Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. NAPSNet

1. DPRK on Nuclear Program

Associated Press (“NORTH KOREA MAY BOOST NUCLEAR DETERRENT IF U.S. STEPS UP ‘HOSTILE POLICY’ “, 2005-12-19) reported that the DPRK said Monday it would boost its “nuclear deterrent,” if the US steps up its hostile policy against the regime. The DPRK will increase its reliance on national defense, including the “nuclear deterrent, pursuant to the songun (army-first) policy, to cope with the U.S. escalated policy to isolate and stifle it with the nuclear issue and the ‘human rights issue’ as pretexts,” the North’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the country’s official Korean Central News Agency.

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2. DPRK on Six Party Talks

Chosun Ilbo (“N.KOREA REPEATS THREAT TO BOYCOTT SIX-PARTY TALKS”, 2005-12-19) reported that the DPRK’s official news agency on Monday reiterated the DPRK will boycott six party talks as long as the US persists in “hostile policy” toward it. A Unification Ministry official said calls for an end to “hostile policies” had been a consistent refrain from the DPRK. “But since the demand took the form of a commentary from the news agency and not a formal statement from the Foreign Ministry, I think it doesn’t carry enough weight to be used as a basis to determine if the six-party talks will resume or not.”

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3. US on Six party Talks

Chosun Ilbo (“HILL WARNS N. KOREA OVER PROCRASTINATION TACTICS”, 2005-12-18) reported that Washington’s chief negotiator in talks in the six party talks said Friday the US had no choice but to continue monitoring the DPRK’s financial movements since there remains a threat of nuclear proliferation from the country. Christopher Hill warned if Pyongyang boycotts six party nuclear talks set to reconvene in January, the US will prepare a new set of steps against it. Hill said the State Department cannot interfere in the investigation of the counterfeiting and other charges under domestic law; it can neither speed it up nor stop findings being announced for the sake of the six party talks. He said the way to resolve the situation is for the DPRK to cooperate in the investigation.

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4. ROK-US Talks on DPRK

The Korea Times (“UNIFICATION CHIEF HEADS TO US”, 2005-12-18) reported that Unification Minister Chung Dong left for US on Sunday for talks with US officials on ways to end the ongoing dispute over the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program. During his six-day trip to the US, Chung is expected to hold a series of meetings with ranking US administration officials to explain his country’s relationship with the DPRK. During the meetings, Chung is to explain the results of the 17th inter-Korean ministerial talks and discuss ways to work out the earliest date possible for the implementation of the agreement made at a September meeting of the nuclear negotiations.

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5. Kim Dae-jung to Visit DPRK

Joongang Ilbo (“KIM DAE-JUNG TO VISIT NORTH”, 2005-12-19) reported that Former President Kim Dae-jung said he would meet DPRK leader Kim Jong-il for a second time in the near future. He said the governments of both Koreas had agreed to his trip, but that he would travel there in a private capacity, not as an envoy of the Roh administration. Mr. Kim told the Monthly Joongang in an interview Thursday that he had five issues to discuss with Kim Jong-il. They include converting the six party talks in Beijing into a permanent forum, dealing with hard-line US rhetoric and coping with international condemnation of the DPRK for its human rights abuses.

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6. Inter-Korean Summit

The Korea Times (“DISAPPOINTING TALKS”, 2005-12-18) reported that cabinet ministers of the ROK and the DPRK Friday reached a nine-point agreement on deepening and expanding ties in various fields. Even a passing glance of the agreement, however, shows the accord was only for accord’s sake, containing little of substance. Most noticeably, the two sides failed to neither fix a date for resuming suspended inter-Korean military talks nor find a way to reopen the stalled six party talks.

(return to top) Korea Herald (“KOREAS REAFFIRM IMPLEMENTATION OF NUKE ACCORD”, 2005-12-16) reported that the ROK and the DPRK reaffirmed their commitment to implement an international accord in which the DPRK agreed to abandon all nuclear weapons programs at the end of their ministerial talks on Jeju Island. Delegates from the two countries adopted a nine-point statement after the four-day talks. “The South and North agreed to make efforts to resolve the nuclear issue in a peaceful manner for the benefit of South-North joint security, and shared understanding to carry out the Joint Statement of the fourth round of six-party talks soon,” a joint press statement said. (return to top)

7. Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation

Joongang Ilbo (“INTER-KOREAN TRADE LIKELY TO HIT $1 BILLION”, 2005-12-19) reported that trade between the ROK and the DPRK is expected to surpass $1 billion this year for the first time, on the back of a joint industrial complex in the DPRK, the Korea International Trade Association said yesterday. The organization said inter-Korean trade spiked 57.7 percent from a year ago, to $978.6 million in the January-November period.

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8. Inter-Korean Maritime Cooperation

The Korea Times (“N. KOREAN SHIP TAKES SHELTER AT CHEJU ISLAND”, 2005-12-18) reported that a DPRK oil tanker has been allowed to take shelter at the southern resort island of Jeju, according to the local coast guard Saturday. The 1,998-ton ship made the request to the ROK’s Unification Ministry because of high waves after it departed from the DPRK’s northeastern Wonsan Port on Thursday. This is the first time that a DPRK ship has taken shelter in the ROK after obtaining permission from the authorities since the two Koreas agreed to open the waters for DPRK civilian vessels at inter-Korean talks on maritime cooperation in August.

