I. United States

1. US on DPRK Nuclear Talks

US Department of State (“DAILY PRESS BRIEFING: NORTH KOREAN PRECONDITION FOR REJOINING SIX-PARTY TALKS”, 2005-05-05) QUESTION: On North Korea, according to the report from Beijing, North Korea has recently demanded for the bilateral talk with the United States as a precondition for returning to the six-party talks. Do you have a comment on it? MR. BOUCHER: I repeat what we said before… That’s why we continue to believe the six-party talk is the best — six-party talks are the best way to resolve these issues. But North Korea has to be prepared to come back seriously and resolve these nuclear weapons questions, as well as establish a better relationship with its neighbors. It’s not a question of the forum. We have not — we’ve said we can have bilateral discussions in a six-party context, but we don’t think that throwing it into some other context and pretending that this is a US-North Korean issue is going to help it at all. The way to solve this is for North Korea to come back seriously to the six-party talks. That’s where the solution can be found.

(return to top) Chosun Ilbo (“U.S. REJECTS N. KOREAN CONDITIONS FOR RESTART TO TALKS”, 2005-05-05) reported that the US has rejected reported demands from the DPRK to meet with it one-to-one and to recognize it as a sovereign state if it is to come back to six-party nuclear disarmament talks. With that, chances of an early resumption of the talks grow increasingly remote. US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher reconfirmed Washington’s position that it could hold bilateral discussions with the DPRK within the six-party framework. But he stressed it would not help to pretend the nuclear dispute was a bilateral one between the US and DPRK. (return to top)

2. US, Japan on DPRK Nuclear Talks

Yonhap (“WASHINGTON, TOKYO SET MAY DEADLINE FOR N.K. RETURN TO TALKS: PAPER”, 2005-05-05) reported that the US and Japan will begin discussing ways of taking the DPRK to the UN Security Council if Pyongyang shows no signs of returning to the six-way talks by the end of May, a Japanese newspaper reported Thursday. The Asahi Shimbun reported that US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi agreed on the need to resume the stalled talks to end the DPRK nuclear crisis as early as possible during their meeting on April 28.

(return to top) Kyodo News (“CHENEY, ABE DISCUSS GETTING N KOREA BACK TO 6-WAY TALKS”, 2005-05-05) reported that US Vice President Dick Cheney and Liberal Democratic Party Acting Secretary General Shinzo Abe agreed Wednesday on the need to step up efforts, especially by the PRC, to press the DPRK to resume the six-party talks on its nuclear ambitions by June. Abe said they agreed the two nations must advance their “strategic” dialogue to deal with issues, such as the recent anti-Japan moves in the PRC and Japan’s bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. (return to top)

3. US, PRC on DPRK Nuclear Talks

Reuters (“BUSH, HU EXPRESS CONCERN ABOUT NORTH KOREA”, 2005-05-05) reported that President George W. Bush and PRC President Hu Jintao expressed concern about DPRK on Thursday and vowed support for six-party negotiations aimed at stopping the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program, the White House said. “The two leaders reiterated their commitment to working together toward a nuclear-free peninsula while expressing concern about North Korea,” McClellan said.

(return to top)

4. ROK on PRC Role in DPRK Nuclear Talks

Agence France Presse (“SOUTH KOREA LOOKS AT CHINA TO DO MORE TO REVIVE SIX-WAY NUCLEAR TALKS”, 2005-05-05) reported that the ROK’s foreign minister, publicly frustrated over the stalled six-way talks aimed at ending the DPRK’s nuclear ambitions, said he was looking at the PRC to do more to revive the negotiations. “The prospects for resuming six-way talks are not that bright,” Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon said. “I will call on China to play a more active role (in getting North Korea back to the stalled nuclear talks) and also have in-depth talks with Japan to maintain cooperation.”

