NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, August 03, 2006

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NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, August 03, 2006

NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, August 03, 2006

I. NAPSNet

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. NAPSNet

1. DPRK Military Build-up

Reuters (“IRAN WORKING WITH N.KOREA ON MISSILES: INSTITUTE”, 2006-08-03) reported that, according to a report from an ROK state-run think tank, the DPRK has been working closely with Iran to develop its long-range ballistic missiles, possibly using Chinese technology, and is building large bases to prepare for their deployment. The report by the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) also says the DPRK is building a missile command base 50 km (30 miles) north of the Demilitarized Zone for as many as 30 mobile launch pads for the Scud-type Hwasong missiles that can hit military and industrial targets deep in the ROK, and is deploying missiles with improved precision that can strike most of Japan.

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2. Inter-Korean Economic Relations

Asia Pulse (“N. KOREA SAYS KAESONG PROJECT NOT AFFECTED BY MISSILE CRISIS “, 2006-08-03) reported that the DPRK called for continued economic cooperation between the divided Koreas despite escalating tension over the country’s missile tests. “(The countries) must continue to move forward the Kaesong industrial complex regardless of international conditions” surrounding the Korean Peninsula, Ju Dong-chan, Pyongyang’s chief delegate to inter-Korean economic talks, was quoted as saying in a meeting of the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee. ROK delegates called for easier access for officials and businesspeople, while calling on the DPRK to allow their businesses to pay wages directly to their DPR Korean employees.

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3. Inter-Korean Relations

Yonhap News Agency (“CONCERT TO BE HELD AT N KOREAN RESORT ON AUG 15 LIBERATION DAY: ORGANIZERS “, 2006-08-03) reported that a pop concert will be held at the Mount Kumgang mountain resort on Aug. 15, Korean Liberation Day. Upset by the ROK’s decision to halt food and fertilizer assistance following the missile launches, the DPRK has called off all official contact and vowed to retaliate. But the organizers say the concert is not subject to approval from the DPRK authorities but the mountain resort is under the jurisdictional control of Pyongyang.

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4. Japan-Chongryon Relations

Yonhap News Agency (“TEMPORARY FLIGHTS TO BE ARRANGED FOR VISITORS TO N KOREA”, 2006-08-03) reported that Japan has banned the Mankyongbong-ho, a major means of transportation to the DPRK for an estimated 200,000 DPR Korean residents in Japan, from its ports for six months, following the missile launches. Plans are being pushed to transport visitors to the DPRK from Japan by air. Chongryon, the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, is attempting to organize four flights in September and October for those who want to join an eight-day tour of the DPRK during the period, according to the group’s newspaper Choson Sinbo.

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5. DPRK Foreign Minister in Singapore

Chosun Ilbo (“S’PORE PRESIDENT URGES N.KOREA BACK TO NUCLEAR TALKS “, 2006-08-03) reported that Singaporean President S.R. Nathan has urged the DPRK to return to six-party talks over its nuclear program. Meeting with visiting DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun, Nathan, whose role is largely ceremonial, pressed Pyongyang to consider the international community’s interests in preserving regional peace and stability. Paek, according to a Singaporean Foreign Ministry statement, reaffirmed the DPRK’s commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

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6. US-ROK Security Alliance

Joongang Ilbo (“YOON: SEOUL READY FOR 2012 TRANSFER OF WARTIME COMMAND”, 2006-08-03) reported that despite a direct appeal by his predecessors a day earlier, Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said yesterday that the transfer of wartime control of ROK troops from Washington would go ahead as planned. The minister said that 2012 would be an appropriate time for the transfer to take place, by which time he judged Seoul would have acquired the necessary combat capability required for full control of its troops. Thirteen former defense ministers had met with Mr. Yoon and conveyed their concerns over the transfer of the command.

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7. Yasukuni Shrine Issue

Agence France-Presse (“KOIZUMI SEEN PAVING GROUND FOR WAR SHRINE VISIT”, 2006-08-03) reported that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has strongly defended his visits to a controversial war shrine, fuelling speculation he will go this month on the sensitive anniversary of Japan’s World War II defeat. Koizumi, who leaves office in September, has visited Yasukuni shrine every year but has not fulfilled a campaign promise to go on August 15, the date of Japan’s surrender in 1945.

(return to top) Kyodo (“CHINESE ENVOY SAYS WANTS NOT TO SEE PM’S YASUKUNI VISITS”, 2006-08-03) reported that the PRC Ambassador to Japan Wang Yi said at an event in Tokyo attended by Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe that he wants to see no visits to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine by Japan’s prime minister. “The current Japan-China relationship is not moving forward due to a cause everyone knows about. That is something we do not want to see,” Wang said. He was referring to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s repeated visits to the Shinto shrine. (return to top)

8. Cross Strait Relations

Agence France-Presse (“TAIWAN REFUSES VISIT BY SENIOR CHINESE OFFICIAL”, 2006-08-03) reported that Taiwanese Premier Su Tseng-chang rejected a proposed landmark visit by a senior PRC government official, citing what he called Beijing’s hostility towards the island. The PRC’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on its website Wednesday that office director Chen Yunlin was expected to attend an agricultural cooperation forum to be hosted by Taiwan’s leading opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party in mid-October.

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9. PRC Web Censorship

The Guardian (“AUTHORITIES CLOSE DOWN CENTURY CHINA WEBSITE”, 2006-08-03) reported that more than 100 PRC intellectuals have condemned the country’s propaganda authorities for closing down a popular website that they described as “the last oasis of knowledge on China’s internet”. In the latest act of resistance against the communist government’s crackdown on public debate, the lawyers, authors and journalists issued a statement opposing the shutdown of Century China.

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10. PRC Pollution

BBC News (“CHINA HIT BY RISING AIR POLLUTION”, 2006-08-03) reported that rising sulphur dioxide emissions in the PRC are causing environmental harm and economic loss, the government says. The PRC is the world’s largest sulphur dioxide polluter, emitting nearly 26m tons of the gas in 2005. This was a 27% increase since 2000 and coincided with a rise in coal consumption, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) said.

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11. PRC Typhoon

The Associated Press (“TYPHOON FORCES MASS EVACUATION IN CHINA”, 2006-08-03) reported that hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated in southern PRC as Typhoon Prapiroon slammed into the mainland, pounding an area already battered by storms with more heavy rains and winds, state media said. Prapiroon made landfall along a stretch of coastal Guangdong province, including the cities of Yangjiang and Dianbai, the Xinhua News Agency said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

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