NAPSNet Daily Report 07 July, 2009

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NAPSNet Daily Report 07 July, 2009

Contents in this Issue:

Preceding NAPSNet Report

MARKTWO

I. Napsnet

1. UNSC on DPRK Missile Launch

Kyodo (“UNSC CONDEMNS N. KOREA OVER MISSILE LAUNCHES IN ORAL STATEMENT”, New York, 2009/07/06) reported that the United Nations Security Council on Monday condemned the DPRK for its weekend missile launches. ”The members of the Security Council condemned and expressed grave concern at the launches, which constitute a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and pose a threat to regional and international security,” the council’s rotating president, Ambassador Ruhakana Rugunda of Uganda, said in a statement read out to reporters. Through the statement the members of the council also expressed their commitment to a ”peaceful, diplomatic and a political solution to the situation.”

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2. ROK on DPRK Missile Launch

The Associated Press (“S. KOREA SAYS N. KOREAN MISSILES CAN HIT KEY TARGETS”, 2009/07/06) reported that the ballistic missiles that the DPRK test-fired this weekend were likely capable of striking key government and military facilities in ROK, a defense official said. The missiles appear to have traveled about 250 miles (400 kilometers), meaning they could have reached almost any point in the ROK, an official at the ROK Defense Ministry said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

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3. US on DPRK Missile Launch

Agence France-Presse (“TOP US ADMIRAL CONDEMNS N.KOREA MISSILE LAUNCHES”, 2009/07/06) reported that the US chief of naval operations denounced the DPRK’s weekend ballistic missile launches and vowed to keep tracking its ships if they are suspected of carrying banned weapons. “I think they were very unhelpful, and clearly counter to the desires of the international community for a peaceful and stable region,” Admiral Gary Roughead told reporters.

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4. Russia on DPRK Missile Launch

United Press International (“RUSSIA URGES N. KOREA TO RESUME NUKE TALKS”, 2009/07/06) reported that the Russian Foreign Ministry said it laments the DPRK’s latest missile launches and urged the country’s leaders to resume negotiations. “The series of missile launches conducted by North Korea in the past few days has not gone unnoticed,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said. “We regret the fact that a U.N. member-country is openly defying U.N. Resolution 1874 and is stubbornly refusing to heed the demands of the international community, including the states which have traditionally friendly ties with North Korea.” (return to top)

5. US Interdiction of DPRK Vessels

Yonhap News (“U.S. WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK N. KOREAN VESSELS: NAVY CHIEF”, 2009/07/06) reported that the US Navy’s top admiral indicated Monday his forces will continue to track DPRK ships suspected of carrying weapons banned under a U.N. resolution. “As circumstances arise in the future, we will continue to support the resolution,” U.S. Admiral Gary Roughead said in a roundtable meeting with journalists in Seoul. “We will conduct operations in support of that.” “What recently happened with the Kang Nam is a very effective way of stopping proliferation,” Roughead said, adding that the U.S. Navy is working to build a “maritime domain of awareness.”

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6. US Food Aid to the DPRK

Chosun Ilbo (“NO FOOD FOR N.KOREA WITHOUT MONITORING, SAYS U.S.”, 2009/07/06) reported that the US will not resume food aid to the DPRK unless there is a guarantee that the food will be distributed properly among North Koreans who need it. U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters, “We currently have no plans to provide additional food to North Korea. Any additional food aid would have to have assurances that it would be appropriately used… We remain very concerned about the well-being of the North Korean people, but we are very concerned because we need to have adequate program management in place, monitoring and access provisions, and we don’t have that right now,” he added.

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7. DPRK Food Supply

Xinhua News (“DPRK TOP LEADER URGES TO RECLAIM MORE LAND TO SOLVE FOOD PROBLEM”, 2009/07/06) reported that Kim Jong Il, top leader of the DPRK, has urged to reclaim more land to fully solve the country’s food problem, the official KCNA news agency said on Monday. The top leader inspected a reclamation site on Taegye Islet, North Phyongan province, where a big project is under way that reclaims land from the sea, the KCNA said. He emphasized the country should enlarge the area of the land — “its eternal treasure,” for the prosperity of the country.

