NAPSNet Daily Report 17 September, 2010

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"NAPSNet Daily Report 17 September, 2010", NAPSNet Daily Report, September 17, 2010, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-daily-report/napsnet-daily-report-17-september-2010/

NAPSNet Daily Report 17 September, 2010

Previous day’s Issue

Contents in this Issue:

1. US, ROK, Japan on DPRK

Washington Post (“U.S., ALLIES WORKING ON NEW NORTH KOREA STRATEGY”, 2010/09/17) reported that the United States and its allies in Northeast Asia are trying to fashion an opening to the DPRK out of concern that the current policy toward the isolated nuclear-armed nation could lead to war, U.S. and Asian officials said. Anxiety is rising on both sides of the Pacific that tightened sanctions and joint military exercises – what U.S. officials have called “strategic patience” – could, if continued indefinitely, embolden hard-line factions in the DPRK to strike out against the ROK or to redouble efforts to proliferate weapons of mass destruction. Officials said the broad outlines of a new strategy were beginning to take shape, with the United States, ROK and Japan reaching general agreement on a way forward. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/16/AR2010091606933.html

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2. Inter-Korean Relations

Korean Broadcasting System World Radio (“NUKE TALKS TIED TO PROGRESS IN INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS”, ) reported that the Unification Minister Hyun In-taek says the six-party nuclear talks cannot move forward without progress in inter-Korean relations. Speaking at an international academic forum on Friday, Hyun said that the DPRK shouldn’t try to reopen the stalled nuclear talks without resolving the conflict over the sinking of the “Cheonan” naval vessel. The minister said that Seoul will not link political and humanitarian issues, urging Pyongyang to agree to regularized family reunions on humanitarian grounds. The minister added that inter-Korean relations now rely entirely on the DPRK, stressing that Pyongyang must show its commitment to denuclearization. http://rki.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Po_detail.htm?No=75766

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3. PRC on Middle East NWFZ

Xinhua News Agency (“CHINA SUPPORTS BUILDING MIDDLE EAST NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE ZONE”, ) reported that the PRC supported the proposal of establishing a Middle East nuclear-weapon-free zone, a senior PRC diplomat said here Thursday. The PRC had always stood by strengthening the international non- proliferation regime, and committed to advancing the universality, effectiveness and authority of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), said Hu Xiaodi, the PRC’s permanent representative and ambassador to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Vienna. To this end, the PRC supported building a Middle East nuclear- weapon-free zone, maintained Israel should join the NPT as a non- nuclear-weapon state at an early date, and put all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Hu, who was addressing the IAEA board meeting. “Meanwhile, all countries in the region should conscientiously fulfill NPT obligations, as well as sign and ratify the IAEA safeguards agreements and its Additional Protocols,” Hu added. Hu also stressed the willingness of the PRC government to work with the international community for a non-nuclear-weapon area in the Middle East, and achieving peace and stability in the region. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-09/17/c_13515823.htm

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4. Sino-Japan Relations

Agence France Presse (“JAPAN SUSPECTS CYBER ATTACKS AMID CHINA ROW: MEDIA”, ) reported that Japan suspects its defence ministry and national police agency websites have come under cyber attack this week, a news report said Friday, amid a bitter row with the PRC over a territorial dispute. The government is looking into the attacks given that the PRC’s largest known hackers’ group had warned it would attack Japanese government websites until Saturday in protest over the maritime incident, Kyodo News agency reported. The defence ministry and national police agency websites became difficult to access, possibly because of cyber attacks, between Wednesday and Friday, unnamed government officials were quoted as saying. The news report also said the government had called on municipal governments and public universities to increase surveillance of their websites and check their responses in case hackers launch an attack on their sites. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jrJX2uRX7gxO3zPa_dO-rE0FPbnA

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5. Japan Nuclear Energy

Japan Today (“RADIATION ROSE TO 2,100 TIMES THE NORMAL LEVEL AT NIIGATA PLANT”, ) reported that radiation at about 2,100 times the normal level was detected in gaseous waste at a nuclear reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant in Niigata Prefecture on Thursday but no harm was done to the surrounding environment, according to the company. The radiation leakage from the No. 7 reactor had no negative impact on the environment as the gas was appropriately processed, the power company said. It said it believes the radioactive gas leaked from a pinhole in a capsular vessel in the fuel pin in the reactor core, adding that it will lower the power output to 720,000 kilowatts to locate the leaked fuel. The power company said Sept 10 that it detected radiation at 27 times the normal level in gaseous waste at the reactor and was closely monitoring the situation. http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/radiation-rose-to-2100-times-the-normal-level-at-niigata-plant