I. NAPSnet

1. Six Party Talks

Chosun Ilbo (“ELEVENTH-HOUR BREAKTHROUGH ENDS N. KOREAN NUCLEAR TALKS”, 2005-09-19) reported that the DPRK agreed on Monday to give up all its nuclear weapons and programs, rejoin the NPT, and embrace IAEA safeguard regimes in return for normal diplomatic ties with Washington and energy and other assistance from other parties. The participants in the six party talks agreed to respect the DPRK’s right to use nuclear energy peacefully and to discuss the provision of light-water reactors at an appropriate time. The “win-win” statement, in the words of US chief negotiator Christopher Hill, puts in writing the ROK’s pledge to provide the DPRK with 2000 mw of free electricity, with other parties also pledging energy aid to the DPRK. The US also offered reassurances that it had “no intention to attack or invade the DPRK with nuclear or conventional weapons.” Japan also pledged to continue work towards normalizing its relationship with the DPRK. A fifth round of talks slated for early November will work out the schedule and logistics of the general agreement reached in Beijing.

(return to top) Reuters (“N. KOREA BACK FROM BRINK, BUT REAL WORK LIES AHEAD”, 2005-09-19) reported that although the Beijing accord prevented a collapse of six party talks and a possible escalation to the UN Security Council, “The statement consists only of targets and principles. It is only the first half of the battle. Implementation will mean they have to go through another set of equally tough negotiations,” said Masao Okonogi, an expert on Korea from Keio University. “The agreement allows participants in the talks to interpret it as they like, yet no issue has been resolved,” said Lee Dong-bok, Seoul-based senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The joint statement fails to resolve the debate over whether the DPRK will get energy aid and security guarantees before or after it dismantles its nuclear programs. It also leaves unresolved DPRK’s demand for a light-water nuclear reactor, a subject the parties agreed only to discuss at an “appropriate time.” (return to top)

2. US on Six Party Talks

The Associated Press (“U.S. PLEASED WITH KOREA NUCLEAR AGREEMENT”, 2005-09-19) reported that President Bush said on Monday that the DPRK’s pledge to end its nuclear weapons programs is a positive step, but he expressed some skepticism about whether Pyongyang will live up to its promises. “The question is, over time will all parties adhere to the agreement,” Bush said. “Part of the way forward is for the North Koreans to understand that we’re serious about this and that we expect there to be a verifiable process,” the president said after a meeting of his Homeland Security Council. Still, Bush said the agreement was “a step forward in making this world a more secure place.”

(return to top)

3. Four Nation Talks

Chosun Ilbo (“FOUR-NATION TALKS COULD DISCUSS KOREAN PEACE TREATY”, 2005-09-19) reported that as part of Monday’s six party talks agreement is a decision to set-up a forum to discuss a peace framework for the Korean Peninsula. Four nation talks are the likely format for discussions on moving from a provisional suspension of hostilities to a proper peace treaty capable of guaranteeing permanent peace on the peninsula. A four-party framework for the negotiations is again under discussion, since both the DPRK and ROK see no point in Russia or Japan participating as they have in the nuclear talks. Kim Seong-han of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security said if four party talks started up again, either the two Koreas and the US would do most of the talking, with the PRC acting as an observer, or the two Koreas would lead the discussions, with the US and PRC acting as guarantors.

(return to top)

4. Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation

Yonhap News (“BEIJING ACCORD LIKELY TO BOOST INTER-KOREAN ECONOMIC PROJECTS”, 2005-09-19) reported that, according to industry watchers, inter-Korean business cooperation projects are expected to gather further momentum following Monday’s agreement at six party talks. The DPRK’s nuclear ambition has been cited as the major obstacle for inter-Korean business projects, scaring away investors hoping to invest in the DPRK.

(return to top)

5. Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks

The Korea Herald (“TWO KOREAS AGREE TO PUSH FOR PEACE”, 2005-09-20) reported that the ROK and DPRK have agreed to push for measures to solidify peace and ease military tensions on the Korean Peninsula during four days of inter-Korean Cabinet-level talks held in Pyongyang. Delegates from the two Koreas adopted a six-point statement on Friday that includes a shared understanding that talks between the two countries’ military authorities should be opened. The ROK and DPRK also agreed to hold more reunions of families separated since the Korean War and will continue consultations between their respective Red Cross societies to determine the fate of POWs in the DPRK. The two countries agreed to hold their next round of ministerial talks on the ROK’s Jeju Island on December 13-16.

