NAPSNet Daily Report 11 June, 2002

Recommended Citation

"NAPSNet Daily Report 11 June, 2002", NAPSNet Daily Report, June 11, 2002, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-daily-report/napsnet-daily-report-11-june-2002/

 
CONTENTS

I. United States

1. DPRK Asylum-Seekers Status
2. ROK New Bank Notes
3. DPRK-Japan Relations
4. DPRK-US Relations
5. DPRK-US Korean War MIAs
6. ROK on Japan’s First Ever World Cup Victory
II. Republic of Korea 1. North Korean Asylum Seekers
2. Inter-Korean Cooperation on Mobile Standard
3. No Response on Tourism Talks
4. ROK Diplomat Slain in Philippine
III. Russian Federation 1. RF, PRC and Four Central Asian States Created a Body
2. Cross-Straits Relations

I. United States

1. DPRK Asylum-Seekers Status

Agence France-Presse (“NINE NORTH KOREANS ENTER SOUTH’S BEIJING MISSION,” 06/11/02) reported that nine DPRK asylum-seekers, including a family of five, have entered the ROK consulate compound in Beijing, the ROK foreign ministry said. The nine crossed a 1.7 meter (five feet seven inch) high fence around the consulate on Tuesday morning to join eight other DPRK asylum seekers who have entered the mission since May 23. There are also two DPRK asylum seekers in the Canadian embassy in Beijing. There were six men and three women in the latest DPRK group. The family of five included two teenagers, an ROK foreign ministry spokesman stated. “We hope the North Koreans will be allowed to go to South Korea as they wish,” the spokesman added. “But it will take some time for the Chinese government to make a decision over the North Koreans who are now in the Canadian embassy and the Korean consulate,” the spokesman said.

2. ROK New Bank Notes

Agence France-Presse (“SOUTH KOREA TO INTRODUCE NEW NOTES,” 06/11/02) reported that newly designed 5,000 won banknotes will be issued in the ROK and the central bank is also considering issuing new domination notes to keep pace with higher prices. The Bank of Korea (BoK) said it was looking into issuing 50,000 won and 100,000 won notes to ease the burden of consumers who have to carry walletfulls of 5,000 won (4.06 dollars) and 10,000 won bills. A total of 71 million new style 5,000 won notes will be distributed from Wednesday at BoK branches. The new notes bear a portrait of 16th century Korean philosopher Yulgok. They also have the unmistakably 21st century mark of the BoK written in holographed form in a bid to prevent counterfeits. Notes with serial numbers from one to 100 will be kept for the country’s Currency Museum. Notes from 101 to 1,000 will be auctioned with proceeds going to charity. The central bank said earlier that its governor Park Seung had ordered a study into printing 50,000 won and 100,000 won notes or cutting the number of digits of the won. Park said he wanted a thorough debate on any change to the currency before anything was decided. Academics have proposed new bank notes or cutting the number of digits in a bid to make the currency less cumbersome. The central bank said it will study high inflation South American countries which had chopped digits from currencies. But the cost of changing computerized accounting systems worries many ROK experts.

3. DPRK-Japan Relations

The Associated Press (Nicole Winfield, “NORTH KOREA LASHES OUT AT CONDITIONALITY OF AID AFTER JAPAN WITHHOLDS COMMITMENTS,” Rome, 06/11/02) reported that the DPRK on Tuesday denounced moves by countries to apply conditions to aid, weeks after Japan said it was witholding future pledges while it reviews relations with the DPRK. The DPRK’s agriculture minister, Kim Chang Sik, referred indirectly to the issue during a brief speech to the UN World Food Summit here. “It can no means be justified for an individual state to talk about human rights, democracy and mode of state management, ignoring the characteristics and circumstances of others and imposing its own value and developmental models, attaching various terms on assistance,” he said. The US, Japan and the ROK are the DPRK’s biggest donors. Last week, the US made a new pledge of 100,000 tons of wheat, rice and dairy produce, which has allowed the UN World Food Program to resume distributing food.

