In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. Japan

I. United States

1. DPRK Opens Web Page

The Associated Press (“NORTH KOREA NEWS HITS INTERNET,” Tokyo, 01/17/97) reported that the DPRK’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Thursday opened a site on the World Wide Web (WWW) for dissemination of English-language news reports around the world. The web site address is: http://www.kcna.co.jp. However, only a few earlier news reports were immediately available on the site, and Lee Young Su, an editor of the Korean News Service in Tokyo, which acts as the Japanese agency for KCNA, admitted that KCNA wasn’t having an easy time with its new venue. “It’s been a little difficult for our young men in Pyongyang to master Internet, but never mind. Next month, it will be more up to date,” Lee said. By law, ROK citizens cannot read DPRK newspapers or other publications, and are not allowed to listen to DPRK radio broadcasts. The ROK Unification Ministry confirmed Friday that viewing the DPRK’s WWW page is illegal, but said it has not yet made any moves to block access to it. A ministry official said, on condition of anonymity, that the ministry has not asked ROK Internet providers to block access to the site because the same information can be found on so many other pages.

[Editor’s note: at the time of publication of this Daily Report, the KCNA site offered a list of news items for January 16, a link to an archive of news reports dating to December 2, 1996, a description of the Korean Central News Agency, and a photograph captioned, “The camp of Mt. Paekdu: Birthplace of Secretary Kim Jong Il.”]

2. ROK Strikes

Reuters (“SPECIAL FORCE

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. People’s Republic of China

I. United States

1. Venue Set for Four-Party Talks Briefing

United Press International (“N.KOREA AGREES TO DATE FOR BRIEFING,” Washington, 01/16/97) reported that the US State Department said Thursday that the DPRK has agreed to have the formal US briefing on the four-party peace talks proposal take place on January 29. The location is yet to be determined. Progress toward reaching an agreement to convene the four-party talks, which would involve the US, the PRC, the DPRK and the ROK, was interrupted by the DPRK submarine incursion into ROK territory last September. The DPRK agreed in principle to attend a briefing on the proposal as part of the resolution to the submarine incursion incident last month.

2. ROK Family Defects to DPRK

The Associated Press (“S. KOREA FAMILY FLEES TO NORTH,” Seoul, 01/16/97) reported that the DPRK’s official Korean Central News Agency announced Thursday that a ROK family of four has defected to the DPRK. Kuk Chol-jung, 36, who defected with his wife and their two children, aged seven and three, was quoted as saying, “I was convinced that the only way for my family is to come over to the North in which the popular masses form a great harmonious family.” While an increasing number of DPRK citizens are fleeing to the ROK, defections in the opposite direction are rare. [Ed. note: Please see related item in the ROK section, below.]

3. ROK Official Apo

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. ROK Attacks DPRK on Accepting Taiwan Nuclear Waste

The Associated Press (“S. KOREA FAULTS NORTH ON WASTE,” Seoul, 01/15/97) reported that on Wednesday the ROK demanded that the DPRK call off plans to store nuclear waste from Taiwan. “North Korea should immediately stop taking in nuclear waste,” the ROK Unification Ministry said, claiming that the plan would turn the Korean peninsula into a nuclear waste dump. The Taiwan Power Company signed a contract Saturday to transport sixty thousand barrels of nuclear waste to the DPRK over the next two years. The state-run company said the waste is only slightly radioactive.

2. Former ROK Sex Slaves Protest Japan’s Inaction

The Associated Press (“FORMER SEX SLAVES TARGET JAPAN,” Seoul, 01/15/97) reported that on Wednesday ROK women who had been forced to be sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II demonstrated outside the Japanese Embassy, pelting it with eggs and demanding that Tokyo apologize for its wartime crimes. The arrival of Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda in Seoul earlier in the day for talks prior to a January 25-26 summit occasioned the protest. Riot police were deployed in front of the main gate to prevent anyone from entering the compound. The protesters, members of the Korea Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery, also delivered a protest letter to the embassy. The protesters were among many in the ROK

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

IV. Russian Federation

I. United States

1. Four-Party Peace Talks Briefing

US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns (“STATE DEPT. NOON BRIEFING, JANUARY 13,” USIA Transcript, 01/14/97) would not confirm reports from the ROK that the agreed briefing of the DPRK on the Four-Party Peace Talks Proposal has been scheduled for January 29 in New York. Burns said, “I know that there was a meeting Saturday in New York between State Department diplomats and North Korean officials from the North Korean mission to the United Nations. They did talk about the briefing on the Four-Party Talks, but they have not yet arrived at an agreement on the date or the venue for that meeting, and we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to work that out very soon. When we do have an agreement, I’ll be glad to announce it.”

2. ROK Strikes

Reuters (“S. KOREAN STRIKES FIZZLE AS WORKERS RETREAT,” Seoul, 01/14/97) reported that participation in Tuesday’s scheduled collective strike in protest of new anti-labor legislation, anticipated to be the largest in ROK history, was falling short of expectations. Numerous white-collar workers j

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. Announcement: Abolition 2000 Movement To Meet In Tahiti

I. United States

1. US-DPRK Relations

US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns (STATE DEPT. NOON BRIEFING, JAN. 10,” USIA Transcript, 01/13/97) stated that US and DPRK representatives met in New York on Friday but that no date or venue for the upcoming briefing on the proposed four-party peace talks had yet been set. “Arrangements for the upcoming joint briefing on the Four-Party Talks are under discussion, and I think the joint briefing will probably be held towards the end of this month towards the end of January. What we need to work out with the North Koreans is where that will take place, who will attend and the specific date. We don’t have that worked out yet,” Burns said. In response to questions as to the causes and implications of the delay, Burns said, “I think we feel reasonably confident, following the gesture made by North Korea nearly two weeks ago, that the decision has been made by the North Koreans that they will participate in a joint briefing. The only question is modalities. Sometimes that takes a while to work out logistics.”

2. DPRK To Accept Taiwan Nuclear Wa

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. ROK Strikes

Reuters (“KOREA COURT ISSUES WARRANTS FOR STRIKE LEADER,” Seoul, 01/10/97) reported that a ROK court on Friday issued arrest warrants for seven strike leaders, ignoring unions’ threats of all-out strikes and rebuffing international appeals. Korean Confederation of Trade Unions president Kwon Young-kil and six deputies were reported to have taken refuge in the Myongdong Cathedral in Seoul, sheltering inside a ramshackle tent and enduring freezing conditions. They have warned that any attempt to seize them will trigger nationwide work stoppages, including a public sector shutdown. “If any of the seven, including myself, are arrested, we have orders to start intensive strikes immediately,” Kwon told a news conference before the warrants were issued. Myongdong church official Chang Bok-pil urged government and union leaders to compromise, saying “democracy is the result of talks and cooperation.” However, he admitted that there was nothing the clergy could do if police decided to violate sacred ground and arrest the seven in their tent pitched beneath a statue of the Virgin Mary.

The Associated Press (“S. KOREA WORK