(return to top)

6. DPRK-PRC Economic Cooperation

Chosun Ilbo (“CHINESE CITY GETS EXCLUSIVE USE OF N. KOREAN PORT”, 2005-09-16) reported that the PRC city of Hunchun has secured exclusive development and user rights for the DPRK port of Rajin in exchange for building a road in the DPRK. PRC newspaper Heilongjiang reported on Friday that the DPRK gave the city of Hunchun exclusive use of the port for 50 years, as well as five to 10 sq.m of land in Rajin for use as an industrial zone. In return, Hunchun will build a road from Rajin’s Wonjong-ri trade zone to Rajin port. The DPRK agreed to enact a trade and investment deal for the project, which the Jilin provincial government has already ratified. The deal is likely to boost flow of trade between the PRC and DPRK, and should help the PRC trade with the ROK and Japan as well, the paper said.

(return to top)

7. DPRK-Japanese Relations

Yonhap News (“N. KOREA CALLS FOR CONCILIATORY ATTITUDE FROM JAPAN”, 2005-09-17) reported that the DPRK media called on Saturday for a conciliatory attitude from Japan in light of the third anniversary of the unprecedented summit between leaders of the two countries held in Pyongyang in 2002. State-controlled Radio Pyongyang called on Japan to scrap its anti-DPRK policies and normalize relations with the DPRK by issuing compensation for Japan’s past colonial wrongdoing.

(return to top)

8. DPRK Human Rights

Chosun Ilbo (“U.S. MEETING WARNS OF ANOTHER HOLOCAUST IN N. KOREA”, 2005-09-19) reported that participants at a seminar at Stanford University’s Hoover Institute stated on Thursday that the DPRK’s human rights violations could take on the dimensions of the holocaust unless the international community wakes up to the problem and steps up pressure on Pyongyang over an issue they say is as important as the country’s nuclear arms program. Only about 7% of DPRK citizens testified to having seen international food aid, said Stephen Haggard of the University of California in San Diego. In addition, Defense Forum Foundation president Suzanne K. Scholte, said more pressure needed to be put on the PRC government to resolve issues like its deportation of DPRK defectors. Hoover Institute researcher Henry S. Rowen said there was almost no chance of the ROK and PRC governments changing their policies toward the DPRK, and urged those concerned about human rights in the DPRK to get active.

(return to top)

9. UN Food Aid to DPRK

The Associated Press (“U.N. TO END FOOD SHIPMENTS TO N. KOREA”, 2005-09-18) reported that the UN will end a decade of emergency food shipments to the DPRK by January at the request of the DPRK government, which says it has enough food coming from other sources, a UN official said Sunday. Richard Ragan, head of the World Food Program’s office in Pyongyang, said the agency will focus on development projects in the DPRK. Discussions are continuing with donors to find support for the shift, he said in a telephone interview while in Beijing. “They claim they have enough food coming in from other sources,” he said, indicating that included aid from the ROK and increased trade with the PRK. “They didn’t want to create a culture of dependency.”

(return to top)

10. DPRK on UN Summit

Reuters (“NORTH KOREA DROPS OUT OF UN SUMMIT”, 2005-09-16) reported that the DPRK has decided not to deliver a speech at a world summit on UN reform, a UN official said on Friday. “They dropped out, they are not speaking,” the official said. The DPRK’s UN Mission declined comment. Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun had been listed as a speaker on Friday in a preliminary agenda for the three-day summit, the largest gathering of world leaders with more than 150 heads of state or government in attendance.

(return to top)

11. DPRK Credit Card

Reuters (“N. KOREA INTRODUCES FIRST ‘CREDIT CARD’”, 2005-09-16) reported that the DPRK announced the introduction of the country’s first credit card on Friday. “The North East Asia Bank of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has introduced (an) IC credit card … in order to modernize its settlement business,” the KCNA reported. “The IC card ensures the safety of the data registered in it. And it is impossible to counterfeit it so as to prevent money from being lost,” KCNA said. “Six kinds of currencies can be deposited in a card at a time. With this card, one can exchange money instantly without going to a money exchange booth. A card can be shared by several persons (family members, relatives, friends, etc.).” There was neither word of an international tie-in nor any suggestion that the IC, or “integrated circuit”, card could be used beyond the borders of the DPRK.

