CONTENTS
1. PRC-US Relations
2. Chinese Muslim US Terror List
3. PRC Missile Export
4. Cross-Straits Relations
5. Japan Germ Warfare Victims
6. DPRK-Japan Relations
II. Republic of Korea 1. DPRK-Japan Relations
2. DPRK-Russia Relations
3. DPRK-US Relations.
4. Separated Family Reunion
III. People’s Republic of China 1. DPRK-Russia Relations
2. PRC-Russian Relations
3. Japan-ROK Relations
4. PRC Foreign Policy
5. US-Russian Relations
IV. Japan 1. Japan’s Peacekeeping Operation
2. Japan-DPRK Relations
3. Japan’s Roles in East Timor
4. Inter Korean Relations
5. Japan-DPRK Relations
I. United States
1. PRC-US Relations
Reuters (Tamora Vidaillet, “US ENVOY LEAVES CHINA WITH POSITIVE MOOD SET FOR SUMMIT,” Beijing, 08/27/02) and Agence France-Presse (“CHINA AND THE US PLEDGE MUTUAL SECURITY MEASURES,” 08/27/02) reported that the PRC the US have reinforced their so far limited cooperation in the war on terrorism by trading key concessions, although analysts said that the effects would be more symbolic than practical. US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage left Beijing for Tokyo early Tuesday after a day of talks which resulted in important security pledges from both sides. While the PRC promised to address US criticisms over missile technology proliferation, the US announced it would help cut the flow of funding to Muslim separatists in the PRC’s far western Xinjiang region. Analysts interpreted the announcements as a trade-off between the two powers. Armitage’s visit began hours after the PRC published new regulations controlling the exports of missile and missile-related technology, a concession to the US which has repeatedly condemned Beijing over weapons proliferation. “We view this as a positive step, a positive development,” said Armitage, who held talks with Vice President Hu Jintao among others. He confirmed that a “control list” of banned missile-related products, not initially published, had been presented to him, which needed further study.
2. Chinese Muslim US Terror List
Reuters (Tamora Vidaillet, “US PUTS CHINA MUSLIM GROUP ON TERROR LIST,” Beijing, 08/27/02) reported that the US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage says the US has put an Islamic group seeking independence for part of China on its list of terrorist organizations. Armitage told reporters on Monday that the US had added the East Turkestan Islamic Movement to the list, which “China had noted with satisfaction”, and that cooperation between the US and PRC in the war on terror was forging ahead. When top US envoy for counterterrorism General Francis X. Taylor visited Beijing last December, he said the US did not view the group as a terrorist organization. Asked if the US now viewed the East Turkestan Islamic Movement as a terrorist organization and put it on its list of terrorist organisations, Armitage said: “We did. It’s done. It was done several days ago.” “After careful study we judged that it was a terrorist group, that it committed acts of violence against unarmed civilians, without any regard for who was hurt,” he said.
3. PRC Missile Export
Reuters (“US ENVOY ARMITAGE PRAISES CHINA’S NEW MISSILE RULES,” 08/27/02) reported that US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage hailed the PRC’s tightening of missile technology exports as a “positive development”, after talks with PRC officials. “We view this as a positive step, a positive development,” he told a press conference Monday, after the new rules were published in newspapers. He confirmed the list of products included in the new regulations had been presented to him by his opposite number, PRC’s Vice Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. “I’ve seen them, but I didn’t understand them,” Armitage said. The full text of the regulations — pledging that the PRC will “exercise strict control of the export of missiles and missile-related items and technologies” — was published by official newspapers on Monday. Many issues remain murky, for example what technologies are restricted in a “control list” referred to by the regulations but not published. The PRC’s announcement late Sunday of the new regulations appears to be an attempt to appease long-standing US concerns about the PRC’s alleged proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
4. Cross-Straits Relations
Agence France-Presse (“TAIWAN PRESIDENT OFFERS TO HELP PUSH FOR DEMOCRATIZATION IN CHINA,” 08/26/02) reported that Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has offered to help push for democratization in the PRC in comments likely to anger the PRC. “Most countries in Asia and Pacific areas had chosen to adopt democracy, although 14 are yet to do so. And most of the world’s remaining communist regimes are in this region,” Chen said Monday. “Only the expansion and consolidation of democracy can really safeguard peace and development in the region,” Chen told the opening ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Democratic Cooperation Forum held in Taipei. Chen said Taiwan was willing “to contribute its part to the democratization in the region, especially in China” and offered to form a democratic alliance with other countries through cooperation. “Stability, democratization, and economic development are three factors ensuring peace and prosperity in the Asian Pacific areas,” he said. Some 30 politicians, academics and human rights advocates from 12 countries in the region are participating in the two-day conference organized by the World League for Freedom and Democracy Taiwan Chapter, Tamkang University and Shih Hsin University.
