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In today's Report:
US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns ("STATE DEPT. NOON
BRIEFING, APRIL 8," USIA Transcript, 4/9/97) stated that the US
may respond to the World Food Program's recent doubling of its
appeal for food aid to the DPRK to 200,000 metric tons for food
commodities, valued at US$95.5 million, to help meet the DPRK's
increasingly severe food shortage. Burns stated, "The United
States has not made a formal decision about additional food
assistance to North Korea. However, we remain open to appeals by
the United Nations humanitarian agencies. We are seriously
reviewing this expanded request by the World Food Program."
Burns noted Monday's announcement by Cargill Corp. that it had
reached agreement with the DPRK "for an initial, modest
commercial sale of wheat in the near future." Burns also
defended past US responses to World Food Program appeals on
behalf of the DPRK. "As you know, the United States has
consistently responded positively to these requests for food
assistance. We announced in late February, of course, US$10
million in food assistance for the first appeal that was made by
the World Food Program. ... Since the Fall of 1995, we've given
a total of US$18.4 million in cash and in-kind donations to the
North Koreans as a response to United Nations appeals."
Reuters ("N.KOREA TO RESPOND NEXT WEEK TO PEACE PROPOSAL," Seoul,
4/9/97) reported that an unnamed senior ROK government official
said the ROK government had decided to boost its contribution to
the UN World Food Program (WFP), which recently doubled its
appeal for food aid to the DPRK to 200,000 tons, valued at
US$95.5 million. The ROK pledged US$6 million to the original
WFP appeal, and the US pledged US$10 million. "We are still
discussing the size of the increase. We will also have to consult
with the United States," the ROK official said. "I think our
humanitarian gestures will help create a better atmosphere for
the talks," the official added. "I expect a favorable response
from Pyongyang but I would be surprised if they agreed to the
proposal with no strings attached."
The Associated Press ("1997 U.S. MULLS ADDITIONAL FOOD AID TO
NORTH KOREA," Washington, 4/9/97) reported that new US food aid
to the DPRK, currently under consideration, would be in addition
to two shipments currently en route and due to arrive in the DPRK
next month. The report quoted US State Department spokesman
Nicholas Burns' comments that the US may send more food relief
following the latest appeal by the UN World Food Program. Ships
are now carrying US$10 million worth of corn soy blend for
children under 5 and rice and corn for victims of the floods that
have destroyed farmland the past two summers. The report also
noted that recent favorable responses by the DPRK to US requests
to join talks on Korean peace and missile proliferation may be a
result of the growing food crisis.
US Defense Department Deputy Spokesman Mike Doubleday ("PENTAGON
SPOKESMAN'S REGULAR TUESDAY BRIEFING," USIA Transcript, 4/9/97),
asked for the Defense Department's position regarding reports of
widespread famine in the DPRK and the prospect of food aid going
to DPRK troops, stated: "First of all, I think it's widely
acknowledged that there are severe food shortages which are
affecting the DPRK at this point. With regard to the feeding of
the North Koreans, that really is a matter that you need to talk
to the State Department. I think you're well aware that we have
provided some assistance in that regard, and I am not aware of
any kind of modification to that."
2. Status of Four-Party Peace Talks
Reuters ("N.KOREA TO RESPOND NEXT WEEK TO PEACE PROPOSAL," Seoul,
4/9/97) reported that the DPRK has told the US and the ROK that
it will respond next week to the US-ROK proposal for four-party
peace talks. ROK officials said on Wednesday that senior
diplomats of the two Koreas and the US were due to meet in New
York on April 16 to hear the answer. "North Korea is expected to
formally respond to the New York briefing last month by the
United States and South Korea on the four-party talks," one
official said. But in a reminder of continuing high tension, Kim
Yong-chun, chief of general staff of the DPRK People's Army, told
a military rally in Pyongyang on Wednesday that due to military
buildups by the ROK and the US, "Our country's situation is on
the brink of war, and the launching mechanism for a northward
invasion is already in place."
