on Friday said there was no evidence of the DPRK trying to rebuild the Yongbyon nuclear facilities. Based on satellite images of the site taken on August 10, experts say the nuclear reactor and the cooling tower remain destroyed with no signs of reconstruction.

Korea Times (Kim Sue-young, “NORTH KOREA IMPATIENT FOR DIALOGUE WITH US”, Seoul, 2009/09/04) reported that the DPRK’s Korea’s uranium enrichment program is seemingly aimed at pressing the United State to promptly agree to hold bilateral talks, Prof. Yang Moo-jin at the University of North Korean Studies said. “North Korea has already gave up everything it could offer including the release of two U.S. journalists,” Yang stated. “It appears that the North is trying to say it cannot help but strengthen its nuclear deterrent if the United States does not agree to two-way talks.”

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2. US on DPRK Nuclear Program

Associated Press (Hyung-jin Kim, “US ENVOY CONCERNED OVER NKOREA’S URANIUM PROGRAM”, Seoul, 2009/09/06) U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth said Sunday that Washington has just begun considering how to respond to the DPRK’s claim of moving closer to uranium enrichment. “If we are going to deal as we wish with the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, this is an issue that will have to be clarified,”  Bosworth said. “We have just begun to consider that question of what we might do in response,” Bosworth said. “But at this point, all I think I would say is that any indication of a nuclear program on the part of North Korea — whether it’s HEU (highly enriched uranium) or anything else — is a subject of concern and one which has to be addressed.”

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3. US, ROK on DPRK Nuclear Program

Voice of America (“S.KOREA, U.S. SHOW UNIFIED FRONT ON NORTH’S NUCLEAR WEAPONS”, Seoul, 2009/09/07) reported that senior U.S. Envoy on the DPRK, Stephen Bosworth, emerged from meetings with ROK counterparts in Seoul holding firm to Washington’s insistence that Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities must be ended. “We have had very useful conversations here with our South Korean partners,” he said, “We are agreed entirely that denuclearization, complete and verifiable, remains our core interest.”

Yonhap (“ALLIES BRAINSTORM RESPONSE TO NK’S ‘2-TRACK’ STRATEGY”, Seoul, 2009/09/05) reported that Stephen Bosworth, Washington’s special representative for DPRK policy, and Seoul’s top nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac discussed a joint response to Pyongyang’s so-called “two-track” tactic on Saturday. Bosworth also met with Unification Minister Hyun In-taek. “One of the things that we’re doing on this trip is to coordinate with our partners on the way in which we should respond to the invitations that the North Koreans have extended,” Bosworth said.

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4. US, Japan on DPRK Nuclear Talks

Kyodo (“NO IMMEDIATE PLAN FOR U.S., N. KOREA TALKS: NUKE ENVOY SAIKI “, Tokyo, 2009/09/07) reported that Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for DPRK policy, told Akitaka Saiki, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Monday that talks between the United States and the DPRK will not be held soon unless Pyongyang shows a clear commitment to the agreement reached at the six-party denuclearization talks. Saiki also said that the United States is not expecting a major policy change toward the DPRK under Japan’s incoming administration.

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5. Inter-Korean Relations

New York Times (Choe Sang-hun, “NORTH KOREA OPENS DAM FLOW, SWEEPING AWAY 6 IN THE SOUTH”, Seoul, 2009/09/06) reported that the DPRK unleashed walls of water from one or more of its dams on Sunday, sending a flash flood roaring through the Demilitarized Zone and sweeping away six ROK citizens, officials in Seoul said. “The government will send a telegram to the North on Monday to protest and demand a satisfying explanation,” the Unification Ministry said in a statement. Officials said the Imjin River’s water level on the border doubled, to 15.1 feet, after the DPRK began releasing water without warning at 2 a.m. on Sunday.

Associated Press (Hyung-jin Kim, “SKOREA SEEKS NKOREAN EXPLANATION ABOUT FLASH FLOOD”, Seoul, 2009/09/07) reported that ROK Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae told reporters Monday that ROK and U.S. officials were analyzing why the DPRK funneled such a large amount of waters to the south. Won, however, said there hasn’t been any particular signs that the DPRK would use waters held in dams to attack the ROK.