(return to top)

5. ROK on DPRK Nuclear Talks

The Associated Press (“CHANCE OF RESUMING NUCLEAR TALKS SAID SLIM”, 2005-05-05) reported that prospects are not bright for resuming stalled six-party talks over the DPRK’s nuclear weapons programs, and while Seoul wants to resolve the issue peacefully it is considering “all possibilities,” the ROK’s foreign minister said Wednesday. Ban Ki-moon did not elaborate on possibilities being considered, but his remarks reflected growing frustration over the DPRK’s refusal to return to disarmament negotiations. “North Korea should realize the current situation, in which the six-party talks are not taking place, cannot go on aimlessly,” Ban said. “Various recent situations have developed to a level that is worthy of considerable concern, and the prospects of the resumption of the six-party talks are not bright.”

(return to top)

6. Russia on DPRK Nuclear Talks

Yonhap (“RUSSIA TO PROPOSE TRILATERAL NUCLEAR TALKS WITH TWO KOREAS: REPORT”, 2005-05-05) reported that Moscow will propose holding three-party talks with Seoul and Pyongyang to resolve the DPRK’s nuclear weapons problem, a Russian radio station reported Thursday. A 30-month global dispute over the DPRK’s nuclear activities is expected to be the main topic of discussion as a Russian parliamentary delegation began a three-day trip to Pyongyang on Thursday.

(return to top)

7. ROK, Japan, PRC on DPRK Nuclear Talks

Korea Times (“THREE EAST ASIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS TO MEET IN KYOTO”, 2005-05-05) reported that with the region’s stability mired in difficulties due to their historical spats and the DPRK nuclear problem, top diplomats from the ROK, PRC and Japan are set to hold bilateral and trilateral talks in Kyoto, Japan, from Friday. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon on Thursday arrived in the ancient Japanese city to attend a ministerial session of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) slated for May 6-7, on the sidelines of which he is to have meetings with his PRC and Japanese counterparts. Officials said the foreign ministers’ meetings will largely be focused on ways to revive the stalled six-party talks on the DPRK’s nuclear weapons programs as well as to mend fences among the neighboring countries after the recent rows over shared history.

(return to top)

8. US on DPRK Nuclear Test, Missile Program

Dow Jones Newswires (“US WATCHING FOR N KOREA NUCLEAR TEST, NEW MISSILES-KYODO”, 2005-05-05) reproted that the DPRK may be developing a new type of missile and the US is closely watching for a possible DPRK nuclear test, a senior US defense official told visiting Japanese lawmakers on Wednesday, Kyodo News agency reported. US Deputy Defense Undersecretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Richard Lawless made the comments in two separate meetings with Japanese lawmakers at the Pentagon. Lawless warned that the situation has become even more tense after the DPRK declared that it possessed nuclear arms, the lawmakers told reporters after the talks, Kyodo said.

(return to top)

9. US on DPRK Nuclear Program

Agence France Presse (“US STRUGGLES WITH NKOREA, IRAN NUCLEAR STANDOFFS”, 2005-05-05) reported that despite years of efforts to keep the DPRK and Iran from developing nuclear weapons technology, the US and its allies have made little headway with few viable options on the horizon. Negotiations coupled with economic, diplomatic and security incentives have barely slowed Pyongyang’s nuclear arms program. The US has been tracking Pyongyang’s nuclear program for four decades but has failed to head it off, either with direct talks under Bill Clinton or President George W. Bush’s multilateral approach. With the DPRK reportedly holding enough nuclear material for at least half a dozen bombs, Bush has been unable to do much more than berate leader Kim Jong Il as an isolated “tyrant” and a “dangerous person.” Washington appears nearly resigned to the prospect of a nuclear-armed DPRK.

(return to top)

10. DPRK-Russian Relations

Yonhap (“RUSSIA’S MEDAL TO KIM JONG-IL SHOWS FRIENDSHIP WITH N.K.: ENVOY”, 2005-05-05) reported that Russia displayed its traditional friendship with the DPRK by awarding a war medal to DPRK leader Kim Jong-il, Russia’s top envoy to Pyongyang said this week, according to the DPRK’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The medal “is a token of appreciation of fighters who fought courageously in the struggle for peoples’ happiness, and shows solid and traditional friendship between Russians and North Koreans,” the KCNA quoted Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov as saying in a news conference on Wednesday in Russia’s embassy.

