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Northeast Asia Peace and Security Network DAILY REPORT For Friday, July 31, 1998, from Berkeley, California, USA |
1. Light-Water Reactor Project
State Department Spokesman James Rubin, "STATE DEPARTMENT NOON BRIEFING, JULY 30," Transcript,
07/30/98) said that, although the US has made clear that it wants to arrange the necessary support for the Korean
Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), it has not made a specific financial commitment. Rubin stated,
"There is a gap, I believe, of several hundred million dollars out of several billion dollars; so under 10 percent of the
financing still needs to be worked out. We want to work with other countries and our Congress to try to make sure that
we've done all we can to provide the necessary financing, both for the heavy fuel oil and for the light water reactors."
2. Comfort Women Issue
Reuters ("JAPANESE OFFICIAL BACKTRACKS ON CONTROVERSIAL SEX SLAVE REMARKS," Tokyo,
07/31/98) reported that newly appointed Japanese Agriculture Minister Shoichi Nakagawa on Friday retracted
statements he had made earlier in the day that it is not known whether Asian women had been forced to work as sex
slaves in Japanese army brothels during World War II. A few hours after his original remarks, Nakagawa stated, "They
were forcibly recruited." He added that his early remarks might have been misleading. Nakagawa said that he would
withdraw from a group of lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) that is demanding that school
textbooks delete references to the "comfort women" issue. New Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi stated, "I do
not find that there are any problems since he (Nakagawa) denied his previous statements completely."
3. Japanese Foreign Policy
Dow Jones Newswires ("JAPAN FOREIGN MIN KOMURA PLANS TO VISIT RUSSIA IN SEP -KYODO," Tokyo,
07/31/98) reported that Kyodo news agency said that Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura announced Friday
that he wants to visit Moscow, possibly in September, to pave the way for Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's official visit
to Russia in November. Komura also said he would make further efforts to create a new partnership with the ROK
toward the 21st century. He expressed hope that the two countries could settle the historical issues arising from Japan's
colonization of the Korean Peninsula on the occasion of ROK President Kim Dae-jung's visit to Japan in early October.
Komura said that Japan would file a resolution with the UN General Assembly in September calling for nuclear
disarmament from the five declared nuclear powers as well as India and Pakistan. Earlier Friday, Komura told a news
conference that he plans to visit the PRC in August to prepare for PRC President Jiang Zemin's official visit to Japan in
early September for a summit with Obuchi. Also on Friday, Obuchi reaffirmed in a telephone conversation with
Russian President Boris Yeltsin that he will make an official visit to Moscow for a summit aimed at pushing forward
negotiations on concluding a peace treaty by the year 2000.
4. US Naval Visit to PRC
The Associated Press ("TWO U.S. NAVY SHIPS TO VISIT CHINA," Beijing, 07/30/98) reported that the US
Embassy in Beijing announced Thursday that two US Navy ships are scheduled to visit the PRC port of Qingdao for
four days beginning Sunday. It will be the fourth US Navy ship visit to the PRC since 1995, when port visits resumed
after being frozen following the PRC suppression of pro-democracy protests in 1989.
5. Taiwanese Politician Killed in PRC
Agence France-Presse (H. Asher Bolande, "TAIWAN CITY COUNCIL MEMBER MURDERED BY CHINA
KIDNAPPERS, OFFICIAL SAYS," 07/31/98) reported that Liaoning province officials said Friday that Lin Ti-chuan,
a visiting city council member from Kaohsiung in Taiwan, has been murdered by her kidnappers. Lin was abducted at
knifepoint together with her boyfriend late on Monday. An official identified the police's chief suspect in the
kidnapping as a local business partner of the Taiwan politician Li Guangzhi. Li is the head of Haicheng Huamei
Industrial Co. Ltd.'s representative office in Dalian city. Lin and her boyfriend owed the firm a total of US$710,000. A
total of 184 cases involving threats to Taiwanese businessmen in the PRC have been reported since January 1991. Lin's
family and some members of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party with which she is affiliated were due to
arrive in Dalian on Friday. Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation said it sent a letter Thursday to the Association for
Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, its PRC counterpart, to ask for assistance in rescuing Lin.