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6. Inter-Korea Economic Cooperation

Yonhap (“KOREAS TO NORMALIZE CONSULTATION OFFICE IN KAESONG”, Seoul, 2009/09/04) reported that have decided to normalize the operation of the Inter-Korea Exchange & Cooperation Consultation Office in the Kaesong industrial park, the government said Friday. Chun Hae-sung, the Unification Ministry’s spokesperson, said in a press briefing that the office would resume operations starting Monday. The two sides have exchanged the lists of personnel who will work at the office, he said. A total of 13 ROK and six DPRK citizens will be stationed there, according to the ministry.

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7. DPRK on Inter-Korean Relations

Arirang News (“N.KOREAN MAGAZINE CALLS FOR RECONCILIATION”, 2009/09/07) reported that the  Tongil Shinbo magazine says the relationship of the two Koreas stands at a crossroad. It added that the relationship between the two countries has recently turned for the better in an atmosphere of reconciliation and cooperation but warned of forces that frown upon such good relations. Another article in the magazine said the two Koreas must forget the past and start fresh by accepting and respecting each others’ ideologies and systems.

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8. DPRK Leadership

Agence France-Presse (“NORTH’S SUCCESSION CAMPAIGN HALTED, PYONGYANG WATCHERS SAY”, Seoul, 2009/09/07) reported that DPRK leader Kim Jong-il has suspended a propaganda campaign to promote his youngest son as future leader after apparently winning the regime’s support for the succession plan, analysts say. Cheong Seong-chang of the Sejong Institute think tank in Seoul said the conciliatory moves “reveal Kim’s confidence that the son has firmly established his position.” “Kim, who is believed to have recovered his health to some extent, appears to be no longer concerned about a power struggle,” Dongguk University professor Koh Yu-hwan said. “That means that the regime has regained stability. Now Jung-un’s position [as heir] appears to be firmer than before.”

Yonhap (“N.K. MAKES KIM JONG-IL DOCUMENTARY PART 2”, Seoul, 2009/09/06) the Korean Central News Agency said Sunday that the DPRK has completed the second part of a documentary series that chronicles the life of its leader Kim Jong-il. “Glorifying the Revolutionary Traditions,” part 2 of the documentary, recounts Kim’s exploration in the mid-1950s of the sacred Mount Paektu, his supposed birth place, and projects that he led in the 1970s. The film’s theme underscores that “the DPRK always remains prosperous thanks to Kim Jong-il,” the KCNA said.

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9. DPRK Economy

Donga Ibo (“`FLIRTATIOUS WAITRESSES` PROMPT NK TO CLOSE RESTAURANTS”, Seoul, 2009/09/05) reported that the DPRK has closed ten restaurants in Southeast Asia because waitresses working there got too involved with customers, the Hong Kong-based magazine Yazhou Zhoukan said Friday. It said DPRK waitresses were heavily chastised from their country’s leadership for flirting with ROK and Japanese customers. Certain waitresses even got romantically involved with tourists or overseas representatives. Over the past few months, the DPRK has closed 10 restaurants in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

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10. ROK Military

Yonhap (“KOREA TO DEPLOY LATEST ARMORED VEHICLE LATER THIS YEAR”, Seoul, 2009/09/07) reported that the K-21 armored fighting vehicle recently underwent firing tests and will start to be deployed at major armored divisions and training facilities after a few more final examinations, an official at the ROK Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said. “They should dramatically improve the fighting capabilities of Korea’s armored forces once they are ready for missions by the end of this year,” the official said. Equipped with a 40mm automatic canon and an anti-tank weaponry system that can also be used to tackle helicopters, the K-21 has been in development since 1999. The Army, which invested 91 billion won (US$73 million) in the development, plans to produce a total of 500 K-21 vehicles, according to the DAPA.