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9. DPRK Human Rights

UN News (“UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE IN DPR KOREA”, 2005-12-16) reported that the UN General Assembly adopted for the first time a resolution on human rights violations in the DPRK reflecting its serious concern over reports of torture, public executions, arbitrary detention, the lack of due process, extensive use of forced labor, high rates of infant malnutrition and restrictions on humanitarian organizations. The Assembly urged the Government to ensure that humanitarian organizations, particularly the World Food Program have safe and unimpeded access to all parts of the country. It was particularly concerned that the Special Rapporteur on the situation in the DPRK has not been invited to investigate the rights situation in the country.

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10. Expert on DPRK Human Rights

The Korea Times (“‘SEOUL ISOLATED BY PASSIVE STANCE ON NK RIGHTS ABUSE’ “, 2005-12-18) reported that the ROK’s low-profile approach to the human rights problems in the DPRK is making the country “increasingly marginal” over DPRK issues, including the nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang, a US human rights activist said. Michael Horowitz, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Hudson Institute, urged the Seoul government to take aggressive steps to improve the DPRK’s systematic human rights violations, stressing the need to push the PRC on its stance on DPRK refugees. “The position of the (South) Korean government is extremely sad,” Horowitz, who played a key role in adopting the North Korean Human Rights Act of the US in October last year, said in an interview with The Korea Times last Friday.

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11. DPRK Defectors

The Korea Times (“4 NK DEFECTORS ARRESTED IN THAILAND “, 2005-12-18) reported that a group of four people claiming to be DPRK defectors were arrested in northern Thailand, local media reports said Sunday. The four, including one woman, were caught by Thai police and soldiers near the Mekong River, which forms part of the border between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, the reports said. The purported defectors expressed hopes to resettle in the ROK, they said.

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12. Asian Economic Growth

The International Herald Tribune (“GROWTH IN EAST ASIA EXPECTED TO GAIN SPEED”, 2005-12-19) reported that the Asian Development Bank estimates Emerging East Asia, which includes the 10 Southeast Asian countries plus the PRC and ROK, is expected to show an average economic growth of 7.2 percent next year compared with an estimated 7.1 percent growth in 2005, the bank said in a report.

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13. Russian Weapons Sales

Xinhua (“THAILAND TO BUY RUSSIAN FIGHTER JETS”, 2005-12-19) reported that Thailand and Russia will sign a contract for the sale of 12 Russian Su-30 MK fighter jets, thought to be worth more than 500 million US dollars, next year, a defense industry source said on Monday.

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14. Russian-Japanese Relations

ITAR-TASS: News Agency (“RUSSIAN CAPTAIN SENTENCED TO NINE- YEAR PRISON TERM IN JAPAN”, 2005-12-19) reported that the 47-year old Sergei Bebza-Grigoryev, a citizen of Russia, has been sentenced to a nine-year prison term in Japan on Monday on charges of murder.

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15. Russian-PRC Border Relations

ITAR-TASS: News Agency (“CHINA INVESTS 2.5 MLN DLRS TO BUILD DAM ON AMUR TO CUT POLLUTION”, 2005-12-18) reported that the PRC wants to spend 20 million yuan (2.5 million dollars) to build a dam on the Amur River in order to decrease damage from chemical pollution of the river, said on Sunday deputy head of the water resources department of the Heilongjiang province Sui Xinping.

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16. PRC International Image

Xinhua (“CHINA A “FRIEND INDEED”: NAMIBIAN PRESIDENT”, 2005-12-19) reported that President Hifikepunye Pohamba of the Republic of Namibia praised the PRC as a true friend of Namibia in an interview with Xinhua on Monday evening. the PRC and Namibia enjoy an excellent relationship based on a long-term friendship forged prior to Namibia’s independence in 1990.

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17. Hong Kong Democracy

The International Herald Tribune (“HONG KONG TO GET PLAN FOR ‘LIMITED DEMOCRACY'”, 2005-12-19) reported that another showdown on constitutional change is coming this week in Hong Kong, as the territory’s Beijing-backed leaders said Monday that they would make small changes to their complex plan for limited democracy and then demand that the Legislature vote on the package Wednesday.

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18. Cross-Strait Relations

The China Post (“TAIPEI BOASTS WORLD’S LARGEST WIRELESS NETWORK”, 2005-12-19) reported that next Tuesday Taipei will complete the installation of a total of 2,300 wireless broadband Internet access points covering an area of 28 square kilometers, forming the largest wireless local area network in the world, said Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou yesterday.

