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Northeast Asia Peace and Security Network DAILY REPORT For Thursday, July 9, 1998, from Berkeley, California, USA |
1. US Troops on Korean Peninsula
Reuters ("U.S. FORESEES COMBAT PRESENCE IN ANY FUTURE KOREA," Washington,
07/09/98) reported that US Defense Secretary William Cohen on Thursday,
at a joint news conference with his visiting ROK counterpart, Cheon Yong-
taek, said that the US expects to maintain combat troops on the Korean
Peninsula indefinitely. Cohen stated, "We think that should continue ...
even if there is ... a unification of the two Koreas." He added that ROK
President Kim Dae-jung has expressed support for a continued US presence
even after any Korean unification. He stated, "We are forward-deployed
in various parts of the globe, but we are there at the request and with
the consent of the host government. The host government in this
particular case believes it's in their interests and our interests to
have our combat forces there working together." Cohen also defended the
continued US troop presence in Japan, saying that any pullout would
create a dangerous power "vacuum" that might "be filled in a way that
would not enhance stability but detract from it."
2. ROK-DPRK Economic Cooperation
The Associated Press ("S. KOREA HYUNDAI EXECS GET OK TO VISIT N. KOREA
LATER IN MO.," Seoul, 07/09/98) reported that the ROK government on
Thursday gave approval to officials of Hyundai Group to freely visit the
DPRK to discuss sightseeing tours. Also on Thursday, Hyundai said it
would send a 33-member delegation to the DPRK later this month to discuss
details of the tourism project agreed upon during Hyundai chairman Chung
Ju-yung's recent visit to the DPRK. The Hyundai officials will discuss
other joint-venture proposals as well, including a potential project to
relocate some of Hyundai's surplus facilities in the DPRK to assemble
subcompact cars.
3. ROK-Russian Spying Row
Reuters ("FOCUS-RUSSIA SAYS MAY RETALIATE IN KOREA SPY ROW," Moscow,
07/09/98) reported that Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir
Rakhmanin said on Thursday that Russia was pondering further moves
against the ROK following the ROK's expulsion of a Russian diplomat.
Rakhmanin stated, "We are seriously thinking about this. The Korean side
has worsened the situation, now it's our turn to answer." He said that
Russia was also reviewing the ROK's request for a meeting between the two
countries' foreign ministers to try to end tensions over the issue. An
ROK Foreign Ministry spokesman said earlier on Thursday that the ministry
was trying to arrange a meeting between ROK Foreign Minister Park Chung-
Soo and Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov at the ASEAN Regional
Forum on July 27 in Manila.
4. Alleged Technology Transfers to PRC
The New York Times (Eric Schmitt, "REPORT CONCLUDES CHINA UNLIKELY TO
HAVE RECOVERED COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE DATA," Washington, 07/09/98)
reported that a US National Security Agency review has concluded that
encoded circuit boards that disappeared after a failed launching of a US
communications satellite in the PRC two years ago most likely were
destroyed in the crash. The review stated, "It is highly unlikely that
the devices survived the crash because of the crash impact and high
temperatures produced by burning rocket propellants." It added that,
even if the PRC had recovered the microprocessor chips, "It is highly
unlikely that these items could have been recovered in sufficient detail"
to enable the PRC to reproduce them.
5. Nuclear Waste Shipment
The San Francisco Chronicle (Michael Hytha, "PROTESTERS HIT NUCLEAR
CONTAINERS," 07/09/98) reported that anti-nuclear groups said Wednesday
that casks carrying spent nuclear fuel rods from the ROK to the Bay Area
this month are not as safe as US officials claim. US Department of
Energy officials pointed to tests demonstrating that the casks are
virtually indestructible, but protesters charged that the tests were done
on casks of a different size and shape than the casks that will be used
in upcoming shipments. Lee Dazey, northern Nevada director for Citizen
Alert, argued, "Those tests were done on obsolete models and can only
yield obsolete results." Citizen Alert also asserted that the tests did
not account for such factors as the heat and pressure generated by the
highly radioactive bomb-grade uranium. Meanwhile, the California Coastal
Commission argued that the Energy Department has not adequately studied
the risks of an accident involving the ship carrying the casks.
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