United Press International ("S.KOREA ACCEPTS PEACE TALKS WITH
NORTH," Seoul, 4/9/97) reported that ROK Foreign Ministry
spokesman Lee Kyu-hyung said that the ROK is willing to attend
talks with the DPRK and the US in New York next week to discuss
moving forward with the proposed four-party peace talks. Lee
said the ROK will stick by its position that the North should
attend the four-way talks before large-scale food aid is
discussed. Next week's meeting is expected to include ROK Deputy
Foreign Minister Song Young-shik, DPRK counterpart Kim Kye-gwan,
and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Charles Kartman. The
three sides will hold working-level discussions this Friday at
New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to set up next week's meeting.
US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns ("STATE DEPT. NOON
BRIEFING, APRIL 8," USIA Transcript, 4/9/97), asked on Tuesday to
clarify reports that the DPRK has requested a second high-level
briefing on the joint US-ROK four-party peace talks proposal,
stated that "there are no definite plans at the moment for a
higher level meeting. The North Koreans have indicated to us
their willingness to meet soon, to respond formally to the
proposals that were made by the United States and the South
Koreans. This was back in early March. I believe it was March
5th in New York, as you remember. That's what we're waiting for.
We assume they're going to come back to us and say, 'Let's have
another meeting.' Whether that's a briefing or whether that's a
forum for the North Koreans to make a formal response to us on
the proposal for Four Party talks, we'll have to see but we think
it's going to be the latter. Of course, we'll remain flexible
here. We want to talk to the North Koreans -- we and the South
Koreans. We want to further these discussions. We want to make
progress so that the Four Party talks can begin."
US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns ("STATE DEPT. NOON
BRIEFING, APRIL 8," USIA Transcript, 4/9/97) confirmed that new
talks are pending with the DPRK to review its compliance with
international standards governing missile sales and the
safeguarding of missile technology. Burns stated: "The North
Koreans have indicated to the United States their willingness to
hold a second round of United States-North Korean missile talks
very soon. We are currently working on the exact date and
location for such a meeting, but I think it will be held quite
soon. As usual, our great expert on these matters, Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State Robert Einhorn will head the U.S.
delegation. I'm not aware who will head the North Korean
delegation. The last such talks were one year ago, April 1996,
in Berlin."
4. US Secretary of Defense Comments on DPRK
The Associated Press ("COHEN: FOOD CRISIS MAY PUSH N.KOREA,"
Seoul, 4/9/97) and Reuters ("COHEN URGES N.KOREA TO SEEK HELP
WITH FAMINE," Seoul, 4/9/97) reported comments Wednesday by US
Secretary of Defense William Cohen en route from Japan to the ROK
on his current Asian tour. In particular, Cohen said that the
worsening food crisis in the DPRK could force it to accept the
US-ROK four-party peace talks proposal. "The evidence is mounting
that it appears to be very severe," Cohen said of the DPRK food
shortages, "and hopefully that will allow us" to go ahead with
the peace talks "in the very near future." Cohen's remarks
marked a shift from those earlier in the week in suggesting he is
now more convinced that the DPRK food problem has become
critical, and he added that the military implications of the
crisis remain unclear and are a cause for concern. Cohen said it
was still possible the DPRK's military might take "pre-emptive
action" in response to the worsening food shortages, including
"the military moving against the South. There is a whole array of
contingencies that could occur, and we have no way of predicting
that right now and so what we have to have is a very strong
deterrent capability plus a willingness to work with the South
Koreans to solve this crisis." Cohen is to spend two days in the
ROK to meet with government and military officials for
discussions on conditions in the DPRK, the security implications
of the food crisis, and the ROK's willingness to provide food
aid. He also will visit US troops and tour the Demilitarized
Zone at the border with the DPRK. Cohen was to meet later
Wednesday with Gen. John Tilelli, Jr., commander of all US forces
in Korea, and with Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, who held talks with ROK military chiefs in Seoul
earlier this week.
Reuters ("COHEN URGES N.KOREA TO SEEK HELP WITH FAMINE," Seoul,
4/9/97) reported that US Secretary of Defense William Cohen
appeared to soften his earlier warning that the ROK would be
making a major military and political mistake if it bought
Russian SA-12 anti-aircraft missiles instead of US Patriots. "I
think that our relationship is going to remain durable without
regard to the sale, should it occur," he said when asked if
Seoul's purchase of Russian missiles would damage ties. "We have
made the case that we would like to see greater inter-operability
with our systems, but in spite of that we will continue to
maintain a strong relationship with the South Koreans." Cohen
earlier said that he objected to the sale because the Russian
missiles might threaten US warplanes in the confusion of any new
Korean war, because the Russian missiles lacked electronic
safeguards that would allow them to identify US planes as
friendly to the ROK.
