NORTHEAST ASIA PEACE AND SECURITY NETWORK ***** SPECIAL REPORT ***** The following "DPRK Report" is the product of a joint project between the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) of the Monterey Institute of International Studies (Monterey, California, USA) and the Institute for Contemporary International Problems (ICIP) (Moscow, Russia). It is written by Russian analysts associated with the ICIP and edited by the CNS. ------------------------------------------ THE DPRK REPORT, No. 22 (January-February 2000) 1. North Korean Views of the U.S. National Missile Defense Program According to various sources, the North Korean leadership is totally preoccupied with the issue of the DPRK's national security. Pyongyang explains to foreign dignitaries that the only reason it is participating in the four-party talks is "to gain the withdrawal of American troops from the Korean Peninsula and to thwart Washington's plans to deploy national missile defenses." "Actually," North Korean officials stress, "the PRC's and Seoul's participation in the four-party talks have no real meaning. This [only] is a concession to American demands." They emphasize that "Unless American troops leave the Korean Peninsula for good, no discussions on any other subject make sense." North Koreans are even less interested in widening the scope of the talks to include Russia and Japan. The DPRK suggests that instead of advocating six-party talks, Russia "should concentrate on demanding the withdrawal of the American military from South Korea and on disrupting U.S. schemes for NMD." Pyongyang points out that NMD "though publicly directed against the DPRK, in fact is meant to achieve total superiority over Russia and China, thus making Washington's domination of the entire world a reality." The DPRK vehemently denies accusations that it ever attempted to develop nuclear and long-range missile capabilities. Instead, North Korea officials say that their country has only one aim: to launch peaceful satellites "like any other developed and accomplished nation of the world." They argue that Washington "lies about DPRK nuclear and missile plans with only one purpose-to gain internal and external support for NMD and its other aggressive military plans." 2. North Korean Views of Japanese Plans to Develop TMD From the North Korean point of view, if Japan develops TMD "it will greatly enhance the threat to the DPRK's national security and the danger of a major war in the Far East." DPRK officials, however, tend to think that in order to block TMD plans in the region "it is necessary to put pressure not so much on Tokyo as on Washington." As an influential North Korean scholar said privately: "The decisions are made in the USA. If we can convince the Americans, through a combination of strong and soft actions and statements, not to embark on the dangerous road of a new round of the arms race, then the Japanese will follow the cue from overseas. If not, then Tokyo will succumb to American pressure." Pyongyang, it seems, prefers to concentrate its current efforts not so much on denunciations of Tokyo as on a policy of accommodation. A high- ranking North Korean diplomat argues that "If we succeed in normalizing diplomatic relations with Japan, the DPRK will obtain reliable access to food aid, technology, investment, and other items of great importance for our country." The diplomat adds that Japan is considered in the North as "potentially our most important economic partner in the long run." Rapprochement with Tokyo is also seen in Pyongyang as a method of influencing American policies in Korea and the Far East as a whole, including U.S. plans for NMD and TMD. 3. The New Phase in Russian-North Korean Relations Any analysis of current North Korean publications and the statements of various officials leads to the clear conclusion that Pyongyang is not happy with the new, lower status of its relations with Russia. The DPRK evidently feels that it has been "betrayed and damaged in a material sense" by its former mentor. Some officials hint that the present dismal economic situation in the country was caused by the "abrupt cessation of Soviet (Russian) aid and the withdrawal of its military shield." Left alone, North Korea "had no other choice but to pour all our scarce resources into military programs, especially because Americans and their South Korean puppets used the opportunity to immediately increase pressure on the DPRK." North Korea wants Russia to compensate it for this "damage," at least partially, by repairing and modernizing all those enterprises built in North Korea by the Soviet Union during the prior period of relations. Until and unless this compensation is provided, Pyongyang says that it will not consider itself to be bound by any obligations to Russia. Moreover, North Korea says that will remain absolutely indifferent to Russian initiatives concerning security arrangements in Northeast Asia, as well as Moscow's attempts to contribute to peace and stability in the sub-region and in the Asian-Pacific as a whole. The only issue on which North Korea demonstrates its sympathy with the Russian authorities is Chechnya. Officials state that Moscow has every right to fight separatists and terrorists to restore order and unity in the country. Interpreting events in Chechnya, North Korean representatives blame Americans and other "imperialist forces" for "stirring up troubles in hopes of driving Russia out of oil-rich regions." 4. Izvestiya Report on Alleged Russian Influence over Pyongyang's Missile Tests On February 17, 2000, the Moscow-based newspaper Izvestiya reported that the DPRK was planning to conduct a Taepodong missile test to celebrate Kim Jong-il's birthday on February 16. [Ed. note: See "Alleged DPRK-RF Missile Agreement" in the Russian Section of the Daily Report for February 22: http://www.nautilus.org/napsnet/dr/0002/FEB22.html#item22]. The report stated that North Korean officials were dissuaded from doing so by visiting Russian diplomats. On the basis of available information, however, this report-as well as the entire Izvestiya article, written by Yury Glotyuk-appears to be groundless. There is no evidence that the DPRK had any real plans to launch a Taepodong on February 16, consequently, the role of Russian officials appears to have been overstated. 5. North Korean Views on the Russian Presidential Elections Not surprisingly, North Korea's favorite candidate in the forthcoming March 26, 2000 presidential elections in Russia is communist Gennady Zyuganov. As DPRK representatives point out, Zyuganov, if he comes to power, "will certainly restore an anti-imperialist stand on crucial issues." They believe that he would fight against U.S. national missile defense plans, NATO expansion, NATO attempts to ignore the United Nations and to use force against independent states, and "other tricks." In regards to the Korean Peninsula, North Korean officials believe that Mr. Zyuganov "will firmly support the just struggle of the Korean nation against the occupation of the South by American neo-colonialist troops and will provide adequate aid to the DPRK." As for Acting President Vladimir Putin, North Korean officials express doubts about him, describing him as "controversial." On the one hand, they say that Mr. Putin shows signs of "standing firmly against the West and its agents in Chechnya and elsewhere." Mr. Putin is praised for recognizing "the necessity of keeping [Russia's] armed forces strong in the face of encroachments by Washington and the need to bring order and discipline to Russian society." On the other hand, the leading candidate for the Russian presidency is distrusted by Pyongyang because he "comes from the pro-Western, liberal- democratic Yeltsin camp," he "continues to seek money and friendship in the West," and he "praises the private economy and the bourgeois press." North Koreans, however, preserve a certain hope that "tough realities and the patriotic figures in Putin's entourage will leave him with no choice but to move to an anti-Western stand and to look for reliable friends like the DPRK."