NAPSNet Daily Report 29 June, 1998

Recommended Citation

"NAPSNet Daily Report 29 June, 1998", NAPSNet Daily Report, June 29, 1998, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-daily-report/napsnet-daily-report-29-june-1998/

IN TODAY’S REPORT:

I. United States

I. United States

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1. Captured DPRK Submarine

Agence-France Presse (“N. KOREA WILL MEET U.N. COMMAND TO DISCUSS SUBMARINE,” Seoul, 06/28/98) reported that unnamed ROK government sources said Monday that the DPRK and the UN Command would hold top-level military talks Tuesday in Panmunjom to discuss the captured DPRK submarine. One unnamed source stated, “North Korea had proposed the meeting be held [Monday], but we decided it was better tomorrow.”

The Associated Press (“SKOREA: NKOREA AGENTS LEFT FOR SUB,” Seoul, 06/29/98) and United Press International (“S.KOREA SAYS SUB BOUND FOR HOME,” Seoul, 06/28/98) reported that the ROK Defense Ministry said Monday that three espionage agents from the captured DPRK submarine were in the ROK briefly but had returned to the sub and were among the crewmen found dead. The ministry ruled out the possibility that any agents remained behind in the ROK. Brigadier General Park Sung-chun stated, “An operational logbook in the form of memos and other items seized indicate that there were no extra agents who had infiltrated into the country.” The Defense Ministry said the documents in the submarine showed it left Wonsan on June 20 and arrived off the ROK East Coast the following day. Three agents came ashore and stayed for about an hour. The ministry speculated that, in view of their short stay on land, the agents’ mission might have been to establish contact with spies already in the ROK. The Joongang Ilbo cited military officials as saying that the spy team may have infiltrated to check out the new international airport being built at Yangyang city. Meanwhile, ROK President Kim Dae-jung on Monday asked the DPRK to admit the incursion and take action to prevent a recurrence. He added that the episode would not affect his policy of expanding civilian exchanges and increasing government cooperation with the DPRK.

The Associated Press (“NORTH KOREA DEMANDS RETURN OF DEAD,” Seoul, 06/27/98) and Reuters (“N. KOREA DEMANDS RETURN OF SUBMARINE CREW,” Tokyo 06/27/98) reported that the DPRK’s Korean Central News Agency quoted a spokesman for the DPRK’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland on Saturday as blaming the ROK for the death of nine crewmen aboard the captured DPRK submarine. The spokesman stated, “The South Korean authorities should be held responsible for the death of the crewmen because they did not save them in time.” He added, “We also wonder how the crewmen died.” The spokesman said, “They should immediately stop trying to render the situation on the Korean peninsula strained again and should send the corpses of the crewmen and submarine to our side at once.”

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2. ROK-DPRK Economic Cooperation

The Washington Post (Mary Jordan, “SPY SUBMARINE HASN’T SUNK PLAN TO FERRY TOURS TO NORTH KOREA,” Sokcho, 06/27/98, A17) reported that Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung’s plan to implement a ferry service to take ROK tourists to the DPRK’s Mt. Kumgang has not been scuttled by the capture of a DPRK submarine. ROK President Kim Dae-jung was quoted as saying, “That a herd of cattle was sent to North Korea through Panmunjom and an agreement reached with the North for the development of Kumgang Mountain for tourism is the first step and an expression of our intentions” to improve commercial relations with the DPRK. On Friday, ROK Unification Minister Kang In-duk called the tourism project “highly feasible.” He said that Chung had contracts signed by the DPRK ruling party and that they appear to have the backing of Kim Jong-il. Kang also said that he believed the DPRK would guarantee the passengers’ safety. Twenty Hyundai officials are scheduled to leave for the DPRK soon to work on details of the plan.

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3. Light-Water Reactor Project

The Associated Press (“KEDO MULLS COST SHARING FOR N. KOREAN NUCLEAR POWER PROJECT,” Brussels, 06/29/98) reported that the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) opened a four-day meeting Sunday to discuss how to share the cost of supplying two light-water nuclear reactors to the DPRK. ROK officials expressed doubt that KEDO will resolve the cost-sharing issue this week. A Japanese diplomat said that Japan would not seek to reduce its share despite the country’s current financial difficulties. A spokesman for the European Union (EU) Commission said that the EU wants to contribute ECU75 million (US$82.5 million) over five years.

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4. ROK-Japan Fisheries Dispute

The Associated Press (“SOUTH KOREA TO RESTORE FISHING BAN IN WATERS CLOSE TO JAPAN,” Seoul, 06/29/98) reported that the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Monday that it will restore a ban on fishing by ROK boats in waters close to Japan. The action will become effective Wednesday, one day before officials of both countries will meet in Seoul to discuss revising the two countries’ fisheries agreement.

