NAPSNet Daily Report 23 February, 2001

Recommended Citation

"NAPSNet Daily Report 23 February, 2001", NAPSNet Daily Report, February 23, 2001, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-daily-report/napsnet-daily-report-23-february-2001/

 
CONTENTS

I. United States

1. DPRK Weapons Programs
2. Inter-Korean Talks
3. PRC Proliferation Issues
4. PRC Weapons Programs
5. Cross-Straits Relations
6. US-Japan Security Relations

I. United States

1. DPRK Weapons Programs

The New York Times (“NORTH KOREA WARNS U.S. ON MISSILE TESTING,” Seoul, 2/22/01) and The Washington Post (Doug Struck, “NORTH KOREA WARNS IT MAY TEST MISSILES,” Tokyo, 2/22/01) reported that the DPRK warned that it might resume long-range missile tests to protest what it called a hard-line policy by the Bush administration. The DPRK Foreign Ministry statement said that recent Bush administrations statements were “an attempt to reverse the past course of conciliatory and cooperative relations between us and the United States, and break our will with force.” [Ed. note: This article was included in the US Department of Defense’s Early Bird news service for February 22, 2001.]

The Associated Press (Christopher Torchia, “N. KOREA THREATENS TO DROP ACCORDS,” Seoul, 2/22/01) reported that the DPRK threatened to resume its nuclear program in response to the US President George W. Bush administrations demands for greater reciprocity in US-DPRK relations. The DPRK’s official KCNA reported on a DPRK Foreign Ministry statement that the US wants the DPRK “to totally disarm itself first. The U.S. is seriously mistaken if it thinks that Pyongyang will accept its demand.” Leon Sigal, a DPRK expert, said that the DPRK has been pursuing better ties with the US and the ROK and is disappointed with progress on the 1994 nuclear deal.

2. Inter-Korean Talks

The Associated Press (“REPORTS: PROGRESS IN KOREA TALKS,” Seoul, 2/23/01) reported that ROK media pool reports indicated that the ROK and DPRK made progress in talks on Friday on building a dam to control flooding across the Demilitarized Zone. To build a dam on the Imjin River flowing across the western sector of the border, the ROK proposed that both sides conduct field surveys of the area beginning in March and that both sides exchange weather reports during the summer rainy season beginning this year.

3. PRC Proliferation Issues

The New York Times (David E. Sanger and Steven Lee Myers, “BUSH FAULTS CHINA ON AID TO HELP IRAQ BUILD RADAR,” Washington, 2/23/01) reported that US President George W. Bush said Friday that evidence of the PRC’s aid to Iraq in building radar systems to use against US and British warplanes enforcing the no-fly zone had “risen to the level where we are going to send a message to the Chinese.” National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice later softened Bush’s statement, saying, “I want to make clear that we are not accusing, at this point, the Chinese of anything. But we are telling them that we have tremendous concerns about what’s going on.” PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao responded to the allegations, saying, “China, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has always strictly and seriously implemented all the resolutions of the Security Council concerning Iraq.” [Ed. note: This article was included in the US Department of Defense’s Early Bird news service for February 23, 2001.]

4. PRC Weapons Programs

Jane’s Defence Weekly (Yihong Zhang, “CHINA TO ACQUIRE ANTI-SHIP MISSILES,” 2/21/01) reported that Russian defence industry sources have stated that the PRC’s People’s Liberation Army/Navy (PLAN) is preparing to acquire Kh-35 long-range anti-ship missiles. The Kh-35 has a maximum range of 130-140km and a 145kg high-explosive warhead. The JH-7 fighter has also been exhibited armed with the Zvezda-Strela Kh-31 medium-range anti-ship missile. This modification is also expected to enable the JH-7 to deploy the Kh-31P anti-radiation missile, a PRC version of which (the KR-1) is already in existence. [Ed. note: This article was included in the US Department of Defense’s Early Bird news service for February 23, 2001.]

5. Cross-Straits Relations

Reuters (“TAIPEI OFFICIAL TOLD TO KEEP SHANGHAI TRIP LOW-KEY,” Taipei, 2/23/01) reported that the deputy mayor of Taiwan’s Taipei, Bai Hsiu-hsiung, will travel to Shanghai on Saturday for a visit, during which the Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council has asked him “Not to have any political conversation, not to sign any kind of agreements, among other things.” He states that he is “Not allowed to meet officials at the central government level, not to meet officials at the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait.” Bai is leading a delegation of Taipei city government officials, councillors and scholars on a visit to attend a private forum on city development, traffic, environment and education. Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, a rising star in Taiwan’s opposition Nationalist Party which espouses reunification with a democratic PRC, said he also planned to visit Shanghai as soon as the government lifts a ban.

6. US-Japan Security Relations

The New York Times (Howard W. French, “SUB ACCIDENT SHAKES JAPAN’S SECURITY TIES WITH U.S.,” Tokyo, 2/22/01) reported that the accidental sinking this month of a Japanese fishing vessel by an American submarine has provided new ammunition to those who resent the US troop presence in Japan and reinforced the perception in some quarters that the US is a less than reliable guarantor of Japan’s security interests. Many in Japan feel that the accident will make it more difficult for Japan and the US to pursue the enhanced security collaboration envisioned by some Bush advisers, and may even encourage Japan to push for more autonomy in security matters and bolster its military. Masashi Nishihara, president of Japan’s National Defense Academy, said, “The public increasingly feels that Japan cannot fulfill its defense obligations anymore.” [Ed. note: This article was included in the US Department of Defense’s Early Bird news service for February 23, 2001.]

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Produced by the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development in partnership with:
International Policy Studies Institute Seoul, Republic of Korea
Center for American Studies,
Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Monash Asia Institute,
Monash University, Clayton, Australia

Timothy L. Savage: napsnet@nautilus.org
Berkeley, California, United States

Gee Gee Wong: napsnet@nautilus.org
Berkeley, California, United States

Robert Brown: napsnet@nautilus.org
Berkeley, California, United States

Kim Hee-sun: khs688@hotmail.com
Seoul, Republic of Korea

Hiroyasu Akutsu: akutsu@glocomnet.or.jp
Tokyo, Japan

Peter Razvin: icipu@glas.apc.org
Moscow, Russian Federation

Yunxia Cao: yule111@sina.com
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

 


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