NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, September 27, 2007

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NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, September 27, 2007

NAPSNet Daily Report Thursday, September 27, 2007

I. NAPSNet

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. NAPSNet

1. Six Party Talks

Agence France-Presse (“US HOPES FOR NKOREA NUCLEAR ROAD MAP AS TALKS RESUME”, 2007-09-27) reported that US envoy Christopher Hill said talks on disarming the DPRK which opened could produce a road map for declaring and disabling its nuclear programmes as early as this weekend. “We are hoping that sometime tomorrow (Friday) we can circulate a text of a joint statement for this round and agree on a kind of road map that will take us to the end of the year,” Hill told journalists.

(return to top) Itar-Tass (“MANY PROBLEMS MAY EMERGE AT NEW ROUND OF 6-WAY TALKS-LOSYUKOV”, 2007-09-26) reported that head of the Russian delegation at the six-sided talks on the DPRK nuclear problem settlement Alexander Losyukov believes that “many problems may arise” at the forthcoming round of the talks. According to the Russian delegation head, “It is necessary first of all to assess prospects of the freezing process, denuclearisation and disabling” of DPRK nuclear facilities. In the view of Losyukov, representatives of Pyongyang “will be interested in the compensation measures fulfillment.” (return to top) Bloomberg (“NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR FORUM CLOSE TO AGREEMENT, ENVOY HILL SAYS”, 2007-09-27) reported that the six-nation forum trying to end the DPRK’s nuclear program agreed on “most of” the steps for Kim Jong Il’s government to disable all of its plants by the end of this year, Christopher Hill said. “Basically we’ve agreed on most of the disablement measures,” Hill, the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs, said at a briefing in Beijing. “We made some proposals for additional measures that we thought might be doable and we’ll see if it is possible.” (return to top)

2. DPRK Nuclear Program

Itar-Tass (“FM DENIES RUSSIA’S SUPPLIES OF CENTRIFUGE PARTS TO N KOREA”, 2007-09-27) reported that the Russian chief negotiator at the six-party talks on the DPRK Alexander Losyukov has denied as untrue the information that a Russian company supplied parts for gas centrifuges to Pyongyang. “I have not heard about this and believe it was unlikely to happen,” the Russian deputy foreign minister said.

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3. Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation

Chosun Ilbo (“TWO KOREA’S COULD BUILD HEAVY INDUSTRY COMPLEXES”, 2007-09-27) reported that the ROK government is thinking of setting up several more inter-Korean joint ventures in the DPRK in addition to the existing industrial complex in Kaesong. According to the Unification Ministry, the government is reviewing a proposal to jointly develop the DPRK cities of Nampo, Haeju, Najin, Sunbong, Wonsan and Shinuiju. A government official said the DPRK wants the establishment of heavy industry like shipyards, steel works and oil refineries instead of light industry for its economic development, and the inter-Korean summit could discuss it.

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4. DPRK on USFK

Korea Herald (“KIM JONG-IL AGREES TO U.S. TROOPS: KIM DJ”, 2007-09-27) reported that DPRK leader Kim Jong-il would allow US troops to be stationed on the Korean Peninsula even after the reunification of the two Koreas, former President Kim Dae-jung said. During an address at the Korea Society forum in New York on Tuesday, Kim said the DPRK leader had agreed to the idea during their summit in 2000.

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5. DPRK on Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Interfax (“JOINING SCO DOESN’T RANK AMONG N. KOREA’S CURRENT PRIORITIES – SOURCE”, 2007-09-27) reported that the DPRK will be closely following the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s activities, but is busy now tackling other, more pressing problems than that of becoming an SCO member. This statement was made by a source in the DPRK embassy in Moscow as he was commenting to Interfax on media speculation on whether the DPRK and other Asian countries could be drawn to the SCO.

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6. Japan – ROK Relations

Chosun Ilbo (“HOPES FOR SEOUL-TOKYO TIES AS FUKUDA LAUNCHES CABINET”, 2007-09-27) reported that the launch of the Fukuda administration has improved prospects for better Seoul-Tokyo relations. During his election campaign for the LDP leadership, Fukuda touched on visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which houses memorials to executed war criminals. “We don’t need to do something that other nations dislike, do we?” he asked rhetorically, hinting that one of the main obstacles to better relations with Seoul and Beijing could be removed. Fukuda is also expected to take a different approach to the DPRK. When he was chief cabinet secretary in 2002, he was in charge of behind-the-scenes negotiations that led to a meeting between Koizumi and Kim Jong-il to issue the Pyongyang Declaration.

