NAPSNet Daily Report
 
monday, december 17, 2001
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CONTENTS

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea III. Japan
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I. United States


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1. DPRK Reaction to US ABM Withdrawal

Reuters ("NORTH KOREA REACTS CAUTIOUSLY TO U.S. MISSILE TREATY," Seoul, 12/16/01) reported that the DPRK reacted cautiously to the US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM). The DPRK stated, "The U.S. announcement of its unilateral withdrawal from the treaty is arousing great apprehensions from the international community."


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2. PRC View of US ABM Withdrawal

Agence France-Presse ("US DELEGATION MEETS CHINESE OFFICIALS FOR TALKS ON," 12/17/01) reported that a US delegation was in the PRC for talks with PRC officials on the US decision to pull out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. The delegation, which arrived over the weekend, had consultations early Monday with PRC officials. A US embassy spokesperson stated, "The purpose of the visit was to consult with China as a follow-up to the announcement of the withdrawal from the ABM Treaty." The US delegation was headed by Avis Bohlen, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control.


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3. Russian View of US ABM withdrawal

Reuters ("RUSSIA SEEKS POST-ABM STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK," Pretoria, 12/16/01) reported that Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said on December 15 that his country would try to find a substitute for the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty. Ivanov stated, "We would not like this unilateral step of the United States administration to be to the detriment of strategic stability. We would like to hope that the negative consequences of this abandonment will be minimal and on our part we will do our utmost to achieve that." Ivanov added that Russia would continue talks with the US to hammer out a new framework for the two countries' strategic relationship and to find ways to reduce offensive strategic armaments. Ivanov and US Secretary of State Colin Powell said this week that they hoped to conclude a new strategic arms agreement in time for a visit to Russia next year by Bush.


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4. DPRK-Japan Relations

Reuters ("NORTH KOREA TO SUSPEND CASE OVER MISSING JAPANESE," Tokyo, 12/17/01) reported that the DPRK reported on December 17 that it had suspended its investigation of missing Japanese nationals that Japan says were abducted by DPRK agents. The Korean Central News Agency said, "The Japanese side's fuss about 'kidnapping' has done harm to the dignified DPRK and extremely provoked the Korean people, thus creating great difficulties in the investigation into 'missing persons.' It has made it impossible for us to go ahead with this work any longer."


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5. Inter-Korean Nuclear Cooperation

The Associated Press (Paul Shin, "N. KOREA TECHS STUDY S. KOREA REACTORS," Seoul, 12/17/01) reported that twenty DPRK nuclear experts began a two-week tour of ROK nuclear power plants on Monday. The visit is part of a US agreement to build nuclear power plants and train workers in the DPRK. Officials said that the DPRK delegates, led by Cabinet-level official Kim Hui-moon, were taken by car on Monday to the ROK east coast village of Ulchin, where four French-built nuclear reactors are operating. They were the first DPRK officials to visit the ROK since official dialogue between the two Koreas was halted in mid- November amid a breakdown in Cabinet-level talks. Lim Ui-do, an ROK official assigned to the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, stated, "They are here for education and training." By the end of next year, 290 more DPRK officials are scheduled to be trained at ROK facilities, officials said.


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6. PRC View on Japan's SDF

Agence France-Presse ("CHINA WARNED JAPAN DISPATCH OF TROOPS VIOLATES CONSTITUTION: OFFICIAL," 12/17/01) reported that the PRC warned Japan that its dispatch of troops to support the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan went against Japan's own constitution. The warning came at a meeting of foreign ministry officials of the two countries in Beijing on November 21, the official said. An unnamed Japanese official stated, "At the meeting, Chinese officials said they wanted us to take action carefully. They said they hoped Japan would act in line with the [Japanese] constitution." In October, the PRC government broadly welcomed Japan's action against terrorism, but cautioned that for "historical reasons," any participation by Japan in a military capacity should be handled carefully.


