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Northeast Asia Peace and Security Network DAILY REPORT For Wednesday, August 12, 1998, from Berkeley, California, USA |
1. US-ROK Military Exercises
The Associated Press ("US, S. KOREA PLAN MILITARY EXERCISE," Seoul,
08/12/98) reported that US and ROK military officials said Wednesday that
the two countries will begin two weeks of joint military exercises Monday
that are designed to boost preparedness for an attack by the DPRK. The
annual exercise will be the first joint war games this year. About
13,000 US soldiers and more than 57,000 ROK troops will participate. The
ROK Defense Ministry said that the exercise would simulate war conditions
with mock chemical weapons attacks on Seoul.
2. ROK Labor Unrest
The Associated Press ("TALKS BREAK DOWN IN HYUNDAI STRIKE," Seoul,
08/12/98) reported that labor and management negotiators of Hyundai Motor
Co. on Wednesday declared an impasse in negotiations for ending a 24-day
strike. 3,000 Hyundai workers established barricades in anticipation of
a police raid to break up their strike. Thousands of police stood guard
around Hyundai's main plant in Ulsan, but they said they could not move
in without a formal request from the company. Hyundai spokesman Min
Kyong-hwan said that calling in the police "will be the last choice for
us because such a crackdown will certainly result in a massive, violent
clash."
3. PRC-Taiwan Spying Row
The Associated Press (Christopher Bodeen, "CHINA CONVICTS 4 TAIWAN
BUSINESSMEN," Beijing, 08/12/98) reported that the PRC's state-run Xinhua
News Agency said that the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court on Wednesday
convicted four Taiwanese businessmen of spying. The court ruled that the
four men worked for Taiwan's military intelligence bureau under the cover
of a civic organization set up to promote exchanges between the PRC and
Taiwan. One of the men, Kou Chien-ming, was sentenced to four years in
prison, while the other three were not punished. Officials of the
organization that the men worked for said that Kou might have
unintentionally broken state security laws while setting up a China
business information Web site on the Internet. Taiwan's Central News
Agency said that Kou immediately appealed the verdict. Taiwanese
newspapers have speculated that the PRC was likely to repatriate the men
to Taiwan to minimize disruption to efforts to renew dialogue between the
two sides. Taiwan's semiofficial Straits Exchange Foundation said it
hoped to arrange for the three men to return home as soon as possible,
and would continue to push for Kou's release.
4. Asian Financial Crisis
Reuters ("CHINA MEDIA URGES JAPAN AND U.S. TO BOLSTER YEN," Beijing,
08/12/98) reported that the PRC's official Economic Information Daily on
Wednesday urged Japan and the US to take steps to stop the yen from
sliding further. The paper quoted economists as saying a new round of
currency devaluations would hit Asia if the yen kept falling. The
article stated, "The Japanese government's economic reform policies lack
details, and its actions are not decisive, which is one of the factors
causing the yen's prevailing weakness." It added, "Japan can easily
stabilize the yen by adjusting its current excessively low interest
rates, taking measures to limit the flow of yen out of Japan or directly
intervening in currency markers."
Dow Jones Newswires (Denny Kurien, "CHINA ENVOY: FURTHER YEN DROP MAY
FORCE RETHINKING ON YUAN," New Delhi, 08/12/98) reported that Zhou Gang,
PRC ambassador to India, said Wednesday that further yen depreciation may
force the PRC to rethink its policy on devaluing the yuan. Zhou said
that the "Chinese government has decided not to devalue its currency to
ensure stability. But it has a very severe and adverse impact on our
foreign direct investment and foreign trade."
5. Comfort Women Issue
The Associated Press ("FILIPINO SEX SLAVES DENOUNCE PAPER," Manila,
08/12/98) reported that Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun in an editorial Tuesday
condemned a report by the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Discrimination
and Protection of Minorities on Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of
Asian women. The newspaper said that there was no proof the women were
forced into prostitution. It added that it was unreasonable to single
out Japan "as the source of all evil," pointing out that the US had set
up "Recreation and Amusement Facilities" that were prostitution centers
for Allied forces during its occupation of Japan after World War II.
Lila Pilipina, a group of Filipina former sex slaves, on Wednesday
denounced the editorial, saying that the testimonies of hundreds of
former "comfort women" provide "the most undeniable proof" that
enslavement took place. Lila Pilipina said in a statement, "The burden
of proof does not lie with the women but with the Japanese government."
Nelia Sancho, a spokeswoman for the group, stated, "We are frustrated
over the fact that until today there are still sectors in Japanese
society ... which still continue to peddle the myth that the Japanese
army did not commit any atrocity during the last world war."
6. US Missile Defense System
Reuters ("U.S. ANTI-MISSILE SYSTEM HAS $1 BLN COST OVERRUN," Washington,
08/12/98) reported that US Defense Department Spokesman Ken Bacon said
Tuesday that the US Theater High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) project
has gone about US$732 million over budget due to delays. In addition,
Bacon said that the Defense Department had "changed the requirements of
the program to a certain extent, and that has created another $265
million in cost increases. So the combination of the delay plus the
enhanced DOD (Department of Defense) requirements has generated about a
billion dollars in the increased costs." Bacon said that each of the
five tests of the THAAD failed for a different reason, making it
difficult to track down and fix the problems. He added, however, that
"both the program managers and the contractor are determined to make it
work."
7. US Rocket Explosion
Reuters (Duffin McGee, "U.S TITAN ROCKET EXPLOSION WAS $1 BILLION
FAILURE," Cape Canaveral, 08/12/98) reported that the US Air Force said
that a Titan 4A rocket carrying a top-secret spy satellite exploded just
after blastoff from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday. The rocket was
estimated to have a value of US$300 million and the satellite at US$800
million to US$1 billion. Space analysts said that the Titan was carrying
an eavesdropping satellite, code-named Vortex, that would have listened
in on military and government communications in the Middle East, South
Asia, and the PRC.
8. Russian Nuclear Safety
Reuters ("RUSSIA SAYS ITS MISSLES [sic] ARE MILLENNIUM BUG-FREE," Moscow,
08/12/98) reported that Russian Defense Minister Marshal Igor Sergeyev on
Wednesday denied that Russia's nuclear arsenal is vulnerable to a
computer glitch caused by the change to the year 2000. Sergeyev stated,
"This problem affects more those spheres where mass-market computer
technology is used. In Russia's Strategic Missile forces, there is no
risk because special computer technology is used."
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