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Northeast Asia Peace and Security Network DAILY REPORT For Monday, July 20, 1998, from Berkeley, California, USA |
1. Light-Water Reactor Project
The Associated Press ("N.KOREA MAY RESTART NUCLEAR PROGRAM," Seoul,
07/18/98) reported that the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency
South Korea on Saturday accused the US of failing to fulfill its
obligations under the 1994 Geneva agreement. The agency stated, "If the
agreement is left without any real meaning and the project is delayed, we
cannot but reconsider the building of our own nuclear power industry."
2. US-ROK Naval Cooperation
The Associated Press ("US NAVY TO HELP SKOREA COMBAT SPIES," 07/20/98)
and United Press International ("US TO SUPPORT S KOREAN SECURITY
EFFORTS," 07/20/98) reported that the US military command in Seoul said
Monday that the US Navy will send ships close to the ROK to support
efforts to detect DPRK infiltrators. The decision was made last week in
a meeting between General John H. Tilelli, commander of US Forces-Korea
(USFK), and General Kim Jin-ho, chairman of the ROK Joint Chiefs of
Staff. The USFK said in a statement, "Because of the difficult challenge
of detecting North Korean infiltrations and suspected ongoing attempts to
send agents into South Korea, the combined South Korea-U.S. operation is
considered a prudent measure." It added that details of the operation
would be kept secret.
3. Alleged DPRK Incursion
The Associated Press ("S. KOREA ENDS N. KOREA SPY MANHUNT," Seoul,
07/19/98) reported that officials at the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff
officials said Sunday that the military had practically ended its manhunt
for two DPRK spies who were believed to have infiltrated the east coast.
The officials said that small-scale searches by regional land and coast
guards will continue, but the massive search has stopped and a dusk-to-
dawn curfew in most of the area was lifted on Saturday.
United Press International ("KANGWON PROVINCE TO SEEK COMPENSATION,"
Seoul, 07/20/98) reported that Kangwon Province officials said Monday
that they plan to seek compensation for commercial losses caused by the
recent DPRK spy infiltration's in the area. The officials said that a
motion had already been made on losses due to the DPRK's 1996 submarine
intrusion and that they will present it to the government on Wednesday.
The state-run Yonhap news agency reported Monday that sales at local
restaurants and fish markets declined when the military began extensive
investigations following the discovery of the body of a DPRK agent in
Donghae city.
4. Food Aid for DPRK
United Press International ("CLINTON ORDERS WHEAT PURCHASES," Washington,
07/20/98) and Reuters (Randall Mikkelsen, "US TO BUY SURPLUS WHEAT,
DONATE ABROAD," Little Rock, 07/19/98) reported that US President Clinton
on Saturday ordered the US government to buy more than US$220 million
worth of wheat to distribute to countries facing food shortages,
including the DPRK. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said the food
would be purchased starting this week. Glickman, however, gave no
definitive schedule for the food distribution, suggesting that the
priority would be placed on maximizing the price effect to aid US
farmers. Officials said that shipping the first 80 million bushels of
wheat to the targeted countries should take three to four months.
5. ROK-Russian Spying Row
The Associated Press (Paul Shin, "RUSSIA EXPELS FIVE MORE S. KOREANS,"
Seoul, 07/19/98) reported that the ROK media said Monday that five more
ROK diplomats have been asked to leave Russia. The reports said that
Russia has identified the five as "intelligence officials" and demanded
their removal without officially declaring each persona non grata. They
added that Russia has acknowledged that it has two intelligence officials
assigned to its embassy in Seoul, and is asking the ROK to reciprocate by
limiting its intelligence agents in Russia to the same number. The
Chosun Ilbo quoted one unidentified Russian intelligence source as
saying, "We hope that this will be the final step to end the dispute."
The ROK Foreign Ministry refused to confirm the reports.
