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Northeast Asia Peace and Security Network DAILY REPORT For Monday, April 6, 1998, from Berkeley, California, USA |
1. ROK-DPRK Talks
The Los Angeles Times (Sonni Efron, "SOUTH KOREA'S PRESIDENT AGREES TO TALKS WITH
NORTH," Tokyo, 04/06/98), Reuters (Jane Lee, "SEOUL AGREES TO TALKS WITH NORTH,
SUGGESTS VENUE," Seoul, 04/06/98), and the Associated Press ("S. KOREA, N. KOREA AGREE TO
TALKS," Seoul, 04/06/98) reported that the ROK on Monday accepted Saturday's DPRK proposal that a
five-member delegation from each side, led by a vice minister-level official, meet in Beijing on April 11 to
discuss possible ROK fertilizer aid and "other matters of mutual concern." In accepting this proposal on
Monday, the ROK suggested that the meeting be held at Panmunjom or any other place on the Korean
peninsula. An ROK unification ministry official said that the ROK had not ruled out talks in Beijing, but
preferred to hold them in Korea. The talks, if held, would be the first bilateral government contact between
the ROK and the DPRK since 1994, when deputy prime ministers of the two sides met to prepare for the
first ever inter-Korea summit, which was canceled after the death of the Kim Il-sung. Park Young-ho,
director of policy studies at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a think-tank for the unification
ministry, stated, "The talks could be a link to future relations, but it's still too early to expect anything like
an exchange of special envoys to result from the meeting." He added that the DPRK "is testing the waters
to see how much it can get from the new administration." However, an anonymous ROK government
official stated, "We have been unofficially pushing the North for talks. If they were really serious about
talks, they would have responded to the president's inauguration speech." Meanwhile, ROK President Kim
Dae-jung on Sunday said that the talks will constitute "a substantial progression and change in our
relations." The ROK's Joong Ang Ilbo in an editorial published Monday said, "Regardless of the outcome
of the talks, the fact that Southern and Northern government figures will sit down to talk ... is itself
meaningful." Nicholas Eberstadt at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington called the initiative
for direct talks "interesting" and a sign of how desperately the DPRK needs the ROK's help. However, he
warned that until the DPRK can echo Kim Dae-jung's promise of not attempting to reunify the peninsula by
military force, hopes for meaningful talks are limited.
2. DPRK Food Aid
The Washington Post (Steven Mufson and John Pomfret, "N. KOREA HINDERS EFFORT TO TRACK
FOOD SHIPMENTS," 04/06/98, A18) reported that concerns over monitoring continue to plague the
distribution of food aid to the DPRK. Doug Coutts, head of the World Food Program (WFP) in
Pyongyang, stated, "The situation is getting worse and worse among the general population." Coutts said
that the daily food ration in the DPRK was slashed recently from a range of 15.75 to 17.5 ounces a day, the
"minimum needed" for an adult, to between 7 and 10.5 ounces a day. As part of an agreement signed with
the DPRK on February 23, the WFP almost doubled last year's 385,000-ton appeal on the condition that the
DPRK allow the program to increase the number of international monitors from about 20 to 46 and that
they visit every area where the program's food was being distributed. Last year, the DPRK allowed only
five US workers to monitor a shipment of 55,000 tons of food from the US that was funneled through aid
agencies. Only non-Korean speaking officials were allowed, they had to travel together, and their visas
were of limited duration. Last Tuesday, the DPRK government pulled out of a meeting with five US-based
charities to discuss efforts to monitor 83,000 tons of food pledged by the US for this year, citing a death in
the family of one DPRK participant. An unnamed senior Clinton administration official stated, "Unless
North Korea opens up and allows people in to see the extent of the damage, there will be more and more
skepticism about North Korea's needs. And that skepticism is turning into donor fatigue." Andrew
Natsios, vice president of World Vision, stated, "Either [DPRK officials] are disguising a famine of
massive proportions or they are manipulating us for their own political purposes and creating a famine that
doesn't exist." Natsios, who said he believes in the former scenario, added, "We need access so we can
understand the gravity of North Korea's plight."
