NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, February 15, 2005

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NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, February 15, 2005

NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, February 15, 2005

I. United States

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. United States

1. US on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Chosun Ilbo (“U.S. STEPS UP PRESSURE ON PYONGYANG”, 2005-02-15) reported that the US on Monday said it was holding off a direct response to an announcement by the DPRK that it has nuclear weapons, which the US described as negotiation tactics. Instead, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told her South Korean counterpart Ban Ki-moon that Washington would push for a resumption of six-party talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear issue while continuing multidirectional pressure on the DPRK.

(return to top) Washington Post (“U.S. URGES NATIONS NOT TO REWARD N. KOREA “, 2005-02-15) reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with her ROK counterpart yesterday as the Bush administration urged the DPRK’s neighbors not to provide incentives to the government in Pyongyang to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear programs. “We and others agree that North Korea is making a mistake by staying away. We and others agree that one should not reward that mistake,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters after Rice met with Ban Ki Moon, the ROK’s minister of foreign affairs and trade. (return to top) New York Times (“RICE ASSURES SOUTH KOREAN OF U.S. PRESSURE ON NORTH”, 2005-02-15) reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a meeting with ROK foreign minister on Monday, pledged to continue using diplomatic means to pressure the DPRK to end its nuclear program and give up the nuclear weapons it claimed last week that it possesses. Richard A. Boucher, the State Department spokesman, said: “I think you will see a very active pace of discussions between the various parties to the six-party talks. We’ve already been in touch with many of the other parties through our embassies in the capital, and we’ll continue to pursue an active diplomacy aimed at making these six-party talks work.” (return to top) Chosun Ilbo (“‘THREE N. KOREA PRINCIPLES’ BLAZE TRAIL OF PUZZLEMENT”, 2005-02-15) reported that Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon’s account of three principles for coping with the DPRK’s nuclear armaments cited by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in their meeting on Monday had observers scratching their heads. Ban said Rice laid down three principles – that a collapse of six-party talks on the DPRK’s nuclear program is unacceptable, that the Korean peninsula must remain denuclearized, and that Pyongyang must return to the six-way talks fast. (return to top) Voice of America News (“CONGRESSMAN URGES CHANGE IN US TONE WITH NORTH KOREA”, 2005-02-15) reported that a key congressional critic of the DPRK says he believes the regime might be persuaded to give up its nuclear weapons development if the US changes, the “tone” of its approach toward the DPRK. Tom Lantos, top Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, says he believes Pyongyang’s announcement last week that it has nuclear weapons is more a reflection of a familiar negotiating strategy. “While it is always difficult to ascertain North Korean intentions, I believe that this latest announcement was simply the traditional bargaining move on their part, not an irrevocable decision.” (return to top)

2. ROK on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Reuters (“SEOUL DOUBTS N.KOREA HAS NUKES, DESPITE CLAIM”, 2005-02-15) reported that the ROK’s top policymaker on DPRK said Monday DPRK’s claim to have nuclear weapons was unproven and Seoul’s controversial engagement policy with the DPRK would remain, at least for now. “There is no doubt that North Korea has 10 to 14 kg (22 to 31 pounds) of plutonium, but there is no evidence that the North has turned it into plutonium bombs,” Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young told parliament Monday.

(return to top) The Associated Press (“NORTH KOREA’S REVELATION RAISES QUESTIONS”, 2005-02-15) reported that the DPRK’s revelation that it has atomic weapons was a slap in the face of ROK President Roh Moo-hyun and has emboldened critics to call for a reassessment of his policy of engagement with the DPRK. Opposition lawmakers have lashed out at the government for being too soft on the DPRK in the latest crisis and for saying it will continue aid despite Pyongyang’s announcement last week that it has built nuclear weapons and won’t participate in disarmament talks. (return to top) Chosun Ilbo (“NEW AMBASSADOR TO U.S. DISCUSSES BILATERAL TIES, N. KOREAN NUKES”, 2005-02-15) reported that former JoongAng Ilbo chairman Hong Seok-hyun held a press conference following his formal appointment as Korean ambassador to the US on Tuesday. Hong said the most effective means to resolve the DPRK nuclear issue is cooperation between the US and the ROK. “I think the most important thing I have to do is develop the Korea-US alliance so that it appears healthy and balanced,” he said. (return to top)

3. Japan, US on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Kyodo News (“JAPAN, US LIKELY TO DISCUSS N KOREA NUKES IN TALKS”, 2005-02-15) reported that Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said Japan and the US are likely to discuss the DPRK nuclear issue during top security talks scheduled Saturday in the US, Kyodo News reported Tuesday. “The security environment involving the Korean Peninsula is a theme that must be tackled with a common awareness, so I believe this type of hot issue and the situation in which a statement was issued (by the DPRK) will naturally be discussed,” Machimura said.

