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tuesday, november 12, 2002
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I. United States

II. Japan III. People's Republic of China
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I. United States


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1. DPRK-ROK Relations

Reuters (Paul Eckert, "S.KOREA DISMISSES NORTH 'PROVOCATIONS' REPORT," Seoul, 11/12/02) and Reuters ("N.KOREA SAYS SOUTH'S MILITARY STAGES 'PROVOCATIONS,'" Seoul, 11/12/02) reported that the ROK's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday a DPRK state media report that the ROK's military had sent warships into northern waters and moved tanks near their border was "completely groundless." The DPRK's official KCNA news agency said the ROK's army had brought military vehicles of various types, including tanks, into the fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the Korean peninsula this month, most recently on Tuesday. "Such military provocation was openly perpetrated in broad daylight against the backdrop of the dangerous situation where a military clash between the DPRK and the United States may break out on the Korean peninsula any moment due to the U.S. imperialists' moves," KCNA said. The ROK said the reports were not worthy of comment. "The Ministry of Defense will not make a response to those reports," said a ministry spokesman in Seoul. "They are completely groundless," he said.


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2. Japan-ROK on DPRK Nuclear Program

The Associated Press ("JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA WANT TIME TO PERSUADE NORTH KOREA TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM," Seoul, 11/11/02) reported that the ROK and Japan agreed Monday that a US-led consortium should try to keep a 1994 accord with the DPRK to help persuade the DPRK to give up its nuclear weapons program, an ROK official said. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and her ROK counterpart, Choi Sung-hong, shared the view when they met in Seoul, said Shin Jung-sung, a director-general in the ROK Foreign Ministry. Kawaguchi was in Seoul for a meeting of the Community of Democracies, with government delegates from 110 democratic countries around the world. Japanese and ROK media, quoting unidentified government sources, reported that the US wants the consortium to stop oil shipments to penalize the DPRK for violating the 1994 accord. But Japan and ROK fear that halting the oil deliveries may give the DPRK an excuse for reviving its nuclear program, the reports said. ROK President Kim Dae-jung on Monday again demanded the DPRK abandon its nuclear ambition, while maintaining that the issue should be resolved peacefully. "Now is the time for the North to take decisive action," Kim said in a speech during a dinner with participants of the democracy forum. A decision on the matter is expected at a KEDO executive board meeting in New York on Thursday. Key members are the United States, Japan, ROK and the European Union. A shipment of 42,500 metric tons (46, 850 U.S. tons) of fuel oil left Singapore last Wednesday and was expected to arrive in the DPRK 10 to 12 days. US officials said the shipment could be turned around if KEDO's executive board decides to do so.


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3. PRC DPRK Food Aid

The Associated Press ("WFP APPEALS TO CHINA TO DONATE SURPLUS CROPS TO NORTH KOREA, AFGHANISTAN," Beijing, 11/11/02) reported that the UN World Food Program on Monday asked China, where economic reform has produced a string of bumper harvests, to donate some of its surplus to feed hungry people in the DPRK, Afghanistan and elsewhere. WFP Executive Director James T. Morris made the appeal to Agriculture Minister Du Qinglin during a visit to Beijing, the agency said. Du said "that when circumstances permit, he would do his utmost to try to help us," though he noted that the PRC has 30 million poor people of its own who need help, said WFP spokesman Gerald Bourke. The WFP said it doesn't have all the food it needs for key emergency programs in the DPRK, Afghanistan and elsewhere. The PRC has had a string of record and near-record grain harvests since the mid-1990s, with surpluses of millions of tons at some times. "Your country ... now produces far more food than it consumes. We urgently need some of that food to help feed very hungry people not far beyond your borders," a WFP statement quoted Morris as telling Du. WFP didn't specify how much aid it hoped for from the PRC, Bourke said. The PRC already has donated thousands of tons of grain, as well as fuel and undisclosed other aid to the DPRK.


