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Northeast Asia Peace and Security Network DAILY REPORT For Tuesday, May 26, 1998, from Berkeley, California, USA |
1. US MIAs from Korean War
The Associated Press ("N.KOREA RETURNS TWO SETS OF REMAINS," 05/25/98) and Reuters
("N.KOREA HANDS OVER REMAINS TO U.N. COMMAND," Seoul, 05/25/98) reported that the
DPRK on Monday turned over two sets of remains believed to be those of US soldiers killed in the Korean
War to the UN Command at Panmunjom. On Monday, the UN Command (UNC) requested a meeting with
DPRK officials, who agreed to return the remains after earlier refusing to surrender them to the UNC.
UNC spokesman Jim Coles stated, "We do not know why North Korea changed its mind." Monday's
repatriation brought to 218 the total sets of remains that have been returned, although less than a dozen
have been positively identified.
2. ROK Aid to DPRK
The Associated Press ("S. KOREA TO COMPLETE AID DELIVERY FOR N. KOREA THIS WEEK,"
Seoul, 05/26/98) reported that ROK officials said Tuesday that the government will send 3,000 tons of
foodstuff and fertilizer to the DPRK this weekend, completing the delivery of aid that was promised during
Red Cross talks in Beijing in March. Red Cross officials said that a ship carrying the sixth and last
shipment will leave Saturday for the DPRK. The shipment includes 1,500 tons of wheat flour, 1,300 tons
of fertilizer, 64 tons of powdered milk, and 109,000 liters of cooking oil. The ROK also was sending an
ambulance car, chocolate, and medicine, although they were not promised in the Beijing talks.
3. ROK Religious Group to Visit DPRK
United Press International ("S.KOREAN CHURCH OFFICIALS TO VISIT N.KOREA," Seoul, 05/25/98)
reported that six officials from the ROK National Council of Churches (KNCC) were scheduled to enter
the DPRK Tuesday for a seven-day visit to discuss inter- Korean exchange of religious leaders and
construction of churches in the DPRK. KNCC spokesman Hwang Pil-kyu stated, "We received an
invitation from our North Korean counterpart so there shouldn't be any trouble in flying to Pyongyang."
He added, "KNCC officials met with Korea Christians Federation leaders four times since 1984. But
because it is to become the first group meeting of the two sides, this trip bears great significance."
4. DPRK Defectors
The Associated Press ("FIVE NORTH KOREANS DEFECT TO SOUTH KOREA," Seoul, 05/25/98)
reported that the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that five DPRK refugees who fled the
DPRK more than a year ago arrived in the ROK on Monday and were granted asylum. The five, including
a married couple and a man and his two sons, fled separately in 1996 and 1997 across the DPRK border
with the PRC and drifted across Southeast Asia before they were assisted by ROK officials. They brought
to 31 the number of DPRK citizens who have defected to the ROK so far this year.
5. Alleged DPRK Smuggling
The Associated Press (Grant Peck, "ORGANIZED CRIME PRESENT IN N. KOREA," Bangkok,
05/23/98) reported that many analysts believe that the DPRK is increasingly turning to smuggling and
drugs to earn foreign currency. Frank J. Cilluffo of the Center for Strategic and International Studies
stated, "Unlike Latin America or Europe, where organized crime attempts to penetrate the state ... North
Korea ... is penetrating organized crime." An anonymous former law enforcement official said that the
DPRK has forged partnerships with criminal gangs, including producing counterfeit cigarettes and offering
safe harbor for hijacked ships. He stated that a 1995 seizure by Taiwan police of 20 ship containers loaded
with counterfeit cigarette packaging destined for the DPRK proved that country's involvement with a
Southeast Asian crime syndicate. The UN International Narcotics Control Board said in its latest report
that it "has received disquieting reports on the drug control situation" in the DPRK. Anecdotal evidence
has been provided by defectors that the DPRK runs opium farms with the aim of exporting for hard
currency, although one defector pointed out that the DPRK legitimately needs opium for medical uses
because it cannot afford to import modern medicines. Arnaud de Borchgrave, director of the Global
Organized Crime Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that Western
intelligence agencies have confirmed that the DPRK has large-scale opium production for export. A
private French organization, Geopolitical Drugs Watch, said that some of the DPRK's pharmaceutical
production "seems to be diverted for sale to raise money for arms purchases." In late 1996, a senior
Russian military intelligence official was quoted by the ITAR-Tass news agency as saying that DPRK
timber workers in Russia's Far East are given drugs to smuggle for sale in Russia or transshipment to
western Europe. Defectors have also said that counterfeit US currency is produced in the DPRK.