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8. DPRK Missile and Nuclear Program

Agence France Press (“NKOREA SPENT $700 MLN ON MILITARY TESTS: REPORTS”, 2009/07/06) reported that impoverished DPRK has spent an estimated 700 million dollars this year on nuclear and missile tests, enough to solve its food shortage for at least two years, according to ROK news reports. Officials quoted by Chosun estimated it cost 300 million dollars to launch a long-range Taepodong-2 missile on April 5, and another 10 million to launch 10 short-range missiles in recent weeks. In addition, they estimated the May 25 underground nuclear test — the country’s second since 2006 — cost between 300-400 million dollars.

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9. DPRK Economy

JoongAng Ilbo (“NORTH KOREANS RELOCATE OUT OF MACAU”, 2009/07/06) reported that just a few years ago, more than a dozen DPRK companies were operating out of this administrative region of the PRC. Macau was the center of the DPRK’s foreign trade and financial transactions, and nearly 100 North Koreans lived there. But a source in Macau said most North Koreans have relocated since the U.S. move to freeze about $25 million of DPRK assets at Macau’s Banco Delta Asia bank in 2005. The Treasury Department at the time considered the BDA a money laundering concern. The source said the few who were still operating out of Macau “disappeared from the public eye” after the DPRK’s second nuclear test in late May. But he noted that some are still based in the region and are working under the radar.

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10. Inter-Korean Relations

Yonhap News (“N. KOREA SCORNED S. KOREAN PRESIDENT 1,700 TIMES THIS YEAR: OFFICIAL “, 2009/07/06) reported that the DPRK heaped scorn on ROK President Lee Myung-bak some 1,700 times until mid-June this year, a daily average of 9.9 times and an increase from last year, a ROK official said in a state-run magazine on Monday. The figures are a reflection of ties that have eroded since Lee took office in Seoul in February last year with a vow to link cross-border rapprochement with the DPRK efforts to denuclearize.

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11. DPRK Leadership

The Associated Press (“REPORT SAYS NKOREA’S KIM CONVALESCING BY THE SEA”, 2009/07/06) reported that the DPRK leader Kim Jong Il has been living at an east coast villa since mid-May and is likely convalescing after reportedly suffering a stroke last year, a newspaper said citing U.S. and ROK intelligence. The U.S. informed Seoul that Kim had been staying at the villa in Wonsan since mid-May, the JoongAng Ilbo Sunday newspaper said, quoting an unidentified official privy to DPRK affairs. JoongAng Ilbo said Kim may have left his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, in charge in Pyongyang, allowing him to experience running state affairs on his own.

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12. ROK Missile Program

Associated Press (Hyung-jin Kim, “US SET FOR TALKS ON BOOSTING SKOREAN MISSILE RANGE”, Seoul, 2009/07/07) reported that an ROK Defense Ministry official said Tuesday that a senior general at the U.S. command in Seoul told aides to ROK lawmakers last week the allies can discuss the revision of a 2001 accord barring the ROK from developing missiles with a range of more than 186 miles (300 kilometers). Kim Yong-kyu, a U.S. military spokesman, said Maj. Gen. Frank Panter of the Seoul command told the deputies on Thursday the issue could be discussed at annual defense ministerial talks, or through other channels if the ROK proposes it.

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13. ROK Environment

The Financial Times (“S.KOREA TO SPEND $85BN ON GREEN INDUSTRIES”, 2009/07/06) reported that the ROK unveiled plans to invest Won107,000bn in “green growth” areas over the next five years as it seeks to generate growth from alternative energy and other environment-friendly projects. President Lee Myung-bak has been campaigning for a so-called Green New Deal to create future growth drivers and new jobs in an effort to ride out the economic slump. The Won107,000bn spending on green growth industries would amount to roughly 2 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product each year through 2013. Through the green initiative, the government aims to create 1.56m-1.81m new jobs.

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14. Japan Missile Defense

Agence France-Presse (“JAPAN MULLS NEW MISSILE DEFENCE SYSTEM: REPORT”, 2009/07/06) reported that Japan is considering introducing a new type of missile defence system to counter airborne attacks, notably from the DPRK, a newspaper said. Japan has two types of defence against airborne attacks — the warship-installed Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) and Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3), a surface-to-air missile that tracks and hits incoming targets. It plans to complete the shield by early 2011. The Japanese defence ministry is considering introducing another surface-to-air missile, the US-developed Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, in addition to SM-3 and PAC-3, the newspaper said.

