NAPSNet Daily Report Tuesday, October 5, 2004
- 1. ROK on DPRK Plutonium Reprocessing
2. KEDO on DPRK Plutonium Reprocessing
3. US on DPRK Nuclear Talks
4. DPRK on Nuclear Issue
5. US – DPRK Military Relations
6. DPRK on DPRK – US Relations
7. ROK on DPRK Nuclear Issue
8. US on DPRK Defectors
9. DPRK Human Rights Bill
10. ROK on Human Rights Bill
11. DPRK on Human Rights Act
12. Inter – Korean Infrastructure
13. Inter – Korean Relations
14. ROK on Inter – Korean Relations
15. ROK on Sino-DPRK Military Relations
16. ROK on DPRK Collapse
17. DPRK on Import of Toxins
18. DPRK on DMZ Plan
19. PRC on DPRK Defectors
20. DPRK Food Aid
21. ROK on Nuclear Experiment
22. IAEA on ROK Nuclear Experiment
23. US Troop Realignment
24. ROK on US Troop Realignment
25. ROK Terror Warnings
26. ROK – Indian Relations
27. Japan PM on US Presidential Election
28. Japan on Yasukuni Shrine Issue
29. DPRK on Japan UNSC Bid
30. US on Cross Strait Relations
31. Taiwan on Cross Strait Relations
32. Cross Strait Military Relations
33. PRC Foreign Relations
34. PRC Domestic Dissent
35. PRC Energy Supply
36. PRC Endangered Species
II. ROK
- 37. ROK Terror Alert
38. ROK Air Travel Safety
39. US – ROK Relations
I. United States
1. ROK on DPRK Plutonium Reprocessing
The Associated Press (“S. KOREAN OFFICIAL DISPUTES N. KOREA CLAIM”, 2004-10-05) reported that the DPRK may only have plutonium enough for two or three nuclear bombs, a senior ROK official said Tuesday, challenging the DPRK’s recent indication it has already made several. The assessment by Choi Young-jin, the ROK’s vice foreign minister, came a week after his DPRK counterpart said the DPRK has turned plutonium extracted from 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods into weapons to serve as a deterrent against a possible US nuclear strike. “We estimate that the North has plutonium that can produce two or three nuclear weapons,” Choi said.
2. KEDO on DPRK Plutonium Reprocessing
The Associated Press (“HEAD OF GROUP TRYING TO DISARM NORTH KOREA SAYS REPORTS OF ITS NUCLEAR ARSENAL LACK PROOF”, 2004-10-05) reported that the DPRK may have only a single nuclear weapon and there is no proof that the reclusive country has actually produced any, the head of the international consortium set up to replace the DPRK’s plutonium-producing reactors said. “When you get into this discussion about the numbers, it quickly sort of becomes people seeking facts,” said Charles Kartman, the executive director of the New York-based Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization. “There is a maximum amount of plutonium that could have been reprocessed, and if that is true, then depending on the state of North Korean technology, it would have been sufficient for one, or at most, two (weapons),” Kartman said.
3. US on DPRK Nuclear Talks
Chosun Ilbo (“U.S. UNSURE ABOUT HOW TO FACE NORTH KOREA”, 2004-10-05) reported that following a war of words between President George W. Bush and Democratic candidate John Kerry on the DPRK nuclear issue, during their first TV debate, the US is still divided over sticking to the six-party talks or carrying out bilateral talks. The Washington Post supported Bush’s six-way talks, in its Monday editorial. New York Times columnist William Safire lamented in his column on Monday that Kerry has turned into the newest neoconservative stressing international cooperation on the Iraq issue, but preferring confrontation to multilateralism on the DPRK’s nuclear issue.
4. DPRK on Nuclear Issue
Yonhap (“NK DENOUNCES U.S. FOR MAKING FALSE CLAIM ON ITS NUCLEAR PROGRAM”, 2004-10-05) reported that the DPRK accused the US Tuesday of scheming to invade it by making a false claim that it has a secret nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium. The DPRK’s Korea Central News Agency compared what it called the false US claim with the Bush Administration’s invasion of Iraq after accusing Saddam Hussein of developing weapons of mass destruction.
5. US – DPRK Military Relations
Yonhap (“U.S. CAPABLE OF SURGICALLY STRIKING 900 TARGETS IN N. KOREA”, 2004-10-05) reported that the US military is capable of surgically striking more than 900 crucial targets in the DPRK, including its main nuclear complex, a ROK lawmaker said Tuesday. The US capability is key to an operation plan by Washington, code-named OPLAN 5026, which specifies such an air strike on the DPRK in the event of a war on the peninsula, said Park Jin of the main opposition Grand National Party.
