I. NAPSNet

1. DPRK-Iran Relations

Deutsche Presse Agentur (“TEHERAN OFFERS NORTH KOREA OIL IN EXCHANGE FOR ROCKET TECHNOLOGY”, 2005-11-26) reported that Iran is seeking to strengthen its ties with the DPRK by offering Pyongyang a comprehensive economic aid program as part of co-operation between the two countries on rocket development, the weekly Spiegel reported Saturday. Teheran wants to work together with the DPRK on the development of nuclear-armed rockets, Spiegel reported citing western intelligence sources. An Iranian envoy has already promised the DPRK substantial supplies of free oil and natural gas that could help the country through the winter.

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2. Inter-Korean Relations

Yonahp News (“SENIOR PARLIAMENTARY MEMBER TO VISIT N. KOREA “, 2005-11-29) reported that a ROK parliamentary leader will make a four-day visit to Pyongyang from Wednesday to discuss library exchanges and related matters with DPRK academics, his aide said Tuesday. Shin Ki-nam, chief of the Intelligence Committee at the National Assembly, is expected to ask the DPRK to take part in next year’s general conference of the World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) to be held in August in Seoul. He will visit the DPRK in his capacity as the head of the preparatory organizing committee for the library meeting.

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3. DPRK-US Relations

Yonhap News (“U.S. RAISING TENSION BY ENTERING JOINT ADMINISTRATION AREAS: N.K. “, 2005-11-29) reported that the DPRK military accused the US of raising tension along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) by entering the joint administration areas that is managed by the two Koreas. The accusation, released by the Korean Central News Agency, said that US military personnel have entered special areas near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). It said such a move could raise tension and increase the chances of a confrontation.

(return to top) The Associated Press (“ALLEGED US SLANDER CAMPAIGN KEY OBSTACLE AT NUCLEAR TALKS: NORTH KOREA”, 2005-11-29) reported that the DPRK on Tuesday accused the US of creating a “decisive obstacle” to progress at nuclear disarmament talks by allegedly stepping up a slander campaign against the nation. “It is unimaginable to discuss the abandonment of nuclear (weapons) amid the unprecedented US offensive against us,” Korean Central News Agency said in a commentary. “In the end, the US offensive becomes a decisive obstacle to the progress of the six-way talks.” The DPRK said on Tuesday this raises concern in Pyongyang about whether Washington will implement a joint statement agreed on at the talks in September, when the DPRK agreed to disarm in exchange for aid and security guarantees. (return to top)

4. DPRK-Russian Relations

RIA Novosti (“RUSSIA MAY SUPPLY ELECTRICITY TO CHINA, N., S. KOREA”, 2005-11-29) reported that Russia may begin exporting electricity to the PRC, the DPRK and the ROK, the deputy board chairman of Russia’s electricity monopoly said Tuesday. United Energy System’s Leonid Drachevsky said Russia is proposing to build a power line from Russia’s Far East carrying 800 MWs of electric energy to the DPRK. The energy would replace electricity supplies from the ROK and the PRC.

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5. USDA on DPRK Food Production

Yonhap News (“USDA ESTIMATES NORTH KOREA’S GRAIN OUTPUT AS LARGEST IN 10 YEARS “, 2005-11-28) reported that the DPRK’s estimated grain production for 2005-2006 is the largest in more than a decade at 3.64 million tons, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a report Monday. The USDA report derives its estimate from weather analyses, satellite imagery and data gathered on the ground. The country is still hindered in its efforts to become self-sufficient, namely due to limited arable land, a short growing season, depleted soil fertility, a dilapidated irrigation network, shortages of agricultural inputs, and the absence of market incentives to encourage private investment, it said.

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6. DPRK Human Rights

Yonhap News (“SEOUL PREPARES FOR CONFERENCE ON N KOREA’S HUMAN “, 2005-11-29) reported that well-known human rights and democracy advocates from home and abroad are expected to gather in Seoul early next month to discuss the DPRK’s poor human rights conditions, the event’s organizer said Monday. The ROK civic organizations and Freedom House, a US based group for human rights, are jointly arranging the “Seoul Summit: Promoting Human Rights in North Korea” to celebrate the 57th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights.

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7. ROK on DPRK Electricity Supply

The Assocaited Press (“NORTH KOREAN CAPITAL APPEARS BRIGHTER”, 2005-11-28) reported that DPRK officials bragged of having developed ways to compensate for power shortages during a recent visit by RO Koreans, who said Pyongyang appeared much brighter than in recent years. The delegation was accompanied by an Associated Press reporter. Experts say the DPRK isn’t producing nearly as much power as it needs, which is why the government insists it be given a nuclear reactor for generating electricity in exchange for giving up its atomic weapons program. It is unclear whether the brighter look of Pyongyang was staged for the RO Koreans’ trip or was a true indication of gains in power output for its struggling economy.

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8. DPRK Adbuctees

Kyodo (“ASO WARY OF KIN’S CALL FOR SANCTIONS ON N. KOREA OVER ABDUCTEE ISSUE”, 2005-11-29) reported that Foreign Minister Taro Aso on Monday showed wariness over a call from a group of relatives of Japanese nationals abducted to the DPRK to impose economic sanctions on the DPRK in a bid to pressure the country to settle its abduction issue. Aso was quoted as saying to the relatives during their meeting at the Foreign Ministry that Japan cannot make any “drastic” move “out of concern” for the safety of the missing abductees, according to the relatives. Pyongyang maintains that, of the initial 10 people, eight died in the DPRK after being kidnapped or visiting the DPRK voluntarily. Relatives also told reporters after their meeting that Aso said he expects the DPRK to give its response regarding Japan’s proposal of resuming normalization talks while discussing the abduction issue and the nuclear issue in parallel.

