NAPSNet Daily Report 30 June, 1998

IN TODAY’S REPORT:

I. United States

I. United States

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1. Captured DPRK Submarine

The Associated Press (“JOINT PROBE PROPOSED FOR NKOREA SUB,” Seoul, 06/30/98) reported that ROK President Kim Dae-jung on Tuesday proposed that the ROK and the DPRK jointly investigate the deaths of nine crewmen of a captured DPRK submarine. Kim also was quoted by his spokesman, Park Ji-won, as saying, “We need to deal aggressively with the North’s unreasonable arguments,” that the ROK was responsible for the crewmembers’ deaths. Generals from the UN Command (UNC) relayed Kim’s offer to the DPRK on Tuesday when they met with DPRK generals at Panmunjom to protest the submarine intrusion as an armistice violation. The UNC “called upon the Korean People’s Army to acknowledge the facts … and to punish those responsible for these activities.” The UNC did not report the DPRK’s response, but said that the UNC proposed talks to discuss the return of the nine crewmen’s bodies after the DPRK agreed not to exploit the repatriation for “political purposes.”

The Associated Press (Kyong-hwa Seok, “S. KOREA ADDRESSES SPY INFILTRATION,” Seoul, 06/29/98) reported that the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan’s leading business daily, said Monday that Japan and the US plan research aimed at improving detection of DPRK submarines in the shallow waters around Japan. A Japanese Defense Agency spokesman said that officials from the US Defense Department and its Japanese counterpart have begun discussing joint research projects, but refused to provide further details.

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2. ROK Financial Crisis

Dow Jones Newswires (William Murray, “U.S.’S RUBIN ARRIVES IN S. KOREA; SEES PROGRESS ON REFORMS,” Seoul, 06/30/98) reported that US Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin arrived late Tuesday in the ROK for a series of high-level meetings with government, business, and labor leaders on the state of the nation’s economic reforms. Rubin pointed to developments this week related to restructuring of ROK banks, along with movement on corporate restructuring, as a clear sign of progress. He added that it will be key for ROK authorities, banks, chaebols, and labor to cooperate so that the restructuring “can move as quickly as possible.” Rubin is also scheduled to meet briefly Wednesday with ROK President Kim Dae-jung.

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3. US Policy toward Taiwan

Reuters (Carol Giacomo, “CLINTON SPELLS OUT TAIWAN POLICY,” Shanghai, 06/30/98), Reuters (Laurence McQuillan, “TAIWAN INTRUDES AS CLINTON CHATS WITH CHINA,” Shanghai, 06/30/98), the Los Angeles Times (Jonathan Peterson and Tyler Marshall, “CLINTON BACKS CHINA ON ISSUE OF FREE TAIWAN,” Shanghai, 06/30/98), and the Washington Post (John Pomfret, “CLINTON RESTATES ‘THREE NOES’ POLICY ON TAIWAN,” Shanghai, 06/30/98, A12) reported that US President Bill Clinton on Tuesday reaffirmed the US commitment to one China and opposition to independence for Taiwan. Discussing his summit last Saturday with PRC President Jiang Zemin, Clinton said: “I had the chance to reiterate our Taiwan policy which is that we don’t support independence for Taiwan, or ‘two Chinas’ or ‘one-Taiwan one-China.’ And we don’t believe that Taiwan should be a member in any organization for which statehood is a requirement.” Clinton added: “Our only policy has been that we think it has to be done peacefully. That is what our law says, and we have encouraged the cross-Straits dialogue. And I think eventually it will bear fruit if everyone is patient and works hard.” PRC Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tang Guoquiang stated, “We ask that words will be matched by action in all seriousness by the United States.” Taiwanese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Roy Wu responded, “The United States and Chinese communists have no right and are in no position to conduct bilateral negotiations on anything related to our affairs.” Norman Fu, a Taiwanese journalist traveling with Clinton, said that while the statement was a reiteration of US policy, it would cause concern in Taiwan because it was made by the president. He added that Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party would take Clinton’s statement particularly hard.

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4. Japanese Views of US-PRC Summit

The Washington Post (Mary Jordan, “U.S.-CHINA COZINESS HAS JAPAN FEELING LEFT OUT,” Tokyo, 06/30/98, A12) reported that Japan’s Nihon Keizai newspaper said in a front-page story Monday that US President Bill Clinton’s trip to the PRC, “has highlighted the idea of ‘Japan passing.'” However, Tomohisa Sakanaka, director of the Research Institute for Peace and Security, said that when Clinton and PRC President Jiang Zemin agreed to stop targeting missiles at each other, all of Asia benefited. Sakanaka stated, “I do not agree with the alarmists that the shift of the U.S. toward China is a threat to Japan. U.S. policy in East Asia cannot stand without the cooperation and presence of Japan.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Sadaaki Numata said that the Japanese government welcomes improved US-PRC relations and hopes they will lead to a stronger global effort to combat terrorism, drug trafficking, and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Numata said that “the maturity and intensity of dialogue” between the US and the PRC is evolving, but is still behind what has existed for years between the US and Japan.

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5. Japanese-Russian Relations

Agence-France Presse (“RUSSIA’S KIRIYENKO TO VISIT JAPAN FOR AID TALKS,” Tokyo, 06/29/98) reported that the Japanese government said Tuesday that Russian Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko will make a three-day visit to Japan from July 12 for talks with Japanese leaders about economic aid and a peace treaty. Kiriyenko is scheduled to meet Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi.

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6. PRC-Indian Relations

The Associated Press (“CHINA BLAMES INDIA AGAIN FOR SOUTH ASIAN NUCLEAR ARMS RACE,” Beijing, 06/30/98) reported that PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman Tang Guoqiang on Tuesday defended a joint statement on South Asia’s nuclear tensions issued Saturday by US President Bill Clinton and PRC President Jiang Zemin following their Beijing summit. Tang stated, “The statement conforms to the common international aspiration for non- proliferation of nuclear weapons. There’s nothing reproachable.” Noting that Pakistan had welcomed the statement, Tang added, “I would like to point out that the current situation in South Asia is of India’s sole making.” He also said, “We hope that the two sides would take measures to prevent a nuclear arms race in South Asia and ease tensions there.”

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Timothy L. Savage: napsnet@nautilus.org
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Shin Dong-bom: dongbom_shin@wisenet.co.kr
Seoul, Republic of Korea

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Seoul, Republic of Korea

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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