NAPSNET Week in Review 17 August, 2001

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"NAPSNET Week in Review 17 August, 2001", NAPSNet Weekly Report, August 17, 2001, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-weekly/napsnet-week-in-review-17-august-2001/

Korea


1. US-DPRK Talks

ROK President Kim Dae-jung on Wednesday called on the US to “make its best efforts to resume talks” with the DPRK. US State Department deputy spokesman Phillip T. Reeker reiterated that the US “is prepared to undertake serious discussions with the North Koreans at any place, at any time, and without any preconditions.” US Senator Joseph Biden warned that the Bush administration’s plans for a national missile defense system (NMD) could overshadow its efforts to resume talks with the DPRK.
“US-DPRK Talks” (Daily Report, August 16, US)
“US on Inter-Korean Talks” (Daily Report, August 17, ROK)
“ROK on DPRK-US Relations” (Daily Report, August 15, PRC)
“Biden on US-DPRK Talks” (Daily Report, August 14, US)
“US Impact on Inter-Korean Relations” (Daily Report, August 14, US)


2. Kim Jong-il’s Russian Visit

DPRK leader Kim Jong-il completed his trip to Russia with an agreement on Russian participation in the linking of the inter-Korean railway.

“DPRK-Russia Railway Pact” (Daily Report, August 16, ROK)
“DPRK Leader’s Visit to RF” (Daily Report, August 16, Russia)
“DPRK Leader’s Interview” (Daily Report, August 16, Russia)
“RF Followers of DPRK Ideology” (Daily Report, August 16, Russia)
“Kim Jong Il’s Trip to Russia” (Daily Report, August 14, ROK)


3. Inter-Korean Celebration

A 337-member ROK delegation attended a celebration of the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from colonial rule on Thursday, but there was controversy as the delegation split over attending the closing ceremony at the DPRK’s “Monument to Three Chapters for National Unification.”
“Inter-Korean Independence Day Celebration” (Daily Report, August 17, ROK)
“ROK-DPRK Joint Celebration” (Daily Report, August 16, US)
“Korean Independence Day” (Daily Report, August 16, ROK)


4. DPRK at IFI meeting

The international Monetary Fund and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development on Thursday decided to give up its initial plan to invite the DPRK to the upcoming annual meeting as it was decided that the meeting would be held only for two days.
“IMF-IBRD Meeting” (Daily Report, August 17, ROK)


5. DPRK Refugees

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Thursday expressed concern about the PRC’s refusal to grant asylum to DPRK refugees.
“DPRK Refugees in PRC” (Daily Report, August 16, US)


China


1. Alleged PRC Military Sales

US senators called on the government to impose sanctions against PRC entities that they said are transferring missile components to Pakistan. The PRC Foreign Ministry said that it has yet to find evidence that PRC companies are violating UN sanctions by helping Iraq upgrade its air defenses. US State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said that a team of US experts will travel to the PRC this month for talks on halting the spread of missile technology.
“Alleged PRC Arms Sales” (Daily Report, August 16, US)
“Alleged PRC Military Sales” (Daily Report, August 17, US)
“Sino-US Non-proliferation Talks” (Daily Report, August 14, US)
“PRC Alleged Missile Sales” (SANDNet, V2 N33)
“Alleged PRC Missile Proliferation” (NPP Flash, V3, N31)


2. US Spy Plane in PRC

US Deputy State Department Spokesman Philip Reeker said that the PRC rejected the US offer to pay “reasonable costs” associated with the recovery of the US EP-3 spy plane that crashed on Hainan Island.
“US Spy Plane in PRC” (Daily Report, August 16, US)
“PRC-US Relations” (Daily Report, August 15, PRC)


3. Cross-Straits Relations

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian called on the PRC to resume dialogue. The PRC’s official Xinhua news agency said that a new pro-independence party founded in Taiwan called the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) would jeopardize cross-strait relations. Taiwan announced that it will allow PRC goods arriving at Kaohsiung to be taken to an airport for shipment off the island, but would still not allow it to be unloaded.
“Cross-strait Relations” (Daily Report, August 15, US)
“Cross-Strait Relations” (Daily Report, August 14, US)
“PRC-Taiwan Shipping Links” (Daily Report, August 16, US)