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9. PRC Religious Policy

BBC News (“CHINA’S GRIP ON XINJIANG MUSLIMS”, 2005-11-29) reported that human rights groups accuse PRC of conducting a campaign of repression against its Muslim minority, especially in Xinjiang. Despite a promise of religious freedom guaranteed in the constitution, in practical terms, few are at liberty to practice their faith as they would like.

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10. PRC Mine Blast

Xinhua (“DEATH TOLL OF NE CHINA COAL MINE BLAST RISES TO 146, RESCUE EFFORTS CONTINUE FOR THE LAST FIVE MISSING “, 2005-11-29) reported that As of 9:00 p.m. Tuesday, the death toll of the northeast PRC coal mine blast rose to 146. Rescuers are still searching for the last five miners trapped beneath the coal mine shaft. The rescuers said the death toll is composed of 144 who died underground and two female workers who were found killed in the ground generator room on Tuesday afternoon.

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11. PRC on Environmental Issues

Associated Press (“CHINESE CHEMICAL SPILL COULD LINGER”, 2005-11-29) reported that experts warned Tuesday that dangers from a huge chemical spill in this northeastern PRC city could last for years because of toxins – including cancer-causing benzene – imbedded in ice and mud at the bottom of the Songhua River.

(return to top) International Herald Tribune (“CHINA SPEEDS EFFORTS TO RAISE WATER QUALITY”, 2005-11-29) reported that the PRC is spending more than $630 million on improving water supplies to cities dependent on the contaminated Songhua River, according to the Asian Development Bank, as a toxic slick continued Tuesday to threaten communities on what is an important waterway in northern PRC. (return to top)

12. Russia on PRC Environmental Issues

Voice of America News (“RUSSIA PREPARES TO DEAL WITH TOXIC SPILL FROM CHINA”, 2005-11-29) reported that officials in the Russian far east say they are taking measures to deal with the benzene, which has been drifting down a river system from neighboring PRC, since an explosion at a chemical plant there earlier this month.

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13. PRC Bird Flu

Reuters (“CHINA HAS TWO NEW BIRD FLU OUTBREAKS”, 2005-11-29) reported that the PRC has confirmed two new outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in poultry as the virus continues to take its toll on Asia, heightening concern among health experts searching for ways to contain it.

(return to top) China Post (“CHINA SAYS BIRD FLU VIRUS IN HUMANS MUTATING: REPORT”, 2005-11-29) reported that the H5N1 strain of bird flu seen in human cases in the PRC has mutated as compared with strains found in human cases in Vietnam, state press said Monday, citing a health ministry spokesman. (return to top)

14. HIV/AIDS in PRC

China Daily (“NUMBER OF HIV/AIDS PATIENTS REACHES 130,000 IN CHINA”, 2005-11-29) reported that more than 130,000 confirmed HIV/AIDS carriers and patients have been reported nationwide by the end of September about 50,000 higher than the figure in the end of June last year.

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15. HIV/AIDS in PRC

Xinhua (“GUANDONG REPORTS DRASTIC SURGE IN AIDS CASES”, 2005-11-29) reported that South PRC’s Guangdong Province reported 385 confirmed AIDS patients in the first 10 months of this year, a rise of 323 percent year on year, according to the provincial health bureau.

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16. PRC Economy

Washington Post (“NEW CHINA STUMBLES INTO OLD-FASHIONED TRADE SCANDAL”, 2005-11-29) reported that the PRC on Thursday acknowledged that a since-detained government trader placed a series of disastrous bets on the price of copper in London this summer, leaving the state to cover hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, according to a report in official PRC media.

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17. US on PRC Economy

China Daily (“WHITE HOUSE: CHINA NOT MANIPULATING MONEY”, 2005-11-29) reported that the Bush administration on Monday determined that the PRC was not manipulating its currency to gain economic advantages but still pressed the PRC to move more quickly to allow the yuan’s value to be set by market forces.

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18. PRC-US Security Relations

China Post (“FBI LIKELY TO TESTIFY IN CASE AGAINST ALLEGED CHINA AGENTS”, 2005-11-29) reported that the case against three alleged PRC agents is set to return to court Monday with testimony from an FBI official that could help explain why the government has filed only one criminal charge despite making sweeping claims of conspiracy and theft.

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19. Japan-US Relations

Japan Today (“FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT U.S DEC 2-4”, 2005-11-29) reported that Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Tuesday he will make a three-day trip to the US on Friday to talk with his US counterpart, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on security and other issues.

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20. Japan on UN Reform

Japan Today (“KOIZUMI, MOROCCO KING DISCUSS U.N. REFORMS”, 2005-11-29) reported that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Morocco’s King Muhammad VI agreed Tuesday on the need to pursue reforms of the United Nations in a comprehensive manner, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.

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21. Japan Economy

Xinhua (“JAPAN NEEDS FURTHER STRUCTURAL REFORMS TO REINFORCE GROWTH: OECD”, 2005-11-29) reported that Japan needs a large structural reforms program to reinforce potential growth to cope with its a rapidly ageing population, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Tuesday in its biannual economic outlook.

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22. Internet Media in Japan

Japan Times (“EX-PROGRAMMER ARRESTED FOR FAKING NEWS STORY, YAHOO SITE”, 2005-11-29) reported that a former computer programmer was arrested Monday for allegedly posting a fabricated news article with a false Kyodo News credit on a pseudo Yahoo News Web site that said PRC warplanes had violated Japanese airspace over Okinawa, police said.

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23. Taiwan Military

China Post (“MILITARY SERVICE CUT TO TAKE EFFECT IN JAN.”, 2005-11-29) reported that Premier Frank Hsieh formally announced yesterday that mandatory military service will be shortened by six months from January 2006 and the compulsory service can begin one year earlier at age 19.

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