6. Japan's Policy Towards Korean Peace
Jim Mann wrote in the Los Angeles Times ("JAPAN'S N. KOREA
POLICY, BY THE NUMBERS," 4/9/97) that Japan may have deeper
reasons for holding back food aid to the DPRK than those it has
given, such as DPRK kidnappings of Japanese citizens two decades
ago. Mann suggested that Japanese reticence to provide food aid
may stem from ambivalence over the prospects of Korean
unification. Mann argued that underlying population trends
provide a vital clue that Japan may have an unstated interest in
avoiding the emergence of a prosperous, reunified Korea that
could emerge as an equal competitor. Mann cited statistics
indicating that the combined Korean population was only one-third
of Japan's in 1955 but is expected to be two-thirds of Japan's by
2015. Mann speculated that a unified Korea under the ROK
government, with a growing population and a burgeoning economy,
is not a prospect Japan welcomes, particularly given the historic
animosities of the two peoples. Mann concluded, "Does the idea
seem so farfetched that Japan might not be too eager for Korean
reunification?"
Reuters ("JAPANESE PM WANTS PROBE OVER NUCLEAR ACCIDENT," Tokyo,
4/9/97) reported that a furious Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto
ordered a raid on operators of Japan's only nuclear fuel
reprocessing plant on Wednesday and promised a full probe into a
cover-up of the country's worst nuclear accident. "I am so angry
I cannot utter a single word," Hashimoto told reporters. "We will
get third-party consultants to conduct a full probe."
Hashimoto's remarks came after his government ordered Science and
Technology Agency inspectors to raid Power Reactor and Nuclear
Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) offices. PNC is the sole
public firm in charge of reprocessing nuclear fuel. PNC
executives told a news conference late on Tuesday that its
officials falsified a formal report about the March 11 explosion
at the Tokaimura nuclear complex, which exposed 37 workers to
small doses of radiation. The complex houses Japan's only
nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, just 160 km (100 miles)
northeast of Tokyo. No one was seriously harmed in the explosion
or fallout, which reached half-way to Tokyo, but the government
said it was Japan's worst nuclear accident. Although PNC had
already come under severe criticism for tardiness in alerting
local officials, lax fire-fighting plans and outdated equipment,
the latest revelation points to a cover-up. PNC executives
admitted on Tuesday they had lied that the staff had visually
confirmed the original fire at the plant had been doused, as
claimed in the report. The fire flared up again nine hours later
causing the explosion that released radiation into the
atmosphere.
The DPRK and Cargill Inc. of the US have agreed on their first
wheat-for-zinc deal under which 20,000 tons of wheat will arrive
in the DPRK in late May. It will be the first shipment of the
500,000 tons of grain agreed upon between the DPRK and the US
grain company on March 5. Cargill's Korean office stated that the
US wheat, which priced at US$170 to US$180 a ton, will be shipped
from the US west coast in early May. Following the delivery of
the wheat, the DPRK is expected to send 4,000 tons of zinc within
a month. Officials from the DPRK External Trade Promotions
Committee and Cargill had been negotiating since January over the
grain deal, mostly over the means of payment. The US, partially
bowing to the DPRK's demand for a lifting of US economic
sanctions, had agreed to exchange 500,000 tons of grain in
exchange for mineral ore early this year in the wake of the
DPRK's apology for the Sept. 18 submarine incursion into ROK
waters. International relief organizations and DPRK officials
have stated that food stocks in the North will run out early next
month. (Korea Herald, "NORTH KOREA, U.S.'S CARGILL IN FIRST WHEAT
FOR ZINC DEAL," 04/09/97)
The US and Russia are vying fiercely to sell their surface-to-air
missiles to the ROK in what some officials in Seoul referred to
as a "missile war." The ROK anticipates spending approximately
US$1 billion to purchase US-made Patriot or SA-12 (or S-300V)
ground-based anti-air missiles to defend against possible attacks
from the DPRK's Scud missiles. The ROK Defense Ministry is
scheduled to make the selection by September, and the US and
Russia are stepping up their last-ditch lobbying. US Secretary of
Defense William Cohen, due to arrive in Seoul Wednesday for a
three-day visit, surprised ROK Defense Ministry officials
Saturday when he strongly called on the ROK to purchase Patriots
rather than Russian-made SA-12s. According to a ROK Ministry
official, Cohen's comment was received as a veiled warning or
ultimatum rather than a sales promotion. Cohen made the remarks
after the report that Seoul was leaning toward the less expensive
SA-12s. In response to Cohen, a Russian Duma lawmaker reportedly
asserted Monday that the SA-12 is superior to the Patriot system,
adding that "South Koreans know it very well." The ROK Ministry
official also stated that the Patriot system would fit existing
command and control systems without modifications, while the
Russian-made SA-12 would need significant modifications and has
an incompatible IFF (identification of friend or foe) system.