5. Japan Germ Warfare Victims
Agence France-Presse (“COURT REJECTS COMPENSATION PLEA FOR CHINESE VICTIMS OF JAPAN’S GERM WARFARE,” 08/27/02) reported that a Japanese court has rejected compensation claims by Chinese who were victims wartime Japan’s germ warfare unit while admitting its actions were “terrible.” The Tokyo District Court rejected the claims on Tuesday but handed the plaintiffs a moral victory, delivering the first judicial verdict recognizing the Japanese military had engaged in germ warfare. “The damage inflicted by germ warfare was terrible and tremendous, and the now-defunct Japanese (Imperial) army cannot be spared from the evaluation that its act of war was inhumane,” presiding judge Koji Iwata said. But the responsibility of the state had already been settled under international law, the judge said, arguing individuals do not have the right to demand compensation from a state they fought. The civil suit had been brought by 180 Chinese plaintiffs who claim they are survivors or relatives of the victims of Japanese germ warfare attacks in Zhejiang and Hunan provinces from 1940 to 1942. They had sought an apology and damages of 10 million yen (84,000 dollars) each from Tokyo for atrocities carried out by Unit 731, including “bombing” cities with plague, cholera and other germs.
6. DPRK-Japan Relations
Agence France-Presse (“JAPAN, N.KOREA END TWO-DAY TALKS WITHOUT CONCRETE PROGRESS,” 08/27/02) reported that Japan and the DPRK ended two-day talks without any substantial progress on key problems between the countries, but both sides agreed to continue their dialogue. “We shared the view that it is important to normalize our relations and secure peace and stability in the region,” a joint statement said Monday, after the first negotiations between them for two years. “We agreed it is important that both sides show political will to solve the various problems,” the statement said, adding that new talks would take place over the next month to review pending issues “comprehensively.” But “there was no concrete progress on each issue,” Hitoshi Tanaka, director general of the Japanese foreign ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, told a news conference.
II. Republic of Korea
1. DPRK-Japan Relations
Joongang Ilbo (Nahm Yoon-ho, “JAPAN WOOS THE NORTH,” Tokyo, 08/26/02) reported that the Japanese government has delivered an unprecedented message to DPRK via a diplomatic delegation, Japanese media reported Sunday. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reportedly assured that Japan is ready for serious talks to normalize the countries’ strained diplomatic ties. Senior Japanese Foreign Ministry officials opened the first high-level government talks in two years on Sunday in Pyongyang. Koizumi’s message was given to the DPRK Premier Hong Sung-nam Saturday by Hitoshi Tanaka, director general of Asian affairs at the Japanese Foreign Ministry. “We are ready to enter a serious dialogue with North Korea on the outstanding issues between the two countries, including a step to mend the ruptured diplomatic relations between the two countries,” Koizumi stated.
2. DPRK-Russia Relations
Joongang Ilbo (Oh Dae-young, “‘UNEXPECTED’ RAIL IDEAS DUE,” Seoul, 08/25/02) reported that DPRK leader Kim Jong-il will soon make public new initiatives on the Russian rail link, Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency reported Saturday. The new proposals will be about the Trans-Korean main line reconstruction, the news agency quoted Kim as saying in a meeting with Russian Railways Minister Gennadiy Fadeyev before his departure from Vladivostok. The railroad construction project was the main issue addressed at Friday’s meeting between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin. PRC, Japan and countries in Central Asia have expressed interest in the project that would eventually link Europe to the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula.
3. DPRK-US Relations.
Joongang Ilbo (“UNDER WATER CONTRACT GOES ON BETWEEN US AND NORTH,” Seoul, 08/26/02) reported that Japan’s NHK Broadcast reported a special delegation from the US State Department seemed to have arrived in Pyongyang Saturday for underwater contact regarding US’s dispatch of special envoy. “The five-member working-level delegation is planning to stay in Pyongyang for about a week for the matter,” the broadcast monitored in Seoul said. “The group will be discussing on various guarantee measures based on the previous North-US agreement,” the news continued. “The US side would also urge the North to receive the nuclear inspection as stipulated in the Agreed Framework.” “They’re trying to arrange right environment for the future visit from James Kelly, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs who is the most likely candidate for the mission,” commented the news.
