NAPSNet Daily Report 3 November, 2010
Contents in this Issue:
1. Inter-Korean Maritime Clash
The Associated Press (“SOUTH KOREA FIRES WARNING SHOTS TOWARD NORTH KOREAN BOAT”, 2010/11/03) reported that the ROK’s navy fired warning shots to chase away a DPRK fishing boat that crossed their disputed sea border early Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said, in the latest flareup of tension on the divided peninsula just days before the Group of 20 summit in Seoul. The DPRK boat intruded on ROK territory for about two hours before returning to DPRK waters, the ministry said.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/asia_pacific/view.bg?articleid=1293560&srvc=rss
2. DPRK-PRC Economic Cooperation
The Korea Herald (“‘N.K. PREMIER IN NORTHEASTERN CHINA FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION'”, Shenyang, 2010/11/03) reported that the DPRK’s premier is visiting northeastern PRC to meet with ranking officials there and speed up joint economic projects between the communist allies, sources here said Wednesday. Choe Yong-rim arrived in the city of Harbin in Heilongjiang Province earlier this week and visited the city of Changchun in a nearby province on Wednesday, the diplomatic sources said.
http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101103001014
3. DPRK Economy
IFES NK Brief (“DPRK RESTRICTS PRIVATE CAR USE, RATTLES MARKETS”, 2010/11/01) reported that the DPRK Ministry of People’s Security (MPS) recently issued an order restricting the use of automobiles and warning that any car or truck used to earn private income would be confiscated by the State. There were a few cases of authorities cracking down on the use of private buses in the mid-2000s, but this is the first time there has been a widespread crackdown on the private use of all vehicles. According to a report from the Daily NK each regional transportation authority is filing comprehensive situation reports, which show that with the exception of cars used by the elite, all illegally-used cars are being confiscated. Even cars used by military-run foreign capital organizations are subject to inspection by police.
http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/m05/s10/content.asp?nkbriefNO=392&GoP=%201
4. PRC Naval Exercises
The New York Times (Michael Wines, “CHINA STAGES NAVAL EXERCISES”, Beijing, 2010/11/03) reported that the PRC’s Marine Corps held a major naval exercise on Tuesday in the South China Sea, state-run media reported on Wednesday, massing 1,800 troops and more than 100 ships, submarines and aircraft for a live-fire display of the nation’s growing military power. The exercises, code-named Jiaolong 2010, were viewed by 200 military students from 40 nations who discussed the maneuvers with PRC commanding officers, the Communist Party newspaper Global Times reported.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/world/europe/04china.html?src=mv&ref=world
5. Russo-Japanese Territorial Dispute
Associated Press (“JAPAN WARNS RUSSIA: STOP DISPUTED ISLAND VISITS”, Tokyo, 2010/11/03) reported that Japan has warned the Russian president not to visit any more disputed islands after a trip to one this week. After promising development for an island in the southern Kurils on Monday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he planned to visit more of the islands in the chain. Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said Wednesday he made clear Japanese sovereignty over the islands, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territories.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101103/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_russia_9;_ylt=AlAm.hQydG5KTuvKAAr7gXwAS5Z4