Investigators say evidence exists backing the reports, including a purported videotape of the printing plant.
In Romania, customs officials stopped two DPRK diplomats on March 27 carrying 12,000 pirated compact
discs.
6. ROK Student Movement
United Press International ("SEOUL TO ROUND UP 411 S.KOREA STUDENTS," Seoul, 05/23/98)
reported that ROK prosecutors have announced plans to block a rally marking the sixth inauguration of the
Federation of Korean University Student Councils. The government also warned that it is preparing a
massive manhunt for 411 student activists from 50 universities slated to participate in the ceremony.
7. Taiwan-PRC Relations
The Associated Press ("TAIWAN REDRAWS MAP OF CHINA," Taipei, 05/26/98) reported that the
Taiwan Cabinet's Mainland Affairs Council announced Tuesday that maps of China printed in Taiwan will
now be drawn according to the names and administrative zones used by the PRC government, instead of
those used by the Nationalist government before it fled to Taiwan in 1949. The new maps will no longer
refer to Beijing as "Peiping" and will organize the PRC into 23 provinces instead of 37.
8. US Policy Toward Taiwan
The Washington Post carried an opinion article by Joseph A. Bosco, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council
of the US, ("TIME TO BE CLEAR ON TAIWAN," 05/26/98, A17) which said that the PRC wants the US
to make concessions on US defense assistance to Taiwan when US President Bill Clinton visits the PRC
next month. The author accused Clinton of yielding to PRC pressure by urging Taiwan to engage in
negotiations with the PRC. He added, "While dialogue between potential adversaries is generally
desirable, Beijing invariably casts it as Taiwanese acquiescence to its own 'one-China' formulation and
demands that it lead to progress on 'reunification.'" He argued, "If President Clinton again acquiesces to
Chinese pressures and again passes them on to Taiwan, the results could be equally counterproductive --
especially because legislative elections will be held in the fall and relations with the mainland will be a
major campaign issue in Taiwan." He called on Clinton to address Taiwan in two ways on his PRC trip.
"First, he should refrain from making any further concessions to Beijing in the form of either reduced
American defense support for Taiwan or increased diplomatic pressure on Taiwan to engage with China
other than as an equal and uncoerced negotiating partner. Second, he must make clear to Beijing that
Taiwan's status and its relationship with the mainland will be determined by the Taiwanese in accordance
with the principles set forth in the Taiwan Relations Act and the United Nations Charter -- freely and
peacefully."
9. Clinton's Trip to PRC
Reuters ("CLINTON SAYS HE WILL NOT DELAY TRIP TO CHINA," Washington, 05/26/98) reported
that US President Bill Clinton said on Tuesday that it would be a mistake for him to delay his visit to the
PRC next month. Clinton argued that "our partnership with China has succeeded" in persuading the PRC
to refrain from shipping missile technology to certain nations and in joining efforts to deter a nuclear arms
race in South Asia. He stated, "I think we have a broad range of issues to deal with and I think we have
enough evidence now to justify the partnership that we have, so I believe that we ought to go forward."
Dow Jones Newswires (I-Chun Chen, "CHINA APPEALS TO U.S. CONGRESS NOT TO HALT
CLINTON TRIP," Beijing, 05/26/98) reported that PRC Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhu Bangzhao
appealed to US congressmen on Tuesday to stop their calls for US President Bill Clinton to postpone his
trip to the PRC. Zhu stated, "Clinton's upcoming state visit to China is in the common interest of China
and the United States and enjoys wide support by people in both countries."
10. Alleged US Missile Technology Transfer to PRC
The Washington Post (Steven Mufson, "CHINESE FIRM DENIES IT GOT SENSITIVE TECHNOLOGY
FROM U.S.," Beijing, 05/23/98, A16) reported that Liu Zhixiong, vice president of the China Great Wall
Industry Corp., denied Saturday that his company had received any sensitive technology with military
applications from the US firms Loral Space and Communications Ltd. or Hughes Electronics Corp. Liu
stated, "Great Wall's business is launching commercial satellites. We don't do things with weapons." He
said that, following the crash of one of China Great Wall's "Long March" launch rockets on February 15,
1996, the PRC aerospace industry formed its own investigative panel that ultimately "pinpointed" the cause
of the launch failure without foreign help. He said that a separate group of foreign experts was formed to
satisfy the concerns of the insurance companies, but that China Great Wall never saw their report because
of objections by the US government.
