CONTENTS
1. US on PRC-DPRK Diplomacy
2. ROK US Missile Deployment
3. US on Cross-Straits Relations
4. Japan Responds to DPRK Racial Slur
II. Republic of Korea 1. ROK Will Introduce New US Missile System
2. U.S Offers DPRK New Peace Framework
3. KEDO Project Are Mostly Likely Suspended For The Time Being
4. ROK Delegation for Economic Talks Leaves for DPRK via PRC
5. Mr. Hwang’s Interview with VOA on DPRK Issue
I. United States
1. US on PRC-DPRK Diplomacy
Agence France-Presse (“POWELL PRAISES ‘MESSAGE’ DELIVERER CHINA OVER NORTH KOREA,” 11/06/03) reported that US Secretary of State Colin Powell poured praise on the PRC for delivering the US “message” to the DPRK that the US would not budge in its refusal to solve a nuclear crisis in one-on-one talks with the DPRK. Powell thanked the PRC for its efforts to convene the multilateral effort also involving the DPRK, Japan, the ROK and Russia, which President George W. Bush has insisted is the only way to defuse the showdown. And in contrast to previous comments by US officials, he appeared to suggest that part of Beijing’s role at least was to act as an informal messenger between Washington and Pyongyang. Powell recalled how he met former PRC foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan in March and “reinforced President Bush’s message that China needed to rise to its responsibilities in dealing with this regional problem.” The top US diplomat then noted how Bush outlined his views on convening a second round of six-party talks on the crisis to follow an inconclusive session in Beijing in August to PRC President Hu Jintao in Bangkok last month.
2. ROK US Missile Deployment
The Associated Press (Soo-Jeong Lee, “SOUTH KOREA PLANS TO DEPLOY US MISSILES,” Seoul, 11/05/03) reported that the ROK will begin deploying US-made missiles next month that can strike most of the DPRK, a defense ministry official said Wednesday. The Army Tactical Missile System Block 1A missiles, made by the US company Lockheed Martin, has a range of 186 miles and will be deployed near the Demilitarized Zone – a 2 1/2 mile-wide border separating the two nations. “We plan to start deploying the missiles next month,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The ROK has already purchased an undisclosed number of the weapons and intends to buy a total of 111 Army Tactical Missile System Block 1A missiles by 2004. It bought the early version of the system with a range of 102 miles in 1997. The ROK has expressed wishes to develop missiles with a longer range. It obtained US approval in 2001 to develop missiles with a range of up to 186 miles.
3. US on Cross-Straits Relations
Agence France-Presse (“POWELL REASSURES CHINA ON TAIWAN BUT WARNS AGAINST MILITARY BUILDUP,” 11/06/03) reported that US Secretary of State Colin Powell reassured the PRC that the US had “no hidden agendas” with Taiwan but warned Beijing about its increasing military buildup across the straights. Powell, who on Monday irritated the PRC by shaking hands with Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian in Panama, said the US sought a peaceful solution to the Taiwan dispute and pledged that Washington would adhere to its commitments to both parties. At the same time, he stressed that Washington would judge the PRC’s intentions toward its neighbors and the US by how it deals with Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province. “We have no hidden agendas here, there is no other agenda but our single china policy, our one-china policy,” Powell said here at a conference on US-PRC relations. “We take our commitments and our obligations to both sides seriously and I reaffirm that policy here again today before our PRC friends,” he said in an apparent bid to ease concerns in Beijing about his brief meeting with Chen. “But,” Powell said, “we have to take note of the military buildup opposite Taiwan on the mainland, because that sends a very different kind of signal. “Whether China chooses peace or coercion to resolve its differences with Taiwan will tell us a great deal about the kind of role China seeks with its neighbors and seeks with us,” he said.