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11. ROK Climate Change

Chosun Ilbo (“S.KOREA ‘TO TURN SUBTROPICAL THIS CENTURY'”, Seoul, 2009/09/07) reported that the Climate Change Information Center of the Korea Meteorological Administration on Sunday said if global warming continues at the current pace, most of the ROK will turn into subtropics between 2071 and 2100 and temperatures will rise by four more degrees Celsius. According to this scenario, all areas except inland regions near Mts. Taebaek and Sobaek will likely turn into subtropics.

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12. ROK-Japan Relations

Donga Ibo (“TOKYO EXPECTED TO GROW FRIENDLIER TOWARD SEOUL”, Seoul, 2009/09/04) reported that before Japan’s general elections Sunday, the Japan-Korea Parliamentarian Union comprised 302 lawmakers including 230 members of the House of Representatives and 72 members of the House of Councilors. The 203 House members consisted of 171 members of the Liberal Democratic Party and 37 of the Democratic Party of Japan. As the number of seats taken by the Democratic Party exceeds that of its rival, the new ruling party’s presence will soar in the union.

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13. Japanese Climate Change

Agence France-Presse (“JAPAN’S NEXT PM VOWS AMBITIOUS GREENHOUSE GAS CUT”, Tokyo, 2009/09/07) reported that  Japan ‘s next prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, said Monday his incoming government would pursue a greenhouse gas reduction target of 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. “As a mid-term goal, we aim at a 25 percent reduction by 2020 from 1990, based on the levels demanded by science to stop global warming ,” said Hatoyama.

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14. Japanese Cabinet

Asahi Shimbun (“DPJ HEAVYWEIGHTS SET FOR KEY POSTS”, Tokyo, 2009/09/07) reported that Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama has decided on a number of pivotal appointments for his administration, according to sources. He is expected to name acting president Naoto Kan, 62, as both state strategy minister and deputy prime minister, and secretary-general Katsuya Okada, 56, as foreign minister, they said.

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15. Japanese Influenza Response

Asahi Shimbun (“JAPAN SLOW TO SECURE H1N1 VACCINE STOCKS”, Tokyo, 2009/09/07) reported that health experts say Japan’s efforts to secure vaccine stocks for the H1N1 virus have been woefully slow. They blame the government for systemic inefficiencies and a lack of proper policies which have left the country unable to meet rising demand for vaccines. Domestic drug companies also lag behind U.S. and European makers in developing new production methods. The government on Friday announced its plan for vaccinations, with medical workers and pregnant women to be given top priority. It aims to vaccinate 60 million people (two shots for each), using imports to cover shortfalls in domestic stocks.

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16. Cross Strait Relations

CBC News (“TAIWAN FILM FEST TO SHOW UIGHUR DOCUMENTARY”, Taipei, 2009/09/05) reported that organizers at the Kaohsiung Film Festival said Saturday that ” The 10 Conditions of Love” , about World Uighur Congress head Rebiya Kadeer, will be shown during the festival, which runs Oct. 16-29. Festival spokesperson Liu Hsiu-ying said the film fits perfectly with the event’s “people power” theme, adding that “we hope people will not see it from a political angle.”

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17. PRC Ethnic Unrest

New York Times (Keith Bradsher and Xiyun Yang, “CHINA OUSTS TOP OFFICIAL AFTER PROTESTS”, Hong Kong, 2009/09/05) reported that Li Zhi, the party secretary of Urumqi, lost his post, the Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday evening. Beijing officials also sent to Urumqi a special medical inspection unit from the People’s Liberation Army to investigate reports that people had been stabbed with needles.

Associated Press (Christopher Bodeen, “CHINA XINJIANG CHIEF SURVIVES POLITICAL FIRESTORM”, Beijing, 2009/09/06) reported that the purge of lower-ranking officials over unrest has done nothing to clip the authority of Wang Lequan, leader of Xinjiang for 15 years. “Wang Lequan is too big,” said an Urumqi beverage seller on Sunday. “There is nothing you can do.” Michael Davis, a professor of law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, stated, “The government has shown that every time this problem flares, rather than reconsider the problem, they crack down, and the hard-liners take a dominant position.”