6. Indian Nuclear Development
Reuters (Carol Giacomo, "US OFFICIALS DIVIDED ON INDIA'S NUCLEAR STANCE," Sydney, 07/30/98)
reported that US officials said that the Clinton administration is divided on whether India is moving to forsake testing
and deployment of nuclear weapons. They said that US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott believed Indian
leaders had moved significantly toward accepting criteria laid down by the US and other nations. However, sources
described US Defense Department officials as less convinced, even pessimistic about India's intentions. PRC Foreign
Minister Tang Jiaxuan warned US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at a meeting in Manila this week to be wary
of India's promises, officials said. One official said that the PRC feared that the US might prematurely ease its hard
line on India for its nuclear explosions. He said that the PRC "want[s] to keep up the pressure overall." Another
official stated, "We're not going to do anything until we've made absolutely sure the two governments will fulfill their
commitments." Indian and Pakistani envoys are due in Washington next month for more talks. One US official said
that the Indians are expected to come ready to "identify what they are prepared to do." Officials said talks are going
much slower with Pakistan, which seems confused and uncertain about how to handle the situation.
7. Indian-Pakistani Talks
The Associated Press ("PAKISTAN-INDIA TALKS BREAK DOWN," Colombo, 07/31/98) and Reuters ("INDIA-
PAKISTAN TALKS FAIL TO RESTART PEACE EFFORT," Colombo, 07/31/98) reported that talks between India
and Pakistan aimed at reviving negotiations over Kashmir and other long-standing disputes broke down on Friday.
Pakistan spokesman Tariq Altaf said discussions stalled after India refused to discuss Kashmir and the nuclear
proliferation in South Asia unless those issues were raised in the context of broader relations between the two nations.
He accused India of taking a "rigid and inflexible position" on Kashmir. Altaf stated, "No basis exists for resumption
of dialogue." However, he added that Pakistan remains ready to hold "urgent, meaningful and result-oriented dialogue"
to resolve the disputes. Altaf said that during the talks, Pakistan proposed several confidence-building measures for the
two nations, including a greater role for UN military observers in Kashmir, release of detainees in Kashmir, and the
removal of the Indian army from Srinagar and other Kashmir towns. India's senior diplomat, Foreign Secretary K.
Raghunath, accused Pakistan of an "obsessive" focus on Kashmir to the neglect of other issues.
8. Fighting in Kashmir
The Associated Press ("DOZENS OF INDIANS, PAKISTANIS DIE IN FIGHTING OVER KASHMIR," Jammu,
07/31/98) reported that Indian and Pakistani officials said Friday that 46 people were killed on both sides during
fighting between Indian and Pakistani soldiers across the disputed frontier of Kashmir. India said that Pakistani
mortars slammed into a military hospital, killing 10 civilians in the town of Tangdhar. India said that its overall toll
was 16 dead and five wounded. Pakistan said that a total of 26 civilians and four soldiers died from firing Thursday,
and that 100 people, mostly civilians, were wounded. The latest round of shooting has been going on for four days in
India's Kupwara district, opposite Pakistan's Muzzafarabad region, said an Indian spokesman.
1. DPRK Pest Control Aid
The DPRK was learned Friday to have requested the assistance of the ROK government to eradicate an insect
infestation that is destroying pine tree forests around Kumkang mountain. Sources in Seoul revealed that the
government is positively viewing this request and is studying sending an observation team to the area. Om Dae-woo,
head of the National Parks Management Corporation, said that he had met with DPRK officials and discussed the
damage to the forests and relayed the request to the government. He added that he is planning to visit the area
accompanied by six field workers to assess the damage. A high-ranking ROK government official said that aerial
photographs had confirmed that 20 percent of the trees in the area had been devastated and that the administration has
earmarked ROK Won 4.8 billion to pay for an extermination team to clear the area. (Chosun Ilbo, "NK ASKS FOR
HELP TO ERADICATE INSECT INFESTATION," 07/31/98)
2. ROK-Russia Relations
The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) claimed that the ROK's recent pro-US stance has emboldened Russia to
adopt a hard-line policy toward the ROK. The Yoido Institute, the research arm of the GNP, said in a report Thursday
that Russia appears to be concerned over its dwindling influence on the Korean Peninsula. It noted that Russia seemed
to harboring discontent with the ROK as it is being excluded from the four-party Korean peace talks. In addition,
Russia appears to be displeased over a dispute involving its repayment of a US$3 billion loan package to the ROK, the
institute added. "Against this background, the government has been neglecting Russia in its heavy dependency upon
the U.S. and the IMF amid the financial crisis, a circumstance which eventually provoked Russia's involvement the
diplomatic row," the report said. The Yoido Institute also cited the government's concession to US pressure to procure
US weapons, instead of Russian products, as one of the causes of the conflict with Russia. (Korea Times, "SEOUL'S
