NAPSNet Daily Report 17 July, 2008

Recommended Citation

"NAPSNet Daily Report 17 July, 2008", NAPSNet Daily Report, July 17, 2008, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-daily-report/napsnet-daily-report-17-july-2008/

NAPSNet Daily Report 17 July, 2008

NAPSNet Daily Report 17 July, 2008


Contents in this Issue:

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. NAPSNet

1. US-DPRK Relations

Xinhua (“U.S. OFFICIAL TO VISIT DPRK’S INTER-KOREAN INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX”, Seoul, 2008/07/15) reported that Jay Lefkowitz, the US special envoy on human rights of the DPRK, may visit an inter-Korean industrial complex in DPRK’s border city of Kaesong next week, the ROK’s Yonhap News Agency reported. Lefkowitz will visit the ROK on July 22-24, and he applied for permission to visit the Kaesong industrial complex on the first day of his visit to the ROK, Yonhap quoted unnamed ROK official as saying.

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2. Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation

The Associated Press (Hyung-Jin Kim, “SKOREA PRESIDENT: KEEP NKOREA TOURS ON HOLD”, Seoul, 2008/07/16) reported  that the ROK’s president said that tours to a DPRK mountain resort would not resume unless the DPRK cooperates in an investigation into the shooting death of a ROK tourist. President Lee Myung-bak told a Cabinet meeting that tours should be halted unless the DPRK allows in ROK investigators and strict safety measures for tourists are in place. The DPRK expressed regret over the shooting, but has claimed the woman entered a military restricted area and fled after a soldier told her to halt. The country also demanded the ROK apologize for suspending the tour after the shooting.

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3. Inter-Korean Relations

JoongAng Ilbo (Ahn Hye-ri and Jung Ha-won, “SECRET NORTH CONNECTIONS CRUMBLE”, 2008/07/16) reported that Hyundai Group has been a pioneer in inter-Korean dialogue since its founder, Chung Ju-young, visited the DPRK in 1989. Its under-the-radar communication channels with Pyongyang have often turned out to be more effective than those of the ROK government. But developments after the death of a ROK tourist in the DPRK show that even Hyundai is rapidly losing its connection with the DPRK, a development that could deal a blow to Seoul’s struggles to find ways to talk to Pyongyang.

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4. Mt. Kumgang Shooting

Donga Ilbo (“‘N. KOREA’S INITIAL REPORT ON TOURIST SHOOTING WAS NOT TRUE’”, 2008/07/16) reported that Hyundai Asan, the ROK operator of tours to Mount Geumgang, said that the DPRK’s initial report on Friday’s tourist shooting sent to the ROK was not true. Hyundai Asan CEO Yoon Man-joon said, “Though not sufficiently, I heard a little bit about the incident (from the North). It appears certain differences were in the initial report that was submitted shortly after the incident.” A Hyundai Asan source said Yoon and his team checked the distance covered by Park Wang-ja Friday morning, when the shooting occurred, and concluded that her move in time quoted by the DPRK was impossible.

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5. ROK Food Aid to the DPRK

Agence France-Presse (“UN TO ASK SEOUL FOR NKOREA FOOD AID AMID WORSENING TIES”, Seoul, 2008/07/16) reported that an executive of the UN’s food agency was visiting ROK to seek its help in feeding hungry DPRK, days after relations soured further over the killing of a Seoul tourist. Jean-Pierre de Margerie, the World Food Programme (WFP) country director for the DPRK, will meet Seoul officials to brief them on a just-completed assessment of food needs in the DPRK, said WFP regional spokesman Paul Risley. He said de Margerie will also ask Seoul to contribute to a greatly expanded programme by the UN agency which aims to feed some five million people.

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6. US on DPRK Refugees

Chosun Ilbo (“U.S. SENATORS URGE CHINA TO HELP N.KOREAN REFUGEES”, 2008/07/16) reported that seven US senators including Republican Sam Brownback and Democrat Barbara Boxer sent a letter to PRC President Hu Jintao urging him to stop repatriating DPRK refugees. Pointing out that these DPR Koreans are likely to be executed if they are sent back home, the senators urge the PRC government to seek ways to solve the refugee issue as a responsible member of the international community.