6. DPRK on DPRK – US Relations
Korean Central News Agency of the DPRK (“NORTH KOREA WARNS US PENINSULA ON “VERGE OF WAR””, 2004-10-05) reported that there is public opinion in the US that the story about the DPRK’s development of “uranium enrichment” was deliberately faked up by the Bush administration to prevent the inter-Korean and the DPRK-Japan relations from improving. The story about the DPRK’s uranium enrichment program much touted by the US is nothing but groundless and base propaganda. The US has persistently raised hue and cry over the program and even peddled the story about Pyongyang’s “secret sale of uranium hexafluoride” to make its story sound plausible. The US moves to pressurize the DPRK over its nuclear issue and its adventurous attempt to provoke a nuclear war against it have resulted in totally overturning the groundwork for the dialogue between the DPRK and the US for a solution to the nuclear issue and escalating the military tension on the Korean Peninsula and this put it on the verge of a war.
7. ROK on DPRK Nuclear Issue
Yonhap (“KIM DAE-JUNG URGES ACTION BY N.K., U.S. TO RESOLVE NUKE DISPUTE”, 2004-10-05) reported that Former President Kim Dae-jung on Tuesday demanded simultaneous actions by Pyongyang and Washington to resolve the dispute over the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program, saying the DPRK is ready to join the world if relations improve. “North Korea must give up its nuclear weapons program, and the United States should step forward to improve its relations with the North. As there is mutual distrust, these actions should be taken simultaneously or bilaterally,” the Nobel Peace Prize laureate said in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of an international disarmament meeting.
8. US on DPRK Defectors
The Associated Press (“HOUSE OKS HUMANITARIAN AID FOR N. KOREANS”, 2004-10-05) reported that the US could spend up to $24 million a year in humanitarian aid for the DPRK, much of it for refugees who have fled the DPRK, under legislation approved by the House Monday and sent to the president for his signature. The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, would allow up to $20 million a year over the next four years for international groups helping DPRK defectors who have fled their country. The bill, he said, shows the PRC that it will receive help in defraying the costs of caring for the refugees if it abides by its obligations under international refugee conventions.
9. DPRK Human Rights Bill
Donga Ilbo (“U.S. TO EXECUTE NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACT BY AS EARLY AS THIS MONTH”, 2004-10-05) reported that the DPRK Human Rights Act of 2004 (NKHRA), which advocates the improvement of the human rights of DPRK citizens and defectors, was ratified by the US House of Representatives on October 5 and will be officially announced as early as mid-October, after the confirmation of US President George W. Bush. Meanwhile, senior researcher Michael Horowitz of the Hudson Institute, who participated in drawing up the draft bill, held a press conference and said, “Congress will work on choosing North Korean democratization laws that are more rigorous, such as revitalizing the omitted clause ‘the number of the special immigration visa (S2) distributed to refugees who have knowledge of illegal weapons of mass destruction will be increased from an annual amount of 250 to 3500,’ amongst others.”
10. ROK on Human Rights Bill
Joongang Ilbo (“U.S. RIGHTS BILL SPARKS WORRY “, 2004-10-05) reported that the ROK Foreign Ministry officials sought yesterday to allay concern from National Assembly lawmakers who suggested that passage in the US Senate of a DPRK human rights bill could provoke rash action by Pyeongyang. “The new bill is quite a threat to the peace of the peninsula,” commented Kwon Young-gil, of the Democratic Labor Party. Several lawmakers including Shin Geh-ryoon, a Uri Party member, questioned Foreign Ministry officials over any potential threat at a National Assembly hearing. “It is not the aim of this bill to bring about a regime change and we are trying to communicate that message to North Korea,” said a ministry official.
11. DPRK on Human Rights Act
Reuters (“N.KOREA SAYS U.S. RIGHTS LAW MAKES TALKS MEANINGLESS”, 2004-10-05) reported that a law urging more human rights in the DPRK passed by the US Congress showed nuclear talks were meaningless because the US was “hell-bent” on toppling the DPRK, the DPRK’s foreign ministry said. The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, “rendered the dialogue and negotiations for solving the nuclear issue meaningless,” said the DPRK Foreign Ministry. “This has deprived the DPRK of any justification to deal with the US, to say nothing of the reason for holding the six-party talks for settling the nuclear issue,” the ministry said in an overnight statement published by the official KCNA news agency.