PRO US STANCE FRUSTRATES RUSSIA," 07/31/98)
3. ROK Prepares for DPRK Infiltration
A high-ranking military source in Seoul warned Thursday that the DPRK may make another limited infiltration attempt
in August, pending the anniversary of the foundation of the DPRK on September 9. The possible infiltration could
include another submarine intrusion on the East Coast, kidnapping of ROK fishing boats, or violation of the sea border
in the West Sea by DPRK naval ships, said the source, who demanded anonymity. "The DPRK military may attempt to
do 'something' in token of their loyalty to their leader Kim Jong-il before the anniversary," he said, echoing a recent
warning by ROK national intelligence chief Lee Jong-chan. The source said that the two recent DPRK incursions were
intended in part to demonstrate their loyalty to their leader Kim. The official said that frequent redeployment and
movement of DPRK ships and submarines have recently been detected, adding to fears that the DPRK is preparing for
another infiltration attempt. (Korea Herald, "GOVERNMENT PREPARING FOR POSSIBLE NORTH KOREAN
INFILTRATION," 07/31/98)
1. New Japanese Cabinet
The Daily Yomiuri ("OBUCHI ELECTED PREMIER, FORMS CABINET: DISPOSAL OF BAD DEBTS HIGH ON
AGENDA TO RESUSCITATE NATIONAL ECONOMY, 07/31/98) reported that after being elected Japan's 54th
prime minister by the Diet on July 30, Liberal Democratic Party President Keizo Obuchi inaugurated his government
with a pledge to dispose of the bad loans that plague the nation's financial institutions and implement permanent tax
cuts. The report also said that the former foreign minister would likely face an uphill battle from hostile opposition
parties that are already demanding the dissolution of the Lower House for a general election. Obuchi immediately
named his new Cabinet and tapped former Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa as finance minister. Miyazawa is the first
former prime minister to become finance minister since 1927. Masahiko Komura, currently state secretary for foreign
affairs, was named foreign minister, and will work closely with Obuchi, who has a busy diplomatic schedule this
autumn. Komura said at a press conference that he would particularly like to strengthen Japan-US relations, join forces
with other Asian nations to overcome the Asian economic and monetary crisis, and reinforce the framework of nuclear
nonproliferation. With regard to the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests, Komura said that the international community
should deal strictly with the two countries, adding, "I will take every opportunity to appeal to other countries
concerning this point." According to the report, PRC President Jiang Zemin will visit Japan in early September for
talks with Obuchi. Obuchi is scheduled to attend the UN General Assembly in late September for dialogue with US
President Bill Clinton, and ROK President Kim Dae-jung is slated for a state visit to Japan in early October. Obuchi is
due to visit Russia in November and attend an informal summit of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
forum in Malaysia.
2. Taiwanese Views of PRC Defense White Paper
The Sankei Shimbun ("PRC'S DEFENSE SPENDING IS THREE TIMES MORE THAN OFFICIALLY
ANNOUNCED," Taipei, 07/30/98) reported that Taiwan's defense authority said that the announced defense spending
in the recently published defense paper of the PRC is only one-third of the actual defense spending. The report also
said that many defense experts in the world have already pointed out that the white paper is still opaque. A Taiwanese
defense authority spokesman said that what the PRC's reported $US 980 million defense spending does not include is
included in other budgets such as education, science, and police. According to the spokesman, the white paper aims to
ease the international community's view of the PRC as a "threat" and satisfy other countries with the PRC's
transparency. However, the spokesman added, "The PRC has not abandoned the 'use of force' against Taiwan and it is
still undoubtedly the largest threat to Taiwan's security. Taiwan can avoid military confrontation and put the peaceful
unification of the two sides of the Taiwan Straits on the right track by striving for self-defense."
3. Light-Water Reactor Project
The Asahi Shimbun (Koichi Kosuge, "ROK HAILS US INITIATIVE," Manila, 07/30/98) reported that the ROK
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced that the parties involved reached an agreement on cost-sharing for the
light-water reactor project on July 30. The Ministry said, "The US has expressed more will than ever to lead the
construction (of the reactors), and the agreement is a meaningful one."
4. Japanese-Russian Military Cooperation
The Daily Yomiuri ("JAPAN, RUSSIA CONDUCT FIRST JOINT RESCUE EXERCISE," Vladivostok, 07/31/98)
reported that Japan and Russia conducted their first joint marine rescue drill on July 29 in the Sea of Japan, about 400
kilometers off Vladivostok. Two Maritime Self-Defense Force escort ships and seven airplanes, along with two
battleships and two helicopters from Russia's Pacific fleet, joined the exercises. The troops played out a rescue of a
Japanese merchant ship that had caught fire. The report cited observers as saying that the joint exercise highlighted the
fact that the Cold War was truly over.
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