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7. Cross-Straits Relations

Reuters ("BEIJING SAYS ONE CHINA POLICY KEY TO TAIWAN DIALOGUE," 12/17/01) reported that the PRC has called for renewed dialogue with Taiwan but warned the island that it is "poisoning" the possibility of such talks by failing to accept the "one China" principle. The PRC newspaper China Daily quoted the director of the PRC's Taiwan Affairs Office Chen Yunlin as saying, "Our efforts to push for the resumption of cross-Straits talks and negotiations on the basis of the one China principle will never slacken." Taiwan lifted a 50-year ban on direct trade and investment in the PRC in November but Beijing must still approve the move. Taiwan has urged discussion of direct transport links through the WTO, but the PRC insists that Taiwan must accept the "one China" principle first.


II. Republic of Korea


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1. DPRK Defector

The Korea Herald (Kim Ji-ho, "N.K. DEFECTOR SEEKING REFUGEE STATUS IN AUSTRALIA," Seoul, 12/17/01) reported that a DPRK man who fled to the ROK in 1997 has asked the Australian government to grant him refugee status, citing excessive restrictions in the ROK on DPRK defectors. A Sydney-based newspaper for ethnic Koreans reported that a 28-year-old defector, who traveled to Australia via Hong Kong and Canada, applied for refugee status on December 12. It is the first time a DPRK defector who resettled in the ROK has applied for refugee status in a third country.


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2. DPRK Adherence to International Pacts

The Korea Herald ("N. KOREA JOINS INT'L PACTS," Seoul, 12/17/01) reported that officials at the ROK's Mission in Geneva said on Saturday that the DPRK has submitted applications to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in hopes of joining two international agreements related to intellectual property rights. The DPRK submitted the applications on November 21 for the Strasbourg Agreement Concerning International Patent Classification (IPC) and the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure.


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3. DPRK-US Relations

The Korea Herald (Kim Ji-ho, "US WANTS TO SEND ENVOY TO N. KOREA," Seoul, 12/15/01) reported that the US has approached the DPRK on a possible visit by US special envoy on Korean affairs Jack Pritchard to Pyongyang in an attempt to reopen dialogue. "North Korea has not yet responded to the suggestion, which was delivered through working-level channels involving the North's U.N. representative in New York," an ROK Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity. Pritchard, if he were to visit, plans to explain to DPRK leaders that the proposed topics for discussions are not prerequisites and that the US is ready to resume negotiations at "any time and anywhere." If he is allowed to travel to the DPRK capital, Pritchard is expected to meet DPRK First Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye-gwan.


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4. DPRK-Canada Economic Treaty

The Korea Herald (Kim Ji-ho, "NK LIKELY TO SIGN BILATERAL INVESTMENT TREATY WITH CANADA," Seoul, 12/16/01) reported that the DPRK and Canada, which set up diplomatic ties last February, are likely to sign a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) soon to promote trade and investment relations. DPRK officials conveyed their government's willingness to sign the BIT when they met in early December with the Canadian Ambassador to the PRC, Joseph Caron, who is concurrently serving as Canada's Ambassador to the DPRK.


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5. PRC on Korean Peninsula

Joongang Ilbo (Kim In-koo, "NORTH LOOKS TO MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS," Seoul, 12/14/01) reported on Friday that the DPRK's communications authorities are pushing for the introduction of mobile phones. National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il in January said that the DPRK should launch a mobile service before April 15, 2002, the birth date of the late Kim Il-sung. The DPRK started researching information about wireless communications and introducing infrastructure since last February, following a visit by DPRK communications official Lee Keun-beom to the PRC in September 2001.


III. Japan


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1. US Forces in Japan

The Asahi Shimbun ("US MISSILE FRIGATE BACK IN YOKOSUKA," Yokosuka, 12/14/01) reported that a US Navy spokesman said that the USS Vandergrift, a 4,100-ton guided missile frigate, returned with its crew of about 80 to its home port on December 13 from duty supporting US-led military operations in Afghanistan. The ship left port on October 2, stopping at White Beach before going to the Indian Ocean.


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2. Japanese Military Purchases

The Asahi Shimbun ("BOEING WINS NOD AS SDF REFUELER, Tokyo, 12/15-16/01) reported that government officials announced that the Japanese government on Friday selected the Boeing 767 over the Airbus 310 for use by the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) as a refueling aircraft. The new plane will be tasked with refueling these AWACS aircraft and other planes, sources said. Another factor in the decision was Boeing's experience in building re- fuelers for the US military.


