In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. Hwang Defection

Reuters (“N. KOREAN DEFECTOR STILL IN BEIJING,” Beijing, 3/17/97) reported that ROK officials said on Monday that DPRK defector Hwang Jang-yop could leave as soon as this week, but that a dispute with the PRC over his initial destination was stalling a final resolution. “It could be this week, it could be next week,” ROK embassy spokesman Chang Moon-Ik said when asked when Hwang would leave Beijing. Hwang has been in the ROK consulate in Beijing since seeking asylum there February 12. According to unnamed officials in Seoul, Hwang is still expected to depart for a third country soon, once details have been arranged, and eventually to go to the ROK. One unnamed senior ROK foreign ministry official said, “Hwang Jang-yop will be able to leave China this week but his departure might not be today or tomorrow.” Reports over the weekend said that the Philippines had already agreed to allow Hwang to stop in Manila on his way to the ROK. Three vans seen driving away from Seoul’s consulate in Beijing early on Monday fueled speculation that Hwang already had been spirited out of compound. Security around the consulate was tight on Monday, including PRC police armed with assault rifles posted at approaches to the compound and backed by several armored personnel carriers and a crowd control truck. Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon, visiting Tokyo, said he did not know if Hwang had already been moved to his country. T

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. Japan Report

I. United States

1. Hwang Defection

Reuters (“CHINA PREMIER SEES END TO DEFECTOR CRISIS,” Beijing, 3/14/97) and the Associated Press (“CHINA: N.KOREA CASE NEARS END,” Beijing, 3/14/97) reported that PRC Premier Li Peng said on Friday that the PRC wants and expects a near end to the crisis triggered by the defection of senior DPRK ideologue Hwang Jang-yop, who has sought refuge in the ROK’s Beijing consulate. “I can tell you conditions are nearly ripe for solving this problem,” Li told a news conference when asked about progress in negotiations over Hwang’s fate. Li’s comments were the strongest indication yet that a resolution may be near, although Li gave little hint as to what its substance would be. “On this question, China will exercise caution and we will handle the issue by proceeding from the maintenance of peace on the Korean peninsula,” Li said. Although Li said the PRC would follow international practice in solving the dispute, he made the somewhat surprising remark that “China does not recognize the right of diplomatic asylum by foreign embassies or consulates in its territory.” However, Beijing has allowed asylum seekers to leave foreign embassies on its soil in the past. Hwang, the most senior official ever to defect from the DPRK, has been stranded in the ROK consular compound since February 12 while the PRC, the DPRK and the ROK negotiate his future. Foreign diplomats have said that he would likely be allowed to leave for a third country

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. Russian Federation

I. United States

1. US Policies Toward DPRK and Cuba Compared

US Presidential Press Secretary Mike McCurry (“WHITE HOUSE DAILY BRIEFING, MARCH 12,” USIA Transcript, 3/13/97) responded to a question regarding whether there is an inconsistency between the US policy of engagement with the DPRK and its harder-line approach to Cuba. McCurry replied, “as I often say here, you’re comparing apples and oranges.” McCurry asserted that the DPRK presents “a much different historical environment,” adding that the US “deep concern about the North Korean nuclear program is also a principal difference.”

2. US-DPRK Relations

US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns (“STATE DEPT. NOON BRIEFING, MARCH 12,” USIA Transcript, 3/13/97) stated that Mark Minton, director of the State Department’s Korean Affairs office, and Li Gun, deputy director of the American Affairs bureau in the DPRK Foreign Ministry, discussed “a variety of bilateral issues” in their meeting on Tuesday, including non-proliferation concerns, the Agreed Framework, the establishment of liaison offices, and joint efforts to recover the remains of US soldiers lost in the Korean War. Burns said that the two sides “have not yet agreed on a date to establish those liaison offices.” Burns added, “Mr. Kim Gye Gwan, the Vice Foreign Minister, is in Washington but on a private visit, and as far as I know, he has not seen American Government officials.” Burns suggested that more

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. Announcements

I. United States

1. US-DPRK Meetings

The AP-Dow Jones News Service (“U.S., NORTH KOREA OFFICIALS MEET IN WASHINGTON,” Washington, 3/12/97) reported that US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns said US and DPRK officials met Tuesday to discuss technical issues related to the establishment of diplomatic liaison offices in each other’s capitals. Participants included Mark Minton, director of the State Department’s Korean Affairs office, and Li Gun, deputy director of the American Affairs bureau in the DPRK Foreign Ministry. Burns said progress on establishing diplomatic missions is linked to DPRK attitudes on other issues, including its willingness to enter the proposed four-party talks on Korean peninsula peace. Li was part of the DPRK delegation that took part in two rounds of wide-ranging talks last week in New York. [Ed. note: Burns stated March 10 that top US and DPRK officials would not meet during the DPRK delegation’s visit to Washington. See “US-DPRK Meetings” in the US section of the March 11 Daily Report.]