(return to top)

11. Inter-Korean Exchanges

Korea Times (“S-N EXCHANGES SURGE DESPITE NUKE TENSIONS”, 2005-05-05) reported that Inter-Korean business and social exchanges have surged this year despite worsening tensions over the DPRK’s nuclear weapons programs, according to government statistics released Thursday. The Unification Ministry said it approved applications for 11 organizations to operate in the inter-Korean cultural and social exchange field in the first three months of this year. It is the most applications ever approved in one quarter. Only 15 applications for social and cultural collaboration were approved in 2004 and 2003.

(return to top)

12. US on DPRK Defectors

Wall Street Journal (“NORTH KOREANS TEST U.S. ON ASYLUM”, 2005-05-05) reported that a wave of North Koreans sneaking illegally into the US in search of political asylum could end up testing the Bush administration’s pledge to champion human rights in the DPRK. About 100 North Koreans have arrived clandestinely in the US since President Bush signed the North Korea Human Rights Act last October. But none of them will be allowed to stay if they are caught or apply for asylum, according to US officials and in light of recent court rulings on DPRK asylum seekers in the US. Washington is reluctant to grant asylum to these North Koreans for fear of setting off a larger flood of refugees and angering the PRC, whose cooperation the US needs in the stalled six-party talks on DPRK’s nuclear-weapons program. The US is also wary of offending its ROK ally, which might feel rebuked if the US admits refugees who were already resettled in that democratic nation.

(return to top)

13. US Envoy on DPRK Human Rights

Donga Ilbo (“JAY LEFKOWITZ EMERGES AS STRONG CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO N. KOREA “, 2005-05-05) reported that Jay Lefkowitz, former deputy assistant to the President is being referred to as a strong candidate for the ambassador-level position of US special envoy on human rights in the DPRK within the State Department, a new post established to monitor and improve the human rights situation in the DPRK. On May 4, the New York Sun, a US daily newspaper, quoted an official of the government as saying, “Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will soon appoint the former White House assistant Lefkowitz as the special envoy for North Korea’s human rights.”

(return to top) Chosun Ilbo (“U.S. TENTATIVELY NAMES HARDLINER AS N.K. RIGHTS POINT MAN”, 2005-05-05) reported that officials connected with the DPRK human rights movement said Thursday the U.S. has tentatively decided to name former White House domestic policy advisor and noted neocon Jay Lefkowitz as special envoy for human rights in the DPRK. Lefkowitz, a lawyer by trade, served as deputy executive secretary of the Domestic Policy Council, director of Cabinet affairs and US representative to the UN Human Rights Commission, and is known to have the trust of the current president. (return to top)

14. ROK on ADB Aid to the DPRK

Chosun Ilbo (“HAN ASKS ADB TO LOOK KINDLY ON NORTH KOREA”, 2005-05-05) reported that the ROK Finance Minister Han Duck-soo asked the Asian Development Bank to look more favorably at the idea of providing aid to the DPRK, in a keynote address at the annual general meeting of the ADB in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday. He said the ADB needed to encourage the DPRK to join the bank by inviting the reclusive country to seminars, and to give Pyongyang more help in preparing for entry. Han called for the ADB to take a more active role in stimulating trade and investment in the region by strengthening financial cooperation and promoting free trade agreements, ensuring development and market integration of the Asia-Pacific region.

(return to top)

15. Inter-Korean Cultural Exchange

Korea Times (“DOCUMENTARY ON NK FOOD TO BE MADE”, 2005-05-05) reported that a documentary about DPRK cuisine will be made by a ROK and DPRK production company. The Koreans’ Reunification of Hana said Wednesday that they will make a documentary introducing the DPRK’s 100 most favorite dishes. The project was agreed to when the ROK delegates met their DPRK counterparts during the National Reconciliation Council last month, an official from the group said.