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4. EU on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Korea Herald (“N. KOREAN SABER-RATTLING CONCERN FOR EUROPE”, 2005-02-15) reported that the DPRK’s latest saber-rattling is not only keeping its Asian neighbors and the US on their toes, but is also precipitating deep concern in the European community, according to the ROK’s top diplomats to member nations of the European Union. “It is extremely regretful for Europe that North Korea made such a move and urge that they must resolve the issue as the only way to come out of global isolation,” Ambassador Ju Chul-ki to France said. “All European nations, including France, share this common stance.”

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5. US on DPRK Nuclear Program

Yonhap (“PEACEFUL NUKE WORK SHOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE TO N.K., IRAN: U.S.”, 2005-02-15) reported that citing a need for stricter nuclear non-proliferation controls, a US official recently called for an international ban on the DPRK and Iran over their peaceful nuclear activities. Stephen Rademaker, US assistant secretary for arms control, said in a panel discussion hosted by the US Arms Control Association, a non-partisan organization, on Feb. 3, that the DPRK and Iran should be excluded from other countries that comply with the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and only use nuclear materials for energy, experiments and other peaceful purposes.

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6. ROK on DPRK Nuclear Program

Agence France-Presse (“NKOREA MAY HAVE NUKES BUT NO WARHEADS FOR MISSILES: S KOREAN INTELLIGENCE”, 2005-02-15) reported that the ROK’s intelligence agency said Tuesday that the DPRK may possess nuclear weapons but probably lacks the technical know-how to mount them on missiles. “North Korea might have developed one or two nuclear bombs, but if it did, it may not have the technology to launch them on a missile,” the NIS report said, according to Yonhap.

(return to top) Joongang Ilbo (“INTELLIGENCE SERVICE CALLS NUKES PRIMITIVE AT BEST”, 2005-02-15) reported that in a report to the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee yesterday, the National Intelligence Service said that even if the DPRK has managed to produce nuclear weapons, they would be of primitive design and could only be transported to their targets by bombers, not by missiles. But the officers said Pyeongyang is not in possession of crucial technology for reducing the weight of the nuclear payload enough that it could be mounted in a missile warhead. (return to top)

7. Japan on DPRK Nuclear Program

Yonhap (“NORTH KOREA UNLIKELY TO CONDUCT NUKE TEST: JAPANESE EXPERT”, 2005-02-15) reported that while the world’s attention is on the DPRK after last week’s announcement that it has nuclear weapons, a Japanese expert has said the DPRK will not conduct a nuclear test because of physical limitations. Satoshi Morimoto, a professor at Takushoku University, ruled out the DPRK carrying out a nuclear test in a special lecture at the general meeting of the Council of Nuclear Fuel Cycle, a Japanese non-profit organization promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy, on June 13, 2003. Nuclear testing is normally done underground, but it would fatally damage the DPRK’s ecosystem, he said.

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8. IAEA on DPRK Nuclear Program

Kyodo News (“IAEA ASSUMES N. KOREA CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 1-2 NUKE WEAPONS ANNUALLY”, 2005-02-15) reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency projects that the DPRK’s nuclear-processing facility has been in almost full operation since 2004 and is capable of producing some 10 kilograms of plutonium per year, which can be converted into one or two nuclear weapons, IAEA officials and diplomatic sources said Tuesday. The UN nuclear watchdog has concluded that the DPRK has extracted plutonium from spent nuclear fuel rods in early 2003 and 2004, the IAEA officials said earlier.

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9. PRC on DPRK Nuclear Talks

Los Angeles (“CHARM, FEAR MAY HELP CHINA LURE N. KOREA BACK TO ARMS TALKS”, 2005-02-15) reported that the PRC is likely to employ a combination of incentives, arguments and mild scare tactics in coming weeks as it tries to persuade the DPRK to resume negotiations aimed at ending its nuclear weapons program. But it won’t be easy to succeed, analysts say, given the complexities of dealing with the DPRK. Probably the greatest incentive the PRC can offer the DPRK is an enhanced aid package, possibly with the ROK’s help, essentially a sweetener to convince the DPRK to rejoin six-nation talks.

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10. ROK on DPRK Nuclear Talks

Yonhap (“N. KOREA MAY RETURN TO TALKS AFTER MARCH, APRIL: GOV’T OFFICIAL”, 2005-02-15) reported that the DPRK may decide to return to six-way talks to diffuse tension surrounding its nuclear development after March or April, a government official here said Tuesday. The official speaking under the customary condition of anonymity said Pyongyang’s statement that it possessed nuclear weapons and would not return the the negotiating table last week meant that a “cooling off” period may be needed.