4. Separated Family Reunion
Chosun Ilbo (Kwon Kyung-bok, “KOREAS SWAP LISTS FOR FIFTH FAMILY REUNION,” Seoul, 08/26/02) reported that DPRK and ROK exchanged lists of some 320 candidates for the fifth inter-Korean family reunion to be held in the Mount Kumgang resort during Chusok, or Korean Thanksgiving Day, Saturday, in contact with Panmunjom liaison officials. The South Korean side selected 200 candidates by a computer-based lottery while the DPRK side gave a list of 120 people identified as alive with addresses before the third family reunion in February 2001. The two Koreas are expected to exchange a report confirming the status of candidates on the list by September 5. Alongside, the Korean National Red Cross proposed allowing the fifth family reunion to last for six days from September 13, but DPRK said this could be discussed during the fourth round of Red Cross talks from September 4 to the 6th.
III. People’s Republic of China
1. DPRK-Russia Relations
China Daily (“PUTIN PROPOSES RAIL EXTENSION”, Vladivostok, 08/24/02, P8) reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin pressed the DPRK on August 23 to forge a new Asia-Europe freight route by extending Russia’s trans-Siberian railway across the Korean Peninsula. Putin said in the report that the new link would help revitalize Russia’s depressed and underpopulated Far East. He also told regional leaders earlier that Russia needed the freight link from the peninsula to Europe to cross Russia’s Far Eastern region. According to the report, Russia stands to reap billions of dollars in transit fees once the DPRK opens its part of the railway and ROK goods start pouring to Europe across Russia. The report quoted Putin’s words that “Russia has helped and will continue to do its best to contribute to a settlement on the Korean peninsula”, and “There are positive elements (in the talks between Seoul and Pyongyang) and, in any case, the DPRK’s goodwill is obvious.”
2. PRC-Russian Relations
People’s Daily (“CHINA IS RUSSIA’S STRATEGIC PARTNER”, Moscow, 08/26/02) reported that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on August 25 that the PRC is Russia’s strategic partner and does not pose any military threat to Russia. Ivanov said on the Novoborzinsky testing ground in Chitaregion, and stressed that he felt no threat from the PRC at all. Ivanov saw Chinese labors’ role in Russia’s economic development and said good management is required. According to Ivanov in the report, although under no threat of large-scale war, Russia and a growing number of other countries are far more seriously concerned about local wars and conflicts.
China Daily (Guo Zhong, “JIANG POSITIVE ON SINO-RUSSIAN TIES”, 08/24/02, P1) reported that President Jiang Zemin said on August 23 to the visiting Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov that he was looking forward to meeting Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the leaders’ summit of the APEC, to be held later this year. Jiang stressed in the report that the Sino-Russian Good-Neighbourly Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation signed last year has been implemented successfully and Sino-Russian relations have made significant progress. Kasyanov told Jiang in the talk that his meeting with Zhu was “successful” and “fruitful” and the meeting had also implemented the spirit and principles of the Russia-PRC Good-Neighbourly Treaty of friendship and Co-operation as well as the consensus reached by the presidents of the two countries.
3. Japan-ROK Relations
China Daily (“JAPAN TO STOP S.KOREA FROM CHANGING NAME OF SEA”, Tokyo, 08/20/02, P11) reported that Japan has launched a diplomatic offensive to foil the ROK’s attempt to rename the ocean separating the Asian neighbors from “Sea of Japan” to the “East Sea.” The report said that the main reason for Japan’s action is the fact that the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) agreed this month to a request by the ROK to delete a page covering the “Sea of Japan” from draft guidelines used by publishers to draw nautical maps. The report said that the IHO would make a final decision by the end of November after a vote by its 72 member countries.