(return to top)

16. US on ROK-US Summit

Chosun Ilbo (“NO PLANS FOR MOSCOW SUMMIT WITH KOREA: WHITE HOUSE”, 2005-05-05) reported that White House National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley said Wednesday there was no chance of US President George W. Bush meeting with his ROK counterpart Roh Moo-hyun when both attend World War II victory celebrations in Moscow. “There really isn’t any time for [Bush] to meet with other world leaders. He is going to meet with President Putin as the chief executive of the host country, which you would expect, but there really are no plans for other bilateral meetings.” Hadley said Bush was likely to discuss the DPRK nuclear dispute with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

(return to top)

17. US on ROK-US Alliance

Donga Ilbo (“STRONG KOREA-U.S. ALLIANCE GUARANTEES KOREA’S FREEDOM “, 2005-05-05) reported that at the closed meeting on May 2, hosted by the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) in Washington DC, Acting Assistant Secretary Revere stated the concerns and interests of the US in regard to the ROK-US alliance, the US’s strategic flexibility, and the ROK’s role as a “balancer of peace” in Northeast Asia. Regarding President Roh Moo-hyun’s assertion to act as a balancer in Northeast Asia, Revere showed his understanding by saying that it is the ROK’s goal not to repeat its fate over the last 100 years, and that in another respect, it reflects the ROK’s ambition to play a bigger role in the Northeast Asia region and, further, in the international arena. However, Revere pointed out that although he understands that tragic history and painful past experiences sometimes impose a heavy burden on the Koreans, the ROK is now strongly allied with the US, which guarantees the ROK’s independence and freedom.

(return to top)

18. Indian-Japanese Relations

International Herald Tribune (“JAPAN WOOS INDIA – AND THE UN”, 2005-05-05) reported that Indians now expect trade with Japan to blossom from $4 billion to $20 billion in just five years. Japanese investment will boom from virtually nothing. Ironically, given Japan’s fury when India went nuclear in 1998, the two countries are now “partners against nuclear proliferation.” Now both countries have set their sights on becoming permanent members of the Security Council. India’s economy is doing well, Japan needs Asian partners to offset disgruntled PRC and, with cold war estrangement forgotten, even the US values India’s cooperation.

(return to top)

19. PRC on Anti-Japan Protests

The New York Times (“CHINESE POLICE HEAD OFF ANTI-JAPAN PROTESTS”, 2005-05-05) reported that thousands of police officers in Beijing and Shanghai stood guard on Wednesday in a show of force to ensure that one of the PRC’s most sensitive political anniversaries did not erupt into a new wave of angry protests against Japan. The May 4 anniversary was chosen by protesters as a potent moment to renew the anti-Japanese protests that spread across the PRC last month. But on Wednesday the government left little doubt that it was now determined to prevent any future protests and to defuse the rising nationalist anger against Japan. In Beijing busloads of police officers and riot troops stood guard at the Japanese Embassy, where last month several thousand protesters threw bottles and shouted anti-Japanese slogans.

(return to top)

20. EU on PRC Arms Ban

Agence France Presse (“EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF SAYS TIME TO END CHINA ARMS EMBARGO”, 2005-05-05) reported that European Union’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, pleaded the case for lifting an arms embargo against the PRC, a move strongly opposed by the US. Solana told a press briefing the embargo was an essential step to building trust with the PRC. “I think it’s a good idea,” Solana said of the EU proposal to lift the ban, “it should have been done a long time ago. Australia lifted the embargo in 1992.”

(return to top)

21. Cross Strait Relations

The Associated Press (“SECOND TAIWAN OPPOSITION LEADER IN CHINA”, 2005-05-05) reported that the second Taiwanese opposition leader to visit the PRC in less than a week arrived Thursday amid a flurry of PRC efforts to build ties with groups that want to unite Taiwan with the PRC. James Soong, head of Taiwan’s second-largest opposition party, the People First Party, said he hoped to ease tensions between the two sides. Soong began his visit in the western city of Xi’an, an ancient imperial capital, and was to fly to Beijing next week to meet with PRC President Hu Jintao. Soong affirmed his party’s opposition to Taiwan independence.

(return to top)

22. Hong Kong Judicial Independence

Los Angeles Times (“HONG KONG OVERTURNS FALUN GONG CONVICTIONS”, 2005-05-05) reported that in a case seen as a key test of judicial independence under PRC rule, Hong Kong’s top court overturned the convictions of eight followers of the Falun Gong spiritual group who were accused of assaulting and obstructing police during a 2002 protest. A summary of the decision said, “The freedom to demonstrate peacefully is a constitutional right.”

(return to top)