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Northeast Asia Peace and Security Network DAILY REPORT For Wednesday, September 30, 1998, from Berkeley, California, USA |
1. Implementation of Agreed Framework
Reuters (Grant McCool, "KEDO NEEDS MONEY TO SUPPLY NORTH KOREA ENERGY,"
New York, 09/29/98) reported that Korean Peninsula Energy Development
Organization (KEDO) Executive Director Desaix Anderson said Tuesday that
KEDO is "critically" short of money to supply the DPRK with alternative
energy under the 1994 Agreed Framework. Anderson stated, "As was the
case last year, KEDO remains critically short of funds for heavy fuel oil
(HFO) and has a significant debt obligation to individual suppliers that
have provided HFO on credit." He added, "Absent substantial
contributions from many countries both inside and outside of the region,
however, the financial problems plaguing KEDO's purchase of HFO will
continue." Anderson also said that preliminary work at the light-water
reactor site in Kumho was completed "and we are ready to move on to the
full-scale construction. We are trying to put the funding together for
that and to complete the contract, it's almost completed, we have some
details and then we will be ready to move forward."
2. Four-Party Peace Talks
The Associated Press ("FOUR-PARTY KOREAN PEACE TALKS TO REOPEN IN LATE
OCTOBER," Seoul, 09/30/98) reported that the ROK Foreign Ministry said
Wednesday that the US, the PRC, the ROK, and the DPRK will meet in Geneva
October 21-25 to resume peace talks for the Korean Peninsula that were
last held in March. The US and the ROK have reportedly reversed their
earlier stance and agreed that the US military presence in the ROK can be
a topic at upcoming talks.
3. DPRK Rocket Launch
The Associated Press ("CHINA TO SIGN HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENT," Washington,
09/30/98) reported that PRC Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said Tuesday
that the DPRK's recent rocket launch was a "manmade satellite boosted by
three-stage rockets" that did not achieve the expected results. He
stated, "On this matter, we [the PRC] believe that it should be dealt
with in a very calm and very prudent manner."
4. International Aid for DPRK
The Associated Press (Marcos Calo Medina, "RELIEF AGENCY LEAVES NORTH
KOREA," Hong Kong, 09/30/98) and the Washington Post (John Pomfret, "AID
GROUP PULLS OUT OF N. KOREA," Beijing, 09/30/98, A22) reported that the
relief agency Doctors Without Borders on Wednesday withdrew the last of
its workers from the DPRK. Doctors Without Borders had earlier withdrawn
11 of its 13 professionals, including nine doctors. The director-
general, Dr. Eric Goemaere, said the agency was "forced" to pull out the
two remaining doctors as DPRK officials had asked the agency to stop
distributing medical aid and to focus on supplying raw materials and
chemicals for the production of basic antibiotics at the country's own
plants. Dominique Lafontaine, a French doctor who has been based in the
DPRK since August 1997, said that aid workers were concerned that the
DPRK government was feeding children from families loyal to the regime
while neglecting others. Lafontaine added that they had obtained
evidence that orphaned and homeless children had been collected in
centers known as "9-27 Camps," that were established last September to
"normalize" the country by forcing people who had left their homes in
search of food to return. The officials cited DPRK refugees from those
centers who had escaped into the PRC as describing horrific conditions.
Goemaere stated, "The new policy of 'normalization' has nothing to do
with the reality of life in North Korea and will cost the lives of
thousands." Doctors Without Borders has health centers in four provinces
north of Pyongyang where it was providing the nation with basic medical
equipment and medicines and helping to train local doctors and health
workers. The agency also helped more than 15,000 children at 64 feeding
centers in the provinces. Enkas Chau, a Red Cross international relief
service officer based in Hong Kong, said that the International Red Cross
is continuing its work in the DPRK, as it has been able to cover its
target areas across the country because of its working relationship with
the DPRK Red Cross. In Rome, Tom Shortley of the World Food Program said
that he hoped Doctors Without Borders would return. Shortley stated, "I
think from our perspective _ and we've always approached the children as
our top priority _ you have to keep engaged, you have to keep pressing
the authorities for access." An unnamed US official was quoted as
saying, "In truth, we don't know what we're doing. We're just sending in
lots of food and hoping against hope." An unnamed Western aid official
described US aid to the DPRK as "a bribe, nothing more."