4. PRC Foreign Policy
People’s Daily (“FM SPOKESMAN ON REGULATIONS ON MISSILE EXPORT CONTROL”, Beijing, 08/26/02, P4) reported that PRC Foreign Ministry Spokesman Kong Quan delivered a statement on the promulgation of the Regulations on Export Control of Missiles and Missile-related Items and Technologies and the attached Control List on August 25. Kong said in the report that the promulgation of the regulation and the attached Control List represents another important step taken by the PRCGovernment in line with its non-proliferation policy. According to Kong, China attaches great importance to non-proliferation and stands against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivering systems. Kong also said in the report that “China will continue to take an active part in the international cooperation in non-proliferation”, and “are prepared to work with all parties concerned to strengthen and improve the international non-proliferation regime on the basis of universal participation and non-discrimination.”
5. US-Russian Relations
China Daily (“US WARNS RUSSIA OVER IRAQ, IRAN RELATIONS”£¬ Moscow, 08/26/02, P11) reported that a senior US Congress delegation warned Russia on August 21 that its drive for closer ties with Iraq and Iran could hurt rapidly improving relations between the two countries. The report said that although Moscow and Washington began rapprochement after the “911” event, Russia has refused to give up lucrative business with Iraq and Iran. Last week Moscow announced that it was working on an economic co-operation agreement with Iraq and considering building five nuclear reactors for Iran, said the report. The report quoted the US congressman’s words that “it would be very regrettable to have these recent developments chill an otherwise blossoming relationship.”
IV. Japan
1. Japan’s Peacekeeping Operation
The Asahi Shinbun (Hiroshi Ito, “EXPANDED PEACE ROLE FRAUGHT DANGER,”08/23/02) reported that areas like Dili are where Japan’s Defense Agency director-general, Gen Nakatani, wants to dispatch additional units of the Self-Defense Forces. “Your activities contribute to the peace and stability of not only East Timor, but also of Japan and the entire Asia-Pacific region,” Nakatani told SDF troops dispatched to Dili on a peacekeeping mission. The defense chief is increasingly looking to the Asia-Pacific region to push the SDF to a higher level in U.N. peacekeeping operations (PKO). Nakatani said the SDF has passed the stage of being PKO rookies, having spent the past decade getting its feet wet since Japan dispatched its first SDF peacekeepers to Cambodia.
The Asahi Shinbun (“JAPAN TO STEP UP PKO INVOLVEMENT,” Dili, 08/19/02) reported that Japan will increase its involvement in U.N. peacekeeping missions and focus more on the Asia-Pacific region for deployments of the Self-Defense Forces, Defense Agency Director-General Gen Nakatani said over the weekend. Nakatani said Japan has learned much in the 10 years since 1992, when the nation first participated in U.N. peacekeeping operations, in Cambodia. “Now we have cleared the beginner’s stage,” he said, adding that Japan will start sending SDF personnel to take commanding positions on such missions. He also said Japan will strengthen its own security by prioritizing the Asia-Pacific region when deciding where to send SDF troops. “I think Japan should play a greater role for bringing about stability in the Asia-Pacific region,” Nakatani said. He indicated that Japan’s increased involvement in U.N. peacekeeping missions will be more linked to national security. The defense chief also indicated that Japan will study how it can take part in peacekeeping forces under the revised PKO Law, which allows Japanese troops to use weapons to protect others. The Japanese government intends to seek a stronger position in the United Nations by sending more SDF peacekeepers and enhancing the “quality” of the roles played by SDF personnel in the world’s hot spots, Nakatani said. The Defense Agency has already decided to request higher-ranking positions for SDF personnel dispatched to the Golan Heights as part of the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force. Nakatani said the government should raise the quality of Japanese participation by sending more uniformed officers to commanding positions, as well as to missions involving the monitoring of cease-fires.