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11. ROK on Inter – Korean Military Talks

Associated Press (“SOUTH KOREA PROPOSES MILITARY TALKS WITH NORTH KOREA AFTER NUCLEAR ANNOUNCEMENT”, 2005-02-15) reported that the ROK has proposed high-level military talks with the DPRK, focusing on ways to avoid accidental clashes now that the DPRK has admitted to having nuclear weapons. The ROK’s defense ministry said the talks would be a way of engaging the DPRK even as it refuses to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear program. “North Korea has yet to respond to our proposal, but we are expecting the North side to make a sincere and positive response,” the ministry said Tuesday.

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12. US, ROK on PRC Role in DPRK Nuclear Talks

Korea Times (“S. KOREA, US SEEK BIGGER ROLE FOR CHINA IN RESUMING NUCLEAR TALKS”, 2005-02-15) reported that while pushing for bilateral and multilateral discussions among the other five nations involved in the regional talks, Seoul and Washington agreed to ask for a more active role of the PRC to persuade the DPRK to return to the bargaining table. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon said “China’s role is very important,” he told reporters after meeting Rice in the US.

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13. US on DPRK Nuclear Export

Yonhap (“N.K. UNLIKELY TO EXPORT NUCLEAR WEAPONS: U.S. INSTITUTE”, 2005-02-15) reported that the DPRK is currently unlikely to export any nuclear weapons in its possession, an American institute said in a report. The Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at the Monterey Institute of International Studies compiled the report and posted it on its Web site (http://cns.miis.edu) on Saturday, the day after the DPRK issued a statement in which it claimed to have nuclear weapons.

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14. DPRK on Relations with the US

Yonhap (“N. KOREA WARNS OF ‘MERCILESS’ STRIKE AGAINST POSSIBLE U.S. INVASION”, 2005-02-15) reported that against a backdrop of last week’s announcement that it has nuclear weapons, the DPRK pledged Tuesday that it will wage an all-out counter attack against the US if it invades the country. “If the United States takes the road of invasion, we will employ all our potentials and counter the attacks with merciless and all-destroying strikes to achieve the final victory,” said Choe Tae-bok, secretary of the central committee of the Workers’ Party, said in a celebratory speech in a ceremony marking the DPRK leader Jong-il’s 63th birthday, which falls on Wednesday.

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15. DPRK Missile Technology

Chosun Ilbo (“NORTH KOREA DEVELOPS NEW SCUD MISSILES”, 2005-02-15) reported that the DPRK has developed an upgraded Scud missile, dubbed the Scud-ER, with an estimated range of 600 – 1,000 kilometers. The missiles have a longer range and are more accurate than existing Scud missiles. A government source said Monday that US spy satellites discovered the new Scuds one or two years ago, and were currently trying to determine whether they have been deployed. The source said the missiles are capable of striking targets in nearly all of the ROK even from bases in rear areas of the DPRK.

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16. DPRK on Kim Jong-Il’s Birthday

Yonhap (“EVENTS TO CELEBRATE NORTH KOREAN LEADER’S BIRTHDAY”, 2005-02-15) reported that despite the growing tension over the DPRK’s acknowledged nuclear capability, Pyongyang is in a festive mood as people prepare to celebrate the birthday of the country’s leader Kim Jong Il, according to the DPRK’s news media. “Our General is a great man of extraordinary caliber, patriot and hero that history has never known before,” Radio Pyongyang said in a radio program monitored here on Monday. “It’s our nation’s pride and honour to have the unparalleled great man acclaimed endlessly by the all the people as our leader.”

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17. Japan on Sanctions for DPRK

The Associated Press (“JAPAN MULLING POSSIBLE SANCTIONS AGAINST N KOREA-OFFICIAL”, 2005-02-15) reported that Japan could tighten control over private money transfers to the DPRK over its failure to resolve the cases of Japanese citizens kidnapped by the DPRK, the foreign minister said Tuesday. Nobutaka Machimura’s comments in parliament reflected the building domestic pressure for retaliation against the DPRK over the abductions, as well as fears the reclusive nation is amassing a nuclear arsenal.

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18. Japan on DPRK Aid

Kyodo News (“JAPAN GROUP REPORTS NORTH KOREA SELLING AID SUPPLIES ON MARKET”, 2005-02-15) reported that a Japanese group supporting people fleeing the DPRK said Tuesday that Pyongyang authorities were selling on the market supplies the international community provided to the country in the aftermath of a massive train explosion last year. The group, called Rescue the North Korean People Urgent Action Network, or RENK, says it videotaped scenes of supplies being sold at high prices on the market, and is calling on international organizations and other aid donors to step up monitoring on the flow of aid materials to the DPRK.

