NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, October 26, 2006
- 1. ROK on DPRK Sanctions
2. ROK on DPRK Nuclear Talks
3. ROK on DPRK Nuclear Program
4. Japan on DPRK Nuclear Talks, Sanctions
5. PRC, France on DPRK Nuclear Issue
6. PRC on DPRK Sanctions
7. US on DPRK Nuclear Talks
8. US on DPRK Sanctions
9. ROK DPRK Policy
10. US-ROK Trade Relations
11. US on Cross Strait Relations
12. PRC-France Relations
13. PRC-India Relations
14. PRC African Diplomacy
15. PRC Anti-Corruption Measures
II. CanKor
- 16. Report #264
I. NAPSNet
1. ROK on DPRK Sanctions
Joongang Ilbo (“SEOUL BARS SOME VISITS FROM ACROSS THE DMZ”, 2006-10-26) reported that the ROK will ban the entry to the ROK of DPRKoreans linked to its nuclear program in the first tangible reaction to the DPRK’s Oct. 9 nuclear test. Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said that in addition to barring the entry of such people the government would also bar any financial transfers linked to them. The minister said that the ROK was not considering a ban on shipments of luxury goods to the DPRK but would do so if specific items were designated by a UN sanctions committee as falling under the terms of the UN resolution.
2. ROK on DPRK Nuclear Talks
Yonhap (“SEOUL CALLS ON PYONGYANG TO RESUME 6-WAY TALKS UNCONDITIONALLY”, 2006-10-26) reported that the ROK called on the DPRK to unconditionally return to international negotiations over its nuclear weapons program, reaffirming its support for a United Nations sanctions resolution on the DPRK. “North Korea’s nuclear test was a serious threat to stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia,” a spokesman for the Unification Ministry said. “If the North worries about the future of our nation, it must immediately return to the six-party talks without worsening the situation any further,” the spokesman added.
3. ROK on DPRK Nuclear Program
The Associated Press (“S. KOREA: NORTH CAN MAKE 7 NUCLEAR BOMBS “, 2006-10-26) reported that the ROK estimates the DRPK has enough plutonium to make as many as seven nuclear bombs, according to a Defense Ministry report disclosed Thursday. The DPRK is also working to make a small, lightweight nuclear warhead that can be mounted atop a ballistic missile, the ministry said in the internal assessment.
4. Japan on DPRK Nuclear Talks, Sanctions
Kyodo (“SANCTIONS TO STAY UNLESS N. KOREA ABANDONS NUKE PROGRAM: JAPAN”, 2006-10-26) reported that Japan said that even if the DPRK returns to stalled multilateral negotiations, sanctions will not be lifted unless Pyongyang abandons its nuclear arms development program. The top government spokesman said the DPRK’s unconditional return to the six-party talks will be a “starting point.” He also reiterated that Pyongyang must resolve its past abductions of Japanese nationals by returning all abductees.
5. PRC, France on DPRK Nuclear Issue
Kyodo (“CHINA, FRANCE URGE N. KOREA TO ABIDE BY DENUKE COMMITMENT “, 2006-10-26) reported that the leaders of the PRC and France expressed “serious concern” over the DPRK’s Oct. 9 nuclear test and urged Pyongyang to abide by its prior commitment to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. The statement, signed by Hu and Chirac, expressed support for an Oct. 14 U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for sanctions against the DPRK and urged Pyongyang to abide by its commitment for the denuclearization of the peninsula.
6. PRC on DPRK Sanctions
International Herald Tribune (“CHINA’S KOREAN BORDER STAYS OPEN “, 2006-10-26) reported that the PRC remains the DPRK’s most important aid donor and oil supplier. But conversely, the PRC is now importing growing amounts of coal and electricity from the DPRK. PRC entrepreneurs, meanwhile, are starting to buy shares in DPRK mining operations and, in one case, trying to gain access to the Sea of Japan by leasing a DPRK port as a potential shipping hub. The upswing in PRC economic activity is one of the reasons that the PRC has sent mixed signals about how aggressive it will be in inspecting border trade to meet the UN sanctions.
(return to top) Donga Ilbo (“2 CHINESE BANKS FROZE NORTH ACCOUNTS “, 2006-10-26) reported that Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported that major banks in the PRC border city of Dandong between the DPRK and PRC froze foreign exchange transactions through accounts opened by individuals of DPRK nationality and DPRK companies. This is causing disruptions in foreign exchange payments between the PRC and DPRK, and more people are reportedly choosing to deal with cash directly, and not through banks. (return to top)
7. US on DPRK Nuclear Talks
Agence France Presse (“SIX-PARTY TALKS ONLY ROUTE FOR US DIALOGUE WITH NORTH KOREA: HILL “, 2006-10-26) reported that stalled six-party talks had to restart for the US to talk to the DPRK, following the isolated regime’s nuclear test earlier this month, US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said. Hill was asked about calls for the US to engage in direct dialogue with the DPRK following the October 9 declared nuclear test.