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15. Japan Politics

Kyodo News (“MOVEMENT TO OUST ASO COULD ACCELERATE AFTER TOKYO ELECTION: MINISTER “, 2009/07/06) reported that Prime Minister Taro Aso could face intensified pressure to step down from fellow lawmakers within his Liberal Democratic Party if the ruling party suffers a setback in the upcoming Tokyo assembly election, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe suggested. Masuzoe said ”events in the national political arena” affected the result of Sunday’s Shizuoka gubernatorial election, in which a Democratic Party of Japan-backed candidate won and a ruling coalition-backed candidate lost.

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16. Sino-Japanese Relations

People’s Daily Online (“JAPANESE MEDIA CLAIMS CHINA CONCERNED ABOUT JAPAN’S NUCLEAR ARMAMENT”, 2009/07/06) reported that some people in Japan have advocated adopting nuclear arms and attacking enemy bases following DPRK’s nuclear test and missile launch, according to a report by Kyodo News Agency reported by Global Times correspondent Zhao Xueliang. The report also said that officials involved in PRC-US relations have disclosed that the PRC’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi expressed his concerns over the issue to his Japanese counterpart Hirofumi Nakasone at a talk held in Tokyo in June.

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17. PRC Ethnic Unrest

The Associated Press (“WITNESSES SAYS CHINA PROTEST SPREADS TO 2ND CITY”, 2009/07/06) reported that witnesses say an ethnic protest has spread to a second city in the PRC’s western Xinjiang province after riots rocked the region’s capital, killing at least 140 and injuring more than 800. A Uighur man in Kashgar city said he was among more than 300 protesters who demonstrated outside the Id Kah Mosque in the late afternoon. He said they police surrounded them. “We were yelling at each other, but there were no clashes, no physical contact,” said the man, who gave his name as Yagupu. Maimaiti, a man who said he worked at the mosque, said he could hear could hear the protesters and police shouting outside.

Reuters (“CHINA TIGHTENS WEB SCREWS AFTER XINJIANG RIOT”, 2009/07/06) reported that the PRC clamped down on the Internet in the capital of the PRC’s northwestern region of Xinjiang on Monday, in the hope of stemming the flow of information about ethnic unrest which left 140 people dead. “Since yesterday evening I haven’t been able to get online,” store owner Han Zhenyu told Reuters by telephone. “No Internet here. Friends said they cannot log on, either,” said a mobile phone seller who gave only his surname, Zhang. But the government appears to have thrown the net even wider, with users in capital Beijing and financial hub Shanghai complaining social networking site Twitter has also been blocked.

Associated Press (William Foreman, “CURFEW DECLARED IN RESTIVE CHINESE REGION”, Urumqui, 2009/07/07) reported that the government in Xinjiang has declared a curfew following the violence of recent days that has killed at least 156 people. Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday that the curfew from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. Wednesday was needed to “avoid further chaos,” according to Wang Lequan, Communist Party boss for Xinjiang. Xinhua said Wang had also called for avoiding confrontation between ethnic groups. Urumqi was tense Tuesday, with protests happening in several parts of the city and both Han Chinese and Uighur groups facing off with armed police.

Reuters (Chris Buckley, “TEAR GAS EMBOLDENS XINJIANG PROTESTERS”, Urumqui, 2009/07/07) reported that hundreds of protesters from China’s predominant Han ethnic group, many clutching meat cleavers, metal pipes and wooden clubs, smashed shops owned by Uighurs in Urumqui on Tuesday. Some Han Chinese shouted “attack Uighurs” as both sides hurled rocks at each other. Police used tear gas to try to disperse the crowd, but it only emboldened the demonstrators, caught between two sets of anti-riot police 600 meters apart.

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18. US on PRC Ethic Unrest

Agence France-Presse (“US ‘DEEPLY’ REGRETS DEATHS IN CHINA UIGHUR RIOTS”, Washington, 2009/07/06) reported that the United States “deeply” regrets that some 140 people have been killed in ethnic violence in the PRC’s restive Xinjiang region, a State Department spokesman said. “We deeply regret the loss of life” in Urumqui, spokesman Ian Kelly said. “We call on all sides for calm and restraint.” Kelly said he expected the region’s violence to be discussed in a meeting between Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and PRC Deputy Foreign Minister Wu Dawei.

