NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, November 30, 2004

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NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, November 30, 2004

NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, November 30, 2004

I. United States

Preceding NAPSNet Report

I. United States

1. DPRK on Nuclear Talks

The Associated Press (“CHINA SAYS NORTH KOREA WANTS U.S. POLICY CHANGE BEFORE IT WILL JOIN NEW SIX-NATION TALKS”, 2004-11-30) reported that the DPRK is waiting for a change in US policy before it will resume stalled six-nation talks on its nuclear program, a PRC Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday. The spokeswoman didn’t explain what changes the DPRK wanted.

(return to top) Kyodo News (“HOPES FOR 6-WAY TALKS BY YEAR-END ALL BUT GONE: SOURCES”, 2004-11-30) reported that the DPRK “still wants to assess US policy toward the country,” a source said, adding the DPRK is particularly interested in US President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address next year, as well as personnel changes in the State Department following his reelection. The country is not ready to attend the six-party talks’ plenary session, working-group session, or any other form of informal meeting within that framework, according to one source. (return to top)

2. US Policy Toward the DPRK

Korea Times (“US POLICIES ON NK REMAIN UNCHANGED”, 2004-11-30) reported that US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice will bring more continuity than change to Washington’s diplomacy in Northeast Asia when she assumes the job of state secretary. Mitchell B. Reiss, director of policy planning at the State Department, said he foresees little change in the US policies in the region, dismissing concerns that Rice will take a tougher line on the DPRK than her moderate predecessor, Colin Powell.

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3. PRC, Japan, ROK on DPRK Nuclear Issue

Yomiuri Shimbun (“EARLY 6-WAY TALKS URGED; KOIZUMI, ROH, WEN AGREE ON N. KOREA, IRAQ, TRADE”, 2004-11-30) reported that the leaders of Japan, the PRC and the ROK reached an agreement Monday to cooperate closely on the resumption of the six-way talks on the DPRK’s nuclear development program. In the trilateral talks, Roh stressed the importance of resolving the problem of the DPRK’s nuclear development program through the six-party talks. Koizumi agreed, saying, “The six-way talks are the only effective way to solve the problem.” Wen said: “Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is important for peace and safety in Northeast Asia. We must push for an early resumption of the six-way talks.” Koizumi asked the PRC and ROK leaders for their cooperation in resolving the issue of the abduction of Japanese nationals by the DPRK.

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4. Japan on DPRK Sanctions

Yomiuri Shimbun (“TAKEBE WARNS AGAINST RUSHING SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA”, 2004-11-30) reported that Japan should be wary of rushing to impose economic sanctions on the DPRK over its failure to adequately resolve issues including the abduction of Japanese and its missile and nuclear programs, Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe said in Tokyo on Monday. “We must be careful not to become emotional on this issue. It would be prudent to tread carefully because the North Korean issue impinges on security issues,” he said.

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5. ROK Policy Toward the DPRK

Joongang Ilbo (“KIM PRAISES ROH’S POLICIES ON NORTH”, 2004-11-30) reported that Former President Kim Dae-jung commended President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday for his handling of relations with the DPRK. “President Roh is dealing with inter-Korean issues very wisely and enthusiastically,” Mr. Kim said during a lecture to Konkuk University students. “And I know that there has been much progress.”

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6. DPRK on US – DPRK Relations

Yonhap (“N.K. ACCUSES U.S. OF SECRETLY SEEKING REGIME CHANGE IN PYONGYANG”, 2004-11-30) reported that the DPRK claimed Tuesday the US is secretly seeking regime change in Pyongyang under the cover of diplomatic gestures, citing the US human rights bill on the DPRK. Washington passed the North Korea Human Rights Act in October and is now preparing for the secret transfer of a large number of small radios to the DPRK, Rodong Sinmun, organ of the DPRK’s ruling Workers Party, said in a commentary.