US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns (“STATE DEPT. NOON BRIEFING, MARCH 11,” USIA Transcript, 3/12/97) stated that, contrary to some media reports coming out of the ROK, the US and the DPRK have not come to an agreement to open liaison offices. “That (liaison offices) remains an objective in our relationship, but we have not yet reached that point,” Burns said. Burns added, “The ultimate agreement to establish the liaison offices

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. Announcements

I. United States

1. US-DPRK Meetings

US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns (“STATE DEPT. NOON BRIEFING, MARCH 10,” USIA Transcript) commented on DPRK Vice Minister Kim Gye-gwan’s visit to Washington this week at the invitation of the Atlantic Council. Burns said that Kim would be meeting with “some other individuals and organizations privately this week,” but would “not be having official appointments while he’s here.” “We spent a lot of time with him last week, as you know, on Wednesday in the trilateral meeting and on Friday, in the bilateral meeting with the United States. … He had many, many hours of discussions with Chuck Kartman last week. In fact, on Friday, they spent the entire day together,” Burns said. Burns added, “This has happened before. Last year, a Vice Foreign Minister of North Korea, Kim Jong-u, visited Washington. At that time, he did have official meetings at the State Department. But since we’ve just concluded those meetings in New York, we felt no need to have them here at the Department.” Burns also said that Kim and his delegation would “certainly” be “free to scout out real estate in the Washington area” for their future liaison office, although adding, “Further work needs to be done in our relationship and on that issue before we can take the step.” Lastly, Burns said the US received a “very strong impression from the meetings in New York” that Kim must brief his superiors on the results of last week’s talks before a de

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. US-DPRK Relations

The Associated Press (“N. KOREAN INVITED TO WASHINGTON,” Washington, 3/10/97) reported that US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns said Monday that DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan and a few other DPRK officials who took part in talks with US diplomats last week in New York are spending this week in Washington on a private visit. The diplomats were invited to Washington by the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan group that examines security and international economics issues, and also will meet privately with other individuals and organizations. Burns said no official meetings with Kim are planned because of the many hours he spent with US officials last Wednesday and Friday. Burns also expressed hope that after Kim returns to the DPRK to brief his superiors on last week’s meetings, Pyongyang will accept the US-ROK proposal for four-party negotiations on achieving a permanent settlement of the Korea conflict.

The USIA reported (“U.S. OFFICIAL ON BILATERAL MEETINGS WITH NORTH KOREA,” 3/10/97) that US and DPRK delegations ended 10 hours of meetings March 7. The delegations gave no details about the substance of the talks, which reportedly covered nuclear nonproliferation, the remains of US soldiers from the Korean War, and reciprocally opening liaison offices. The delegations were headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Charles Kartman and DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Kim G

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. Russian Federation

I. United States

1. US-DPRK Relations

The Associated Press (“U.S., NORTH KOREANS HOLD TALKS,” Seoul, 3/7/97) reported that US and DPRK officials met at the US mission to the UN in New York on Friday. With the DPRK delegation led by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, and the US side led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs Charles Kartman, the meeting represented the highest-level contact between the two countries in a year. US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two sides were to discuss whether to resume negotiations on the DPRK’s missile program, the joint search for US service members missing in the Korean War, and the opening of offices in each other’s countries. The DPRK also was expected to press for more help in overcoming its critical food shortages. The talks took place two days after Wednesday’s landmark joint US/ROK briefing of the DPRK on the four-party peace talks proposal. The US-DPRK talks appeared to be an allowance to the DPRK, which itself conceded in joining the earlier talks involving direct DPRK-ROK contacts on security issues. The DPRK for years has sought diplomatic contacts with Washington to the exclusion of its rivals in Seoul, and last week the DPRK’s official media reported that its delegation would meet with the US but made no mention of the earlier talks that included the ROK.

2. Hwang Defection

Reuters (“CHINA CALLS FOR COOL HEADS I

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. People’s Republic of China.

IV. Japan

I. United States

1. US and ROK Cancel Joint Military Exercise

US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns (“STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, MARCH 6,” USIA Report, 2/6/97) confirmed media reports that the US and the ROK have decided to cancel “Team Spirit” joint military exercises for 1997. “We made this decision taking into account the overall security situation on the Korean peninsula,” Burns said. “This cancellation will have no impact on the readiness of our military forces — American and South Korean — to defend South Korea.” Burns said the cancellation is part of an effort to build confidence and “to create an atmosphere to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula.”

Reuters (“UNITED STATES, SOUTH KOREA SCRAP WAR GAMES,” Seoul, 3/6/97) reported that the US and the ROK canceled this year’s Team Spirit military exercises as a goodwill gesture to encourage the DPRK to join Korean peninsula peace talks. The announcement comes after the Wednesday’s landmark meeting among US, ROK and DPRK officials in New York to brief the DPRK on the joint US/ROK four-party peace talks proposal. Pyongyang has bitterly denounced past Team Spirit exercises, which involve tens of thousands of troops from all branches of both countries militaries, as preparation for an invasion. The once-annual Team Spirit exercises have not been held since 1993, although a decision on whether to resume them is taken each year. A ROK defense ministry statement said the cancellatio

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. Announcement

I. United States

1. Briefing Session on Four-Party Talks

The Associated Press (George Gedda, “US HOPES KOREA TALKS PROGRESS,” Washington, 3/4/97) reported that all arrangements are in place for the upcoming US-ROK briefing of the DPRK on the proposed four-party Korean peace talks. Although the modest agenda calls only for the US, the ROK, and the DPRK to talk about the proposed talks, officials see the meeting as something of a breakthrough, considering the impasse between Pyongyang and Seoul less than 10 weeks ago. In addition, the DPRK’s agreement to engage in talks in the presence of the ROK represents another breakthrough, given the past DPRK insistence on dealing exclusively with the US. The main message the US will be taking to the Wednesday meeting is that it is attaching no conditions on the part of the DPRK to attend the formal negotiations, a senior official said. Leading the respective delegations will be US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Charles Kartman, DPRK Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan and ROK Assistant Foreign Minister Song Young-shik. The report noted that the briefing will be held around three tables joined together as a triangle. The DPRK twice canceled the briefing session earlier this year, and agreed to the current date only after the US and the ROK pledged US$16 million in food relief.

US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns (“STATE DEPT. BRIEFING, MARCH 3,” USIA Transcript, 3/4/97) said that the US “is looking