4. PRC Migration to Russia

Russian political scientist Andrey Piontkovsky warned that marketization of the Russian Far East will accelerate Chinese migration into the region.
“PRC Migration to RF” (Daily Report, August 16, Russia)


Japan


1. Yakusuni Shrine Visit

Japanese Cabinet ministers and conservative politicians joined tens of thousands of citizens at the Yasukuni shrine to mark the 56th anniversary of the nation’s World War II surrender. Both the ROK and the PRC officially protested against an earlier visit to the shrine by Japanese Premier Junichiro Koizumi.

“Japanese World War II Commemoration” (Daily Report, August 16, US)
“Japan’s Premier’s Visit to Yasukuni” (Daily Report, August 16, Russia)
“ROK Reaction to Koizumi’s Visit to Yasukuni Shrine” (Daily Report, August 15, PRC)
“PRC Reaction to Koizumi’s Visit to Yasukuni Shrine” (Daily Report, August 15, PRC)
“Koizumi Visit to Yasukuni Shrine” (Daily Report, August 14, US)


2. Japanese War Crimes

The UN Subcommission on Human Rights called on Japan to compensate women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II and to include the issue in its educational curriculum. At least 532 of Japan’s 542 school districts refused to adopt a history textbook that critics said glorifies Japan’s military past.
“UN Resolution on Japanese War Crimes” (Daily Report, August 17, US)
“Japanese History Textbook” (Daily Report, August 16, US)
“Japanese History Textbooks” (Daily Report, August 16, Russia)


South Asia


1. Indian Nuclear Policy

India is reportedly attempting to integrate under a coherent military command a triad of nuclear weapons delivery systems, but at current only has a few planes and the Agni-II missile as viable delivery systems.
“Indian Nuclear Policy” (SANDNet, V2 N33)


2. Indian-PRC Border

India and the PRC are preparing to discuss definition of the border in the Ladakh area of the Line of Actual Control. Indian Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee said that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf told him that Pakistan would reclaim the Jammu and Kashmir territory ceded to the PRC in 1963 if India and Pakistan complete an agreement on Kashmir, but the Pakistan Foreign Ministry denied the claim.
“India-PRC Relations” (SANDNet, V2 N33)
“India-Pakistan Relations” (SANDNet, V2 N33)


3. US Sanctions

Bush administration officials were quoted as stating that they would begin working with Congress when it returned from recess to lift the sanctions imposed on India.
“US Sanctions” (SANDNet, V2, N33, India)
“US Sanctions” (SANDNet, V2, N33, Pakistan)


4. Kashmir

Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani said that a number of districts in Jammu and Kashmir have been “disturbed areas,” which gives the military unfettered power to deal with militants. The Pakistan Foreign Office said that the decision is further evidence of India’s repression of the freedom movements there. K.K. Katyal accused Pakistan of trying to “wiggle out of solemn commitments” on the Line of Control.
“Kashmir” (SANDNet, V2, N33, India)
“Kashmir” (SANDNet, V2, N33, Pakistan)
“Recent Violence” (SANDNet, V2, N33)


Nuclear Issues


1. US-Russia Missile Defense Talks

A senior US Defense Department official reported that two days of meetings between senior US and Russian defense officials to prepare for talks between US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on missile defense were “very positive.” After the ministerial talks, however, Ivanov said that he remained unconvinced of the need to scrap the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
“US-Russia Talks on BMD” (NPP Flash, V3, N31)
“Russia-US Talks on Missile Defense” (Daily Report, August 15, PRC)

Jon Wolfsthal of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace argued that the US focus on missile defense may only reinforce the importance of large and technologically advanced nuclear arsenals.
“Commentary on US-Russia Talks” (NPP Flash, V3, N31)

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