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7. KEDO LWR Project

Joongang Ilbo (“U.S. WANTS KEDO PLANS ABANDONED”, 2004-11-30) reported that on the first anniversary of the suspension of an international project to build nuclear reactors in the DPRK to generate electricity, the US has repeated that it wants to terminate construction of the plants. In response to a query about the project, the US State Department said, “KEDO executives on Nov. 25, 2004, decided to continue its suspension of the light water reactor project in North Korea for one additional year beginning Dec. 1, 2004. The United States has repeatedly made clear it sees no future for the light-water reactor project.”

(return to top) Asahi Shimbun (“LIGHT WATER REACTOR PROJECT IN NORTH KOREA TO BE TERMINATED AFTER 1-YEAR EXTENSION OF SUSPENSION: KEDO EXECUTIVE BOARD”, 2004-11-30) reported that the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) officially announced on the 26th that it extends for another year the suspension on the construction of light water reactors in Kumho, DPRK, which continues since December of last year. Although not included in the official announcement, the Executive Board agreed on scrapping the program altogether if no progress is made on the DPRK nuclear issue within the next year, a KEDO source said. (return to top)

8. DPRK Defectors

Yonhap (“N. KOREAN DEFECTORS TO SET UP ANTI-COMMUNIST GOV’T IN EXILE”, 2004-11-30) reported that representatives of DPRK defectors recently met in Tokyo and agreed to establish a government-in-exile to oppose the DPRK’s leader, Kim Jong-il, a U.S.-based radio station reported Tuesday. The agreement came when the heads of six associations of DPRK defectors based in the ROK, PRC, Russia, Japan, Mongolia and Kazakhstan met in Tokyo on Nov. 19-20, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA), monitored here.

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9. DPRK Leadership

The Associated Press (“N KOREA LEADER’S AIDE HAS CANCER SURGERY IN RUSSIA-REPORT”, 2004-11-30) reported that a close aide to DPRK leader Kim Jong Il has undergone surgery in Russia to treat pancreatic cancer, a news agency reported Tuesday.Yon Hyong Muk, former prime minister and vice chairman of the DPRK’s most powerful agency, the National Defense Commission, had the operation earlier this month, an unnamed source familiar with the DPRK told the ROK’s Yonhap news agency.

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10. US – ROK Military Relations

Chosun Ilbo (“U.S. HONORS PATRIOT MISSILE PACT IN GWANGJU”, 2004-11-30) reported that the US Command said Tuesday that it had completed the deployment of new land-to-air Patriot missiles in Gwangju Airport last week. The shoring up of Patriot missiles is one of the US Command’s 150 projects to invest US$11 billion in upgrading regional capabilities by 2006 in preparation for the reduction and relocation of US forces stationed in the ROK.

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11. US Troop Realignment

Chosun Ilbo (“DEFENSE PAPER SUGGESTS USFK CHANGES WILL EMBOLDEN U.S.”, 2004-11-30) reported that Washington’s plans to reconfigure the role of the US Forces Korea (USFK) are designed to give the superpower a broader scope to intervene militarily in the DPRK and PRC, claimed a leading Democratic Labor Party (DLP) member Tuesday. Rep. Roh Hoe-chan of the DLP leant on a military paper to substantiate his argument that this was the true purpose behind why troops were being repositioned from stationary forces deterring DPRK aggression to task forces capable of engaging in conflicts in neighboring nations such as the PRC.

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12. Roh Europe Visit

Agence France-Presse (“SOUTH KOREAN LEADER HEADS TO BRITAIN, POLAND, FRANCE”, 2004-11-30) reported that President Roh Moo-Hyun opens a three-nation European tour in London when he embarks on the first ever state visit to Britain by a ROK leader. The DPRK nuclear standoff and bilateral cooperation in information technology and the space industry will be on the agenda during the three-day trip from Sunday, ROK sources said.

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13. Australian WMD Exports

Asia Pulse (“AUSTRALIA MAY HAVE ‘INNOCENTLY’ ASSISTED WMD PRODUCTION: SENATOR”, 2004-11-30) reported that Australia may have “innocently” exported nuclear technology to parties with weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, Defense Minister Robert Hill said today. Senator Hill did not specify whether it was state or non-state bodies that may have obtained Australian-sourced goods, but he urged all South-East Asian nations to closely monitor their exports of “dual-use” goods.