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5. US-PRC Arms Control Agreements

The Associated Press (“U.S.-CHINA TALKS YIELD MISSILE PACT,” Beijing, 06/27/98) and Reuters (Carol Giacomo, “U.S., CHINA TO DE-TARGET MISSILES,” Beijing, 06/27/98) reported that US President Bill Clinton and PRC President Jiang Zemin reached an agreement to detarget their respective countries’ nuclear weapons from each other. The PRC also agreed to expand its list of controlled exports to include chemicals, equipment, and technology that could be used for production of chemical weapons. Regarding US refusal to sign a pledge not to be the first to use nuclear weapons, Clinton stated, “We have not changed our position, nor are we prepared to do so on that.” The PRC also agreed to move toward imposing stiffer export controls on missile technology to Third World nations with nuclear ambitions, and to “actively study” formally adopting the arms-control guidelines of the Missile Technology Control Regime. The PRC and the US jointly pledged not to export to Pakistan or India missiles, missile equipment, or materials capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The agreement covers only medium- and long-range missiles. The two countries called for strengthening a biological weapons convention and affirmed their “commitment to ending the export and indiscriminate use of antipersonnel land mines and to accelerating global humanitarian demining.” The PRC said it would let the US check that high-technology US products exported to the PRC are being used for approved purposes and are not being resold. Michael Krepon, head of the Henry L. Stimson Center, said that the detargeting agreement is “part of an evolutionary trend in Chinese arms control policy. They are moving away from rhetoric and toward modest but more practical approaches.” He added, “I’d see this as not earth-shattering but part of a useful trend.”

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6. Taiwanese Views of US-PRC Summit

The Associated Press (“TAIWAN ALSO WANTS ATTENTION OF U.S.,” Taipei, 06/28/98) and the New York Times (Nicholas D. Kristof, “TAIWAN NERVOUSLY TOASTS CLINTON’S VISIT TO CHINA,” Taipei, 06/29/98) reported that Taiwan Vice President Lien Chan said Sunday that he was “pleased to see” signs of warmth in ties between the PRC and the US resulting from President Clinton’s visit. However, he stressed that developments must not come at the expense of Taiwan. He added, “On his visit, President Clinton saw the cultural, historical and economic China. I regret he was not able to see the free, democratic China.” Meanwhile, Taiwan Foreign Minister Jason Hu stated, “The United States has thoroughly honored its initial promise not to damage Taiwan’s interests.” He added that the US would send an official to brief Taiwan on the content of the talks after Clinton’s visit. In his opening statement at Saturday’s news conference in Beijing, Clinton said only that he “reaffirmed our longstanding one- China policy” to PRC President Jiang Zemin, and encouraged the PRC to expand dialogue with Taiwan. David Lee, Taiwanese deputy foreign minister, stated, “We’re relieved so far. At least from the public information so far, we haven’t heard anything alarming.” Parris Chang, chairman of the defense committee in Taiwan’s Parliament, stated, “To be candid, I don’t think we have much leverage to prevent Clinton from doing something about Taiwan, because we’re so dependent on America. But we will try to use moral persuasion to shame Clinton so that he does not appease a Communist dictatorship by sacrificing a democratic country like Taiwan.”

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7. Taiwan-PRC Relations

The Associated Press (“TAIWAN DENOUNCES CHINA POLICY,” Taipei, 06/27/98) reported that Taiwan Vice President Lien Chan on Saturday denounced the PRC for refusing to rule out military action against the island. Lien said that the PRC “must not downgrade and suppress us or threaten the use of force against us as it sees fit.” He added that the two sides “should exert mutual respect and enhance exchanges.” Lien reiterated that Taiwan is seeking reunification with the PRC, but not before the latter becomes free and democratic. He cautioned that Taiwan must try to avoid leaving the world an impression that “we tend to make troubles and tend to move toward independence.”

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8. Taiwanese Military

The Associated Press (Annie Huang, “NEW FIGHTERS, PHILOSOPHY IN TAIWAN,” Hsinchu Air Base, 06/27/98) reported that Taiwan’s military has shifted its focus from tanks and landing craft for a possible invasion of the PRC to defensive weaponry such as warplanes and frigates. Colonel Chang Nien-hua, the top administrator at the Hsinchu Air Base, stated, “If the communists dare launch an attack, they’d better come prepared to lose their arms or legs – if not get killed.” Taiwan has spent US$15 billion on Mirage and F-16 fighter aircraft, and six French-built Lafayette frigates. It has leased six Knox-class missile frigates, bought new tanks, developed its own advanced cruise and ballistic missiles, and acquired a US-made anti-missile defense system. Military officials are confident that the new air force will have superiority over the PRC’s People’s Liberation Army and plan to buy more anti-submarine warfare planes to strengthen sea defense.