8. US on DPRK Sanctions
Bloomberg (“U.S. MULLS WARSHIPS FOR N. KOREA BAN, JAPAN DEFENSE CHIEF SAYS “, 2006-10-26) reported that the US government hasn’t decided on using warships to enforce on the DPRK sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council, Japan’s Defense Agency Chief Fumio Kyuma said. The Japanese government is in contact with the US and will cooperate on how best to implement sanctions the council approved on Oct. 14, Kyuma said at a news conference today.
9. ROK DPRK Policy
Chosun Ilbo (“NEW FACES, SAME SECURITY POLICY”, 2006-10-26) reported that the government’s foreign affairs and security lineup will be fully reshuffled early next month, but the policies are to remain the same, the DPRK’s nuclear test notwithstanding. Cheong Wa Dae made it clear that Unification Minister Lee Jeong-sook’s resignation should not be read as the minister taking the fall and that only some retouches will be added to existing policy.
10. US-ROK Trade Relations
Yonhap (“MOMENTUM SLOWS AT SOUTH KOREA-U.S. FREE TRADE TALKS”, 2006-10-26) reported that with two full days left before ending their latest round of free trade talks, the ROK and the US are shifting their focus to the next round after making little progress on agriculture and other sensitive areas, officials said. “I’ve lowered my expectations for the fourth round,” a senior ROK delegation member said as he headed into a penultimate day of talks.
11. US on Cross Strait Relations
Agence France-Presse (“US PUSHES FOR TAIWAN TO PASS ARMS PACKAGE “, 2006-10-26) reported that the de facto US ambassador to Taipei Stephen Young sternly asked the island’s parliament to approve a controversial arms package, in comments that irked Taiwanese legislators. Young, who has recently returned from the US, said that the message from Washington was that “Taiwan needs to pass the robust defense budget in this fall’s legislative session.”
12. PRC-France Relations
Agence France-Presse (“BILLION-DOLLAR CONTRACTS SIGNED AS FRENCH, CHINESE LEADERS MEET “, 2006-10-26) reported that the leaders of France and the PRC oversaw the signing of multi-billion-dollar business deals at talks that touched on nuclear crises in the DPRK and Iran and an EU arms embargo on Beijing. “We have met to strengthen our economic and commercial cooperation, notably in the areas of energy, aviation, space and transportation,” Hu said after the talks.
13. PRC-India Relations
Xinhua (“CHINA READY TO BOOST PARTNERSHIP WITH INDIA”, 2006-10-26) reported that the PRC is ready to join hands with India to further boost PRC-India strategic partnership, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. The PRC is happy to see the progress of PRC-India ties, which is in the interests of both peoples, he said.
14. PRC African Diplomacy
The Financial Times (“CHINA DEFENDS ITS EXPANSION INTO AFRICA “, 2006-10-26) reported that the PRC has rejected criticism it is ignoring environmental and anti-corruption standards in its courtship of Africa ahead of an unprecedented summit in Beijing involving more than 40 leaders from the continent. The PRC said that all 48 African countries invited to the two-day summit next week would send representatives, with most confirming their heads of state would attend.
15. PRC Anti-Corruption Measures
The New York Times (“CHINA’S CORRUPTION INQUIRY TARGETS BEIJING”, 2006-10-26) reported that a widening PRC anti-corruption probe has targeted Beijing’s party leaders, a sign that President Hu Jintao intends to continue removing officials he considers insufficiently loyal, people told about the leadership’s planning said. Some 300 Communist Party investigators have been examining property deals and procurement practices in the capital city since at least late September and have uncovered suspicious dealings that implicate top PRC leaders.
II. CanKor
16. Report #264
CanKor (“FOCUS: UN Security Council Sanctions”, 2006-10-26) Predictably, the DPRK’s nuclear test has been followed by further sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council, with additional measures implemented by the USA, Japan and Australia. We begin this full-edition CanKor FOCUS: “UN Security Council Sanctions” with an historical perspective. Julia Choi and Karin Lee of the US National Committee on North Korea (NCNK) have produced a comprehensive account of UN and US sanctions dating from 1995 to 2006. This is followed by a BBC listing of sanctions against the DPRK that were already in place before the latest UNSC Resolution, and an Associated Press summary of sanctions being imposed after the UNSC Resolution. Among the many statements that followed the unanimous decision on Resolution 1718, we present those of Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay, the Council of the European Union, and the DPRK Foreign Ministry. Our section on CANADIAN OPINION includes a retired admiral’s reaction to Foreign Minister MacKay’s assertion that Canada would stand with its allies to enforce United Nations sanctions against the DPRK; a paper by Canadian academic Wenran Jiang explaining why the DPRK “won’t blink in the game of nuclear chicken”; and article explaining what North Korea wants by Canadian businessman Maurice Strong, former special envoy to the DPRK of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan; and two letters to the editor of the Toronto Star one by a board member of the Canada-DPR Korea Association, the other by a member of Canadian Physicians for Global Survival. CORRECTION: We apologize for incorrectly describing “A Nuclear North Korea: Where Do We Go From Here?” in the last issue of CanKor (#263). The author, Marcus Noland, writes as follows: “Thank you for your interest in my work. However, I think that you have seriously mischaracterized my position with regard to proliferation risks, indeed I think that you have it exactly backwards: the threat of a regional arms race or proliferation to other states is HIGHER than with respect to non-state actors.”