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19. US on Anti-Dictatorship Bill

Joongang Ilbo (“PYEONGYANG A TARGET OF ANTI-DICTATORSHIP BILL”, 2005-02-15) reported that the DPRK is one of the unnamed targets of a bill to be presented to the US House of Representatives next month, titled “End Dictatorship and Assist Democracy.” Though the bill does not target the DPRK or any other nation by name, it would restrict the export of high-tech products with potential military applications to countries deemed dictatorships.

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20. US Missile Defense

The Associated Press (“MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM FAILS 2ND TEST IN A ROW”, 2005-02-15) reported that a test of the national missile defense system failed Monday when an interceptor missile did not launch from its island base in the Pacific Ocean, the military said. It was the second failure in months for the experimental program. A spokesman for the agency, Rick Lehner, said the early indications was that there was a malfunction with the ground support equipment at the test range on Kwajalein Island, not with the interceptor missile itself.

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21. Japan Missile Defense

The Associated Press (“JAPAN’S CABINET OKS MISSILE DEFENSE BILL”, 2005-02-15) reported that Japan’s defense chief could order the military to shoot down incoming missiles under legislation endorsed by the Cabinet on Tuesday, less than a week after the DPRK claimed that it has built nuclear weapons. The bill is part of sweeping changes to Japan’s defense policy launched by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi long before the DPRK announcement. Critics say the reforms are dismantling the country’s post-World War II policy of pacifism.

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22. Japan on Kyoto Treaty

Agence France-Presse (“JAPAN’S FM URGES US TO JOIN KYOTO TREATY”, 2005-02-15) reported that Japan said it would urge its ally the US and other hesitant nations to join the Kyoto Protocol aimed at slowing global warming, on the eve of the landmark treaty taking effect. “The countries (outside the treaty) say they will take measures on their own but I wonder if they can work,” Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said. “We want to continue urging them to join the protocol,” he said.

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23. Sino – Japanese Territorial Dispute

Kyodo News (“CHINESE ACTIVISTS PROTEST JAPANESE TAKEOVER OF SENKAKU LIGHTHOUSE”, 2005-02-15) reported that around 60 PRC activists protested at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Tuesday over Japan’s assumption of ownership of a lighthouse built by Japanese nationalists on one of the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Outside the embassy, they waved banners and shouted slogans, demanding Japan rescind its decision to take over the lighthouse from a rightwing organization and to respect China’s ownership of the islands, which are called the Diaoyu Islands by the PRC.

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24. PRC, Russia on Darfur

Reuters (“RUSSIA, CHINA EXPECTED TO OPPOSE U.S. OVER DARFUR”, 2005-02-15) reported that the US and its allies are expected to face opposition from Russia and the PRC in the U.N. Security Council for targeted sanctions to pressure government, militia and rebel forces to end the bloodshed in Sudan’s Darfur region. Council sources anticipate opposition from Russia and the PRC, which have veto power, as well as Algeria. All three have rejected previous calls for sanctions to give Khartoum more time to rein in a pro-government militia, blamed for much of the killings, rape and pillaging.

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25. PRC Official Surrenders

Kyodo News (“CHINA OFFICIAL WHO GAMBLED AWAY GOV’T FUNDS IN N. KOREA SURRENDERS”, 2005-02-15) reported that a PRC transportation official suspected of losing 2.765 million yuan (about $334,000) in public funds by gambling at a DPRK casino has surrendered to Chinese authorities, local media reported Tuesday. On Feb. 7, Cai Haowen, 41, chief of the Transportation Management Bureau of Yanbian city in Jilin Province, surrendered to an anticorruption team formed by local police and prosecutors, the Beijing News reported.

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26. PRC Mine Blast

The Associated Press (“CHINA MINE ACCIDENT KILLS MORE THAN 200”, 2005-02-15) reported that a gas explosion in a coal mine in the PRC’s northeast killed at least 203 miners, the government said Tuesday, in the deadliest such disaster reported since Communist rule began in 1949. The explosion on Monday afternoon at the Sunjiawan mine in Fuxim, in Liaoning Province, also injured 22 miners and trapped another 13 underground, the official New China News Agency reported. The cause of the blast, which occurred 794 feet underground, was under investigation, it said.

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27. Mongolia on Relations with the US

The New York Times (“FOR MONGOLIANS, E IS FOR ENGLISH, F IS FOR FUTURE”, 2005-02-15) reported that even here on the edge of the nation’s capital, in this settlement of dirt tracks, plank shanties and the circular felt yurts of herdsmen, the sounds of English can be heard from the youngest of students – part of a nationwide drive to make it the primary foreign language learned in Mongolia, a landlocked expanse of open steppe sandwiched between Russia and the PRC. “We are looking at Singapore as a model,” Tsakhia Elbegdorj, Mongolia’s prime minister, said in an interview, his own American English honed in graduate school at Harvard. “We see English not only as a way of communicating, but as a way of opening windows on the wider world.”

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