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4. DPRK Oil Shipment

The Associated Press ("UNCERTAINTY OVER WHETHER U.S. OIL SHIPMENT EN ROUTE TO NORTH KOREA WILL REACH ITS DESTINATION," Washington, 11/10/02) reported that officials meet this week to consider suspending US oil shipments to the DPRK, and President George W. Bush's national security adviser said Sunday "it's not going to be business as usual" since the recent disclosure of its nuclear weapons program. Condoleezza Rice would not say if a shipment of oil that left Singapore on Wednesday for the DPRK would be allowed to reach them. "I'm not going to get ahead of the diplomacy. We're dealing with our friends and allies on this," Rice said. The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization plans to meet in New York this week to try to reach a consensus on whether the shipments should continue. The United States has been providing 500,000 metric tons of heavy oil to the DPRK annually since 1994 as part of an accord with the United States. Rice said the Bush administration was having "very serious discussions" with organization members and Asian nations on how best to deal with the DPRK. The key, she said on ABC television's "This Week," is "to convince the North Koreans that they cannot re-enter - or, I should say, enter (because) they've never been in it - the international community of peace-loving states and all the benefits that are there until they give up this program, this nuclear weapons program, and all pretensions to it." Asked about the possibility of the oil shipment reaching the DPRK, Rice said diplomacy should be given a chance to work. But, she said, "The North Koreans should understand that it's not going to be business as usual while they are in violation of their international agreements."


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5. Inter-Korean Economic Talks

The Associated Press (Paul Shin, "TWO KOREAS END ECONOMIC TALKS AMID TENSION OVER NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR ISSUE," Seoul, 11/09/02) reported that the ROK urged the DPRK on Saturday to give up its recently disclosed nuclear weapons program for a lasting peace on the divided peninsula. Kim made the appeal as an ROK delegation was headed back home after two days of economic talks in the DPRK during which the visitors warned that inter-Korean cooperation could suffer unless the issue is resolved quickly. "Despite ups and downs, North-South relations so far have headed toward reconciliation and peace," Kim said in a speech at a national sports festival. "We're strongly opposed to the North's development of nuclear weapons and determined to resolve the issue through peaceful means." The five-member ROK delegation, led by Vice Finance and Economy Minister Yoon Jin-sik, was to arrive in Seoul via the PRC later Saturday. Local pool reports quoted an unidentified ROK delegation member as saying that his country will use "all available inter-Korean dialogue channels" to press the DPRK to abandon its nuclear ambitions. No foreign journalists were allowed to cover the talks. The meetings were supposed to review current joint projects and set future goals for economic cooperation but were overshadowed by international concern over the DPRK's recent admission that it was secretly developing nuclear weapons. The two sides concluded the talks with a joint statement that addressed technical matters related to ongoing or previously agreed projects, including a cross-border railway and an industrial park in the DPRK's border city of Kaesung. The industrial park, construction of which will begin in late December, is intended mainly for ROK manufacturers keen to take advantage of cheap DPRK labor. The South Korean delegation was told that the DPRK will next week formally designate the border city as a special economic zone where foreigners can do business with few restrictions, the reports said. The two sides also agreed to start technical discussions in mid-November on where and how to reconnect a cross-border railway already under construction. A railway running through the western sector of the heavily armed border is set to be completed by the end of this year. The two countries also agreed to hold a fourth round of economic talks in the ROK in February.


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6. ROK-Japan-US Talks on DPRK

The Associated Press ("JAPAN, SOUTH KOREAN, U.S. DIPLOMATS GATHER IN TOKYO TO DISCUSS NORTH KOREA," Tokyo, 11/09/02) reported that senior diplomats from Japan, the ROK, and the US on Saturday called on the DPRK to dismantle its nuclear program "in a prompt and verifiable manner," as the allies debated how to deal with the possible threat of a nuclear-armed DPRK government. Lee Tae-sik, ROK deputy foreign minister, US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly and Hitoshi Tanaka, the head of the Asian bureau at Japan's Foreign Ministry, were to consider possible penalties against the DPRK, such as halting oil shipments. In a joint statement released by Japan's Foreign Ministry, the three countries said they discussed a range of options available to pressure the DPRK into dropping its nuclear weapons program, but stopped short of issuing ultimatums. Instead, they reiterated "their commitment to seek to resolve this matter peacefully." Their discussions came ahead of Thursday's gathering of the U.S.-led consortium Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, or KEDO, in New York. KEDO was expected to decide whether the US should stop shipping fuel oil to North Korea in response to the isolated communist regime's disclosure that it is enriching uranium to develop nuclear weapons.