New York Times (Edward Wong and Xiyun Yang, “CHINA SAYS FIVE DEAD IN LATEST XINJIANG UNREST”, Beijing, 2009/09/04) reported that at least 5 people have been killed and 14 wounded during days of protests by ethnic in Xinjiang, according to Xinhua news agency. The deputy mayor, Zhang Hong, gave the casualty toll at a news conference late Friday night in Urumqi. Xinhua did not report the ethnicities of the victims and had no other details.

Reuters (Royston Chan, “CHINA THREATENS PUNISHMENT FOR RUMOR-MONGERING”, Urumqui, 2009/09/07) reported that Urumqi has spelt out potential punishments for spreading rumors. “Those who deliberately concoct and spread false information about innocent members of the public being stabbed with needles,” could be tried and sentenced to up to five years in jail, said the notice, according to Xinhua. Security forces used tear gas to break up a crowd of Han Chinese on Sunday, after a fresh needle scare near a wholesale market. Witnesses said three Uighurs were beaten.

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18. PRC Internet Censorship

New York Times (Jonathan Ansfield, “CHINA WEB SITES SEEKING USERS’ NAMES”, Beijing, 2009/09/05) reported that in early August, without notification of a change, PRC news portals like Sina, Netease, Sohu and scores of other sites began asking unregistered users to sign in under their real names and identification numbers, said top editors at two of the major portals affected. A Sina staff member also confirmed the change. The editors said the sites were putting into effect a confidential directive issued in late July by the State Council Information Office, one of the main government bodies responsible for supervising the Internet.

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19. PRC Environment

Los Angeles Times (David Pierson, “CHINA, GREEN? IN THE CASE OF SOLAR WATER HEATING, YES”, Rizhao, 2009/09/06) reported that more than 30 million homes in the PRC have the solar water heating devices, accounting for two-thirds of the world’s solar water heating energy. “China absolutely dominates the global market and they’ve done it relatively quietly and without a lot of fanfare,” said Christopher Flavin, president of the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute. “It’s an interesting example of their ability to take technology that was developed elsewhere and adapt it to their market on a scale no one had conceived of.”

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II. PRC Report

20. PRC Environment

Sina.com (“CHINA FIRST GREEN HOPE SCHOOL ESTABLISHED IN SICHUAN”, 2009/09/04) reported that China’s first Green Hope School was established in Muchuan county of Sichuan province recently. The School compromises merits of modern construction, local natural environment, and traditional Chinese architectural style, and maximize the use of renewable energy.

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21. PRC Civil Society and Public Health

Guangzhou Daily (“SPECIAL FUND FOR NEEDY LEUKEMIA CHILDREN”, 2009/09/03) reported that according to Guangdong provincial Bureau of Civil Affairs, leukemia children in poor families, aged 0-18, Guangzhou residents, can go to the municipal charity federation for application of special fund.

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22. PRC Civil Society

Sina.com (“UNILEVER CARES ABOUT MOTHER IN WEST”, 2009/09/04) reported that Unilever Group, jointly with China Women’s Foundation, held the donation ceremony of “Caring Mother in West” activity on September 2 in Beijing. Unilever donated fund and materials totally of 1.5 million RMB, to help women in remote area strengthen health awareness.

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III. Announcement

23. Nautilus Releases New Scenarios Report

(“”, Seoul, 2009/09/07) The Nautilus Institute has released a new report on the scenarios workshop entitled: ” Northeast Asia 2050: Is there a role for Civil Society in Meeting the Climate Change Challenge?” The workshop held in March, 2009 in Paju, ROK, brought together scholars, activists, government officials, and critical and creative thinkers from China, Japan, and the ROK as well as Nautilus staff from Australia and the United States to address issues of climate change in Northeast Asia using uncertainty scenarios. To view this report, and to learn more about the March workshop, please visit http://www.globalcollab.org/Nautilus/CC-workshops/seoul