I. Unites States

1. US-DPRK Relations at Six Party Talks

Korea News (“NK COMMITS TO DISMANTLING NUKES VERIFIABLY”, 2005-07-27) reported that the DPRK promised Wednesday that it could “verifiably liquidate” all of its nuclear weapons programs should Washington remove its “nuclear threat” on the Korean Peninsula and normalize its diplomatic relations with Pyongyang. Meanwhile, the US delegation reportedly said that Washington will “undertake to normalize relations” with the DPRK if Pyongyang dismantles all existing nuclear weapons programs in an effective and verifiable manner. But the US reportedly underlined that participating countries will have to address other issues, such as the DPRK’s missile programs and poor human rights record.

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2. US Rejects DPRK Demand to End Defense of South

Bloomberg Press (“U.S. REJECTS N. KOREAN CALL TO END DEFENCE OF SOUTH”, 2005-07-27) reported that according to a US official, the US rejected the DPRK’s demand for an end to the nuclear defense of the ROK. He official maintained there is no possibility of negotiation on the DPRK’s call for the US to abandon its so-called nuclear umbrella over the ROK.

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3. ROK Tactics at Six Party Talks

International Herald Tribune (“SEOUL TRIES TO BREAK DEADLOCK IN TALKS “, 2005-07-27) reported that the ROK proposed on Wednesday that the DPRK abandon its nuclear weapons and submit to outside nuclear inspections in exchange for immediate economic aid and security assurances. The ROK offered what it called a “two pillar” plan of near simultaneous concessions as a way of breaking the stalemate between the DPRK and the US over exactly when Washington would reward any DPRK moves to disarm.

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4. Observers on Six Party Talks

Chosun Ilbo (“ROUGH SAILING AHEAD FOR SIX PARTY TALKS “, 2005-07-27) reported that observers forecast rough sailing ahead for six-party talks as Wednesday’s keynote addresses revealed larger-than-expected gaps between the US and the DPRK. The DPRK reportedly turned down a US offer, calling it an “irrational” proposal to abandon its nuclear program before Washington takes steps to normalize relations with Pyongyang. Washington wants the DPRK to follow the examples of Libya and South Africa in yielding to its key demand unconditionally first, but Pyongyang wants diplomatic relations and an end to what it sees as a regional nuclear threat to foster trust before it acts on its nuclear program.

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5. Japan-DPRK Relations at Six Party Talks

Joongang Ilbo (“SIX-PARTY TALKS START WITH STRAIN BETWEEN PYONGYANG, TOKYO”, 2005-07-27) reported that signs of disagreement among the delegations were immediately apparent at the 6-party talks yesterday, as the chief representatives delivered their opening remarks. Introducing the issue of the DPRK’s abduction of Japanese citizens, Kenichiro Sasae, Tokyo’s chief negotiator, told the official gathering that full diplomatic relations between the DPRK and Japan are only possible after the matters of the abductees is resolved. Mr. Sasae also said that DPRK missiles were another matter that Tokyo saw as linked to normalizing ties between the two countries.

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6. Ted Turner to Visit DPRK, ROK

Korea Times (“TED TURNER TO VISIT FOR DMZ PEACE PARK “, 2005-07-26) reported that CNN founder Ted Turner plans to visit the ROK and the DPRK next month to present his idea to develop a peace park in the DMZ. “North Korea has invited Turner to discuss his proposal that the DMZ become the international epitome of peace and the ecological system,” Lee Tae-ha, representative of the DMZ Forum Seoul Office, said.

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7. ROK-DPRK Cultural Exchange

Korea.net (“SOUTH, NORTH KOREAN WRITERS AGREE TO MEET IN SEOUL IN 2006 “, 2005-07-26) reported that ROK writers returned to Seoul Monday from their trip to the DPRK for joint gatherings with their DPRK counterparts, with the DPRK side promising to make a reciprocal trip to the South in 2006. ROK and DPRK writers also agreed to establish a joint body as part of efforts to promote reconciliation on their divided peninsula, Ko Un, a famous ROK poet, added.

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8. Inter-Korean Liberation Festival

Korea.net (“TWO KOREAS TO DISCUSS DETAILS ON A JOINT FESTIVAL”, 2005-07-26) reported that the ROK and DPRK will hold a working-level meeting later this week to discuss details about a joint festival to mark the Korean Peninsula’s liberation from Japanese colonization.

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9. Sakhalin Energy Project

Eurasian Daily Monitor (“SAKHALIN ENERGY PROJECTS FACE REALITY CHECK”, 2005-07-27) reported that as the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Russian Far East faces cost overruns and delays, now Russian Sakhalin ventures appear to be facing a reality check, cooling Moscow’s ambitious plans to tap lucrative energy markets in the Asia-Pacific. Although the official statement was short on specific details, there was a major reason for concerns relative to the Sakhalin-2: the project’s cost estimates have doubled to $20 billion.

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10. Japan Surveillance Aircraft

Donga Ilbo (“JAPAN TO DEPLOY UNMANNED SURVEILLANCE PLANE”, 2005-07-27) reported that the Japanese government has decided to deploy an unmanned surveillance aircraft to monitor the military activities of neighboring nations including the ROK and PRC as well as the DPRK’s missile base, according to the Tokyo Shimbun on July 26. Japan’s Defense Agency has decided to introduce unmanned surveillance planes as part of the Missile Defense (MD) system for intercepting ballistic missiles, and to allocate budget next year for research costs.

