I. United States

1. US on Peace Treaty with DPRK

Chosun Ilbo (“US WILLING TO DISCUSS PEACE TREATY WITH N.KOREA “, 2005-08-18) reported that according to Christopher Hill, the US is prepared to replace the armistice that ended the Korean War with a proper peace treaty to show it is not hostile to Pyongyang.

(return to top) Bloomberg (“U.S.’S HILL SEEKS N. KOREAN ACCORD WITH INCENTIVES IN 2 MONTHS”, 2005-08-18) reported that Christopher Hill maintains he is hopeful an agreement can be reached in two months that would help the DPRK embrace the world economy. “If we can agree on what the sign posts are going to be, if we can agree on what the sort of approach will be, we can put together an agreement, perhaps later in September, October at the very latest, because we really would like to keep the momentum going,” Hill said. (return to top) Reuters (“US SEEKS N. KOREA CONTACT BEFORE NEXT NUCLEAR TALK”, 2005-08-18) reported that according to Christopher Hill, the US has made contact with DPRK as part of its preparations for six-party nuclear talks later this month. Christopher Hill said he had sent a message to his DPRK counterpart, saying “we should be in touch if there are issues he would like to raise and that I would be ready to be in touch. The purpose of these three weeks is to be in touch and be ready, because I would like this to be shorter than 13 days so we can get on to the main event, which is negotiations,” Hill said. (return to top)

2. Expert on US Position of DPRK Nuclear Program

Chosun Ilbo (“‘U.S. COULD COME ROUND ON N.K. NUCLEAR ENERGY’ “, 2005-08-18) reported that the deputy chief of the National Security Council, Lee Jong-seok, hinted the US could turn out to be less adamant in its refusal to let the DPRK have a peaceful nuclear program. Lee said he believed the US attitude in negotiations and its true position would prove not to be the same.

(return to top)

3. ROK on Six Party Talks

Korea Times (“ROH BACKS N.K.’S USE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY “, 2005-08-19) reported that President Roh Moo-hyun expressed conditional support for the DPRK’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. “Our principal position is that all countries have the right to utilize nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” Roh said. “North Korea also has that right if it gains trust from the international community,” he added.

(return to top)

4. GNP on DPRK Nuclear Program

Yonhap News (“N.K. CLAIM TO PEACEFUL NUKE USE SUSPICIOUS: GNP FLOOR LEADER”, 2005-08-18) reported that according to the floor leader of the ROK’s main opposition Grand National Party, the DPRK must not be allowed any type of nuclear programs, despite its claims to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, because it might have other intentions.

(return to top)

5. ROK on Joint Korean Liberation Day

Xinhua (“ROK PRESEIDENT MEETS DPRK DELEGATION”, 2005-08-18) reported that President Roh Moo-hyun of the ROK has called for his country to work together with the DPRK to resolve the nuclear impasse on the Korean peninsula. Roh was speaking on Wednesday at a meeting with senior visiting DPRK officials as part of the Liberation Day events. Roh said he hoped the joint celebrations would lead to closer cooperation between the ROK and the DPRK. ROK President Roh Moo-Hyun said, “I am happy that we held celebrations by gathering our efforts together. There is a huge meaning to this, and I believe we can use this as a foundation to move one step further.”

(return to top)

6. Conservative Groups on Liberation Day

Chosun Ilbo (“CONSERVATIVE GROUPS TAILED ON LIBERATION DAY”, 2005-08-18) reported that conservative groups in the ROK say they were kept under close surveillance during joint Korean Liberation Day festivities and prevented from attending rallies earlier in the week.

(return to top)

7. Analysts on Inter-Korean Relations

Joong Ang Ilbo (“KIM JONG-IL SEEN CHANGING POLICY ON SOUTH”, 2005-08-18) reported that according to analysts, the unprecedented visit by the DPRK officials to the National Cemetery in Seoul suggests that Kim Jong-il has shifted his approach to inter-Korean relations. “The visit to the National Cemetery would have been impossible unless North Korean leader Kim Jong-il made the decision himself,” said Kim Keun-sik, professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies. “He appears to believe that improving inter-Korean relations will enable North Korea to retain its system and resolve its nuclear issues.”

(return to top)

8. Inter-Korean Agricultural Cooperation

Yonhap News (“S. KOREA PROPOSES CREATING JOINT FARMING AREA IN N. KOREA”, 2005-08-18) reported that the ROK proposed Thursday that a joint farming area be created in the DPRK as part of long-term agricultural cooperation between the two sides. According to ROK pool reports, the two sides agreed to begin work for full-scale agricultural cooperation, but they still needed to narrow differences over details on how to implement it.

(return to top)

9. Kaesong Industrial Park

Yonhap News (“S. KOREA TO BUILD APARTMENT-STYLE FACTORIES IN KAESONG “, 2005-08-18) reported that the ROK’s state-run industrial complex operator said Thursday it will build large apartment-style factories for smaller companies in the DPRK border city of Kaesong next year. A mammoth industrial park is under construction in Kaesong to house ROK companies, a crowning outcome of inter-Korean rapprochement that started after the 2000 South-North summit.