12. Inter – Korean Infrastructure
Reuters (“TWO KOREAS TO MEET THURSDAY TO DISCUSS BORDER LINK”, 2004-10-05) reported that Seoul and Pyongyang have agreed to hold talks between working-level military officers on Thursday to discuss rail and load links, after a three-month break in bilateral talks, Seoul’s defense ministry said on Tuesday. “The meeting will be held on Oct. 7,” said a spokesman at the defense ministry. He said the meeting will cover rail and load links through the Demilitarized Zone, but did not elaborate.
13. Inter – Korean Relations
Los Angeles Times (“100,000 RALLY, CALL FOR END TO NORTH’S REGIME”, 2004-10-05) reported that about 100,000 ROK citizens staged an anti-communist rally, clashing with police and burning DPRK flags to press their calls for an end to the Pyongyang regime and its purported nuclear arms programs. The rally at Seoul’s City Hall plaza drew mostly elderly people, including Korean War veterans and Christians – conservative groups critical of the conciliatory DPRK policies of President Roh Moo Hyun.
14. ROK on Inter – Korean Relations
Yonhap (“SEOUL URGES PYONGYANG TO COME TO NEGOTIATING TABLE OVER NUKES “, 2004-10-05) reported that the ROK called on the DPRK Tuesday to return to the negotiating table to resolve international concerns over its nuclear weapons program. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young also urged the DPRK to win the confidence of the international community and vowed that his country will continue to persuade the DPRK to dismantle the nuclear program.
15. ROK on Sino-DPRK Military Relations
Yonhap (“CHINA MAY SEND 400,000 TROOPS IN CASE OF WAR ON KOREAN PENINSULA “, 2004-10-05) reported that the PRC would send about 400,000 troops to fight alongside the DPRK in the event of a war breaking out on the Korean Peninsula, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday. In line with a 1961 defense treaty with the DPRK, the PRC is expected to dispatch a “limited” number of troops to help the DPRK fight a war, said ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Kim Jong-hwan during a parliamentary audit on his office.
16. ROK on DPRK Collapse
Agence France-Presse (“SOUTH KOREA PLANS FOR NORTH KOREA’S COLLAPSE”, 2004-10-05) reported that the ROK has prepared secret plans to take control of the DPRK and to accommodate at least 200,000 refugees in the event of the sudden collapse of the DPRK, a press report says. The JoongAng Ilbo, a major Seoul daily, said that under the secret plans disclosed at a parliamentary audit on Monday Seoul’s unification minister would take over as ruler of post-collapse DPRK. The ROK has also designated public facilities such as schools and stadiums nationwide to house more than 200,000 DPRK refugees expected to flood towards the south if the DPRK lurched towards collapse, the JoongAng reported said.
17. DPRK on Import of Toxins
Yonhap (“N.K. ACCUSES SEOUL OF ‘DISTURBANCE’ OVER CHEMICAL IMPORT”, 2004-10-05) reported that the DPRK on Tuesday criticized the ROK for questioning its import of more than 100 tons of a toxic chemical which originated in the ROK. “The South Korean authorities are creating a disturbance as if a serious problem took place, arguing we illegally re-imported them,” the DPRK’s main newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary carried by the country’s state-run Korean Central News Agency.
18. DPRK on DMZ Plan
Yonhap (“NORTH KOREA CONDEMNS PROPOSAL TO MAKE DMZ WORLD HERITAGE SITE “, 2004-10-05) reported that the DPRK criticized the ROK Tuesday for efforts to make the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the Korean Peninsula a UNESCO World Heritage site. “The scheme is a vicious challenge to the aspirations and desires of all fellow countrymen for the reunification of the country and an anti-national folly to perpetuate the division of the nation,” the DPRK’s Korean Central News Agency quoted the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland as saying.
19. PRC on DPRK Defectors
Joongang Ilbo (“NORTH KOREAN MAIDS BARRED BY BEIJING “, 2004-10-05) reported that the PRC government has recently ordered officials in the Communist Party, the central government and the military not to employ female DPRK defectors as housemaids, Ming Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper, reported yesterday, “The Communist Party sent an internal document that stated it has ordered on numerous occasions that housemaids from North Korea not be hired, and if already hired, then they must be fired immediately,” the paper said. The PRC government is worried that national secrets will be leaked if DPRK housemaids are employed in major government bodies.