Reuters ("SEOUL, MOSCOW DISCUSSING INTELLIGENCE STAFFING," Seoul,
07/19/98) reported that the ROK Foreign Ministry said Monday that
intelligence agencies in the ROK and Russia are talking to each other
about an "appropriate balance" of personnel in each country. A ministry
statement said, "Intelligence agencies of both countries will make an
announcement on the on-going discussions for the appropriate balance of
personnel in both countries."
6. ROK Labor Unrest
The Associated Press (Kyong-Hwa Seok, "S. KOREA LABOR GROUP CALLS
STRIKE," Seoul, 07/20/98) reported that the Confederation of Korean Trade
Unions said Monday that metal workers in the auto, shipbuilding, and
other industries will begin an indefinite strike on Wednesday.
Telephone, subway, and hospital workers will join the walkout the next
day. Kim Hyong-man, a spokesman for the confederation, stated, "Our
strike this week will continue indefinitely unless the government accepts
our demands." The government said that the walkouts would be illegal.
7. US Arms Sales to Taiwan
Reuters ("TAIWAN TO RECEIVE 3RD BATCH OF U.S. FRIGATES," Taipei,
07/20/98) reported that Taiwan defense officials said Monday that Taiwan
will take delivery of a third batch of Knox-class frigates from the US to
reinforce its second-generation fleet. An unnamed navy officer stated,
"We expect the third batch of the Knox-class frigates to be sent here
some time next year, and the newly arrived vessels should be able to help
build up our second-generation fleet." He added, "Because the Chinese
Communists have not abandoned their threat to invade Taiwan and have
persistently expanded their armaments, we need to build up adequate
defense forces in order to safeguard ourselves." He declined to disclose
the arrival date of the anti-submarine frigates or the number of the
warships Taiwan ordered. The local newspaper United Daily on Monday
reported that the US had decided to sell four Knox-class frigates to
Taiwan and that the military would take delivery of the ships in
September. Taiwan's defense ministry said in a statement that, in
addition to purchasing arms from other countries, the military had
drafted a program to develop major weapons in Taiwan, including long-
range radar and anti-tactical ballistic missiles.
8. Japan-PRC Relations
The Associated Press ("TOP JAPAN, CHINA COMMUNISTS TO MEET," Beijing,
07/19/98) reported that Tetsuzo Fuwa, the chairman of the Japanese
Communist Party (JCP), arrived in Beijing Sunday for talks with PRC
President Jiang Zemin. Fuwa will reportedly discuss future exchanges
between the parties and details of the Japan-US defense cooperation
agreement updated last year. Relations between the two parties were
severed in 1967 after the Chinese Communist Party condemned the JCP for
refusing to accept the primacy of Mao Zedong's interpretation of
communist ideology.
9. US-Indian Nuclear Talks
Reuters ("INDIA, U.S. TO HOLD NEXT NUCLEAR TALKS IN AUGUST," New Delhi,
07/20/98), the Associated Press ("LONG WAY TO GO ON U.S.-INDIA NUCLEAR
ISSUES: U.S. ENVOY," New Delhi, 07/20/98) and the Los Angeles Times
(Tyler Marshall, "INDIA-PAKISTAN NUCLEAR PROBLEM EASES AS U.S. OFFICIAL
ARRIVES FOR TALKS," Washington, 07/20/98) reported that senior Indian and
US officials said on Monday that they had held constructive talks on
nuclear disarmament and other issues but needed to continue them in a
fourth round in late August in Washington. US Deputy Secretary of State
Strobe Talbott stated, "We have more work ahead of us, which is why we
are looking forward to more talks tomorrow and again late next month."
Indian foreign policy adviser Jaswant Singh called his talks with Talbott
"constructive," but added that few details could be discussed at this
early stage. Talbott later had separate meetings with Interior Minister
Lal Krishna Advani and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Talbott was
due to fly to Islamabad on Tuesday to meet senior Pakistani officials and
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Talbott also said that US President Bill
Clinton's proposed trip to South Asia later this year was still under
review. One unnamed senior administration official said that unless
Talbott receives assurances that Clinton could expect constructive
dialogue on key issues in both India and Pakistan, the trip probably
would be canceled.