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19. UN on PRC Ethnic Unrest

Agence France-Presse (“UN CHIEF URGES CHINA TO RESPECT FREEDOMS”, 2009/07/06) reported that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday led international calls for restraint in the PRC after riots in its Xinjiang region in which at least 140 people were killed. “Wherever it is happening or has happened the position of the United Nations and the secretary general has been consistent and clear: that all the differences of opinion, whether domestic or international, must be resolved peacefully through dialogue,” the UN chief told a press conference when asked about events in Xinjiang.

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20. Cross Strait Relations

Agence France-Presse (“TAIWAN REJECTS CHINA’S CALL TO OPEN AIR SPACE”, Taipei, 2009/07/06) reported that Taiwan rejected the PRC’s call for the opening of restricted air space over the Taiwan Strait to help meet rising passenger demand between the island and the mainland. Flights currently have to make a detour around the restricted air space — “the median line” — between the PRC and Taiwan. Wang Yi, chief of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese State Council, last week said an agreement for 270 flights a week was not enough to cope with rising passenger numbers. He recommended flight numbers be more than doubled and urged Taiwanese authorities to allow passenger aircraft to cross the median line. But Taiwan’s defence ministry dismissed the proposal, saying “the median line is extremely important to Taiwan’s air security.”

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21. PRC Climate Change

Reuters (“CHINA SAYS “CARBON TARIFFS” PROPOSALS BREACH WTO RULES”, Beijing, 2009/07/06) reported that proposals to impose “carbon tariffs” on imported products will violate the rules of the World Trade Organization as well as the spirit of the Kyoto Protocol, the PRC’s Ministry of Commerce said. In a statement posted on its website, the ministry said collecting carbon duties from foreign products would enable developed countries to “protect trade in the name of protecting the environment.” “This will not help strengthen confidence that the international community can cooperate to handle the (economic) crisis, it also will not help any country’s endeavors during the climate change negotiations, and China is strongly opposed to it,” the statement said.

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22. PRC Energy Supply

The New York Times (“GREEN POWER TAKES ROOT IN THE CHINESE DESERT “, 2009/07/06) reported that a series of projects is under construction on the nearly lifeless plateau to the southeast of Dunhuang, including one of six immense wind power projects now being built around the PRC, each with the capacity of more than 16 large coal-fired power plants. Some top PRC regulators even worry that Beijing’s mandates are pushing companies too far too fast. The companies may be deliberately underbidding for the right to build new projects and then planning to go back to the government later and demand compensation once the projects lose money. HSBC predicts that the PRC will invest more money in renewable energy and nuclear power between now and 2020 than in coal-fired and oil-fired electricity.

China Daily (“CHINA CONSIDERS HIGHER RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGETS”, 2009/07/06) reported that coal-dependent PRC plans to generate at least 15 percent of its energy capacity from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources by 2020. Chief policy makers said they are revising earlier targets to create a “greener” environment, adding that new jobs to support the new energy sources also would spur economic growth. Xie Zhenhua, vice-minister in charge of climate change policy for the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said last week that renewable energy is expected to account for 10 percent of the country’s energy resources by 2010 and 15 percent by 2020.

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23. PRC Nuclear Power

Caijing Magazine (“CNNC TO STEP UP URANIUM EXPLORATION”, 2009/07/06) reported that China National Nuclear Corp will step up uranium exploration both at home and abroad to meet rising demand driven by the rapid development of nuclear power, general manager Kang Rixin said. Kang said that CNNC had recently concluded a deal with an unnamed firm in Jordan for joint uranium exploration in that country. The project will see around 700 tons of uranium being shipped to the PRC in 2010.

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II. PRC Report

24. PRC Civil Society and Poverty Alleviation

Guangming Daily (“CHINA POVERTY ALLEVIATION FOUNDATION LAUNCHES LARGE PUBLIC WELFARE ACTION”, 2009/07/06) reported that Heda Charity Action, co-sponsored by China Poverty Alleviation Foundation and Heda Property Group, was formally launched in Beijing today. The main content of this Action is: Heda Property Group donates 30 million RMB to China Poverty Alleviation Foundation, to help 10000 vulnerable persons.

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25. PRC Environment

Beijing Times (“AREA OF WATER AND SOIL LOSS IS OVER 1/3 OF CHINA’S LAND AREA”, 2009/07/06) reported that at present, the area of soil and water loss in China has reached 3.56 million square kilometers, accounting for 37% of the nation’s land area, said by Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Wu Xiaoqing yesterday.

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