20. DPRK Food Aid
Yonhap (“WFP’S FOOD RATIONING IN NK BACK ON NORMAL TRACK OWING TO FRESH DONATIONS “, 2004-10-05) reported that a UN relief agency said Tuesday that recent massive foreign donations are expected to enable it to normalize its food rationing program for 6.5 million DPRK citizens at least from this month through early next year, the agency said. In August, Russia and Japan contributed a combined 175,000 tons of food in aid to the DPRK.
21. ROK on Nuclear Experiment
Agence France-Presse (“SKOREA DEMANDS END TO CONTROVERSY OVER ITS NUCLEAR TESTS”, 2004-10-05) reported that the ROK has called for an early end to controversy over its secret nuclear experiments, saying this is hindering efforts to stop the DPRK’s nuclear weapons drive. “We hope the case will be closed at the IAEA meeting of directors in November and will not be referred to the UN Security Council,” Chung told the IAEA chief, his office said. Chung warned that a further delay in resolving the case would affect talks to end the two-year impasse over the DPRK’s nuclear ambitions.
22. IAEA on ROK Nuclear Experiment
Yonhap (“THIRD IAEA INSPECTION TEAM TO VISIT S. KOREA LATE THIS MONTH”, 2004-10-05) reported that the UN nuclear watchdog will send a third inspection team to the ROK late this month for additional investigations into the country’s past nuclear material experiments, the agency’s chief said Tuesday. Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also praised Seoul for cooperating well with his agency’s investigation. The acknowledgement touched off suspicions over the country’s nuclear ambitions despite Seoul’s repeated assertion that the laboratory experiments had nothing to do with nuclear weapons.
23. US Troop Realignment
Joongang Ilbo (“SEOUL, WASHINGTON AGREE TO SLOWER TROOP WITHDRAWAL “, 2004-10-05) reported that the ROK and the US have reached an agreement on a more gradual withdrawal of US troops from the peninsula, ROK officials said yesterday. “The US side agreed to postpone the timetable from 2005 to 2008, but the number of troops cut will remain the same,” said a ROK official involved in the talks. The US will pull 5,000 troops, including the 3,600 already redeployed to Iraq, before the end of this year, the official said. By 2008, the remaining 7,500 will be withdrawn gradually, he added.
24. ROK on US Troop Realignment
Joongang Ilbo (“DEFENSE GURUS DOWNPLAY RISK OF NORTH’S GUNS “, 2004-10-05) reported that defense officials and military experts yesterday dismissed a conservative lawmaker’s claim that without US forces to prevent it, the ROK’s capital would quickly fall in a DPRK artillery barrage. During a National Assembly hearing Monday, Grand National Party Representative Park Jin quoted a report by the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses that said Seoul would be overwhelmed by the DPRK within 16 days without US help. But defense analysts called the claim yesterday an exaggeration, though they admitted the DPRK’s long-range guns deployed along the inter-Korean border are the most serious threat to the nation’s military.
25. ROK Terror Warnings
Chosun Ilbo (“AL-QAIDA TARGETED KOREA EIGHT TIMES SINCE 1994 “, 2004-10-05) reported that Uri Party lawmaker Choi Sung said Tuesday that the ROK has been targeted by international terrorist organizations on at least eight occasions since 1994. During an audit hearing at the Foreign Ministry and in an interview with reporters, Choi said that planes bound for Seoul were targeted for attack by Al-Qaida in 1994. According to a book written by an FBI supervisor, the terrorist group as part of its Project Bojinka was to simultaneously blow up 11 airplanes, including some bound for Seoul.
26. ROK – Indian Relations
Chosun Ilbo (“KOREA, INDIA AGREED TO COMPREHENSIVELY UPGRADE RELATIONSHIP “, 2004-10-05) reported that President Roh Moo-hyun, currently on visit to India, held a summit meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday. The two issued a 30-point joint statement. According to the joint statement, the ROK and India agreed to greatly expand economic cooperation, focusing on information technology, and expand bilateral trade from 2003’s US$4.6 billion to US$10 billion in 2008.
27. Japan PM on US Presidential Election
Reuters (“JAPAN PM PREFERS BUSH, COULD COPE WITH KERRY”, 2004-10-05) reported that if Junichiro Koizumi could vote in the November US presidential election, the Japanese prime minister would almost certainly cast his ballot for his diplomatic soul mate, President Bush. “Koizumi feels that he did certain things to support Bush in Iraq and believes that Bush owes him one,” said Glen Fukushima, a former head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. “If (Democratic challenger John) Kerry comes in, he may not feel he owes Koizumi anything.” That said, it is unlikely that a Kerry victory would prompt a replay of the fractious days of Democrat Bill Clinton’s first administration, when US-Japan trade friction flared and some on both sides questioned the relevance of the security link.
