NAPSNet Daily Report 8 October, 2010

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"NAPSNet Daily Report 8 October, 2010", NAPSNet Daily Report, October 08, 2010, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-daily-report/napsnet-daily-report-8-october-2010/

NAPSNet Daily Report 8 October, 2010

Previous day’s Issue

Contents in this Issue:

 

1. DPRK Nuclear Program

The Associated Press (Pauline Jelinek, “REPORT: NORTH KOREA MOVING TOWARD NUCLEAR WEAPONS”, Washington, 2010/10/08) reported that the DPRK may be moving ahead with a program to enrich uranium to make nuclear weapons, according to a report Friday by the Institute for Science and International Security. Pyongyang has moved beyond laboratory-scale work and is now capable of building a “at the very least, a pilot-scale” plant of centrifuges to enrich uranium, said the report based partly on information about the DPRK’s equipment purchases from other nations. The centrifuge program “is an avenue for North Korea to increase the number and sophistication of its nuclear weapons and for it to proliferate to others who seek to build their own centrifuge programs,” said authors David Albright and Paul Brannan. “As a result, the priority is finding ways to either stop the program or to delay its progress through a combination of negotiations and sanctions.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101008/ap_on_go_ot/us_us_nkorea_nuclear_2;_ylt=Aj2Gh3u70pT45kc9egnYEgMBS5Z4

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2. DPRK Leadership

Agence France-Presse (“N.KOREAN OFFICIAL ‘CONFIRMS HEIR’S SUCCESSION'”, Seoul, 2010/10/08) reported that a senior DPRK official has given the first public confirmation that the youngest son of veteran leader Kim Jong-Il will succeed his father. Yang Hyong-Sop confirmed the eventual ascent to power of Kim Jong-Un in an interview in Pyongyang with AP’s television affiliate APTN, the US news agency reported. The reported remarks by Yang, a leading ruling party member, marked the first time that a DPRK official has spoken openly about what will be the nuclear-armed nation’s second dynastic succession. “Our people take pride in the fact that they are blessed with great leaders from generation to generation,” The Associated Press quoted Yang as saying.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101008/wl_afp/nkoreapoliticssuccession_20101008123001

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3. Japan-India Nuclear Cooperation

United Press International (“INDIA, JAPAN DISCUSS NUCLEAR COOPERATION”, 2010/10/08) reported that India and Japan held a second round of talks in New Delhi Friday on nuclear energy collaboration, Indian government sources told Press Trust of India. Three months after starting talks, the nations are working toward an agreement allowing the sale of advanced technology to India by Japanese corporations, Press Trust of India reported. The timing of the second round indicates significant progress toward a pact, the sources told PTI. But it may not be ready for signing when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Tokyo starting Oct. 24.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2010/10/08/India-Japan-discuss-nuclear-cooperation/UPI-64211286543831/

 

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4. ROK Nuclear Technology Exports

Xinhua News (“S KOREA SIGNS NUCLEAR POWER COOPERATION TREATY WITH S AFRICA “, 2010/10/08) reported that the ROK signed a nuclear power cooperation pact with South Africa on Friday, opening the door for ROK firms to tap into the African nation’s nuclear power plant market. The ROK’s acting foreign minister Shin Kak-soo and South Africa’s energy minister Dipuo Peters signed the treaty in Seoul earlier in the day, the 24th such agreement Seoul has signed with other countries. The treaty is reportedly designed to bolster bilateral cooperation on developing nuclear power technology, power plant construction and peaceful use of atomic power.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7159629.html

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5. PRC Human Rights

BBC News (“NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AWARDED TO CHINA DISSIDENT LIU XIAOBO”, 2010/10/08) reported that jailed PRC dissident Liu Xiaobo has been named the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. Making the announcement in Oslo, Nobel Committee president Thorbjoern Jagland said Mr Liu was “the foremost symbol of the wide-ranging struggle for human rights in China”. The PRC said the award was a violation of Nobel principles and could damage relations with Norway. Many Chinese people will see this as an attack by the West on what they stand for and certainly many nationalists will see this as an example of the West trying to demonise the PRC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11499098

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