2. Japan-DPRK Relations
The Asahi Shinbun (Takashi Kokubu, “RED CROSS TALKS: NO WORD ON 11 BELIEVED ABDUCTED TO N.KOREA,” Pyongyang, 08/20/02) DPRK officials admitted Monday to knowing the whereabouts of six Japanese nationals, but none was among the 11 whom officials believe were abducted to the communist country. The admission came in a joint declaration Monday at the conclusion of two days of talks between representatives of the Red Cross societies and government officials of the two nations. DPRK officials promised to speed up the process of confirming the whereabouts of Japanese nationals believed to be in the DPRK. Of the six whose identities were confirmed, four are already dead, officials said. Japanese officials had been seeking the whereabouts of 49 Japanese nationals. The two sides also reconfirmed a previous agreement to allow a group of Japanese women living in DPRK with their DPRK husbands to return to Japan for a visit in late October. Japanese officials, meanwhile, confirmed the identities of three missing Koreans, one of whom was living in Japan. asked Japan during April talks in Beijing to confirm the identities of Koreans who went missing in Japan in 1945 or earlier. The Japanese delegation met earlier in the day with officials from the DPRK Ministry of People’s Security and the Pyongyang Municipal People’s Committee. It was the first time Japanese officials met with DPRK officials directly responsible for local residential registers. The latter were to explain their progress in locating Japanese nationals believed living in DPRK. Japanese Red Cross officials also met Monday with Takeshi Terakoshi, 52, who disappeared in waters off Ishikawa Prefecture in 1963, while fishing. He had been presumed dead until 1987, when he was confirmed to be living in DPRK. Terakoshi told reporters after the meeting he wanted to visit Japan. He also told Japanese Red Cross officials he planned to temporarily return to his hometown. A Foreign Ministry official who met with him told reporters Terakoshi had indicated a desire to visit Japan, but that no specific plans for a trip had been finalized.
The Japan Times (“KOIZUMI’S MESSAGE TO PYONGYANG URGES STEPS TO IMPROVE TIES,” Pyongyang, 08/25/02) reported that Japan’s prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi on Saturday sent a message to DPRK leader Kim Jong Il through a visiting Japanese delegation, saying the two countries should work seriously to normalize bilateral ties and urging him to settle allegations that Japanese nationals were abducted to DPRK in the 1970s and 1980s. It was the first time a Japanese leader has sent such a message to Kim through government channels without going through a third country. DPRK Premier Hong Song Nam said in the meeting with Hitoshi Tanaka, head of delegation and chief of the Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau was quoted as saying he believes Japan and DPRK “can understand each other better if they sincerely discuss the unsolved issues one by one.” It is very rare for a top DPRK official such as Hong to meet with director general level officials from Tokyo. The move is considered a significant sign that the DPRK wishes to have dialogue with Japan.
3. Japan’s Roles in East Timor
The Japan Times (EAST TIMOR LEADER REQUESTS AID IN TALKS WITH NAKATANI,” Dili, 08/20/02) reported that East Timor President Xanana Gusmao asked Japan Monday to help with his country’s efforts to deal with unemployment and and build a judicial infrastructure. Gusmao made he request during talks with Japan’s Defense Agency chief Gen Nakatani, who also met with East Timor’s secretary of state for defense, Roque Rodrigues, Japanese officials said. During the talks, Gusmao reportedly expressed gratitude for Japan’s aid to his country and asked for further cooperation on the jobless problem and for building up the nation’s judicial system. Nakatani replied that Tokyo hopes to extend as much support as possible, the officials said. Gusmao also praised the roles of Japanese troops taking part in the US-led peacekeeping operations in East Timor, the officials said. East Timor Foreign Ministe Jose Ramos Horta, who also attended the meeting, told Nakatani that the country’s stability and relation’s with neighboring countries are improving with the help of the US, they said.
4. Inter Korean Relations
The Japan Times (TWENTY-ONE RESCUED N KOREAN BOAT PEOPLE ARRIVE IN SOUTH,” Inchon, 08/20/02) reported that twenty-one DPRK boat people arrived in ROK on Monday after a dramatic two day journey for freedom abroad a small fishing boat in the Yellow sea. It was the biggest group of DPRK boat people to flee feminine and repression in recent years. ROK officials stressed it would not affect a new inter-Korean peace mood and the DPRK’s push to end its isolation.
5. Japan-DPRK Relations
The Asahi Shinbun (“NORTH KOREA ‘TO DO WHAT IT CAN’,” Pyongyang, 08/26/02) reported that Japan and DPRK opened a new round of talks here Sunday with Tokyo encouraged that the regime’s No. 4 official, Premier Hong Song Nam, welcomed the visiting delegation the day before. Both sides refused to give ground on the first day of the two-day talks. Japan insisted that the issue of abducted Japanese nationals be resolved before the two countries move to normalize diplomatic relations. Japan also called the DPRK to rein in its missile development program. The DPRK repeated its demand that Japan account for its militarist past by apologizing and providing compensation for its colonial rule before and during World War II. Ma Chol Su, director-general of the Foreign Ministry’s Asian affairs bureau in the DPRK, leads the DPRK delegation in the talks. The Japanese side is headed by Hitoshi Tanaka, director-general of the Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau.
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