10. Pakistan Adherence to CTBT
Reuters (John Chalmers, "INDIA, PAKISTAN PLAY NUCLEAR POKER WITH US," New
Delhi, 07/18/98) reported that analysts said that Pakistan's recent low-
key announcement that it had given up its opposition to signing the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) until India does could be a first
step in solving the nuclear standoff in South Asia. Some observers have
speculated that when US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott visits
Islamabad this week, Pakistan could agree to join the treaty. Commodore
Uday Bhaskar, deputy director of the Institute of Defence Studies and
Analysis in New Delhi, stated, "There's some very astute poker going on
to get Pakistan to sign the CTBT."
11. Nuclear Weapons Exports to Pakistan
The Associated Press ("MAN CONVICTED FOR NUKE PROGRAM HELP," Stuttgart,
07/20/98) reported that Ernst Piffl, a German businessman, was convicted
Monday of illegally exporting nuclear weapons equipment to Pakistan. A
German state court sentenced Piffl to three years and nine months in
prison and fined him US$240,000. Prosecutors said that from 1988 to
1993, Piffl exported parts for missiles and equipment for centrifuges
used to process uranium.
12. Russian-Indian Nuclear Cooperation
The Associated Press ("RUSSIA, INDIA SIGN PRELIMINARY PACT FOR NUCLEAR
REACTOR SALE," Moscow, 07/20/98) reported that the ITAR-Tass news agency
said that Russia and India signed a preliminary agreement on Monday for
the construction of two 1,000-megawatt light water reactors in southern
India. The agency said that Monday's agreement launches the plant's
feasibility study, and final contracts confirming the reactor sales are
likely to be signed in the fall.
1. Allegations by DPRK Defector Hwang
Hwang Jang-yop, former secretary of the DPRK Worker's Party who defected
to the ROK last year, claimed in the August edition of the 'Monthly
Chosun' that Professor Song Doo-yul of Humboldt University in Germany was
a candidate for the DPRK politburo under the name Kim Chul-soo.
Professor Song is an influential figure among leftists in the ROK through
his book "Inherent Methodology," which proposes viewing DPRK socialism
from the DPRK's viewpoint. In a security briefing entitled "Truth And
Lies In North Korea," Hwang wrote that the DPRK elected Song as a member
to attract ROK students to its cause. The name of Kim Chul-soo was first
heard in 1994 at Kim Il-sung's funeral service as number twenty-three in
the DPRK hierarchy, but no identification or explanation was made.
Professor Song attempted to return to the ROK under the previous
government but security objections would not allow this. Song said that
he met Hwang twice in Pyongyang, but that Hwang's claims are ridiculous.
(Chosun Ilbo, "PROFESSOR SONG IS NK POLITBURO MEMBER: HWANG," 07/20/98)
2. DPRK Submarine Incident
At the UNC-DPRK meeting at Panmunjom on Thursday, representatives from
the DPRK demanded an apology from the ROK over the mini-submarine
incident. They said that the submarine was adrift in international
waters and ROK forces, instead of rescuing the crew, capsized the
submarine and sunk it, forcing the occupants to commit suicide. The DPRK
insisted on the return of the submarine as well as the apology. With
regard to the armed body found on the east coast, the DPRK claims that
this is a fabricated incident by the ROK and that the DPRK has no
connection with it at all. This reaction from the DPRK is seen as a
swing towards hard-liners, from the more moderate approach taken when the
bodies of the nine crew members were returned through Panmunjom and the
DPRK promised not to use the incident for political purposes as
propaganda. Analysts feel that the recent change is because the military
appear to have taken control of this particular incident. The new mood
is at loggerheads with ROK demands and a freeze in relations is expected
for some time. (Chosun Ilbo, "NK DEMANDS APOLOGY OVER SUBMARINE
INCIDENT," 07/18/98)
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