28. Japan on Yasukuni Shrine Issue
Donga Ilbo (“JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER OPPOSES SEPARATE SERVICES FOR A-CLASS WAR CRIMINALS AT YASUKUNI SHRINE “, 2004-10-05) reported that Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, who became the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan during a Cabinet reshuffling last month, is being credited with stringent comments about issues related to Japan-DPRK relations day after day. He insisted, “It would not be a problem if the shrine itself was voluntarily willing to perform the services, but political powers asking them to perform separate services for A-class war criminals is an intervention of power and politics upon religious freedom.” The new foreign minister’s opposition can be interpreted as a statement that he won’t pay attention to the criticism of neighboring countries.
29. DPRK on Japan UNSC Bid
Yonhap (“N.K. BERATES JAPAN FOR TRYING TO ‘BUY’ PERMANENT SEAT AT U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL “, 2004-10-05) reported that the DPRK blasted Japan again on Tuesday for trying to “buy” a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, stressing the neighboring country is not qualified for the post because of its imperialist past. Rodong Sinmun, the DPRK’s main newspaper, also said Japan should repent for its past and build international trust first, instead of trying to become a permanent member of the UN’s highest decision-making body.
30. US on Cross Strait Relations
Agence France-Presse (“US WARNS OF ‘REPERCUSSIONS’ IF TAIWAN FAILS TO BOOST MILITARY SPENDING”, 2004-10-05) reported that the US warned there would be “repercussions” for the US if Taiwan failed to approve a controversial 18-billion-dollar budget for advanced weaponry to defend itself, officials said. In an interview with Taiwan’s TVBS cable network, Richard Lawless, a deputy undersecretary at the US Defense Department, voiced concern about the special budget waiting approval by Taiwan’s parliament. “If the budget failed to pass, or if a decision was made not to pass the budget, it will have repercussions for the United States, will have repercussions for Taiwan’s friends,” he said without elaborating.
31. Taiwan on Cross Strait Relations
Agence France-Presse (“TAIWAN TO TEST-FIRE CRUISE MISSILE WHICH COULD HIT SHANGHAI”, 2004-10-05) reported that Taiwan is to test-fire a cruise missile which could hit the eastern PRC city of Shanghai, it was reported, after Taiwanese Premier Yu Shyi-kun threatened to retaliate should PRC attack the island. The military-controlled Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology plans to test-fire before year-end the weaponry refitted from the indigenous “Hsiung Feng” anti-ship missile, Taipei’s Apple Daily said. With a range of 900 missiles (540 miles), the missile could hit the PRC cities of Shanghai and Nanjing.
32. Cross Strait Military Relations
Agence France-Presse (“TAIWAN’S THREATS TO CHINA A BLUFF: ANALYSTS”, 2004-10-05) reported that Taiwan’s threat last month that it could launch retaliatory missile strikes on mainland PRC if it is attacked by Beijing were a bluff, according to military analysts. Despite striking a deal with the US to buy billions of dollars’ worth of military hardware, without the nuclear warheads of its arch-rival Taiwan presents a minimal military threat, they say. Military analysts point out that Taiwan is dwarfed by the PRC militarily, and that Taiwanese troops pose no real threat to the People’s Liberation Army.
33. PRC Foreign Relations
Los Angeles Times (“CHINA’S TESTY FOREIGN POLICY WINS FEW FRIENDS, DESPITE NEED”, 2004-10-05) reported that the PRC’s foreign policy as recently as last year was on a roll, earning kudos for helping to fight global terrorism and restrain the DPRK’s nuclear ambitions. But a look around the neighborhood now finds Beijing’s relations with the US, Japan, the ROK, the DPRK, Taiwan, Singapore and Russia taking a turn for the worse. Although most of the frictions are manageable, they come as the Asian giant is increasingly dependent on the outside world for resources, capital and goodwill to fuel its economy and stem domestic instability. The problems raise questions about the PRC’s new leadership, analysts say.