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7. PRC-US Relations

The Associated Press (Elaine Kurtenbach, "SENIOR U.S. OFFICIAL VISITS CHINA," Beijing, 11/12/02) reported that a senior US diplomat visited the PRC for the second time in a month for talks expected to focus on seeking the PRC's support for a coordinated response to the DPRK's nuclear program. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly arrived Tuesday for a one-day visit that U.S. Embassy officials said was for "consultations on matters related to the Korean peninsula" as well as other regional and bilateral issues. "No news, just a routine visit," he said. Kelly was traveling from Seoul, where he met his ROK counterpart, Lee Tae-sik. Details of that discussion were not disclosed. Kelly earlier visited Tokyo as part of an effort among the three countries to coordinate policy toward the DPRK.


II. Japan


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1. Japan-US Relations

Kyodo ("JAPAN, U.S. PLAN HIGH-LEVEL SECURITY TALKS," Washington, 11/02/02) reported that Japan and the US plan to hold high-level security talks Dec. 16 to discuss the DPRK's nuclear weapons program and a possible US attack on Iraq, Japanese and US sources said. The Japanese and US officials are also expected to discuss the US-led missile defense initiative. The US is expected to increase the pressure on Japan to advance to the development stage in light of the DPRK's ongoing development of long-range missiles and its recent admission about its nuclear arms program. The talks will be the first "two-plus-two" meeting of foreign and defense ministers of the two countries since President George W. Bush took office in January 2001. They held their last security meeting in September 2000. Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba will attend the talks in Washington with Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

The Japan Times ("DEFENSE CHIEF GIVES MISSILE PROGRAM WITH U.S. PUSH TOWARD DEVELOPMENT," 11/06/02) reported that Japanese Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said he hopes to see a bilateral missile defense initiative with the US enter the development phase soon. "The missile defense is nothing but a posture meant exclusively for self-defense," he told the House of Representatives Security Committee. "I believe we should exert efforts to get the program to leave the research phase as soon as possible." The defense chief stressed the need for coordination within the national government and said the issue should be debated by the Security Council of Japan, which is chaired by the prime minister.

Kyodo ("TOKYO WON'T EXPAND SDF ROLE IN CAMPAIGN AGAINST TERRORISM," Washington, 11/03/02) reported that Japan is not planning to expand the Self-Defense Forces' (SDF) refueling operations for the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan when it extends its logistic support plan by another six months in mid-November, Japanese sources said. Japan will carry out a one-time airlift operation under the extended support plan, transporting Thai troops to a country near Afghanistan. According to the sources, the US had hoped that Japan would expand the refueling operation to include an area off Somalia and also provide oil to vessels from countries other than the US and the UK, engaged in maritime patrols. The sources said it would be possible to expand the SDF refueling operation to include vessels from Germany, France and Canada under the current framework of the basic support plan. The Japanese government, however, decided to shelve the idea as the maritime patrol operations by those countries target not only al-Qaeda but also other terrorist groups, the sources said. The US also wanted Japan to send P-3C aircraft to detect ships that may be used to help al-Qaeda members escape and to transport materials for weapons of mass destruction. But Japan will withdraw the proposal of dispatching P-3C patrol aircraft, for fear of provoking criticism that Japan is abandoning its policy of not exercising its right to collective self-defense, or the right to help allies under attack from foreign elements, they said. Japan, with a possible US attack on Iraq in mind, has also considered the possibility of expanding its support measures, such as dispatching an Aegis destroyer and P-3C aircraft, the sources said.