(return to top)

12. DPRK Bank Probe

Bloomberg News (“FACING SANCTIONS, MACAU BANK SUSPENDS TIES WITH NORTH KOREA”, 2005-09-19) reported that Banco Delta Asia S.A.R.L. said it has suspended its DPRK accounts after the US government accused the Macau bank of laundering money for customers from the DPRK. The chairman and chief executive of Delta Group Financial Asia, Stanley Au, denied the US allegations. In a statement to be published Tuesday, Banco Delta Asia state that its business relationship with DPRK banks and trading companies has been “confined to the importation of commodities and consumer goods,” with collections on their behalf mostly coming from “other major international banks and financial institutions.”

(return to top)

13. US-ROK Relations

Chosun Ilbo (“ROH WARNS U.S. AGAINST DIVIDING NORTHEAST ASIA”, 2005-09-19) reported that President Roh Moo-hyun on Thursday said the US must overcome old divisions in its mind between “them” and “us” in Northeast Asia, with one side to be supported and the other kept in check. Speaking at a dinner at the Korean Society in New York, Roh said doing so would “help regional peace and security in Asia and the national interests of the United States.” Presidential foreign policy advisor Chung Woo-sung provided the customary gloss on Roh’s remarks, which he said were an expression of concern about calls for the US to join hands with Japan in confronting the PRC.

(return to top)

14. ROK on UN Reform

Chosun Ilbo (“FM URGES EXPANSION OF NON-STANDING UNSC MEMBERS”, 2005-09-19) reported that Seoul’s top diplomat called for the expansion of non-standing members of the UN Security Council rather than permanent members in reforming the global body’s security arm. In a speech at a sub-panel discussion of the 60th General Assembly, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon stressed that the Security Council must be restructured to raise the level of responsibility, transparency and efficiency. He called on reforms based on a full consensus among member states, stressing the importance of diverse representation and democracy in the global body.

(return to top)

15. Japan on UNSC Expansion

Agence France Presse (“JAPAN CLAIMS RIGHT TO PERMANENT SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP”, 2005-09-19) reported that Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura called on the UN General Assembly to support his country’s bid for permanent membership on the UN Security Council. “I believe that Japan’s path of striving for international peace speaks for itself, and should serve as the basis for a larger role for Japan as a permanent member of a reformed Security Council,” he said.

(return to top)

16. Japanese Remilitarization

Agence France Presse (“JAPAN’S NEW OPPOSITION LEADER SEEKS TO REVISE PACIFIST CONSTITUTION”, 2005-09-19) reported that Japan’s new opposition leader sought to revise the nation’s pacifist constitution and lift restrictions on Japanese troops’ use of weapons overseas. Seiji Maehara, fresh from his slim victory in the Democratic Party of Japan’s leadership election on Saturday, said Japan should stipulate its right of self-defense in the US-imposed constitution.

(return to top)

17. US-Japan Security Alliance

The Japan Times (“JAPAN, U.S. AGREE TO SPEED UP BASE REALIGNMENT TALKS”, 2005-09-19) reported that Japan and the US agreed Saturday to speed up talks on realigning the US military in Japan and to launch a bilateral framework to enhance cooperation on development issues, a Japanese official said. “We want to accelerate the talks from the standpoint of maintaining deterrent power and reducing the burden on Okinawa and other localities” hosting US bases, Machimura was quoted as saying. Rice responded that Washington also wants the negotiations to pick up speed.

(return to top)

18. PRC Economy

BBC News (“CHINESE ECONOMY CONTINUES TO BOOM “, 2005-09-19) reported that the PRC’s growth shows no sign of slowing, according a new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In its first analysis of the PRC’s economy, the OECD said the private sector now provided half its output. It found much to praise in one of the most rapid economic transformations of modern times but said the PRC must do more to improve education spending and protect the environment.

(return to top)

19. PREC One Child Policy

Washington Post (“CHINA SAYS OFFICIALS DETAINED FOR POPULATION CONTROL ABUSES”, 2005-09-19) reported that the PRC said Monday it has dismissed and detained officials in the eastern city of Linyi for abuses committed while enforcing the country’s one-child policy. In a prepared statement, the cabinet-level ministry responsible for managing population growth in the PRC said a preliminary investigation confirmed allegations that “some persons in a few counties and townships of Linyi” violated the law and the rights of local residents “while conducting family planning work.”

(return to top)

20. Hong Kong WTO Summit

Agence France Presse (“HONG KONG READYING FOR POSSIBLE RIOTS, ATTACKS AT WTO SUMMIT “, 2005-09-19) reported that Hong Kong is preparing for the possibility of its worst ever civil disturbances at a World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting later this year, a report said. Each government department is busy drawing up contingency plans for unrest or terrorist attacks during the summit, which will bring thousands of ministers and other delegates to the PRC territory in December.

(return to top)