Korea
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1. DPRK Missile Development
Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, following two rounds of talks with DPRK leader Kim Jong-il, announced on July 19 that the DPRK had offered to abandon its missile program if other nations provide it with rocket boosters for space exploration. Russia and the DPRK also signed a friendship treaty. A senior US official said that the US could not agree to the offer if it meant putting Western missile technology in the DPRK’s hands. US House of Representative Benjamin Gilman, chairman of the House Committee on International Relations, introduced legislation to re-impose economic sanctions on the DPRK if it “tests or proliferates missiles or missile technology.”
“DPRK Missile Program” (Daily Report, July 21, US)
“DPRK Missile Program” (Daily Report, July 20, US)
“DPRK-Russia Relations” (Daily Report, July 20, ROK)
“Russia-DPRK Talks” (Daily Report, July 19, US)
“DPRK Missile Program” (Daily Report, July 19, US)
“DPRK-Russia Relations” (Daily Report, July 19, ROK)
“DPRK Missiles” (Daily Report, July 18, US) |
2. Russia-DPRK Relations
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Japanese media that Russia would exercise positive influence on the situation on the Korean Peninsula by maintaining balanced and good-neighborly relations with the DPRK and the ROK.
“Russian Position on the Korean Issue” (Daily Report, July 19, PRC) |
3. ROK-DPRK Visits
The presidents of 45 major ROK news organizations are expected to visit the DPRK from August 5-12 to travel to Mount Paektu and meet Chairman Kim Jong-il.
“ROK Journalists’ Visit to DPRK” (Daily Report, July 20, ROK)ROK officials said on July 16 that more than 118 ROK citizens have tracked down their DPRK kin to confirm whether relatives in the DPRK have applied for mid-August reunions. In contrast to the ROK method of randomly selecting candidates for reunions, the DPRK seemed to have picked its candidates on the basis of their social standing and ideology judging by the prominent status of many of the candidates.
“Reunion of Separated Families” (Daily Report, July 19, ROK)
“Reunion of Separated Families” (Daily Report, July 18, ROK) |
4. ROK-DPRK Talks
ROK Foreign Minister Lee Jong-binn will meet with his DPRK counterpart, Paek Nam- sun, on July 26 in Bangkok at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum. The ROK proposed that high-level talks between the ROK and DPRK be held in Seoul July 27-29, to discuss implementation of the agreement reached at the June inter-Korean summit. ROK President Kim Dae ung said that the DPRK and ROK officials will meet later this month to discuss establishment of a military hotline and the first exchanges between the two countries’ armed forces. ROK National Assembly Speaker Lee Man-sup formally proposed to hold inter-Korean parliamentary talks.
“ROK-DPRK Talks” (Daily Report, July 21, US)
“Inter-Korean Talks” (Daily Report, July 20, ROK)
“ROK-DPRK Talks” (Daily Report, July 19, US)
“DPRK-ROK Assembly Talks” (Daily Report, July 18, ROK) |
5. US-DPRK Missile Talks
DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye-gwan and US special envoy on Korean affairs, Charles Kartman, met in Berlin to prepare for the meeting of US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sunat the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum.
“DPRK-US Talks” (Daily Report, July 19, ROK)
“US-DPRK Talks” (Daily Report, July 18, US)
“DPRK-US Talks” (Daily Report, July 18, ROK) |
6. DPRK Foreign Relations: APEC
Hamid Jaafar, director of the Brunei Foreign Ministry, said that Brunei has no plan to invite DPRK leader Kim Jong-il to the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in November because it is not a member, but APEC would consider it if there were a formal suggestion by some members.
“DPRK Participation in APEC” (Daily Report, July 20, ROK) |
7. Nogun-Ri Massacre
The ROK Defense Ministry said that an ROK forensic team started on-site forensic work to secure concrete evidence on the alleged massacre of ROK civilians by US troops in Nogun-ri during the Korean War.
“Korean War Massacre” (Daily Report, July 19, US)
“Korean War Massacre” (Daily Report, July 19, ROK) |
China
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8. Cross-Straits Relations
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on July 15 withdrew a motion to drop the pro-independence clause from its platform. Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian said that there was no room to offer more after saying he was willing to discuss the “one China” concept with the PRC and that the ball was now in the PRC’s court. He also called for a deterrent force to check any military invasion by the PRC. Li Yafei, PRC secretary-general of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), told a delegation from Taiwan’s Kuomintang Party that there was no consensus that Taiwan and the PRC could have different interpretations of the one-China principle.