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2. Japan Constitutional Review

The Japan Times ("POLL FINDS CONSTITUTION REVISION POPULAR," 10/29/02) reported that more than 90 percent of lawmakers in the ruling bloc who responded to a survey want the Constitution revised, and a majority of them want the war-renouncing supreme law to recognize the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), according to a Kyodo News poll released. Just 225 of the 727 Diet members responded to the survey, which was conducted earlier this month. It found that 80 percent of respondents favoring a constitutional revision said it should be done within five years. Of the 88 respondents from the ruling bloc, which includes New Komeito and the New Conservative Party, 82 said they favor amendments. The survey also shows the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the main opposition force, is deeply divided over amending the Constitution, with 66 percent of DPJ respondents favoring an amendment. In all, 140 lawmakers, or 62 percent of those polled, said the Constitution should be amended, and 85 lawmakers said it should not. On what should be amended, 60 coalition lawmakers favoring a revision said the Constitution should be changed to give legal standing to the SDF. Thirty-five of the ruling bloc members favoring amendment said the SDF should be allowed to engage in collective security. No respondents from New Komeito favored changing the Constitution to allow Japan to take part in collective security. All 55 respondents from the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party opposed changes, arguing that the pacifism expressed in the Constitution is an advanced notion that should be guarded.

The Japan Times ("REPORT ON CONSTITUTION RELEASED," 11/02/02) reported that a House of Representatives committee charged with reviewing the Constitution for possible amendment submitted an interim report listing the outcome of its discussions. The 706-page report is the culmination of nearly three years of discussions by the Research Commission on the Constitution, which is charged with debating the politically sensitive issue of constitutional amendment. Some committee members praised the war-renouncing Article 9, adding that the idea of collective defense is an infringement of the Constitution, according to the report. Other members meanwhile said the clause has become unrealistic given the recent terrorist attacks throughout the world and that Japan should be able to engage in collective defense, the report says. Some pointed out that the existence of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) could be viewed as unconstitutional and asked that a revision be made to give the SDF legal standing, the report says. The polarity of the debate regarding constitutional amendments, particularly regarding Article 9, was reflected in the committee's vote on whether to release the report. The report's release was endorsed by the ruling coalition parties, the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Party, which hold the majority. The Social Democratic Party, which for decades has vowed to protect the Constitution, and the Japanese Communist Party, voted against its release. The committee is expected to submit its final report by 2005.


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3. Japan Military Emergency Bills

The Japan Times ("EMERGENCY BILL INCLUDES STOCKPILING, REQUISITIONING," 11/02/02) reported that a public protection bill now under consideration by the government would give prefectures the right to demand that businesses stockpile goods for rescue operations. According to a draft of the proposed legislation, it would also allow local governments to requisition land and facilities to house evacuees and enable authorities to punish those who ignore such orders. People would be called on to engage in rescue and firefighting activities, help transport the injured and voluntarily participate in disaster relief and prevention organizations. As designated public agencies, broadcasters would be required to air warnings and evacuation orders, while the Japanese Red Cross Society would be called on to engage in medical and rescue activities. The Bank of Japan would be required to keep the financial system under control. The bill is expected to be passed within two years of the enactment of legislation spelling out the scope of responses in the event of a military emergency, a portion of which will be submitted to the Diet during the current session.


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4. US Bases in Okinawa

Kyodo ("OKINAWA RESIDENTS SUE STATE, BASE COMMANDER OVER NOISE," Naha, 10/30/02) reported that two hundred residents living close to the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, filed a lawsuit calling for night and early morning helicopter flights to and from the base to be suspended. The lawsuit, filed against the national government and Col. Richard Leuking, commander of the base, demands 300 million yen in compensation for noise created by helicopter operations at the airfield. The lawsuit is the first involving the Futenma base. The plaintiffs live in areas around the base where the noise level reaches 75 Weighted Equivalent Continuous Perceived Noise Level (WECPNL) or higher. The suit accuses Leuking of negligence in failing to prevent the noise problem from affecting local residents. In past noise-pollution lawsuits involving the US military, Japanese courts have consistently rejected the plaintiffs' demands on the grounds that the cases are outside the courts' jurisdiction. However, residents in Ginowan are trying to set a new precedent by holding the base commander responsible as an individual. In the lawsuit, the residents are demanding that helicopter operations at the airfield be halted between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., and that engine tests resulting in a noise level of 55 decibels or higher be banned. They also want engine tests with higher noise levels to be banned at all times. The residents are also calling on the Japanese government to carry out a survey of the noise problem around the base.