(return to top)

10. DPRK Human Rights Issue

Yonhap News (“SEOUL’S CALL FOR INTER-KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS EXCHANGE GOES UNANSWERED”, 2005-08-18) reported that the ROK has repeatedly proposed an exchange program with the DPRK on the issue of human rights but the DPRK has not responded. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said it delivered the same request to Pyongyang in May through New Zealand Ambassador to ROK, David Taylor. “We expressed our intention of having a meeting in either the South, the North or in a third country to discuss the human rights issue,” said Seo Bo-hyuk, an NHRC official.

(return to top)

11. DPRK on Yasukuni Shrine Issue

Yonhap News (“NORTH KOREA CONDEMNS JAPANESE HOMAGE TO WORLD WAR II CRIMINALS”, 2003-08-18) reported that the DPRK renewed its criticism against Japan on Thursday for its officials’ visits to Tokyo’s war-related Yasukuni Shrine. The shrine visit “was an apparent act of political and ideological violence against international society,” the KCNA said.

(return to top)

12. US State Department Reorganization

The Washington Post (“STATE DEPT. RESHUFFLING ON HOLD; REP. HYDE SEEKS MORE INFORMATION ON REORGANIZATION”, 2005-08-18) reported that three weeks ago, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a news conference announcing broad changes to the department’s arms control and nonproliferation bureaus. But the restructuring, expected to begin this week, has been put on hold by Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.). Hyde’s spokesman, Sam Stratman, said the hold “reflects a desire for more specific information, which we have every reason to believe will be forthcoming.”

(return to top)

13. PRC-Russia Naval Operations

Joong Ang Ilbo (“FIRST JOINT CHINA-RUSSIA MILITARY EXERCISE CLOSELY WATCHED.”, 2005-08-18) reported that watched warily by the US, the ROK, Japan and Taiwan, the first-ever PRC-Russia joint military exercise begins today, focusing on naval operations and amphibious landings in the northern part of the Yellow Sea.

(return to top)

14. UNSC Expansion

Kyodo (“CENTRAL AMERICAN COUNTRIES BACK JAPAN’S U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL BID”, 2005-08-18) reported that Central American and Caribbean nations vowed their support for Japan’s bid to become a permanent UN Security Council member, while Japan promised its support for the countries’ economic integration, according to a statement the countries and Japan released after a summit. The seven nations threw their support behind Japan during a one-day summit in Tokyo aimed at discussing ways to enhance relations and cooperation between Japan and the Central American region.

(return to top)

15. US-Japan Military Relations

Kyodo (“JAPAN MAY OPT FOR CUT IN U.S. MILITARY EVEN AT ITS COST: LDP’S KYUMA”, 2005-08-18) reported that the Japanese government is likely to seek a reduction in the size of US military in Japan even if it has to pay the expenses involved, a senior governing Liberal Democratic Party member told a visiting US Defense Department official on Thursday. LDP General Council Chairman Fumio Kyuma made the remarks in talks with US Deputy Defense Undersecretary for Asia and Pacific Affairs Richard Lawless at the party headquarters in Tokyo in light of the ongoing bilateral negotiations for realigning the US military presence in Japan.

(return to top)

16. US-ROK Joint Military Exercise

Korea Times (“S. KOREA, U.S. TROOPS START JOINT EXERCISE”, 2005-08-18) reported that ROK and US soldiers will begin an annual joint war game on Monday aimed at testing their preparedness for a conflict with the DPRK. The mainly computer-simulated war game, dubbed Ulchi Focus Lens, will involve around 10,000 of the 32,500 US troops stationed in the ROK and continue until Sept. 2, the U.S. military said.

(return to top)

17. Sino-Russian Military Exercise

Reuters (“RUSSIA, CHINA OPEN FIRST JOINT MILITARY EXERCISES”, 2005-08-18) reported that the PRC and Russia began their first joint military exercises on Thursday aimed at boosting cooperation between the former adversaries and sending a message to the US about their growing influence. Eight days of war games between the giant neighbors, who share a 4,300-km (2,700-mile) border, also present a commercial opportunity for Russia, the PRC’s biggest supplier of arms and weapons technology, to flog its wares, analysts say.

(return to top)

18. Cross Strait Relations

Agence Frace-Presse (“CHINA CLOSE TO ALLOWING TAIWANESE AIRLINES TO FLY OVER ITS AIRSPACE”, 2005-08-18) reported that the PRC’s aviation authorities are considering applications by Taiwanese airlines to fly over PRC airspace and were confident the green light would come soon, state media reported. In the first indication it is ready to permit Taiwan to use its airspace, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of PRC said it will process the airlines’ applications “as soon as possible”, China Daily reported.