“Taiwan Military” (Daily Report, July 21, US)
“Taiwan Independence” (Daily Report, July 17, US)
“Cross-Straits Relations” (Daily Report, July 19, US)
“The Taiwan Issue” (Daily Report, July 19, PRC) |
9. US-PRC Relations
PRC President Jiang Zemin US Secretary of Defense William Cohen to honor the three Sino-US joint communiques and relevant commitments concerning the Taiwan question. An opinion article by Steve Chapman warned that the PRC plans to develop a nuclear force sufficient to deter the US from acting in the Taiwan Straits. The US House Armed Services Committee released a report on PRC military modernization.
“US Defense Secretary’s Visit to PRC” (Daily Report, July 19, PRC)
“US Defense Secretary’s PRC Visit” (Daily Report, July 17 US)
“PRC View of Missile Defense” (Daily Report, July 17, US)
“PRC Military Power” (Daily Report, July 21, US) |
10. PRC View of US Missile Defense
The PRC said that it will make sure that US missile defense plans be included on the agenda at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF).
“US Missile Defense at ARF” (Daily Report, July 21, US) |
11. Russia-PRC Relations
The PRC and Russia signed five agreements, including a reaffirmation of the joint statement on the anti-ballistic missile treaty signed during their summit.
“PRC-Russian Relations” (Daily Report, July 20, US)
“PRC-Russian Relations” (Daily Report, July 19, PRC)
“PRC-Russian Joint Statement on ABM Treaty” (Daily Report, July 19, PRC)
“PRC-Russian Talks” (Daily Report, July 18, US)
“PRC-Russian Reaction to US Missile Defense” (Daily Report, July 18, US) |
12. India-Russia-PRC Strategic Partnership
According to Russia, India, China, and itself could form a partnership based on their shared interests and common threats, and indicated that Russia would support India’s inclusion in the Shanghai Five regional security organization.
“India-Russia-PRC Strategic Partnership” (SANDNet Weekly Update, V.1, #27) |
Japan
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13. US Troops in Japan
Sources from the Japanese government said that Japan and the US reached an agreement on sharing the expenses of US troops in Japan in which Japan’s share will decrease by 2.5-3 billion yen each year.
“Japanese-US Base Issue” (Daily Report, July 21, Japan)
“Japan-US Relations” (Daily Report, July 19, PRC)
More than 6,500 residents of Okinawa held a rally against the presence of US military bases, demanding a reduction in US forces in Okinawa and protesting against recent crimes allegedly committed by US servicemen based on the island.. US President Bill Clinton pledged that the US military would reduce its impact on Okinawa.
“US Troops in Okinawa” (Daily Report, July 17, US)
“US Military in Okinawa” (Daily Report, July 21, US) |
14. DPRK-Japan Normalization
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori hailed the DPRK’s diplomatic rapprochement drive and called for a fresh effort to normalize Japan-DRPK ties. Analysts said that when Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono and his DPRK counterpart Paek Nam-sun meet on July 26 on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum meeting in Bangkok, there is little hope of any big breakthrough but the encounter may prove to be an important symbolic step on the path towards opening diplomatic relations. The Japanese government will likely provide 150,000 tons in aid to the DPRK.
“Japan-DPRK Relations” (Daily Report, July 20, US)
“DPRK-Japan Talks” (Daily Report, July 18, US)
“Japanese Aid to DPRK” (Daily Report, July 21, US) |
15. Japanese Nuclear Sanctions
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is likely to announce the lifting of economic sanctions against India and Pakistan despite having previously demanded that both sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
“Japanese Sanctions” (SANDNet Weekly Update, V.1#27) |
Missile Issues
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16. US Missile Defense
US officials on July 18 expressed a lack of concern over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning that Russia and the PRC will respond if the US goes ahead with a proposed national missile shield. The US stance is that missile defense is directed against neither country.
“Russian View of Missile Defense” (Daily Report, July 19, US)
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said that the US missile defense issue is not on the agenda for the Group of 8 summit talks, contradicting earlier Japanese newspaper reports that Japan planned to pledge its support for missile defense during the summit.
“US Missile Defense at G8” (Daily Report, July 21, US)
“Japan’s Stance toward US NMD” (Daily Report, July 21, Japan)
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