III. People's Republic of China


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1. DPRK-ROK Relations

People's Daily (Zhao Jiaming and Xu Baokang, "INTER-KOREA ECONOMIC MEETING REACHES AGREEMENT," Pyongyang and Seoul, 11/10/02, P11) reported that DPRK and ROK on November 9 reached a six-point agreement after the four-day third meeting of the North-South Committee for the Promotion of Economic Cooperation. Under the agreement, both sides will reconnect the eastern railway and road links in Mt. Kumgang area and western railway and road links in the Kaesong industrial zone as the first phase, so that technical measures may be taken to promote Mt. Kumgang tourism. On the issue of the Kaesong industrial zone, the DPRK will promulgate the law on the Kaesong industrial zone in mid-November to pave way for the construction of the area in the second half of December this year. According to the report, the two sides still agreed to discuss an agreement on cooperation in maritime transportation between DPRK and ROK, and the use by fishermen from the ROK of part of the fishing ground in the east sea under the control of the DPRK. The two sides also agreed to make joint efforts to facilitate the visit to DPRK by the economic study group from ROK, said the report.

China Daily (Seoul, 11/11/02, P11) reported briefly in one sentence that the DPRK and ROK troops have almost completed a landmark operation to clear mines from land which will eventually see a rail link across the world's last Cold War frontier, officials said on November 10.

China Daily ("ROK SENDS ENVOY TO DPRK FOR TALKS," Seoul, 11/07/02, P11) said that ROK on November 6 sent a delegation to DPRK to resume economic talks as scheduled despite tension over its suspected nuclear weapons program. The report said that the fresh talks, aimed at stepping up inter-Korean economic cooperation, are scheduled to run for four days in DPRK. Although ROK has urged DPRK to scrap its nuclear ambitions, it also calls for a peaceful solution to the issue and has been forging ahead with its policy of engaging the DPRK. In DPRK, a senior official told former US Ambassador to Seoul Donald Gregg that Pyongyang was still honoring the 1994 nuclear pact with US, but that it was hanging by a thread. The DPRK has said that US hostility drove it to seek nuclear weapons and demanded that US sign a non-aggression treaty and guarantee the sovereignty of the DPRK in order to resolve the dispute, said the report.


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2. Japan-DPRK Relations

China Daily ("CORE ISSUES ¡(r)TO BLAME' FOR FRUITLESS TALK: JAPAN AND DPRK DISAGREE ON PRIORITIES," Pyongyang, 11/06/02, P12) reported that a spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry said on November 5 that Tokyo was to blame for the failed normalization talks between Japan and DPRK as Japan insisted on nuclear and abduction issues rather than redressing its past. The report said that the talks held on October 29-30 ended without any substantial accord, except that the two sides agreed to set up a security forum this month to discuss, among other issues, long-range missile and nuclear weapons program. "It was because the Japanese side insisted on discussing outstanding issues such as nuclear and abduction issues before taking up the issue of settling the past, the core problem for the normalization of the bilateral relations, thus damaging confidence between the two parties to the talks,¡± the spokesman said to press. Although Japan expressed apology for the historical facts and pledged tot render economic assistance to DPRK in Pyongyang Declaration signed on September 17, Japan rejected DPRK's request for addressing issues of normalizing diplomatic ties and economic assistance as top priority for the 12th normalization talks last month. Instead, Japan set the nuclear weapons program and abducted Japanese as the preconditions for the above two issues. The spokesman said that Japan is in no position to guarantee DPRK's security challenged by the anti-DPRK policy and threat of "preemptive nuclear attack¡± from US. US, along with ROK and Japan, demanded DPRK to dismantle the nuclear program in an "immediate and verifiable way," while DPRK proposed a non-aggression treaty with US as a means to address its security concerns, a proposal flatly turned down by the US. In the case of kidnapped Japanese, it is the Japan's side that first broke its promise to send the home-visiting Japanese back to the DPRK, thus damaging the mutual confidence, the spokesman added. DPRK leader Kim Jong-il admitted to Koizumi that 13 Japanese were kidnapped by the DPRK during the 1970s and 1980s. Five of them went back to Japan in mid-October for a fortnight-day visit, but the Japanese Government refused to send them back, the report said.