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3. Japanese View of ABM Treaty

The Japan Times ("KOIZUMI IS HOPING TO STAY ABREAST OF US ABM PULLOUT," Tokyo, 12/15/01) reported that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Friday that the Japanese government hopes to keep abreast of the ongoing ABM treaty developments. Koizumi stated, "This is an issue between the US and Russia. We hope things will develop in the direction in which progress will be made over arms control, arms reduction, nuclear nonproliferation and international security."


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4. Japanese Role in Afghan Rehabilitation

The Japan Times ("TOKYO HOSTS INTERNATIONAL HUMAN SECURITY TALKS," Tokyo, 12/16/01) reported that a one-day international symposium, sponsored by the Japanese Foreign Ministry, to discuss the threats of terrorism in this age of globalization opened Saturday at Tokyo. In an opening address, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said that Japan will continue to promote "human security." "Human security is an approach aimed at reinforcing measures to attach importance to the viewpoints of each individual so as to protect people from threats against subsistence, life and dignity and to realize the rich potential of each individual," Koizumi said. He also reaffirmed the Japanese government's commitment to remain an integral part of the international coalition to combat terrorism and to support the reconstruction of war-torn Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka addressed the conference, saying that the concept of human security is one of the most important aspects of Japan's foreign policy. Tanaka pointed out that promoting mutual respect and addressing the negative impacts of conflict, poverty and environmental degradation on individuals can contribute to eliminating terrorism from the world. Participants at the meeting include Japan's special envoy to Afghan issues, Sadako Ogata, and Indian Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen.


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5. Commission on Human Security

The Japan Times ("HUMAN SECURITY PANEL KICKS OFF TWO-DAY MEETING," Tokyo, 12/17/01) reported that the Commission on Human Security, an independent body dedicated to exploring ways to reduce human suffering and insecurity, began a second two-day meeting Sunday in Tokyo, with panelists focusing on development and conflict prevention. Sadako Ogata, co-chair of the 12-member commission and Japan's special envoy to Afghanistan, said in a speech that the human security crisis in Afghanistan gives the commission a good opportunity to examine the fundamental structural causes of the problems the world faces today. "This meeting is a good starting point to explore the interconnectedness of massive economic inequality and poverty, and violent and consistent conflict," said Ogata. Indian economist Amartya Sen, the other co-chair of the commission, stressed the importance of discussing the future of market- oriented economic systems and economic globalization to ensure "fairness and justice" for market players and citizens. Sen also said that he would like to raise issues involving democratic development, gender equality, education, and health care, with the aim of enhancing human security on a global scale.


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6. Japanese POW Treaty Proposal

Jiji Press ("FOREIGN MINISTRY EYES NEW LAW ON PROTECTING POW," Tokyo, 12/17/01) reported that the Japanese Foreign Ministry began work on legislation to implement the terms on an international treaty for the humane treatment of prisoners of war (POW) and war victims. The ministry is asking the Cabinet Office and other relevant ministries to work together to submit a bill on the treaty, known as the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of War Victims, to the ordinary Diet session opening in January. A senior Foreign Ministry official said that new legislation is necessary for the humane treatment of POWs and sick and wounded soldiers, evacuation instructions for residents and the formulation of a wartime criminal law to try war criminals. However, it is unclear which ministry is responsible for the appropriate drafting of the bill.


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International Peace Research Institute (PRIME),
Meiji Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan
Monash Asia Institute,
Monash University, Clayton, Australia

Brandon Yu: napsnet@nautilus.org
Berkeley, California, United States

Timothy L. Savage: napsnet@nautilus.org
Berkeley, California, United States

Kim Hee-sun: khs688@hotmail.com
Seoul, Republic of Korea

Hibiki Yamaguchi: hibikiy@dh.mbn.or.jp
Tokyo, Japan

Saiko Iwata: saiko@akira.ne.jp
Tokyo, Japan

Hiroya Takagi: hiroya_takagi@hotmail.com
Tokyo, Japan

Peter Razvin: icipu@glas.apc.org
Moscow, Russian Federation

Wu Chunsi: cswu@fudan.ac.cn
Shanghai, People's Republic of China

Dingli Shen: dlshen@fudan.ac.cn
Shanghai, People's Republic of China

John McKay: John.McKay@adm.monash.edu.au< /a>
Clayton, Australia

 
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