Korean Peninsula
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1. Kim Jong-il’s PRC Visit
DPRK leader Kim Jong-il visited Beijing to meet PRC officials, a visit that was confirmed after the fact by both PRC and DPRK news media. ROK newspapers reported that PRC President Jiang Zemin is likely to reciprocate the visit later this year.
“Kim Jong-il’s PRC Visit” (Daily Report, June 2, US)
“DPRK Leader’s Visit to PRC” (Daily Report, June 2, ROK)
“Kim Jong-il’s PRC Visit” (Daily Report, June 1, US)
“PRC-DPRK Relations” (Daily Report, June 1, US)
“Jiang Zemin’s DPRK Visit” (Daily Report, June 1, US)
“DPRK Leader’s Visit to PRC” (Daily Report, June 1, ROK)
“Kim Jong-il’s Beijing Trip” (Daily Report, June 1, Discussion)
“Reported Kim Jong-il Visit to PRC” (Daily Report, May 31, US)
“DPRK Leader’s Reported Visit to PRC” (Daily Report, May 31, ROK) |
2. Inter-Korean Summit
Thirty ROK officials headed to the DPRK on May 31 for a 12-day visit to finalize preparations for the summit meeting from June 12-14. The DPRK reportedly closed its border to the PRC in advance of the summit for security reasons.
“Inter-Korean Summit” (Daily Report, June 2, ROK)
“Inter-Korean Summit” (Daily Report, June 1, ROK)
“DPRK-PRC Border” (Daily Report, June 1, ROK)
“ROK-DPRK Summit” (Daily Report, May 31, US)
“Foreign Visits to DPRK” (Daily Report, May 31, US)
“Inter-Korean Summit” (Daily Report, May 30, ROK)
“DPRK Reaction to Inter-Korean Summit” (Daily Report, May 30, ROK)
“Broadcast of Inter-Korean Summit” (Daily Report, May 30, ROK) |
3. US-DPRK Talks
US officials said that there was a great deal of progress during recent talks in Rome, despite earlier reports that the DPRK had demanded compensation for the delay in reactor construction. US President Bill Clinton said that US and DPRK officials would resume talks next week in Kuala Lumpur on the search for remains of US soldiers missing in action during the Korean War.
“DPRK-US Talks” (Daily Report, June 1, ROK)
“DPRK-US Talks” (Daily Report, May 30, ROK)
“Remains of US Soldiers from Korean War” (Daily Report, June 2, US)
“Remains of US Soldiers from Korean War” (Daily Report, May 30, US)
“Remains of US from Korean War” (Daily Report, May 30, ROK) |
4. ROK-US Talks
ROK officials said that ROK President Kim Dae-jung was likely to hold talks with US President Bill Clinton when the two attend the funeral of late Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on June 8. Both ROK and Japanese officials denied, however, that the two would hold a trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
“ROK-US Talks” (Daily Report, June 1, ROK)
“ROK-Japan-US Relations” (Daily Report, May 31, US) |
5. Implementation of Agreed Framework
Jim Mann argued that threats to strike for higher wages by DPRK workers involved in the light-water reactor construction project were an attempt by the DPRK to squeeze more money out of its dialogue partners. The Washington Post reported that the US had finished sealing the fuel rods taken from the Yongbyon reactor.
“Construction of Light-Water Reactor” (Daily Report, May 31, US)
“Sealing of DPRK Nuclear Fuel Rods” (Daily Report, May 31, ROK) |
6. DPRK Underground Site
The US State Department said that the second visit by a US team to an underground facility at Kumchangri, DPRK, yielded no evidence of “disturbing activities.”
“Inspection of DPRK Underground Site” (Daily Report, May 31, US) |
7. ROK-Japan Talks
ROK President Kim Dae-jung met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to discuss the upcoming ROK-DPRK summit and other issues of mutual concern.
“ROK-Japan Talks” (Daily Report, May 30, ROK)
“ROK-Japanese Summit” (Daily Report, May 31, PRC) |
People’s Republic of China
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8. Cross-Straits Relations
Richard Halloran wrote that, despite Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian’s apparent soft stance toward the PRC, he is pushing Taiwan in a direction that could ultimately lead to cross-Straits conflict with the PRC. The People’s Liberation Army Daily said that Taiwan had a choice between a future as part of an emerging superpower or being engulfed in a “sea of fire.” Raymond Burghardt, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, said that the US will not pressure Taiwan to accept the PRC’s conditions for talks
“Cross-Straits Relations” (Daily Report, June 2, US)
“Cross-Straits Relations” (Daily Report, May 30, US)
“US Policy toward Taiwan” (Daily Report, May 30, US) |
9. Taiwan Missile Defense
Taiwan Defense Minister Wu Shih-wen said that Taiwan plans to test-fire its Patriot missile defense system as a counter to the PRC’s growing missile capability, and that US technicians would be present at the test.
“Taiwan Missile Defense” (Daily Report, May 30, US) |
10. US-PRC Relations
PRC President Jiang Zemin and US President Bill Clinton had a phone conversation in which they agreed that US-PRC relations were improving in the wake of the US House of Representatives’ approval of Permanent Normal Trading Relations (PNTR) for the PRC. Greg Mastel argues that despite PNTR, the PRC is certain to continue to pose a challenge to U.S. interests, while Mackubin Thomas Owens compares the rise of the PRC with that of Germany in the beginning of the 20th centure.
“PRC-US Relations” (Daily Report, May 31, PRC)
“US-PRC Relations” (NPP Flash, V. 2, N. 20) |
11. PRC Military
June Teufel Dreyer of the Strategic Studies Institute analyzes how the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has responded to the NATO campaign in Kosovo.
“PLA Reaction to Kosovo Campaign” (NPP Flash, V. 2, N. 20) |
12. PRC-Indian Relations
PRC President Jiang Zemin and met with his visiting Indian counterpart Kocheril Raman Narayanan to discuss unresolved border issues and other aspects of bilateral relations.
“PRC-Indian Relations” (Daily Report, May 31, PRC)
“PRC-India Border Talks” (Daily Report, May 30, US)
“India-China Relations” (South Asia Nuclear Dialogue, May 31) |
13. PRC-Japan Relations
Hiromu Nonaka, secretary-general of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party, visited the PRC on behalf of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to discuss bilateral relations. PRC Premier Zhu Rongji will visit Japan in October.
“PRC-Japanese Relations” (Daily Report, May 31, PRC) |
Japan
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14. Japanese Military Development
Riichi Furugaki argues that collective self-defense is becoming increasingly vital for Japan, not only with the US but also with other key countries, while David J. Richardson provides an overview of the revised Guidelines for US-Japan Defense Cooperation.
“US-Japan Military Relationship” (NPP Flash, V. 2, N. 20) |
Missile Defense
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15. US-Russian Summit
Most analysts do not expect any major accords in the upcoming summit between US President Clinton and Russian President Vladimir Putin, although others do believe that an agreement on amending the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty is possible. Many Europeans, however, doubted that Clinton could convince Putin that the DPRK’s missile program constituted a real threat.
“US-Russian Summit” (Daily Report, June 2, US)
“DPRK Nuclear Threat” (Daily Report, May 30, US)
“US-Russia Talks on DPRK” (Daily Report, May 30, ROK) |
16. Effects of US Missile Defense
Experts warned that the deployment of a US missile defense system could not only spur the PRC to increase its nuclear arsenal, but have a spillover effect into South Asia as well.
“Effects of US Missile Defense” (Daily Report, May 30, US)
“Effects of US Missile Defense” (NPP Flash, V. 2, N. 20)
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