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11. Japan Bird Flu Outbreak

Reuters (“JAPAN FINDS NEW BIRD FLU OUTBREAK ON CHICKEN FARM”, 2005-07-27) reported that Japanese authorities have discovered a fresh outbreak of bird flu disease on a chicken farm in eastern Japan, close to where several cases of the disease have been detected since late June. Some chickens at the farm had tested positive for a strain of the H5 virus, a local government official in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, said on Wednesday. Authorities will conduct further tests to confirm the subtype of the virus, the official said.

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12. WWII Historical Revisionism

Reuters (“JAPAN WW2 RESOLUTION WON’T CITE ‘AGGRESSION’-MEDIA”, 2005-07-27) reported that Japanese politicians want to tone down a resolution marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II by deleting the words “acts of aggression” that appeared in a similar statement in 1995, Japanese media said. The Mainichi Shimbun daily said the draft omitted the words “acts of aggression” as well as “colonial rule” that were included in a parliamentary resolution adopted in 1995.

(return to top) Reuters (“HIROSHIMA’S A-BOMB MEMORIAL DEFACED”, 2005-07-27) reported that a suspected right-wing extremist vandalized a memorial for the victims of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima, scraping off a reference to Japan’s war effort as a mistake, officials and news reports said Wednesday. Kyodo News agency reported that police Wednesday arrested Takeo Shimazu, a member of a right-wing group. The memorial says: “Let all the souls here rest in peace, as we will never repeat this mistake.” “I did not like the word `mistake’ part of the memorial,” Kyodo quoted Shimazu as telling police. “It was not the Japanese citizens, but the United States who dropped the atomic bomb and made the mistake.” (return to top)

13. Climate Pact

The Associated Press (“U.S. TO JOIN CHINA AND INDIA IN CLIMATE PACT”, 2005-07-27) reported that the US plans to join the PRC and India in an Asian-Pacific climate agreement intended to replace the Kyoto pact as a method to control greenhouse emissions, an official attending the annual conference of Asian nations in Vientiane, Laos, said Wednesday. The new five-member pact, described as an initiative of the Bush administration, would group the US and Australia, developed countries that have not signed the Kyoto accord, with the PRC and India, major producers of greenhouse emissions.

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14. US on PRC Anti-Satellite Capability

USA Today (“REPORT: CHINA WORKING ON ANTI-SATELLITE SYSTEMS”, 2005-07-27) reported that a recently issued report by the US Office of the Secretary of Defense has cast an eye on the PRC’s growing space capability. The annual report — The Military Power of the People’s Republic of China 2005 – flatly claims that the PRC is developing and intends to field anti-satellite (ASAT) systems.

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15. PRC-Zimbabwe Relations

BBC News (“CHINA WILL ‘PROTECT MUGABE AT UN'”, 2005-07-27) reported that the PRC will use its veto to stop the United Nations Security Council from criticising Zimbabwe’s slum clearance, President Robert Mugabe says. The UK and the US have asked the Security Council to discuss the demolitions, after a UN report said 700,000 had been made homeless. Mr Mugabe is on a week-long visit to the PRC, seeking help with Zimbabwe’s economic crisis and foreign loans.

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16. Cross Strait Relations

Reuters (“TAIWAN’S CHEN URGES OPPOSITION TO BACK ARMS DEAL”, 2005-07-27) reported that Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian vented his frustration at opposition parties over a stalled $15 billion arms budget on Monday, calling on them to support a special parliament session to push through the deal. Chen’s comments came just a week after the Pentagon said in a report that the PRC’s rapidly modernizing military has put regional military balances at risk and could pose a long-term threat to other countries.

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17. US on PRC Energy Supply

Reuters (“U.S. OFFICIALS SCOFF AT CHINA EQUITY OIL QUEST”, 2005-07-27) reported that the PRC’s global quest to secure equity stakes in crude oil projects is not likely to shield it from the whims of the world market, US administration officials said on Tuesday. Some US policymakers are concerned that the PRC’s pursuit of equity oil stakes in Venezuela, Canada and Iran could spur tighter markets as prices linger near $60 per barrel.

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18. PRC Unrest

Reuters (“DOZENS INJURED AS POLICE, FARMERS CLASH IN CHINA”, 2005-07-27) reported that more than 2,000 disgruntled farmers have clashed with hundreds of policemen in the PRC’s northern region of Inner Mongolia in a land dispute that injured dozens, sources said on Wednesday. The July 21 clash in Qianjin village, a part of Tongliao city about 725 km (450 miles) northeast of Beijing, was one of a growing number of protests across the PRC, most of which go unreported in the tightly controlled state media. “Some policemen were armed with guns, but they did not open fire,” a farmer who requested anonymity told Reuters. “The clash lasted about six hours. Police were outnumbered and fled.”

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19. PRC Suspends Power Projects

Xinhua (“CHINA HALTS 32 ILLEGAL POWER PROJECTS THREATENING ENVIRONMENT”, 2005-07-27) the PRC halted 32 power projects because they posed environmental threats, according to an announcement issued by four state ministries early this week. The 32 plants, mostly located in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in north PRC and central PRC’s Henan Province, with an overall installed capacity of 17.1 million kilowatts, were ordered to halt production because they failed to meet environmental requirements.

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