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7. US-ROK Security Alliance

Yonhap News (“REPORT ON ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE BY USFK ISSUED”, Seoul, 2008/07/16) reported that a report on environmental damage found over the past 10 years inside US military bases in ROK was issued by civic organizations, with land contamination from oil being the most serious problem. The Comprehensive Report on Environmental Damages in U.S. Bases in the ROK, the first of its kind, was released amid the US move to return tens of bases to the ROK as it aims relocate frontline US troops to a city south of Seoul by 2013.

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8. ROK-Japan Territorial Dispute

Korea Herald (Lee Joo-hee , “LEE URGES CONCERTED DOKDO EFFORTS”, 2008/07/16) reported that President Lee Myung-bak stressed the need for a non-partisan and strategic approach in countering Japan’s latest claim over Dokdo islets. “Japan has displayed a clear intention to turn Dokdo into the site of an international territorial dispute. We must take long-term and strategic countermeasures,” Lee said. “South Korea has to abstain from short-term and makeshift countermeasures as far as Dokdo is concerned. We must take measures meant to further consolidate our control of the islets in order to efficiently counter Japan’s claim to Dokdo,” Lee said.

Yonhap News (“S. KOREAN WORKERS PELT JAPANESE EMBASSY WITH ROTTEN EGGS OVER DOKDO CLAIM”, Seoul, 2008/07/16) reported that scores of union workers threw rotten eggs and tomatoes at the Japanese Embassy, denouncing Tokyo’s fresh claim to the ROK islets of Dokdo and demanding a tough response from Seoul. “Militarism revived!” about 30 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the more radical of the ROK’s two umbrella unions, shouted before throwing eggs and tomatoes at the embassy, cordoned off by ROK police officers. The activists called for tougher actions by Seoul.

Chosun Ilbo (“U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS TO FILE DOKDO UNDER ‘SEA OF JAPAN'”, 2008/07/16) reported that the US Library of Congress is making changes to the subject heading for the ROK’s Dokdo Islands amid renewed attempts by Japan to establish the territory as disputed in the eyes of the international community. Now filed under “Tok Island (Korea),” the library is moving to change the entry to an old international moniker, “Liancourt Rocks,” and is also trying to add “Islands of the Sea of Japan” — the body of water the ROK calls the East Sea — for the higher classification of the islets.

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9. Japan Politics

The Asahi Shimbun (“CABINET SUPPORT RATE UP SLIGHTLY”, 2008/07/16) reported that the Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido did little to improve the image of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, as his Cabinet’s support rate remained in critical territory, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed. The rate stood at 24 percent in the survey conducted over the weekend, up 1 percentage point from the previous survey on June 14 and 15. The Fukuda administration’s support rate has remained below 30 percent–a level considered critical among political circles–since April.

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10. PRC Unrest

The Associated Press (Christopher Bodeen, “WARY CHINA TELLS LOCAL LEADERS TO MANAGE UNREST”, Beijing, 2008/07/16) reported  that responding to a fresh wave of unrest as the PRC gears up to host the Olympics next month, the communist leadership has told local leaders to be on alert to public grievances and find ways to resolve them. The order is the most recent in a series of calls reflecting the government’s apparent concern over rising social inequality, rampant corruption and the weak legal system. Communist Party secretaries at the county level have been told to “keep track of key public complaint cases until they are solved,” the English-language China Daily newspaper said, citing earlier reports in PRC state media.

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11. Sino-Russian Relations

RIA Novosti (“RUSSIA’S AID TO QUAKE-HIT CHINA TOTALED $14 MILLION “, Beijing, 2008/07/16) reported that Russia’s aid to the PRC after May’s devastating earthquake in its southwest province of Sichuan totaled $14 million, a Russian diplomat in Beijing said. “The sum includes the work of Russian rescuers and the mobile hospital in Sichuan province, Mi-26 helicopter flights and crew, and humanitarian aid,” Igor Morgulov said. The diplomat said Russia sent to the PRC 2,000 tents, 11 electric power generating units, 23 field kitchens, 21,000 blankets and 30 metric tons of food.