Regarding the incompatibility, the official noted that the US has
warned the United Arab Emirate that US military aircraft will not
fly in its airspace if it acquires Russian SA- 12s. A proponent
of the Patriot system, he stated that "in addition to price, we
should take into consideration such points as operations and
support costs, reliability and amount of equipment.". A Defense
Ministry source denied the news report that the ROK was leaning
towards the Russian-made missiles. (LSY) (Korea Herald, "US,
RUSSIA VYING TO SELL ANTIAIR MISSILES;SEOUL TO SPEND $1 BILLION
ON EITHER PATRIOT OR SA-12," 04/0797)
3. DPRK-Taiwan Nuclear Waste Deal
ROK Environmental Minister Kang Hyon-wook has sought firm support
from the international community for the ROK's effort to stop the
planned nuclear waste shipment from Taiwan to the DPRK. "Korea
sincerely hopes that the international community will share our
concerns and will make joint efforts to have such an
unjustifiable deal revoked," Kang stated in a speech to the fifth
session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) in New
York on Tuesday. Kang added the planned nuclear waste shipment
should give the international community special cause for alarm
and concern as it poses a threat to environmental and human
safety and contravenes established international practices. A
Taiwanese company signed a contract with the DPRK in January to
export 60,000 barrels of radioactive waste over the next two
years with the option of making an additional shipment of 140,000
tons. Despite the outcry from the ROK, Taiwan and the DPRK have
been pushing for the nuclear deal, arguing that it had been
commercially arranged. "It is ethically unjustifiable to exploit
a financially-strapped developing country by inducing it to
destroy its own environment," Kang told delegates to the CSD
session, which opened Tuesday for a three-day run. He indicated
the planned nuclear shipment goes against the principles of the
declaration on nuclear waste adopted at the environmental summit
in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The principles require that nuclear
waste be disposed at its source, thus prohibiting transboundary
movement of waste to a country lacking adequate disposal
facilities and without prior notification to and consultation
with potentially affected states. (Korea Herald, "SEOUL SEEKS
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT AGAINST TAIWAN-NORTH KOREA DEAL," 04/09/97)
About 1,500 people have fled from the DPRK and are currently
staying in the PRC and Hong Kong. Of this group, approximately
500 wish to enter the ROK. Deputy unification minister Kim Suk-
woo stated yesterday at a meeting of the ROK National Assembly
Unification and Foreign Affairs Committee that "An average of 50
North Korean defectors have arrived in the South each year since
1994. Their number surged sharply recently and 18 defected to the
South so far this year." Deputy minister Kim also stated that
DPRK refugees will find it difficult to settle in the South
unless government-level measures are devised to help them as the
PRC has legalized cracking down on refugees through a recent
revision of the nation's criminal law. In addition, with the
transfer of Hong Kong to the PRC on July 1, the defection route
through the city-state could be closed. Kang added that the ROK
will step up diplomatic efforts with the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) under the principle of
accommodating every DPRK defector who wishes to come to the ROK.