4. DPRK-US Relations

Reuters (Larry Fine, “POWELL PUTS CONDITIONS ON US TALKS WITH NORTH KOREA,” New York, 06/10/02) reported that US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Monday that the US expects to hold meetings with the DPRK and move toward normalizing relations, but not before a list of conditions are met. “Working with South Korea and Japan, the United States is prepared to take important steps to help North Korea move its relations with us toward normalcy,” Powell said in a speech to the Asia Society Annual Dinner. “We expect soon to have meetings with the North Koreans to explore these steps. However, progress between us will depend on Pyongyang’s behavior on a number of key issues.” Powell said that the DPRK had to “get out of the proliferation business and eliminate long-range missiles that threaten other countries. It must take itself off the preferred supplier list for rogue states. “Secondly it must make a more serious effort to provide for its suffering citizens,” said Powell. Powell added that the United States wants to see “greatly improved monitoring and access” to the food aid “to make sure the food actually gets into hungry mouths.” Powell also said that the DPRK also must move toward a less threatening conventional military posture. “We’re watching closely to see if Pyongyang will live up to its past pledges to implement basic confidence-building measures with the South. “And finally, North Korea must have full compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s safeguards that it agreed to when it signed the nuclear nonproliferation treaty,” said Powell. “As President (George W.) Bush made clear in Seoul this February, we hope for a peaceful transformation on the Korean peninsula. But no matter what the future holds, American forces remain prepared to defend with their lives the people and democracy of South Korea.”

5. DPRK-US Korean War MIAs

The Associated Press (“UNITED STATES, NORTH KOREA AGREE ON NEW ROUND OF SEARCHES FOR REMAINS OF KOREAN WAR MIAS,” Bangkok, 06/11/02) reported that DPRK and US negotiators have agreed on the specifics of a new round of joint searches for the remains of US soldiers missing in action from the Korean War five decades ago. Under the agreement, reached in Bangkok after three days of talks, three 30-day searches will be undertaken in the DPRK beginning July 20, said a US government statement Tuesday. So far, 22 such operations conducted in the DPRK since 1996 have recovered remains believed to be those of 152 US soldiers. Eleven have been identified and about 10 others are in the final stages of the forensic identification process. Search teams consisting of 28 members will survey sites on the western shores of the Chosin Reservoir, the statement said, without elaborating.

6. ROK on Japan’s First Ever World Cup Victory

Reuters (“SOUTH KOREA CONGRATULATES JAPAN ON FIRST EVER WORLD CUP WIN,” Seoul, 06/10/02) reported that the ROK on Monday congratulated co-host Japan’s World Cup soccer victory over Russia. “We extend our congratulations on Japan’s first victory,” said presidential spokeswoman Park Sun-sook. “We hope that Japan will continue to play well and that the tournament takes place smoothly in Japan.” On Sunday, Japan defeated Russia 1-0 at Yokohoma’s International Stadium to earn its first-ever World Cup win. The national team needs only a tie against Tunisia on Friday to advance to the tournament’s second round. Japan was 0-3 at the World Cup in France in 1998.

II. Republic of Korea

1. North Korean Asylum Seekers

Joongang Ilbo (Lee Young-jong, “TWO WOMEN AND CHILD JOIN 5 FROM NORTH IN SEOUL¡¯S BEIJING MISSION,” Seoul, 06/11/02) reported that DPRK defectors continue to sneak into diplomatic missions in Beijing. Two women and a child entered the ROK Embassy at 4:35 p.m. on Sunday. And late Saturday, the Canadian Embassy in Beijing announced Monday, two DPRK asylum-seekers in their early 20s entered the Canadian Embassy compound, requesting refugee status. “It is extraordinary that two women and a child entered the compound,” an official at the South Korean mission in Beijing said. “They are requesting to be sent to South Korea.”