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3. US-ROK Relations

People's Daily ("POWELL CANCELLED TRIP TO ROK," 11/08/02, P3) reported that a US Department of State official said on November 6 that US Secretary of State Powell cancelled his scheduled visit to ROK, so as to make much more efforts on the Iraq issue bill that was raised by US waiting to pass in UN.

People's Daily (Xu Baokang, "ROK AND US MILITARY SIDES: TO SETTLE DPRK NUCLEAR ISSUE PEACEFULLY," Seoul, 11/07/02, P3) reported that US Under Secretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith met ROK Minister of National Defense on November 6. Both sides expressed their resolution to resolve the DPRK nuclear issue peacefully and cooperate in respective defense policy. The ROK Minister of National Defense stressed that ROK has arrived agreement with US and Japan on this issue during APEC forum and the both military sides should make all out efforts to resolve the issue in a peaceful way within the APEC framework. Feith agreed with him and said US support ROK to establish trust with DPRK.


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4. PRC-Japan-ROK Relations

People's Daily (Wang Xiaoguang, "ZHU ATTENDED AND PRESIDED IN THREE LEADERS MEET," Phnom Penh, 11/05/02, P3) reported that Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and ROK Prime Minister Jim Suk-soo held an informal meeting on November 4 on the sideline of the ASEAN 10+3 summit. The report said that the three leaders agreed that their meeting helped enhance understanding and trust among the three countries and is conducive to the advancement of the 10+3 cooperative mechanism. Both Koizumi and Kim supported Zhu's suggestions and expressed their deep concern over the nuclear issue with the DPRK, and Zhu explained to them PRC's principles and stance on the issue. The three nations all agree that the Korean Peninsula be nuclear-free, peaceful and stable and that the existing problems be settled through peaceful dialogue, said the report.


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5. PRC's Military Diplomacy

China Daily ("NEW ERA FOR MILITARY DIPLOMACY," 11/06/02, P4) carried an analyzed article saying that military contacts and exchanges between PRC and US have been in the spotlight again since the two nations agreed to resume bilateral military contacts on October 25. The article said that after the summit of PRC and US, the two nations planned to hold defense consultations at vice-defense ministerial level and other exchange programs. Observers noted that as an integral part of Chinese diplomacy, military links have played an ever increasingly important role in PRC's foreign relations, the article said. Statistics show that PRC has formed military diplomatic ties with 146 foreign countries and has placed the consolidation and enhancement of military ties with neighboring countries at the top of its agenda. PRC, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan held discussions for strengthening mutual trust and disarmament along border regions which eventually led to the founding of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), with the "Shanghai Spirit¡± featuring as "mutual trust and benefits, equality, coordination, respect for diversified civilizations, and the pursuit of common development¡±. In addition, the article said, PRC has increased military exchanges with northeast Asian countries, making unremitting efforts for regional peace, stability and development. The exchange of visits by high-level military leaders, regular security consultations and personnel exchanges have increased mutual understanding, expanded consensus, reduced differences and developed friendship, thus positively contributing to the growth of PRC-US relations. PRC has also conducted active professional and technical military exchanges, overseas studies by military students, naval fleet tours, UN peacekeeping operations, multi-lateral security talks and cooperation, as well as arms control and disarmament. In conclusion, the article said that PRC's military diplomacy will continue to support an independent foreign policy of peace, serve the State's overall diplomacy and the national defense and army modernization drive, further increase mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation with the armed forces of other countries to contribute still more to world peace and stability and common development.


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6. Russia-US Relations

China Daily ("SECURITY TALKS BEFORE SUMMIT," Moscow, 11/11/02, P11) reported that the top US envoy on disarmament issues John Bolton on November 10 discussed strategic security with his Russian counterpart Georgy Mamedov ahead of a forthcoming Russia-US presidential summit, the Russian foreign ministry said. A US embassy spokesman said he had no information on Bolton's talks other than that he was in Moscow for a brief visit to discuss "the usual security issues¡±. Bolton, the US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security arrived on November 9, just a day after Russia and the US bridged their differences over a UN Security Council resolution ordering Iraq to scrap its chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs or face "serious consequences."



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