4. Japan Responds to DPRK Racial Slur
Reuters (“JAPAN HITS BACK AT NORTH KOREA FOR ‘JAPS’ REMARKS,” Tokyo, 11/05/03) reported that Japan reacted angrily Wednesday to a DPRK diplomat’s “insulting” use of the term “Japs” during a speech at the United Nations. In a discussion of nuclear issues at the U.N. General Assembly Tuesday, the DPRK’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Kim Chang-guk repeatedly used the word in referring to Japanese. “The Japs are now turning the whole society to the right to resurrect militarism and fascism with a view to re-invade Korea,” Kim, speaking in English, said in a speech in which he accused Japan of unfairly pressuring Pyongyang on its nuclear ambitions. Japan’s top government spokesman Yasuo Fukuda, called the speech “insulting, period.” “I don’t understand why he used such an expression all of a sudden,” he told a regular news conference. Kim said he had used the term because a Japanese diplomat had earlier incorrectly referred to his country as “North Korea.” North Korea’s official name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Fukuda said Pyongyang had never before complained to Japan about use of the name “North Korea.” “There is no reason for us to be referred to in such a way this time just because we called them ‘North Korea’,” he said. General Assembly President Julian Hunte said Tuesday he hoped DPRK diplomats “would desist from using this kind of language in this honorable house.” “There have been instances since I assumed the chair when I have really been alarmed at the level of debate in terms of calling names,” said Hunte, who is foreign minister of the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. “I would wish that on the issue of referring to the Japanese as ‘Jap,’ that the representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will take this into account,” Hunte said. The remarks were made during a discussion of the annual report of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
II. Republic of Korea
1. ROK Will Introduce New US Missile System
Chosun Ilbo (Yoo Yong-won, “NEW MISSILES ABLE TO REACH PYONGYANG”, 11/05/03) reported that ROK military will introduce new surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 300 kilometers, making them able to hit DPRK capital of Pyongyang, a military official said today. The Army Tactical Missile System [ATACMS] block 1-A missiles, made by US defense contractor Lockheed Martin, will be shipped to ROK next month and deployed in the mid-eastern areas along the Military Demarcation Line, the high-level official said. The government is expected to procure up to 110 missiles by late next year. One missile can annihilate a space measuring 400 by 500 meters. The introduction of the new missile was made possible following a revision in 2001 of the missile agreement between ROK and US, which had restricted ROK missiles to a maximum range of 180 kilometers. ROK military had only had the domestically made Hyunmoo missile, with a range of 180 kilometers. With this new deployment, ROK Army would be able to more directly target strategic sites in DPRK, such as military intelligence centers, missile pads, airbases, military factories and communication facilities. The ATACMS missile is known for its accuracy, which is far better than DPRK’s Rodong 1 missile with a range of 1,300 kilometers or its Scuds with ranges of 300-500 kilometers. The new missile is the latest version of the ATACMS block 1-A missile with a range of 165 kilometers, which ROK government introduced back in 1997. This marks the first time that US has exported the latest version.
2. U.S Offers DPRK New Peace Framework
Chosun Ilbo (Arirang TV, “WASHINGTON REPORTEDLY OFFERS PYEONGYANG NEW PEACE FRAMEWORK”, 11/05/03) reported that reports out of Japan indicate US efforts to ease nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula include a broader mission to ensure complete stability in the Asian region. According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun this Wednesday US delegates voiced the possibility of hammering out a new inter-Korean peace framework backed by other nations involved to replace the 1953 Armistice Agreement. That suggestion was reportedly presented by US officials during the two rounds of nuclear talks, first in April between US and DPRK officials mediated by PRC and then in the six-way dialogue back in August. Under the US-led proposal the communist regime must renounce its nuclear ambitions and abandon experiments on biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction. The Japanese report did not include DPRK’s response to the proposal.
3. KEDO Project Are Mostly Likely Suspended For The Time Being
Chosun Ilbo (Arirang TV, “DIPLOMATIC SOURCES VOICE LIKELIHOOD OF TEMPORARY HALT TO KEDO PROJECT”, 11/05/03) reported that the construction of two light-water energy-providing nuclear reactors which have been built in DPRK by a multinational consortium has mostly likely been suspended for the time being. Though a formal announcement has yet to be released diplomatic sources say the latest development comes amid growing international concerns over the communist state’s nuclear efforts. US-led consortium in charge of building two light water nuclear reactors in DPRK is poised to make public a formal statement regarding the future of the international project by November 21st. According to Roland Tricot spokesman of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization in New York on Tuesday participants of a two-day informal executive board meeting that started on Monday were unable to establish a common ground on the matter and have decided to refer the issue back to their member governments. Diplomatic sources however are voicing the likelihood of a temporary halt in the construction of the energy-producing generators as demanded by US and Japan amid mounting regional tensions over DPRK’s nuclear drive. The construction project comes as part of a 1994 accord between Washington and Pyeongyang that requires DPRK to freeze and eventually dismantle its nuclear facilities in exchange for the establishment of two civilian-use reactors.