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14. Sino – Japanese Relations

Reuters (“WEN SIDESTEPS KOIZUMI’S INVITATION TO VISIT JAPAN”, 2004-11-30) reported that PRC Premier Wen Jiabao sidestepped Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s invitation Tuesday to visit Japan, a sign ties between Asia’s major powers remain bedeviled by a spat rooted in Japan’s wartime history.

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15. Sino – Japanese Gas Dispute

Kyodo News (“KOIZUMI EXPRESSES INTENT TO COOPERATE WITH CHINA OVER GAS PROJECTS”, 2004-11-30) reported that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday that Japan intends to cooperate with the PRC over gas development projects in the East China Sea. The Japanese prime minister said he told PRC Premier Wen Jiabao during a bilateral meeting Tuesday that Japan is willing to cooperate with the PRC over natural gas projects in the East China Sea despite bilateral disputes stemming from the PRC’s project.

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16. PRC Trade Pact

The New York Times (“CHINESE PREMIER SIGNS TRADE PACT AT SOUTHEAST ASIAN SUMMIT”, 2004-11-30) reported that the PRC moved a step closer to cementing its economic and diplomatic relationships with Southeast Asia on Monday when Prime Minister Wen Jiabao signed a trade accord at a regional summit meeting that calls for eliminating tariffs on a range of agricultural and manufactured goods by 2010. He also signed a strategic declaration that commits China to good behavior in the Southeast Asian region, including the contentious area of the South China Sea.

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17. Japan, ROK on ASEAN Trade

The Associated Press (“JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA SIGN ON FOR TRADE TALKS”, 2004-11-30) reported that Japan, Australia and two other Pacific Rim economies joined the rush to court Southeast Asia, agreeing Tuesday to launch free trade talks with the region’s leaders hours after they clinched a momentous market-opening deal with booming PRC. The four nations – also including ROK and New Zealand – signed accords with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations at their summit in Laos to launch talks early next year, aiming for trade pacts within two years.

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18. Cross Strait Relations

The Associated Press (“TAIWAN ACCUSES CHINA OF TRYING TO MARGINALIZE IT WITH NEW TRADE ACCORD WITH SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS”, 2004-11-30) reported that the PRC’s landmark trade accord with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is an attempt to isolate Taiwan from the regional bloc, Foreign Ministry officials said Tuesday. The accord, which removes tariffs on member nations, appears to be an attempt to “exclude” Taiwan, said Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Michel Ching-long Lu.

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19. US on Cross Strait Relations

Agence France-Presse (“US CAUTIONS TAIWAN LEADER OVER MOVES TO FRAME NEW CONSTITUTION”, 2004-11-30) reported that the US cautioned Taiwan’s President Chen Shui-bian against any attempt to frame a new constitution for the island, reminding him of a promise he made to maintain status quo in relations with the RPC. The US is “opposed to any referendum that would change Taiwan’s status or move toward independence,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters.

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20. PRC Mine Accident

Los Angeles Times (“COAL MINE TOLL RISES TO 63 DEAD, 103 MISSING”, 2004-11-30) reported that the death toll in a coal mine explosion in central PRC rose to 63, with 103 workers still missing, the government said. Emergency workers descended into the Chenjiashan mine in Shaanxi province to repair ventilation systems needed to pump out toxic fumes. Hopes were fading for the missing, the official New China News Agency said.

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21. PRC AIDS Issue

Reuters (“CHINA PRESIDENT HU SHAKES HANDS WITH AIDS PATIENTS”, 2004-11-30) reported that in a public display of commitment to fighting the disease a day before World AIDS Day, state media reported on Tuesday that the PRC’s President Hu Jintao shook hands with patients during a visit to a hospital in the capital. “During the visit to the Beijing You’an Hospital, Hu also urged the whole society to phase out discrimination and estrangement toward AIDS patients,” the official Xinhua news agency reported.

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