(return to top)

19. PRC Energy Supply

International Herald Tribune (“FREE FLOW: BIG CHALLENGE FOR BEIJING: MOVING COAL”, 2005-08-18) reported that the PRC is the biggest producer and consumer of coal. The challenge for the country is to haul each year more than two billion metric tons of coal mined far inland to power stations and industry in coastal provinces. In recent years, that task has overwhelmed the creaking transportation network in the PRC, a serious shortcoming for an economy where burning coal accounts for more than 65 percent of total energy production.

(return to top)

20. PRC Anti-Terror Units

Agence France-Presse (“CHINA LAUNCHING ELITE RIOT, ANTI-TERROR SQUADS”, 2005-08-18) reported that the PRC said it is setting up elite anti-terror and riot police units equipped with everything from batons to armored vehicles, in a sign of growing concern over social unrest. The special force will cover 36 key cities and one of the first detachments, a 500-member squad, has already been formed in Zhengzhou, capital of central PRC’s unrest-prone Henan province, the Xinhua news agency said.

(return to top)

21. PRC Rural Healthcare

China Daily (“RURAL KIDS ‘NEED BETTER HEALTHCARE'”, 2005-08-18) reported that more money must be invested in the PRC’s healthcare system to ensure children receive effective medical treatment, an official from the Ministry of Health told China Daily yesterday. In 2003, half of rural infants, aged five and under, who died from diseases, did not receive hospital treatment before they died, according to a report submitted earlier this week to a conference focusing on the situation of Women and Children in the PRC.

(return to top)

22. PRC Freedom of Religion

The Associated Press (“GROUP: CHINA DETAINS U.S. CHURCH WORKERS”, 2005-08-18) reported that authorities in northern PRC detained five American church workers in raids on unofficial Protestant church groups, a US-based monitoring group said. Four Americans, including a married couple, were held after authorities broke up a Christian fellowship service Monday in Luoyang in Henan province, about 460 miles southwest of Beijing, the China Aid Association said.

(return to top)

23. In memoriam: Ells Culver

(“IN MEMORIAM: ELLS CULVER”, 2005-08-18) Ells Culver, a leading figure in global humanitarian relief and a co-founder of Mercy Corps, died on August 15, 2005. His passing is a great loss to those who seek to realize the peaceful resolution of conflicts in Korea and to bring a brighter future to all Koreans. Ells was instrumental in keeping American humanitarian organizations engaged in bringing relief to North Koreans. His steady hand, penetrating vision, and wise counsel will be sorely missed. For more information about Ells and his life, please visit: www.mercycorps.org.

(return to top)

II. CanKor

24. Report # 216

CanKor (“DPRK DELEGATION ENDS WATERSHED VISIT TO ROK”, 2005-08-16) The “taboo-busting” visit by a high-level DPRK delegation is called a “watershed moment” of inter-Korean relations. In South Korea to celebrate the liberation of Korea from Japanese colonial rule 60 years ago, delegation members visit the National Cemetery, burial place of soldiers killed in the Korean War. When they bow respectfully to honour the dead, the gesture has a strong emotional impact on the South Korean public. The delegation also visits the National Assembly, the hospitalized former president Kim Dae-jung and President Roh Moo-hyun. Skeptical observers call the visit a propaganda coup for the DPRK.

(return to top) CanKor (“VIDEO LINK REUNITES LONG-DIVIDED KOREANS”, 2005-08-16) The first virtual reunion of Korean family members divided since the Korean War takes place via fibre-optic cables across the DMZ on 15 August. 226 family members take part in teleconferences broadcast live over ROK television. (return to top) CanKor (“ROK GRANTS AMNESTY TO MORE THAN 4 MILLION” and “DPRK TO GRANT AMNESTY IN SEPTEMBER”, 2005-08-16) North and South Korea independently announce amnesties to mark Liberation Day. More than 4 million people are pardoned for various crimes and misdemeanours in the ROK, including those convicted under the National Security Law of pro-communist activities and unauthorised contacts with the North. The DPRK amnesty decree, which is to take effect 1 September, does not specify numbers or crimes. The last amnesties took place in 2002 — in the ROK to celebrate Korea’s independence from Japan, and in the DPRK to celebrate Kim Il Sung’s 90th birthday. (return to top) CanKor (“WO KOREAS SET UP FIRST CROSS-BORDER MILITARY HOTLINE”, 2005-08-16) The two Koreas test a cross-border military hotline set up to avoid accidental border clashes, particularly the naval skirmishes that regularly erupt at the Northern Limit Line, an invisible oceanic border not recognized by the DPRK. (return to top) CanKor FOCUS (“INTERVIEWS WITH DPRK AND US DELEGATION HEADS TO SIX-PARTY TALKS”, 2005-08-16) This week’s FOCUS features transcripts of two television interviews with the chief DPRK and US delegates to the six-party talks. Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan says the DPRK is willing to return to the NPT and will fully abide by IAEA safeguards in the operation of its non-military nuclear power plants. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill acknowledges that the DPRK seems willing to do away with their nuclear weapons systems, but under conditions that the USA cannot currently accept, namely the building and maintenance of a civilian nuclear energy programme. (return to top)