34. PRC Domestic Dissent
Washington Post (“CHINA’S LAND GRABS RAISE SPECTER OF POPULAR UNREST PEASANTS RESIST DEVELOPERS, LOCAL OFFICIALS”, 2004-10-05) reported that using courts, petitions and appeals to officials at all levels, Shishan’s peasants have fought in vain for a decade to get compensation for 200 acres of rich farmland they maintain was unfairly confiscated by local authorities and sold for development. The Construction Ministry said it received three times as many complaints in the first quarter of this year as in the same period last year. By the end of June, Deputy Minister Fu Wenjia told the Beijing News that 4,000 groups and more than 18,600 individuals had lodged petitions over allegedly illicit land transfers.
35. PRC Energy Supply
BBC News (“CHINA WARNS OF MORE POWER CUTS”, 2004-10-05) reported that the PRC has warned that several of its key regions face more power shortages this winter and spring. The PRC’s current power generation capacity is struggling to keep up with the country’s rapid economic growth. Cheng Guangjie, vice president of the East PRC Power Grid, said the eastern provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian, and the city of Shanghai, are all likely to be hit by power shortages in the coming months.
36. PRC Endangered Species
Reuters (“NOTHING SAFE FROM RICH, HUNGRY IN CHINA”, 2004-10-05) reported that in southern PRC, it doesn’t matter if an animal is an endangered species. As long as it walks, wriggles or jumps, it’s good enough for the pot. To prove the point, visit a wild animal market in the thriving city of Guangzhou. Squatting just next to him, a few workers scrub the white carcass of a freshly plucked porcupine, a protected species under the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). What cannot be supplied legally from farms is hunted from the wild, or imported, as well as smuggled, from overseas. PRC officials cracked down on the trade of wild game and protected species after SARS last year. But instead of destroying the age-old industry, the government has driven it underground.
37. ROK Terror Alert
Chosun Ilbo (“GOV’T PREPARES FOR POSSIBLE TERRORIST ATTACK”, 2004-10-03) reported that Foreign Ministry Consular Director Lee Jun-kyu said that the country is taking seriously Al-Qaida’s latest threat to target ROK and that the country needs to strengthen its posture on counter-terrorism as soon as possible at its embassies around the world, most of which are ill-prepared against terrorism. The National Security Council decided to increase security at airports and harbors around the country, at a meeting on Saturday and will hold another meeting on Monday to discuss the issue with directors from 16 government agencies in attendance. Lee said that there was a tip warning of terror attacks against ROK people in Iraq some time ago and that the end of the war was uncertain. He added that the government has handed down orders to go on alert for ROK people staying in Arab countries, including Iraq! , Afghanistan and other volatile regions. The Justice Ministry instructed immigration bureaus to thoroughly review the list of wanted terrorists and the passports of everyone entering the country. Meanwhile, the U.S. press reported that the CIA has concluded that the recorded voice heard on an audio tape calling for strikes against the U.S. and its allies, including ROK, is that of Al-Qaida number two Ayman al-Zawahiri.
38. ROK Air Travel Safety
Chosun Ilbo (“AIRWAYS ABOVE KOREA NOT SAFE: PARLIAMENTARY REPORT”, 2004-10-05) reported that From 2000 to the first half of this year, the airborne collision avoidance system — which alerts pilots when an another aircraft approaches collision distance — went gone off 181 times, and there were 787 instances of “near accidents,” the National Assembly’s Construction and Transportation Committee pointed out Tuesday following a parliamentary investigation. Along with this, the nation’s 14 airports fall short of International Civil Aviation Organization safety standards, while the English ability of pilots and air traffic controllers fell short. With the exception of Incheon and Gimpo airports, the width of runway safety zones were not up to international standards, and as there were drainage systems and manholes in the safety zones, there was concern for great losses in the event of an accident.
39. US – ROK Relations
Chosun Ilbo (“RUMSFELD, AMBASSADOR HAN HAVE PRIVATE TALK”, 2004-10-03) reported that U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld invited ROK Ambassador Han Seung-joo to his office on Friday to discuss U.S.-ROK relations, ROK Embassy said. Rumsfeld said that he was sorry to have missed a reception held by ROK Embassy and thanked ROK government for dispatching troops to Iraq. It is unprecedented for Rumsfeld to invite a ROK ambassador to a one-on-one meeting. Rumsfeld’s invitation could be the administration’s way of showing that U.S.-ROK relations are still stable, considering recent events. At the Armed Forces Day reception held at ROK Embassy, 600 people attended, including Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless and State Department official James Kelly. A diplomatic source said that more people were present at the ceremony this year than last.