Agence France-Presse (Sharon Singleton, "NORTH KOREAN HOSPITALS CALLED
MEDIEVAL," Hong Kong, 09/30/98) reported that Doctors Without Borders
(DWB) director general Dr. Eric Goemaere said Wednesday that, since their
drug industry collapsed earlier this decade, DPRK hospitals were 75
percent reliant on traditional Korean herbal medicines which have no
effect on serious infectious diseases. He added that surgeons were
performing operations with no anesthetic, no sterilization, and rusty
instruments, and old beer bottles were being used for intravenous drips.
DWB said it had discovered an unusually high level of hospital admissions
among the young, with about 50 percent of the patients admitted between
the age of 20 and 40. Most had severe gastrointestinal illnesses or
other conditions relating to worsening sanitation. DWB field doctor
Dominique Lafontaine stated, "There are serious risks of outbreaks of
disease from terrible health and nutritional conditions, but there is a
problem with the way needs and solutions are prioritized. While there is
an urgent need to restructure the water and sanitation system, the
government responds with mass vaccination campaigns against cholera."
There are no internationally recognized effective vaccines against
cholera, and DWB said it is unsure where the DPRK government was
obtaining the cholera vaccines. DWB said that refugees escaping across
the border into the PRC told the agency that doctors sell drugs on the
black market. The refugees also said food had not been distributed
regularly since 1994, although some had seen shipments arrive at ports.
Two youths told DWB, "It (food) would then be stored in distribution
centers and divided in order of priority between the army and executives.
More than 70 percent of the aid would be allotted to them with the
remainder being distributed to the people on national holidays." The
refugees said executives in Pyongyang ate well, with food and supplies
delivered to the door, although not every army member was well fed.
5. Escape of Korean War POW
The Associated Press ("KOREAN WAR POW ESCAPES NORTH KOREA," Seoul,
09/30/98) reported that ROK Defense Ministry officials said that Chang
Moo-hwan an ROK prisoner of war who had been held in the DPRK since the
Korean War, returned to the ROK Wednesday after escaping 45 years of
captivity. The officials said that Chang was working at a DPRK coal mine
before he managed to escape to the PRC in August and find ROK officials
there. Chang had been listed as killed in action.
6. Clinton Trip to Japan, ROK
Dow Jones Newswires (Alex Keto, "WHITE HOUSE HINTS AT TRIPS TO S. KOREA,
JAPAN ON APEC VISIT," Washington, 09/30/98) reported that White House
Spokesman Mike McCurry hinted Wednesday that US President Bill Clinton
may add visits to the ROK and Japan to his trip to Malaysia to attend the
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group summit. McCurry stated,
"He is going to Malaysia, and I sort of hinted where he is not going
[India and Pakistan] yesterday so he may go somewhere else." After
saying he would not speculate on the possibility of ROK or Japan trips,
McCurry added, "Korea and Japan are two very important allies and we
maintain close contact with them. We are doing enormously important work
with both governments at the moment."
7. Asian Economic Crisis
The Associated Press (Todd Zaun, "JAPAN TO PROPOSE $30B AID PACKAGE,"
Tokyo, 09/30/98) reported that Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa
announced Wednesday that he will propose a plan at the Group of Seven
meeting this weekend for Japan to spend US$30 billion to aid Asian
countries affected by the region's financial crisis. The plan envisages
the Export-Import Bank of Japan guaranteeing debts of its Asian neighbors
and buying government bonds from the countries. Miyazawa stated,
"Although the situation is severe domestically, we have enough funds to
help Southeast Asia. We feel that that is our responsibility
internationally." Japan is expected to offer a large aid package to the
ROK when President Kim Dae-jung visits Japan next Wednesday.
8. PRC Human Rights
The Associated Press ("CHINA TO SIGN HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENT," Washington,
09/30/98) and Reuters (Paul Eckert, "HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHERS ENCOURAGED BY
CHINA SIGNING U.N. PACT," Beijing, 09/30/98) reported that PRC Foreign
Minister Tang Jiaxuan said Tuesday that his government will sign the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in New York on
October 5. An unnamed Beijing-based Asian diplomat was quoted as saying,
"It's a start of a process, because the whole question of the
ratification process could take quite a long time." He noted that the
ratification process "is when they put in so-called reservations about
what parts of that they don't what to sign on to or want to exclude
themselves from." However, he added, "Given that a major part of the
reason that they're doing this is for international consumption and
international acceptance, being too extreme in the kind of reservations
they put would undermine that."
9. Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
The New York Times (Celia W. Dugger, "ANALYSIS: FOR PAKISTAN AND INDIA,
ATOM PACT IS A HARD SELL," New Delhi, 09/29/98) reported that political
and policy analysts said that Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would face major political
difficulties if they signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
without securing concessions from the US. Brahma Chellaney, a national
security analyst at the Center for Policy Research, a nonprofit research
group in New Delhi, said that India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
"doesn't have much room to do a deal without getting important
concessions. And it's not clear what the Americans can offer. The
president has been weakened and Congress is hostile."
10. Sanctions on South Asia
Reuters ("INDIA WELCOMES, CANADA OPPOSES SANCTIONS WAIVER," Ottawa,
09/29/98) reported that Indian Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said
Tuesday that the possible waiving of US sanctions would give an immediate
boost to business sentiment. Sinha stated, "I think it's a very positive
development." Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy, however, said
that he opposed any relaxation of sanctions by his country until India
made clear commitments on its nuclear program. Axworthy said that Indian
adherence to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty is "just one of the
elements. We still want a commitment not to weaponize their nuclear
capacity, their signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and they
should join the discussions on fissionable materials controls as well."
11. Clinton's Trip to South Asia
White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry ("WHITE HOUSE REPORT, SEPTEMBER
29, 1998," USIA Transcript, 09/29/98) said that he had no "reason to
dispute" reports that US President Bill Clinton will not make his
scheduled trip to India and Pakistan. He added, "The (India-Pakistan)
trip has been under review and the President is in the process of
contacting those governments and talking about the importance he attaches
to relations and how we see relations unfolding."
The Washington Post (Peter Baker, "CLINTON SET TO CANCEL SCHEDULED TRIP
TO INDIA, PAKISTAN," 09/30/98, A18) reported that US administration
sources said Tuesday that US President Bill Clinton has decided to cancel
his planned November trip to India and Pakistan. An unnamed senior
administration official was quoted as saying, "You don't want to look
like you're doing anything that rewards them for breaking out of the
international [arms control] regime. But at the same time you want to
use a presidential visit to coax the nonproliferation agenda ahead."
Aides said that Clinton would try to reschedule next year after more work
on regional tensions such as the dispute over Kashmir and on
nonproliferation issues such as controlling missile deployment,
technology exports, and the production of fissile materials used for
nuclear weapons. An unnamed administration official stated, "This isn't
cancellation as punishment; this is postponement because of progress. We
have to have more time to lower tensions significantly. We just don't
have that between now and November." Pakistan Embassy spokesman Malik
Zahoor Ahmad stated, "Pakistan was eagerly awaiting President Clinton's
visit. We hope that he would be able to visit us at the first available
opportunity."
12. Russian Nuclear Workers Strike
Agence France-Presse (Dmitry Zaks, "ANGRY NUCLEAR SCIENTISTS BLOCK MOSCOW
HIGHWAYS," Moscow, 09/30/98) reported that hundreds of nuclear
researchers on Wednesday protested their lack of pay by blockading major
roads leading into Moscow and briefly threatening operations at Russia's
space center. The atomic energy researchers said in a press statement
issued by their union, "We are forced to these desperate measures because
we are in poverty. The scientists have reached breaking point. The
cities in which they live are falling apart."
1. DPRK Internal Politics
The DPRK recently arrested seven officials, including Lim Tae-deok, head
of the Najin Sonbong Special Development Project, and is purging so-
called liberal reformists, according to a Chinese source in Beijing. The
source added that Lim's group was investigated by central party officials
on charges of corruption and extorting money from foreign companies
seeking to set up businesses there. The office for the project at
Yienzi, in China, home to many ethnic Koreans, was closed at the end of
July. The arrests appear to be part of a large-scale purge and internal
reorganization timed for the 10 Supreme Council Assembly. They are
possibly connected to rumors of the execution of Kim Jong-woo and the
reduction in size of his Overseas Trade Commission. (Chosun Ilbo, "NK
PURGES 'LIBERALS'," 09/30/98)
2. DPRK UN Speech
The DPRK Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Choi Soo-hun, said in a
speech delivered at the UN General Assembly Tuesday that proliferation of
nuclear weapons cannot be prevented as long as countries possessing
nuclear arms are unwilling to give up their monopoly. The nuclear
umbrella policy pursued by nuclear-armed countries is a major obstacle in
a nuclear non-proliferation treaty, Choi said. He also claimed that the
possibility looms larger than ever before that the turn of the century
could be marked by another Korean War. To prevent the risk of war, he
said, the unification of the Korean peninsula is a must. He stated, "It
is our consistent stand to hold dialogue for reunification and to improve
relations between the north and south of Korea.'' He added, "In order
for the Korean people to solve questions on national unity and
reunification by themselves, countries concerned, including the United
States and Japan, should refrain from acts of hindering the efforts of
the Korean people." He called the US Army in the ROK "the major
obstacle'' to reunification. Choe said that the DPRK's first satellite
launch on August 31 demonstrated "the might of our scientific and
technical development.'' He said that the satellite was launched
successfully with a multi-stage rocket "developed by ourselves with our
knowledge and 100 percent of our own technology and in our own way.''