3. DPRK Defector
The Associated Press ("REPORT: N. KOREAN SEEKS ASYLUM," Hong Kong, 04/04/98) and Reuters
("NORTH KOREAN OFFICIAL REPORTEDLY SEEKS POLITICAL ASYLUM IN HONG KONG,"
Hong Kong, 04/04/98) reported that Hong Kong's Chinese-language Apple Daily reported on Saturday that
a high-level DPRK official on Friday night approached Hong Kong police at a train station and requested
political asylum in Hong Kong. The official arrived in Hong Kong on a train from the PRC, separated
from his delegation, and asked a security guard for asylum, the paper said. It added that the official has
been provided with a police escort and senior Hong Kong security officials are looking into the matter.
4. Kim Dae-jung to Visit Japan
The Dow Jones Newswires ("S. KOREA KIM TO VISIT JAPAN IN OCTOBER - KYODO," Tokyo,
04/06/98) reported that Japan's Kyodo News quoted a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official as saying
Monday that ROK President Kim Dae-jung is likely to make a state visit to Japan in October. Kim agreed
to the visit when he met with Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto in London on Thursday ahead
of the Asia-Europe Meeting.
5. ROK Financial Crisis
The Chicago Tribune ("SOUTH KOREA MAKING FINANCIAL COMEBACK," Seoul 04/05/98)
reported that the ROK is attempting to replace its old method of economic growth with "American-style
free-market capitalism." ROK Finance Minister Lee Kyu-sung stated last week, "From now on, Korean
financial institutions will be allowed to operate on a commercial basis, not as tools of the government's
industrial policies." US Ambassador to the ROK Stephen Bosworth said in a recent speech in Seoul, "The
old economic model under which Korea rose to become a modern industrialized economy no longer meets
the country's needs." Kim Young-jin, president of the Jindo Group, stated, "The chances of Korea making
it are half and half. If all Koreans save and live frugally while exporting as much as possible, we might
make it. But if not, I'm pessimistic."
US Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin ("RUBIN 4/3 REMARKS ON MEETING WITH KOREAN
FINANCE MINISTER," USIA Text, 04/03//98) made the following statement on April 3 regarding his
meeting with ROK Finance Minister Lee Kyu-sung: "Finance Minister Lee and I had a good meeting
today. We discussed the substantial progress South Korea has made over the past three months in
stabilizing its financial situation. I praised the efforts that President Kim Dae Jung and his government are
making to bring about decisive change in Korea's economy. We spoke about the recent success of the
government's effort to restructure a vast majority of the banking sector's short-term international debt, the
growth of external reserves, and the nation's upcoming bond issue. All of these are important steps in the
process of normalizing Korea's access to the international capital markets. Minister Lee and I agreed that
while many challenges have been successfully met, difficult structural reforms lie ahead. We also agreed
on the importance of ensuring that Korea sustains strong macroeconomic policies. This will provide the
fastest and surest route to recovery and improvements in living standards for the Korean people."
6. US Missile Technology Transfer to PRC
The Associated Press ("REPORT: COS. EYED ON CHINA MISSILES," New York, 04/04/98) and
Reuters, ("TWO COMPANIES PROBED FOR CHINA MISSILES - REPORT," New York, 04/04/98)
reported that the New York Times said on Saturday that two US companies, Loral Space and
Communications of New York and Hughes Electronics, a Los Angeles-based division of General Motors,
are under investigation by a federal grand jury on suspicion of giving the PRC space technology for use in
its ballistic missile program. However, unidentified US officials said that in February President Bill
Clinton quietly approved similar technology transfers, which dealt a serious blow to the grand jury
investigation. Officials also said that the Justice Department opposed the decision to investigate, citing the
difficulty in prosecuting the companies in light of the government blessing of the deal. Administration
officials said the investigation stems from the February 15, 1996, explosion of a PRC rocket carrying a
US$200 million Loral satellite. After the explosion, the PRC asked the two US companies to help conduct
an independent study of what went wrong. According to the unnamed US officials, the US experts
provided crucial data and information to the PRC and may have gone beyond the sharing of information by
improving the guidance systems of their rockets. White House spokesman Mike McCurry said that the
February go-ahead "will not contribute to Chinese military capabilities" because Loral agreed to "stringent
safeguards" to prevent the unauthorized transfer of technology.