11. US-Japanese Missile Development Program
Dow Jones Newswires ("JAPAN, U.S. SIGN PACT ON MISSILE RESEARCH - KYODO," Tokyo,
05/26/98) reported that Japan's Kyodo News Agency said that, according to Japanese officials, Japan and
the US on Tuesday concluded a memorandum of understanding to conduct joint research with the aim of
developing technology to improve missile performance. The officials said that the two countries also
exchanged official documents to promote plans for joint research.
12. US Bases in Japan
The Associated Press (Kozo Mizoguchi, "OKINAWA COURT ORDERS COMPENSATION," Tokyo,
05/22/98) reported that the Fukuoka High Court in Naha, Okinawa, ordered the Japanese government on
Friday to pay more than US$10 million in compensation for the noise from military jets to people living
near the US Kadena Air Base. The ruling upheld a 1994 lower court decision ordering the Japanese
government to pay nearly US$6 million to the plaintiffs, but increased the amount of compensation by
lowering the noise threshold. However, the judge rejected a ban on flights between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.,
saying that US military activity in Japan is allowed under the Japan-US defense arrangement and is outside
the court's jurisdiction.
1. US MIAs from Korean War
The DPRK on Monday repatriated two sets of remains, believed to be those of the US soldiers killed in the
1950-53 Korean War, through the truce village of Panmunjom. In a brief ceremony, the remains contained
in caskets were delivered by DPRK soldiers to the UN Command (UNC) honor guard soldiers. The
remains will be sent to the US Army Laboratory in Hawaii for identification, a UNC spokesman said. The
remains, found in Gujang country by US forensic experts, are believed to be those of soldiers of the 2nd
US Infantry Division killed in November 1950, the spokesman said. The return of the remains came after
the US-led UNC denounced the DPRK for reneging on a promise to return the remains at Panmunjom on
May 15. There has still been no explanation from the North about the incident. (Korea Herald, "NORTH
KOREA RETURNS REMAINS OF US SOLDIERS," 05/26/98)
2. DPRK-Taiwan Nuclear Waste Deal
Taiwan has virtually abandoned its plan to ship its nuclear waste to the DPRK, ROK officials said Monday.
An official at the ROK Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry said that the island country is instead seeking a
nuclear waste disposal site in Russia or Mongolia. "Though it has not made it official, Taipei seems to
have given up on the deal with the DPRK for its nuclear waste exports," he said. He said that the DPRK
has recently refused to send additional records on storage facilities and freighters, which the Taiwanese
government demanded for further nuclear safety inspections before it made a final decision on its shipment
plan. "Taiwan has halted its review of safety concerning the shipment of nuclear waste to the DPRK," he
said. Taiwan, which has yet to make a final decision, has issued no statement concerning its nuclear waste
exports to the DPRK, which is threatening to file a suit for compensation if the contract is not honored.
(Korea Herald, "TAIPEI, NORTH KOREA MAY SCRAP WASTE DEAL," 05/26/98)
3. DPRK Environmental Degradation
Pictures released by Professor Kim Hwan-kee of Chunbook University clearly show the results of the
closure of the Moosan Iron Mine in the DPRK. The pictures were taken by the LANDSAT satellite. An
earlier photo taken on October 14, 1985 shows pollution as a gray shaded area clogging the river system
and spilling out into the East Sea. The later photo, taken on September 9, 1996, shows that most of this
pollution has dispersed. Kim said that in 1985 the concentration of particles in the lower stream of Tumen
River was 300mg/L, but that by 1996 it had fallen to 96mg/L. He said the this is apparently because the
Moosan iron mine, which had dumped 10-15 million tons of powered waste into the river, suspended its
operations in April 1996. He noted that the major difference in shading was due to seasonal differences
between the photos. (Chosun Ilbo, "MINE CLOSURE CLEARS TUMEN RIVER IN NK," 05/25/98)
4. ROK Financial Crisis
ROK Minister of State for Trade Han Duck-soo, vowing to push ahead with financial reforms and
corporate restructuring, said Sunday that help from the US and the international community is vital if the
ROK is to get its economy out of the current crisis and back on the right track. He made the remarks in a
briefing on the ROK's policies on financial reform and corporate restructuring before visiting US
Congressional staffers and businessmen, including those from General Motors. Han told them that if the
ROK's economic reforms succeed, it is expected to regain economic vitality in the near future, with its
gross domestic product growing by over 5 percent in the year 2000. The minister assured them that the
government will strive to make the ROK a comfortable place for business by seriously pursuing market
economy principles. (Korea Times, "HAN DUCK-SOO FOR US SUPPORT TO END CRISIS," 05/25/98)
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