Choe said Japanese authorities "behaved unreasonably, making a fuss to
forcibly question our satellite launch and committed a rash act ...
insisting that the Security Council should 'respond' to our satellite
launch. If our satellite launch is a serious issue in terms of security,
Japan's satellite launches should come first as an issue to be discussed
by the Security Council." He warned that Japan should not hinder
reunification "by aggravating the tense situation on the Korean
peninsula'' and intimated that it was "attempting to declare war'' by
following the US. Choe declared that the 21st century should be
"peaceful and prosperous,'' and said the world would see an independent
and peace-loving DPRK develop "into a prosperous power." (Chosun Ilbo,
"NORTH KOREA HINTS AT POSSIBILITY OF FUTURE WAR," 09/30/98; Hankook Ilbo,
"DPRK WARNS ANOTHER KOREAN WAR IS EVER MORE IMMINENT," Seoul, 09/29/98)
3. DPRK Tourism Project
The ROK tour of Mt. Kumkang in the DPRK is not likely to be realized
before the year's end. Hyundai Business Group planned to launch the
five-day tour before the end of September, but is making no headway in
negotiations with its DPRK counterpart. Tongil Group, which jumped into
the race to conduct the historic tour after Hyundai, shows no evidence
that its negotiations with the DPRK have resulted in any concrete deals.
Moreover, the ROK government decided Tuesday to postpone for 20 more days
its decision whether to approve or turn down Tongil's request to conduct
a Mt. Kumkang tour program. The government apparently does not want to
diminish the business opportunity or undermine the position of Hyundai or
Tongil in negotiations with the DPRK. Hyundai also postponed a Tuesday
trip by high-ranking company officials to Pyongyang. Observers noted
that the postponement hints that the deadlock in the negotiations may be
more serious than Hyundai has revealed. ROK government officials
commented that the reason the negotiations have not moved ahead is the
DPRK's request for additional tour fees exceeding the US$300 per head
originally agreed upon. (Chosun Ilbo, "PROSPECTS FOR MOUNT KUMKANG TOUR
GETTING DIMMER," 09/30/98)
4. ROK Aid to DPRK
Joongang Ilbo (DPRK JUSTIFIES CATTLE DISTRIBUTION, Seoul, 09/29/98)
reported that the Ministry of Unification (MOU) announced on September 29
that the DPRK Red Cross Society notified the ROK of the reason they
distributed 500 cows to Hwanghae province near the Demilitarized Zone.
Chung Ju-yung, the honorary chief of Hyundai, provided the DPRK with the
cows for agricultural use. According to MOU, the cows may have hurt
their legs during the long trip to the northern region of the DPRK. On
September 22, the DPRK informed the ROK that it distributed 200 cows to
Hwanghae province and 100 to Kangwon province rather than Hamkyoung,
Jakang, and Kangwon provinces, where Chung originally wanted the cattle
to be distributed. A source at MOU said, "Mr. Chung permitted the
change, but we expect any exchanges between the DPRK and the ROK to
proceed in a credible atmosphere."
1. US Troops on Korean Peninsula
Jie Fang Daily ("US WILL SEND MORE TROOPS TO KOREAN PENINSULA," 9/29/98,
A12) reported that, according to the 1998 white paper of national defense
published by the ROK defense ministry, in case of a military contingency
on the Korean Peninsula, the US will send at least 640,000 soldiers to
this area.
