- DETERRENCE: Pivot to the Pacific? The Obama Administration’s “Rebalancing” toward Asia
- DPRK: FM Spokesman on U.S. announcement of suspension of food aid to DPRK
- CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Modelling the potential damage-reducing benefits of flood warnings using European cases
- ENERGY SECURITY: Sufficient electric power supply, a key factor for stabilizing North Korean people’s lives, and electricity is supplied for two hours a day in Pyongyang
- GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Scholars from Seoul, Beijing discuss relations
DETERRENCE: Pivot to the Pacific? The Obama Administration’s “Rebalancing” toward Asia, Mark Manyin et al, Congressional Research Service, R42448 (March 2012) [PDF, 0.7 MB]
Underlying the “pivot” are tensions in Sino-U.S. relations and China’s integration into the international community. The “pivot” presents new military priorities and deployments; a more integrated and region-wide approach to the Asia-Pacific; and a vision of the region’s geography to include the Indian Ocean.
- The missing Asia pivot in Obama’s defense strategy, Heritage Foundation, Web Memo, 3443 (6 January 2012)
- The Pacific Pivot, Clyde Prestowitz, The American Prospect (13 March 2012)
- Pentagon budget: Top 3 winners and losers, Anna Mulrine, Christian Science Monitor (26 January 2012)
DPRK: FM Spokesman on U.S. announcement of suspension of food aid to DPRK, KCNA (31 March 2012)
North Korea said that suspension of US food aid to the DPRK would scrap the February 29th agreement in its entirety. The US has put food aid on hold pending the North’s decision to launch an “earth observation satellite.” The North recommitted to allow IAEA inspectors to “ensure the transparency of its nuclear activities.” A related KCNA statement promised “counter-measures” if the DPRK’s right to the peaceful use of space was denied.
- DPRK Foreign Ministry Spokesman on launch of working satellite, KCNA (23 March 2012)
- Rockets and the leap day deal, Jeffrey Lewis, Arms Control Wonk (23 March 2012)
- U.S. suggests N.K. rely on China or Russia for satellite launch, Kim Yoon-mi, Korea Herald (2 April 2012)
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Modelling the potential damage-reducing benefits of flood warnings using European cases, Sally J. Priest, Dennis J. Parker and Sue M. Tapsell, Environmental Hazards: Human and Policy Dimensions, vol. 10, pp. 101–120, 2011 [PDF, 352 KB]
Sally J. Priest et al. present an extended approach to the estimation of potential flood damage reduction benefits of flood warnings for fluvial and tidal floods, drawing upon research completed for the European Commission’s Floodsite project. They demonstrate the potential economic benefits of coupling flood warnings to a combination of structural and non-structural flood risk management measures.
- FLOODsite Project, FLOODsite, UK (2012)
- Estimating injury and loss of life in floods: A deterministic framework, Edmund Penning-Rowsell, Peter Floyd, David Ramsbottom and Suresh Surendran, Natural Hazards, vol. 36, no. 1-2, pp. 43–64 (2005)
ENERGY SECURITY: Sufficient electric power supply, a key factor for stabilizing North Korean people’s lives, and electricity is supplied for two hours a day in Pyongyang, North Korea Today (21 March 2012)
North Korean authorities identify enhancing electricity supplies as a key issue in normalising food supplies and economic development. Electricity provision suffers from low supply of fuel to power plants, in part because coal exports to China bring in hard currency. Combined with maintenance issues, this means “only 20 to 30 [% of] plants are operated.” Power deficits affect coal mining and other activities, creating a “vicious negative cycle.”
- Korean nuclear plant systematically covered up power glitch, Akira Nakano, Asahi Shimbun (16 March 2012)
- Third parties in the implementation of building energy codes in China, Shui Bin, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (21 March 2012) [PDF, 3.25 MB]
- Opinion: Shunning nuclear power will lead to a warmer world, Spencer R. Weart, Yale Environment 360 (26 March 2012)
GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Scholars from Seoul, Beijing discuss relations, You Sang-chul and Moon Gwang-lip, Joongang Ilbo (2 April 2012)
ROK and Chinese academics and diplomats discussed future cooperation between the two states. ROK scholars called for more efforts towards bridging differences, particularly in regards to the DPRK, while Chinese representatives emphasized developing common interests and not allowing “short-term conflicts” to affect relations. In a policy shift, China allowed ten DPRK defectors who had been in ROK diplomatic missions to arrive in the ROK.
- 10 N. Korean defectors’ odyssey ends, Chosun Ilbo (4 April 2012)
- Activist groups petition UN to investigate North Korea prison camps, Jason Strother, Voice of America (3 April 2012)
- North’s abuses detailed in book by rights agency, Joongang Ilbo (2 April 2012)
Note: We regret that the Austral Security section is not included in this week’s NAPSNet report and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
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Editor
Contributors
- Deterrence: Peter Hayes
- Governance and Civil Society: Yi Kiho, Dyana Mardon
- Climate Change Adaptation: Saleem Janjua
- DPRK: Scott Bruce
- Energy Security: David von Hippel