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7. Japan – PRC Relations

Kyodo (“FUKUDA EYEING VISITING CHINA AT EARLY DATE “, 2007-09-27) reported that Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda intends to visit the PRC at an early date, former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori told PRC Premier Wen Jiabao. Wen told Mori that the PRC will consider arranging a visit to Japan by President Hu Jintao in the spring during the cherry blossom season, according to Japanese officials.

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8. Japan SDF Indian Ocean Mission

Agence France-Presse (“JAPAN’S NEW LEADER WINS SUPPORT FOR AFGHAN MISSION”, 2007-09-27) reported that the opposition, saying that officially pacifist Japan should not be part of “American wars,” has vowed to end the naval mission in the Indian Ocean, under which Japan provides free fuel to warjets and ships of US-led forces. Fukuda has also pledged to extend the mission. Ambassadors or senior diplomats from 11 nations met at the Pakistani ambassador’s residence and issued a joint statement praising Japan’s “unique and vital contribution” to the “war on terrorism.”

(return to top) Kyodo (“DPJ MULLS AID TO AFGHAN GROUND TROOPS IN PLACE OF REFUELING SUPPORT”, 2007-09-27) reported that the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan is considering whether it is possible for Japan to extend logistic support to the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, in Afghanistan as part of antiterrorism operations, DPJ lawmakers said. The DPJ is considering the possibility as an alternative to Japan’s current refueling mission in the Indian Ocean as part of US-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan. (return to top)

9. Japan Space Program

Agence France-Presse (“JAPAN PLANS TWO MORE MOON MISSIONS”, 2007-09-27) reported that Japan plans to carry out two more missions to the moon and then collaborate internationally to put a man on the lunar surface, a Japanese space scientist said. Asia’s biggest economy this month successfully launched Kaguya (or Selene), its first lunar orbiter, stealing a march over the PRC and India which are planning unmanned missions of their own to the moon. Japan’s next mission in 2012 will aim at landing a robot on the moon’s surface, followed by one in 2018 that will seek to return successfully to earth, said Manabu Kato, chief scientist overseeing the Kaguya project.

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10. Cross Strait Relations

The Associated Press (“PEACEFUL REUNIFICATION WITH TAIWAN ON CHINESE AGENDA”, 2007-09-27) reported that the PRC said it would discuss its policy to achieve peaceful reunification with Taiwan at a key party meeting next month, but also issued a stern warning at the same time, state media said. “The 17th Chinese Communist Party Congress will decide on the guiding thoughts and main tasks regarding the Taiwan Straits situation and its recent development trend,” Li Weiyi, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office, was quoted saying by the China Daily. “It will be of great importance to promote the development of cross-Straits relations and push forward the peaceful reunification process.”

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11. Sino-Russian Relations

Xinhua (“CHINA, RUSSIA VOW TO STRENGTHEN STRATEGIC TRUST”, 2007-09-27) reported that the PRC will work with Russia to enhance strategic mutual trust and substantial cooperation to advance the PRC-Russian strategic partnership of cooperation to a new stage, PRC President Hu Jintao said. In a meeting with Russian Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov, Hu said the PRC and Russia had maintained sound relations and the cooperation made progress. “The Year of China” in Russia had enriched Sino-Russian relations.

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12. PRC Military Transparency

China Daily (“MORE TRANSPARENCY WILL BENEFIT THE PLA”, 2007-09-27) reported that the PRC government recently announced that it will release information about the country’s military budget each year, including how the funds are used. It will also release information about seven conventional weapons. The move reflects the PRC’s sincere desire to make its military more transparent and also indicates that the effort to do so is picking up speed. Against a background of an increasingly multi-polar world and competing strategic interests, mutual trust between countries, particularly between their military forces, is of vital importance to world peace and stability.

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13. PRC Environment

Xinhua (“CHINA APPROVES FIVE-YEAR PLAN FOR ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION”, 2007-09-27) reported that the PRC’s State Council has approved in principle a five-year environmental protection plan that sets out guidelines, major tasks and measures for the government to tackle pollution. The plan, approved during an executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao, has put “pollution control and prevention” as its focus with the aim of achieving the environmental protection targets set by the government last year.

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