2. Japanese Policy toward Korean Peninsula
China Daily ("JAPAN MAY ADJUST TIES WITH DPRK, ROK," 09/30/98, Tokyo,
A11) reported that Japan may issue a statement apologizing to Korea for
its past actions during the visit of ROK President Kim Dae-jung next
month. Japanese Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Sadaaki Namata told
reporters on September 29 that while Japan took an important step in
coming to terms with its past by issuing a statement in August 1995
apologizing for its past actions in Asia and elsewhere during World War
II, that statement was general rather than specific. In another
development, Japan said on September 29 that it would "seriously"
consider ending a freeze on financial support for the DPRK nuclear
reactor project, imposed after the launch of a rocket that overflew
Japan.
3. PRC-US Relations
China Daily ("FM SEEKS TO IMPROVE SINO-US RELATIONS," Washington,
09/29/98, A1) reported that PRC Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan's visit to
Washington had a mission to help maintain the momentum of development in
Sino-US relations. According to the report, the Taiwan issue and the
trade imbalance are likely to be among subjects discussed. Recently, the
US Defense Department announced a US$350 million arms sale to Taiwan, a
move that triggered protests from the PRC. In addition, the US House of
Representative last week voted to approve the provision of theater anti-
missile systems to the islands. It is expected that the PRC foreign
minister would express the PRC's concerns and urge the US to adhere to
the three joint communiques signed by the two countries.
4. PRC-Taiwan Relations
China Daily ("MEETING HOPES TO PROMOTE DIALOGUE," 09/25/98, A1) reported
that, after meeting the Secretary-General of the Taiwan-based Straits
Exchange Foundation (SEF), Shi Hwei-yow, vice-chairman of the Beijing-
based Association for Relations Across Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Tang Shubei
said that talks between the PRC and Taiwan should begin with political
issues. Taiwan has publicly expressed the hope that talks will focus
initially on general topics, but has not refused to consider political
dialogue. Shi, who left for Taipei on September 24, told reporters he
was satisfied with the result of his three-day visit to Beijing. Koo,
president of the SEF, is scheduled to meet President Jiang Zemin during
his stay in Beijing. ARATS has proposed that the meeting be held on
October 18.
5. US-Japanese Relations
People's Liberation Army Daily ("NO SUBSTANTIVE ACHIEVEMENTS REACHED,"
09/27/98, A4) said that the summit between US President Bill Clinton and
Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi had not reached substantive
achievements. However, the analysis said that the meeting seemed rather
peaceful, which is different from previous summits between the two
economic superpowers. According to the article, there are three main
reasons for the phenomenon. First, the Obuchi Cabinet is blocked by the
diet and opposition parties and cannot set forward a clear and feasible
proposal. Second, President Clinton is confused by his sexual scandal.
Third, the US, in view of strengthening its security cooperation with
Japan, does not want to damage its relations with Japan. The US and
Japan are the two chief economic powers in the world and should play key
roles in the world economy. However, the article said, the fruitless
summit means that the Asian economic crisis will be more difficult to
overcome.
People's Daily ("US, JAPAN PAY MORE ATTENTION TO MILITARY COOPERATION,"
09/19/98, A6) said that the meeting between US and Japanese officials in
charge of foreign and defense affairs reached some substantive
achievements compared with the US-Japanese summit at the UN on September
23. Those achievements reached by Japan and the US are all related to
Japan-US military cooperation. This suggests that the US and Japan have
more interest in security issues rather than economic issues, which are
hot topics for other countries.
6. PRC-Japanese Relations
People's Daily ("ZHANG MEETS WITH JAPANESE DEFENSE OFFICIAL," Tokyo,
09/25/98, A6) reported that Zhang Wannian, vice-chairman of the PRC
Central Military Commission, told Director-General of the Japanese
Defense Agency Fukushiro Nukaga that a clear declaration that Taiwan is
not included in the new Japan-US defense cooperation guidelines would be
conducive to the elimination of the PRC's suspicions of Japan-US security
cooperation and beneficial to the further development of Sino-Japanese
relations.
7. PRC Nuclear Policy
China Daily ("TANG: CHINA BACKS NUCLEAR BAN," United Nations, 09/25/98,
A1) reported that PRC Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan told the UN's 53rd
General Assembly that the PRC desires the prohibition and destruction of
nuclear weapons. The PRC will maintain its policies of unconditional no
first use of nuclear weapons and unconditional no-use or threat-of-use of
nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states and nuclear-free zones. The
PRC will continue supporting the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva to
negotiate and conclude a non-discriminative and verifiable Fissile-
Material Cut-off Treaty on the basis of the agreed mandate. Tang urged
countries with the largest nuclear arsenals to accelerate their nuclear
disarmament process.
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