Kang also stated that the government will speed up the
construction of a settlement facility for DPRK refugees through
an early revision of related laws. The ROK's assistance for the
refugees will focus on enhancing their social adaptability rather
than on giving one-time material support. (Joong Ang Ilbo, "1,500
NORTH KOREA REFUGEES STAYING IN CHINA, HONG KONG," 04/09/97)
China Daily ("GLOOMY FORECAST," Seoul, A5, 4/3/97) reported that
the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) of the ROK would fall
to 4.7 percent from last year's 7.1 percent based on a prediction
by Daewoo Economic Institute. It added that the Samsung and LG
economic institutes' earlier released forecasts of GDP growth
were 5.0 per cent and 5.7 percent, respectively.
Due to its political, economic, and geographic conditions, the
foremost aim of ROK foreign policy should be to seek a balance
point among its relations with all major powers in Northeast
Asia, stated Pu Ping, a staff member of the International
Politics Department of People's University of China, in the first
issue of this year's Contemporary Asia-Pacific Studies
(Bimonthly). After stressing the importance of economic
considerations in the ROK's foreign policy, Pu stated that the
significance of the ROK's military alliances with the US and
Japan have been reduced, although its primary ties are still with
these two countries. The article, titled "ROK's Diplomacy Under
New Situation," said that the US, Russia, the PRC, and Japan have
reached consensus on maintaining peace and stability in this area
but that they have different perceptions on issues related to
Korean reunification and what nation will play a dominant role in
East Asia.
DPRK Vice President Li Jong Ok stated on April 3, in a meeting
with new PRC Ambassador to Pyongyang Wan Yongxiang, that it is
beneficial for both the DPRK and the PRC to consolidate and
develop their friendship ties. Li stated that the DPRK Workers'
Party, government, and people will, as always, cherish the DPRK-
PRC friendship and will make constant efforts to develop it.
People's Daily ("LI JONG-OK EMPHASIZES DEVELOPMENT OF DPRK-
CHINESE FRIENDSHIP," Pyongyang, A6, 4/4/97)
When meeting with guests from Japan's Sumitomo Corp, led by the
company's president, Miyahara Kenji, PRC President Jiang Zemin
reaffirmed the principles guiding PRC-Japanese relations. In the
talks on April 7, Jiang emphasized the need to "square up" to
history and look into the future. Jiang called for close
attention to the development of bilateral relations from a
strategic point of view. Wen Hui Daily ("JIANG ZEMIN MEETS WITH
JAPANESE GUESTS," Beijing, A7, 4/8/97)
5. US Defense Secretary's Visit to Japan
Jie Fang Daily ("US, JAPAN REACH AGREEMENT ON US TROOPS IN
JAPAN," A4, 4/9/97) reported that US Defense Secretary William
Cohen and Japanese Defense Agency Chief Fumio Kyuma agreed to
maintain the present level of US military personnel in Japan.
According to Japanese officials, this agreement was reached on
the evening of April 7.
China Daily ("DEFENCE TALK," Tokyo, A11, 4/8/97) reported that US
Defense Secretary William Cohen, while visiting Japan, was to
seek assurances of "non-combat" support from Japanese forces in a
Korean conflict and to urge Japan to join the US's costly missile
defense initiative.
An article on Jie Fang Daily ("JAPANESE CABINET FACES A
RESHUFFLE," A4, 4/4/97) reported that the Okinawa issue may cause
a cabinet reshuffle in Japan. In order to assure the approval of
the land law revision bill by the Japanese Diet, Japan's Liberal
Democratic Party will cooperate with the opposition New Frontier
Party and forsake its current political partner known as the
Social Democratic Party.
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Return to the top of this Daily Report
1. DPRK Famine Situation
II. Republic of Korea
III. People's Republic of China
2. Status of Four-Party Peace Talks
3. US-DPRK Missile Talks
4. US Secretary of Defense Comments on DPRK
5. US-ROK Missile Sales
6. Japan's Policy Towards Korean Peace
7. Japanese Nuclear Accident
1. ROK Economy
2. ROK Diplomacy
3. PRC-DPRK Relations
4. PRC-Japanese Relations
5. US Defense Secretary's Visit to Japan
6. The Okinawa Issue
I. United States
II. Republic of Korea
III. People's Republic of China
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