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9. South Asian Nuclear Arms Race

Reuters (“CLINTON SAYS INDIA, PAKISTAN RISK ARMS RACE,” Beijing, 06/29/98) reported that US President Bill Clinton said on Monday that India and Pakistan were defying a world movement against nuclear danger and risking an arms race in South Asia. Clinton stated that the PRC and the US “are now pursuing a common strategy to move India and Pakistan away from further testing and toward a dialogue to resolve their differences.” A joint statement issued after Clinton’s summit with PRC President Jiang Zemin on Saturday condemned the South Asian nuclear tests and reiterated that the tests would not allow India and Pakistan to become recognized nuclear powers. The two presidents called on India and Pakistan to join the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty and to refrain from building nuclear weapons or the missiles to deliver them.

Reuters (“INDIA BLASTS CHINA, US FOR NUKE REMARKS,” New Delhi, 06/28/98) reported that an Indian government statement on Sunday criticized the PRC and the US for a “hegemonistic mentality” in pledging to work together to head off a nuclear arms race in South Asia. The statement said, “India categorically rejects the notion of these two countries arrogating to themselves joint or individual responsibility for ‘the maintenance of peace, stability and security in the region’.” It added, “It is most ironical that two countries that have directly and indirectly contributed to the unabated proliferation of nuclear weapons and delivery systems in our neighborhood are now presuming to prescribe the norms for non- proliferation.” The statement said that India “cannot consider” calls to curtail nuclear weapons and missile development and would follow its own security needs. Regarding US-PRC offers of mediation between India and Pakistan, the statement said that “there is no place for any kind of third-party involvement whatsoever.” Meanwhile, the Indian Prime Minister’s special envoy, Jaswant Singh, said on Monday that he hoped to meet with US Assistant Secretary of State Strobe Talbott fairly soon to restore “mutual confidence” between India and the US. Singh added that India was prepared to talk about “any aspect” of Kashmir with Pakistan.

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10. Indian Missile Development

United Press International (Frank Sietzen Jr, “INDIAN NUKE MISSILE BASED ON NASA ROCKET,” Washington, 06/25/98) reported that Gary Milhollin, head of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, told the US Congress on Thursday that the largest Indian nuclear missile is based on a NASA scientific space booster. Milhollin said that India’s chief missile designer, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, visited NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia in 1963 and 1964 and studied the Scout rocket NASA was then using to launch small research payloads into space. NASA officials said that Indian engineers who visited with Kalam saw the blueprints of the Scout during their stay. Milhollin added that the Indian government asked NASA in subsequent years for additional design information about the Scout. He said that India’s first space booster, the SLV- 3, was an exact duplicate of the Scout, and was used by India’s military to create the first stage of their Agni nuclear missile. The missile’s second stage is based on a Russian surface-to-air missile design, supplemented by French liquid rocket propulsion technology, and the guidance system came from the German Space Agency. Milhollin argued, “India’s biggest nuclear missile is an international project. We and our allies helped India, believing it was for peaceful space cooperation.” He added that the case of the Agni proved beyond any doubt “that you cannot help a country build space launchers without helping it build missiles.” He suggested that US space assistance should be limited to countries “that share our commitment to nuclear and missile non-proliferation.”

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11. Pakistani Nuclear Tests

The Associated Press (“PAKISTAN WAITED 6 DAYS AFTER INDIA TESTS TO PREPARE ITS OWN,” Islamabad, 06/29/98) reported that the government-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said Monday that Pakistan waited six days after India conducted its five underground nuclear tests last month before beginning preparations for its own tests. The APP said that the first five devices were exploded some 9,240 meters below the ground in a concrete-sealed tunnel. Dr. Ishfaq Ahmed, chairman of Pakistan’s Atomic Energy Commission, was quoted as saying that the tunnel is still sealed and that it will take another six to eight months to collect data from the tests. The sixth device, identified as a “miniaturized device,” was exploded in a 120-meter shaft in the nearby Kharan desert on May 30 and had a yield of about 60 percent of the first tests. The APP quoted Information Minister Mushahid Hussein as saying, “The tests have imbued the Pakistani nation with the will and courage to stand on its own feet and (have been) an inspiration for self-reliance.”

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12. Russian-EU Nuclear Cooperation

The Associated Press (“E.U.-RUSSIA AGENCY ON NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROPOSED,” Moscow, 06/29/98) reported that the ITAR-Tass news agency said Monday that Russian Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov proposed creating a joint Russia-European Union commission to consider transferring nuclear technology for civilian uses. Adamov also said that Russia wants to join France and Germany in developing a new type of pressurized water nuclear reactor. He also called on European countries to join a Russia-led project to invent a reactor that would virtually eliminate the possibility of nuclear catastrophe.

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Produced by the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development in partnership with:
The Center for International Studies,
Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
The Center for Global Communications, Tokyo, Japan
Center for American Studies,
Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

Wade L. Huntley: napsnet@nautilus.org
Berkeley, California, United States

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

Shin Dong-bom: dongbom_shin@wisenet.co.kr
Seoul, Republic of Korea

Choi Chung-moon: cily@star.elim.co.kr
Seoul, Republic of Korea

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

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

Chunsi Wu: dlshen@fudan.ac.cn
Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

Dingli Shen: dlshen@fudan.ac.cn
Shanghai, People’s Republic of China


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