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12. Mongolia Elections

Reuters (“MONGOLIA CONFIRMS MPRP WINS MAJORITY IN PARLIAMENT”, Ulan Bator, 2008/07/16) reported that Mongolia’s election commission confirmed that the ruling Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party had won a clear majority in parliament in a June 29 vote, where fraud allegations had led to violence. The MPRP won 39 seats in the 76-seat Great Hural, with 25 seats going to the main opposition Democratic Party and two to smaller parties. The results for the remaining 10 seats were in dispute and would be recounted, the commission said.

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II. PRC Report

13. PRC Gender Equity

China Woman (Du Xuemin, “MULTI-CHANNEL PARTICIPATING IN POLITICS FOR WOMEN”, 2008/07/15) <!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:SimSun; panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1; mso-font-alt:”Arial Unicode MS”; mso-font-charset:134; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 135135232 16 0 262144 0;} @font-face {font-family:”@SimSun”; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:134; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 135135232 16 0 262144 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:justify; text-justify:inter-ideograph; mso-pagination:none; font-size:10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun; mso-font-kerning:1.0pt; mso-fareast-language:ZH-CN;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –&g reported that on July 12-13, Promoting Rural women’s Participation in Politics Conference was held in Beijing. It is jointly launched by China Woman Newspaper, Rural Woman Magazine, Rural woman Cultural Development Center. It aims at exchanging experiences of projects of promoting women’s participation in politics all around the country. Through increasing the ratio of women in the village committee, direct electing women officials by way of Women Representative Assembly, setting special position only for women, and other pilot projects, many rural women spurn the traditional idea that women should only stay at home. They gradually know their rights and became positive in participating in politics.

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14. PRC Earthquake

IFAW website, http://www.ifaw.org (“EMERGENCY RESCUE TEAM PREVENTED ANIMAL DISEASES IN EARTHQUAKE DISASTER AREAS”, 2008/07/16) <!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:SimSun; panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1; mso-font-alt:”Arial Unicode MS”; mso-font-charset:134; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 135135232 16 0 262144 0;} @font-face {font-family:”@SimSun”; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:134; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 135135232 16 0 262144 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:justify; text-justify:inter-ideograph; mso-pagination:none; font-size:10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun; mso-font-kerning:1.0pt; mso-fareast-language:ZH-CN;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –&g reported that from May 31 to June 8, the emergency rescue team organized by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) carried out their rescue action in Wenchuan, Suichuan. The team was made up by voluntary vets from Beijing, staff from IFAW, and animal behavior experts from USA and Australia. In more than a week, they went to 18 villages, and injected rabies vaccine for 632 dogs. They popularized the knowledge of canine madness to help control the spread of infectious diseases. They also provided the necessary living goods to disaster victims.

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15. PRC Security

Beijing News (“KASHGAR DESTROYED 12 TERRORIST GROUP THIS YEAR”, 2008/07/16) <!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:SimSun; panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1; mso-font-alt:”Arial Unicode MS”; mso-font-charset:134; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 135135232 16 0 262144 0;} @font-face {font-family:”@SimSun”; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:134; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 135135232 16 0 262144 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:justify; text-justify:inter-ideograph; mso-pagination:none; font-size:10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun; mso-font-kerning:1.0pt; mso-fareast-language:ZH-CN;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –&g reported that Huang Sanping, Deputy Secretary of Prefectural Party Committee of Kashgar, Xinjiang, said in an interview that this year Kashgar destroyed 12 terrorist and separatist groups developed by outside terrorist organizations. In the circumstances of Olympic Games approaching, the party and government offices, the army, and the police have been fully ready for dealing with unexpected incidents.