7. Alleged PRC Missile Sales to Pakistan
The Associated Press (Kathy Gannon, "PAKISTAN TESTS MEDIUM RANGE MISSILE," Islamabad,
04/06/98) reported that Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes said that Pakistan received help from
the PRC to build medium-range missiles that are capable of reaching deep within the borders of India. He
also called on the US to investigate the PRC's role in Pakistan's missile program. He stated, "China has
been supplying missile technology to Pakistan despite having given an undertaking to the United States to
do no such thing." Pakistan successfully tested a missile with a range of 900 miles on Monday.
8. Dismantling of Russian Nuclear Weapons
The Associated Press ("RUSSIA ASKS U.S. TO RETURN TO ORIGINAL NUCLEAR POWER DEAL,"
Moscow, 04/06/98) reported that the Interfax news agency said that Yevgeny Adamov, Russian acting
nuclear energy minister, on Monday sent a message to US Energy Secretary Federico Pena asking the US
government to return to the original bilateral deal under which Russia would sell uranium from dismantled
nuclear warheads to the US. Adamov said that, at first, the US paid for both the uranium and for its
dilution into low-enriched uranium, but that since the end of 1996, the US has refused to pay for the
uranium itself. Adamov also said the Nuclear Energy Ministry was considering the export of electricity
generated at Russian nuclear power plants to Turkey, the PRC, and the ROK.
1. DPRK Hunger Relief Benefit Concert
WorldJam, a benefit concert for DPRK famine relief, will be held on April 11, 7pm at Stanford
University's Kresge Auditorium. WorldJam is the first-ever collaboration of multicultural musical groups
at Stanford to focus on a humanitarian cause. The concert will present a diverse array of music from
several cultures, as well as images and information about the North Korean famine. Participants include:
Talisman (a-cappella); Mariachi Cardenal de Stanford, Stanford Taiko; Stanford American Indian
Organization Drums; and Stanford Hwimori. Tickets will be available in White Plaza beginning
Wednesday, April 8, and at the door. Admission is free, but a minimum $5 donation is requested. All
proceeds will be used to send humanitarian aid to North Korea, through the American Friends Service
Committee. For more information, please contact Jeanhee Hong: phone: (650) 497-6706; fax:(650) 723-
4639.
2. World Day of Fasting for DPRK Hunger
On April 24-25, people in over 50 cities throughout the world will come together for a world day of
fasting, prayer, reflection, and action on behalf of the people of North Korea. This event will begin
simultaneously worldwide -- on Friday, April 24 at 7 p.m. in Washington, DC, and at 9 a.m. on Saturday,
April 25 in South Korea and Japan. The U.S. Coalition for a World Day of Fasting for the People of North
Korea includes: Adventist Development and Relief Agency International, American Friends Service
Committee, Boston Campaign for North Korean Famine Relief, Bread for the World, Christian Reformed
Church, Congressional Hunger Center, Food for the Hungry, Holt International, Hunger Relief Fund for
North Korea, Korean American Sharing Movement, Mennonite Central Committee U.S., Mercy Corps
International, National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, Presbyterian Church (USA), Synod of
the Northeast, Tufts University, Feinstein International Famine Center, U.S. Committee for UNICEF,
United Way, and World Vision. Donations are urgently needed and can be sent to: Stanford Committee for
North Korean Famine Relief, Rains 16C, Stanford, 94305; or: Hunger Relief Fund for North Korea, c/o
AFSC, 65 Ninth St., San Francisco, CA 94103-1402. Checks should be made payable to "American
Friends Service Committee" with "Korea Relief Fund" written on the memo line. Donations can also be
mailed directly to Korea Relief Fund, AFSC, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102. All donations
will be used to purchase food for distribution in North Korea by the United Nations World Food Program.
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The Center for International Studies,
Yonsei
University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
The Center for Global Communications, Tokyo,
Japan
Center for American
Studies,
Fudan University, Shanghai, People's
Republic of China
Berkeley, California, United States
Berkeley, California, United States
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Tokyo, Japan
Moscow, Russian Federation
Shanghai, People's Republic of China
Shanghai, People's Republic of China
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