4. ROK Delegation for Economic Talks Leaves for DPRK via PRC
Chosun Ilbo (Arirang TV, “SOUTH KOREAN DELEGATION FOR ECONOMIC TALKS LEAVES FOR N.K. VIA CHINA”, 11/05/03) reported that prior to embarking on a trip to DPRK for inter-Korean economic cooperation talks slated to begin in Pyeongyang later in the evening ROK’s chief delegate Kim Gwang-lim told reporters he intends to bring up the nuclear issue within a boundary that does not derail the four-day meeting. Seoul’s Vice Minister of Finance and Economy also said though the economic meeting is aimed at reassessing the current pace of progress on a number of cross-border cooperation projects including reconnecting rail and road links and constructing a large industrial base just north of the border he plans to tell his DPRK counterparts how other political factors can affect inter-Korean relations to highlight the need to ease tensions on the peninsula. ROK delegation left for Pyeongyang this morning via PRC and they are scheduled to attend a dinner banquet hosted by DPRK’s Senior Cabinet Counselor Kim Ryong-song before official dialogue begins from Thursday.
5. Mr. Hwang’s Interview with VOA on DPRK Issue
Donga Ilbo (Kwon Sun Taek, “HWANG JANG-YOP’S INTERVIEW WITH THE VOICE OF AMERICA (VOA)”, 11/04/03) reported that according to the Voice of America (VOA), Hwang Jang-yop, the former secretary of DPRK’s ruling Workers’ Party, reportedly said on November 3 that he knows who will take over the power in case that unexpected circumstances should happen to Kim Jung-il, but he cannot reveal it. At a meeting with David Jackson, the general director of Voice of America, Hwang said, “Kim Jung-il believes that there is no possibility for a struggle for political power and nobody from DPRK’s military authorities will become a successor to Kim Jung-il.” Subsequently he also added, “Kim Jung-il is making military authorities stand in front because they have no political power and exist only to automatically obey him.” Especially, he insisted that for the time being, there should be maintenance of the boundary line between DPRK and ROK even though DPRK will eventually collapse because of the economic gap between DPRK and ROK. “Instead of preventing the flow of DPRK’s refugees, ROK should try to reduce the gap between DPRK and ROK by helping to establish a democratic regime in DPRK through ROK’s technology, capital, and talents,” added Hwang. He also predicted, “PRC will break off the alliance with DPRK’s autocratic regime in the long run, and it will coincide with PRC’s national interest.” Mr. Hwang Jang-yop is expected to return back to ROK on November 5 after finishing all his appointments in US.
The NAPSNet Daily Report aims to serve as a forum for dialogue and exchange among peace and security specialists. Conventions for readers and a list of acronyms and abbreviations are available to all recipients. For descriptions of the world wide web sites used to gather information for this report, or for more information on web sites with related information, see the collection of other NAPSNet resources.
We invite you to reply to today’s report, and we welcome commentary or papers for distribution to the network.
Produced by the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development in partnership with:
Ilmin Internationl Relations Institute
BK21 The Education and Research Corps for East Asian Studies
Department of Political Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Center for American Studies,
Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
International Peace Research Institute (PRIME),
Meiji Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan
Monash Asia Institute,
Monash University, Clayton, Australia
Brandon Yu: napsnet@nautilus.org
Berkeley, California, United States
Timothy L. Savage: napsnet@nautilus.org
Berkeley, California, United States
Kim Young-soo: yskim328@hotmail.com
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Hibiki Yamaguchi: hibikiy84@hotmail.com
Tokyo, Japan
Saiko Iwata: saiko@akira.ne.jp
Tokyo, Japan
Hiroya Takagi: hiroya_takagi@hotmail.com
Tokyo, Japan
Peter Razvin: icipu@online.ru
Moscow, Russian Federation
Wu Chunsi: cswu@fudan.ac.cn
Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Dingli Shen: dlshen@fudan.ac.cn
Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
John McKay: John.McKay@adm.monash.edu.au
Clayton, Australia