(return to top) The China Post (“‘CASH-FOR-FRIENDSHIP’ ARMS DEAL SLAMMED BY ‘PAN-BLUE'”, 2005-12-19) reported that the “pan-blue alliance,” Taiwan’s opposition party, has opposed the “cash-for-friendship” US arms procurement purchase plans, Chairman Ma Ying-jeou of Kuomintang, the largest opposition party, stressed yesterday. (return to top) The China Post (“DECISION LOOMS ON VISIT BY TOP BEIJING OFFICIAL”, 2005-12-19) reported that the Bureau of Immigration is set today to reconsider a request from the opposition Kuomintang to allow Beijing’s top Taiwan policy maker Chen Yunlin and an accompanying delegation to visit the island. (return to top)

19. Japanese History of Aggression in WWII

The Japan Times (“ARMY’S STRATEGY FOR WASHINGTON CONFERENCE FOUND”, 2005-12-19) reported that the US Library of Congress housing classified Imperial Japanese Army documents totaling 9,166 pages in 19 volumes and written in Japanese, are expected to help clarify the historical background behind Japan’s charge into World War II under the army’s runaway aggression, especially in the PRC.

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20. Japanese Diplomacy

Japan Today (“SRI LANKA REBELS REJECT JAPAN AS VENUE FOR PEACE TALKS”, 2005-12-18) reported that Sri Lanka’s Tamil rebels on Saturday rejected Japan as a venue for renewed peace talks with the government, insisting that talks should be held in Norway.

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21. Japanese-US Military Cooperation

The Asahi Shimbun (“SDF ASSISTANCE TO U.S. MILITARY MORE THAN TRIPLES”, 2005-12-19) reported that the number of cases in which the Self-Defense Forces provided supplies or support for the US military more than tripled in fiscal 2004 from the previous year, the Defense Agency said.

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22. Japan-ROK Relations

The Asahi Shimbun (“VISA-FREE VISITS FOR S. KOREANS FROM FEBRUARY”, 2005-12-19) The Japanese government has decided to permanently waive visa requirements for ROK tourists, the transport minister said.

(return to top) Japan Today (“ASO SAYS JAPAN WILL DEAL WITH PAST, BUILD BETTER TIES WITH SOUTH KOREA”, 2005-12-18) reported that Japan will sincerely deal with issues from the past concerning the ROK and work on building bilateral relations, said Foreign Minister Taro Aso. (return to top)

23. ROK Nuclear Program

Agence France Presse (“UN AGENCY CHECKS OUT POSSIBLE PLUTONIUM WORK IN SOUTH KOREA”, 2005-12-19) reported that the UN atomic agency is investigating the ROK for work on a process that can make plutonium, diplomats told AFP Monday.

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24. PRC Industry Commercialization

China Daily (“WELFARE HEATING TO BE STOPPED IN 2007”, 2005-12-19) reported that urban residents in the northern PRC will have to pay for their cozy winter living by the end of 2007. A notice issued on Saturday by the Ministry of Construction and seven other ministries urged a commercialized heating system within two years.

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25. WTO Talks

Japan Today (“JAPAN WELCOMES DRAFT WTO TEXT”, 2005-12-18) reported that Japan welcomed the industrial trade part of a fresh draft accord presented at the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting. It calls for sharper tariff cuts to the benefit of Japanese manufacturers of industrial items.

(return to top) The International Herald Tribune (“ALL-NIGHT SESSION SAVED WTO TALKS”, 2005-12-19) reported that the WTO approved at the 11th hour the Hong Kong Declaration, a surprisingly broad document calling for changes in everything from European agricultural export subsidies to industrialized countries’ tariffs on exports from countries like Bangladesh and Zambia from the PRC. (return to top) The China Post (“WORLD TRADE DEAL SURVIVES HK TALKS”, 2005-12-19) reported that Ministers from 149 states saved long-running global trade talks from collapse on Sunday with an interim deal to end farm export subsidies by 2013 and open rich-country markets a bit wider to the world’s poorest nations. (return to top) Japan Today (“ANTI-WTO PROTESTS TURN INTO RIOT”, 2005-12-18) reported that police fired tear gas Saturday at hundreds of protestors who broke through police lines near the convention center where global trade talks were under way. About 1,000 police officers in riot gear faced the protesters, mainly farmers, students and members of workers’ unions from the ROK. (return to top)

II. CanKor

26. Report #230

CanKor (“CURRENT EVENTS”, 2005-12-16) At a celebration of the fifth anniversary of his Nobel Peace Prize, former ROK president Kim Dae-jung outlines his three stages toward Korean unification. Former North Korean special forces soldiers who defected to the South say they are best suited to end DPRK leader Kim Jong Il’s regime and improve human rights conditions. The director of the US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons says that China’s growing gender imbalance is feeding the sex-slave trade of North Korean refugee women.

(return to top) CanKor (“OPINION”, 2005-12-16) The annual conference of the Canadian Consortium on Asia Pacific Security (CANCAPS) featured a session devoted to analysis of current DPRK issues. This week’s CanKor OPINION section presents a report and extensive excerpts of Jing-dong Yuan’s presentation on “China’s North Korea problem: the nuclear issue and geopolitics of northeast Asia,” and Wade L. Huntley’s presentation “On the verge: current implications of a nuclear North Korea.” (return to top)