2. Inter-Korean Cooperation on Mobile Standard

Joongang Ilbo (Ha Ji-yun, “SOUTH, NORTH AGREE ON MOBILE STANDARD,” Seoul, 06/11/02) reported that ROK and DPRK governments have agreed in principle to pursue joint business projects to introduce mobile telephone services based on the code division multiple access standard in Pyongyang and the Nampo area, a port city southwest of the DPRK capital. The ROK and the DPRK will also cooperate in beefing up international call business in the same regions, the Ministry of Information and Communication said Monday. ROK and DPRK will meet in Beijing within a month to discuss the projects in detail. In order that ROK and DPRK should share the same level of telecommunications system after a reunification, ROK would skip second generation services and devices and provide third generation systems to DPRK.

3. No Response on Tourism Talks

Chosun Ilbo (Kim In-gu, “NK FAILS TO RESPOND ON TOURISM TALKS,” Seoul, 06/11/02) reported that the second meeting designed to improve tourism at DPRK’s Mount Kumgang resort set for June 11, agreed to when South Korean special envoy Lim Dong-won visited Pyongyang in April, has been virtually abandoned as DPRK has failed to reply to the Ministry of Unification with regard to its delegation. A ministry official said that the MOU had sent a list of the ROK delegates on June 5, and tried to get an answer through the Panmunjeom peace village. He added, DPRK failed to reply in time and the talks would not be able to take place as there was no ship scheduled for Tuesday.

4. ROK Diplomat Slain in Philippine

Chosun Ilbo (Kwon Kyung-bok, “MINISTRY EXPRESSES REGRET ON SLAIN DIPLOMAT,” Seoul, 06/11/02) reported that ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Choi Sung-hong expressed at his office, Tuesday, regret to Philippine Ambassador Juanito P. Jarasa with regard to the murder of Chung Young-ho, the third secretary at the ROK Embassy in Manila. Minister Choi asked for ongoing reports on the investigation and tightened security for Korean nationals in the Philippines to prevent a recurrence. Chung found slain near the Philippine capital Manila, Monday, after being reported missing as of June 6. The ministry said, his body found by a pedestrian on a street in Quezon City, near Manila and his family positively identified it. Philippine police believe a local drug ring could be linked to this first homicide case involving ROK diplomat. In the wake of the incident, the ministry has asked the local government to bolster safety and security measures for ROK diplomats and residents there.

III. Russian Federation

Russian Federation

1. RF, PRC and Four Central Asian States Created a Body

Nezavisimaya gazeta’s Besik Pipiya (“NOW REGISTRATION AT THE U.N. IS POSSIBLE”, Saint Petersburg, 7, 06/10/02) reported that the 2nd summit of the Shanghai Organization for Cooperation (SHOC) took place in Saint Petersburg. Their leaders signed the Saint Petersburg Declaration which makes it possible for it to register as a formal body at the UN as a regional organization. SHOC headquarters are to be stationed in Beijing. The SHOC is to combat terrorism, extremism, separatism and illegal drug traffic in the area stretched between the Baltic Sea and the Pacific Ocean. In their Final Declaration the summit members declared the PRC government was the only lawful one representing “the whole of China”, with Taiwan being its inalienable part, called on India and Pakistan to resume dialogue and called on Israel and Palestinians to abide to UN resolutions and return to dialogue. RF President Vladimir Putin said SHOC was not a closed bloc and admitted a possibility of India as the first candidate to join it. Putin also did not rule out the US becoming a member. Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev suggested three stages for further members: a dialogue partner, an observer and a full-fledged member.

2. Cross-Straits Relations

Izvestia’s Boris Pilyatskin (“TAIWANESE TEA PARTY”, Moscow, 6, 06/10/02) reported that due to a heat wave the administration of the Taiwanese island of Mazu decided to buy 20000 tons of water from the PRC, but was prevented by Taiwanese authorities. According to opinion polls held by Taiwanese “Council on Mainland China Affairs) 70 percent of Taiwanese polled reject the concept of “one country – two systems.” Three years ago the number was 87.2 percent. According to Taiwanese Premier Chen Shuibian, PRC-Taiwan relations have become more stable recently. Visiting the tiny island of Tatang just 4 kilometers from PRC, Chen invited PRC leaders for a tea party and said he was going to send his Democratic Progressive Party delegation to the PRC for talks this August.

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

 


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *