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Northeast Asia Peace and Security Network DAILY REPORT For Thursday, December 10, 1998, from Berkeley, California, USA |
1. US DPRK Policy Coordinator's Asia Trip
Reuters (Teruaki Ueno, "U.S. FEARS NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR PACT MAY BE
SCRAPPED," Tokyo, 12/10/98) and the Associated Press ("PERRY BRIEFS JAPAN
ON N.KOREA SITE," Tokyo, 12/10/98) reported that Japanese officials said
that US special envoy William Perry voiced concern Thursday that the 1994
Agreed Framework could be scrapped due to the DPRK's refusal to allow
inspections of a suspected nuclear facility. Perry arrived in Tokyo late
Wednesday. Japanese officials quoted Perry as saying the current
situation appeared to be moving toward a critical situation similar to
that of June 1994. Japanese defense officials said Perry told them the
US was seeking clear explanations through direct dialogue with the DPRK.
The officials said that, in a meeting with Japan's Chief Cabinet
Secretary Hiromu Nonaka on Thursday, Perry also expressed concern over
the DPRK's launching of a Taepodong missile over Japanese territory in
August. Asked about the content of that meeting, Nonaka said that Japan
was not aware of any immediate signs that the DPRK was ready to launch
another missile. He stated, "We have information about movements of
people and vehicles, but we have no firm information that North Korea
will immediately launch another missile." He added, "If North Korea was
to launch another missile, the impact (of such action) would be grave."
Perry was to meet Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura later
Thursday. [Ed. note: This article appeared in the US Department of
Defense's Early Bird news summary.]
The Associated Press ("EX-DEFENSE SECRETARY, CHINESE MEET," Beijing,
10/09/98) reported that former US Defense Secretary William Perry met
with PRC officials on Wednesday for help in dealing with the DPRK.
According to a statement from the US Embassy in Beijing, Perry said that
US policy toward the DPRK is under review and that he wanted to hear
views from the PRC. The statement said that Perry met with PRC officials
and specialists on the DPRK, but an embassy spokesman and the PRC Foreign
Ministry refused to provide further details.
2. DPRK Famine
The New York Times (Elisabeth Rosenthal, "IN NORTH KOREAN HUNGER, LEGACY
IS STUNTED CHILDREN," Beijing, 12/10/98) reported that a new study the
World Food Program (WFP), UNICEF, and the European Union has found that
five years of severe food shortages and a breakdown in the public health
system have probably left an entire generation of DPRK children
physically and mentally impaired. Among other findings, researchers
from found that, because of long-term food shortages, 62 percent of
children under 7 years old suffer from stunted growth, and thirty percent
of children between 1 and 2 suffered from moderate to severe
malnutrition. They also discovered that severe malnutrition is still
widespread among toddlers despite international food aid. The teams also
found that about 16 percent of children were suffering from acute
malnutrition and were underweight for their height, a figure higher than
in any other country in East Asia and among the 10 worst in the world.
Judith Cheng-Hopkins, regional director for Asia of the WFP, stated, "Now
at last we have hard facts -- the situation is very grave. To me this is
a famine in slow motion." The findings are based on a random sample
nutritional survey of 1,800 children. The researchers said available
scientific data suggested that 10 years ago, malnutrition was rare in the
DPRK. They also said that medical records and childhood growth patterns
indicate that the hunger began several years before the floods and
droughts of the mid-1990's and is linked to the collapse of the Soviet
Union. Judit Katona-Apte, a senior program adviser for the WFP, stated,
"Even if the situation improves, it is unlikely to improve to the degree
that the country will fully recover from what we saw. People will be
small and not as well developed as otherwise and somewhat limited in
their mental capacities." Sten Swedlund, head of the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' delegation in the
DPRK, said that when Red Cross representatives this year tested the water
supply at the 840 hospitals and clinics where they operate, they found
that not one had water suitable for human consumption. Swedlund stated,
"But of course they drink it -- they have no choice. There is a very
close relationship between the problems caused by the lack of food and a
health sector that's in very bad shape." He said it was unlikely that
the counties still closed to foreigners were markedly different from the
open ones. He added, "One thing I've learned is how important national
security issues are to the North Koreans. And I really think these areas
are important from that standpoint." He also rejected the notion that
the DPRK military is stealing donated food.
3. ROK Arms Procurement Scandal
The Associated Press ("KOREAN ARMS DEALERS SENTENCED," Seoul, 12/10/98)
reported that two ROK arms dealers were sentenced Thursday for obtaining
classified information on the nation's arms procurement programs. The
two were found guilty of obtaining classified information on the ROK's
plans to buy spy planes, jet fighters, missiles, and other modern weapons
and passing it to a US-based business partner between February 1997 and
March 1998. Defense Ministry officials said that four ROK colonels also
have been arrested in the case and are being court-martialed.
4. Alleged Technology Transfers to PRC
Reuters ("CHINA: ROCKET REPORT SHOWS U.S. 'COLD WAR MENTALITY'," Beijing,
12/10/98) reported that PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao on
Thursday denied a US Defense Department report that it received sensitive
rocket technology in 1995 from a US satellite maker. Zhu stated, "The
Chinese side had no intention to obtain U.S. missile technology through
the launching of U.S. satellites." He added, "We hope the U.S. side will
thoroughly give up its legacy of Cold War mentality and do more to
facilitate normal business contact between the two countries."
5. Spratly Islands Dispute
Agence France-Presse ("SPRATLYS 'COULD TIP BALANCE'," Manila, 12/10/98)
reported that Senator Dana Rohrabacher, a senior member of the US Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, on Wednesday criticized the PRC's expansion
of structures on a disputed South China Sea shoal as "aggressive
behavior." He pledged that the US Government would help the Philippines'
in its dispute with the PRC, saying, "I don't think the American people
like it when people committed to democracy are bullied by some dictator
next door like the Chinese communists." Rohrabacher stated, "The Spratly
Islands could determine the balance of power between the democratic
powers of the world and this communist dictatorship in China."
Rohrabacher met Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon Wednesday and
was due to visit the Spratlys Thursday under an escort provided by the
Philippine Air Force and Navy. [Ed. note: This article appeared in the
US Department of Defense's Early Bird news summary.]
6. US-Russian Nuclear Talks
The Washington Post William Drozdiak, " ALBRIGHT, RUSSIAN SET NEW NUCLEAR
TALKS," Brussels, 12/10/98, 53) reported that US Secretary of State
Madeleine K. Albright said Wednesday that she will travel to Moscow next
month to launch a new round of negotiations that will seek further
reductions in the nuclear arsenals of the US and Russia. Albright
announced her plans after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Igor
Ivanov, who assured her that the Russian Duma will almost certainly
ratify the Start II strategic arms reduction treaty by the end of this
month. Unnamed US officials said that Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny
Primakov apparently has persuaded a majority in the Duma to approve the
treaty by the end of this year because of the costs involved in
sustaining the arsenals. [Ed. note: This article was one of the top
stories in the US Department of Defense's Early Bird news summary.]
7. Indian Missile Development
The London Financial Times (Mark Nicholson, "LONG-RANGE NUCLEAR MISSILE
APPROVED," Bangalore, 12/10/98) reported that officials of India's
Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) confirmed Wednesday
that India is set to begin tests next year of an extended-range version
of its Agni missile that would be capable of carrying a nuclear device
for a distance of over 2,000km. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, scientific adviser
to the defense minister, said that scientists at the DRDO were working
"very hard" to bring the Agni II into full production, stating, "It will
be done." An unnamed official stated, "You will know two months before
it happens, since we must lodge advance notice for clearance of air and
sea lanes in the Bay of Bengal." The article said that the decision
appears to reflect India's determination to "weaponize" its nuclear
capacity. The officials' remarks come after Defense Minister George
Fernandes said on Tuesday that seven rounds of bilateral talks with the
US had made "no tangible progress." [Ed. note: This article appeared in
the US Department of Defense's Early Bird news summary.]
1. US DPRK Policy Coordinator's Asia Trip
People's Daily ("QIAN QICHEN MEETS WITH PERRY," Beijing, 12/10/98, A4)
reported that PRC Vice-Premier Qian Qichen exchanged views on issues
regarding the Korean Peninsula with former US Secretary of Defense
William Perry, now special adviser to US President Bill Clinton. Qian
said it is the PRC's consistent stance to maintain peace and stability on
the Korean Peninsula. The PRC hopes that the parties concerned will
carefully and skillfully resolve the problems through dialogues and
consultations.
China Daily ("DEAL URGED," Seoul, 12/09/98, A11) reported that ROK
President Kim Dae-jung has urged a comprehensive deal with the DPRK,
including the lifting of sanctions, to avoid a crisis over its suspect
underground nuclear site. Kim made the call--which is likely to be
rejected by conservative US congressmen--in a key meeting late on
December 7 with William Perry, the US envoy examining the disputed US
policy towards the DPRK.
2. ROK Military Accidents
China Daily ("ARMY PUNISHMENT," Seoul, 12/10/98, A11) reported that the
ROK Army and Air Force chiefs of staff were officially reprimanded on
December 9 for a recent series of military accidents. Three soldiers
were killed and nine people were injured in the mishaps, which included
the firing of an air defense missile into commercial airspace over the
western city of Inchon on December 4. Army General Kim Dong-shin and Air
Force General Park Choon-taek were among 13 military officers reprimanded
or punished by Defense Minister Chun Yong-taek. Two other generals and
four lower ranking officers were referred to disciplinary committees.
3. PRC-Taiwan Relations
People's Daily ("SPOKESMAN ADMONISHES TAIWAN SPLITTISTS," Beijing,
12/10/98, A1) reported that a spokesman for the Communist Party of China
(CPC) Central Committee's Taiwan Work Office and the State Council's
Taiwan Affairs Offices warned a handful of people in Taiwan on December 9
to stop playing with fire in their attempts to split the country. This
is a dangerous example of "playing with fire" and a vain attempt to use a
referendum to stop reunification of the motherland and create an
"independent Taiwan," the spokesman said. He added, "We firmly oppose
this and are issuing this stern warning to these divisive forces." What
Taiwan's divisive forces are doing is illegal, invalid, and a futile
attempt to oppose the reunification of China and to change Taiwan's
status as a part of China through a referendum, he said. These
activities not only go against the will of the people on both sides of
the Taiwan Straits and seriously undermine the stability and development
of cross-Straits relations, but will endanger the safety of Taiwan
compatriots as well as the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific
Region, he said.
China Daily ("OFFICIAL DISCUSSES RESULTS OF TAIWAN'S WEEKEND VOTE,"
12/09/98, A1) reported that although the central government respects the
Taiwan people's desire to keep their lifestyles, it opposes separatist
action. An official with the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council,
made the comments while discussing the region's weekend "parliamentary
and mayoral" elections. "On political activities in the region of
Taiwan, we always hold a clear attitude. We completely respect the
lifestyles of Taiwan compatriots, and their wishes and rights to be
masters of their own affairs," the official said. However, he reiterated
the central government's opposition to "Taiwan's separatist force, which
conducts acts aimed at splitting the motherland in the name of
democracy."
China Daily ("CROSS-STRAITS POLITICAL TALKS SOUGHT," 12/08/98, A1) said
that discussion about China's reunification should not be postponed
indefinitely and Taiwan's authorities should open cross-Straits political
talks as soon as possible. Zhang Kehui, vice chairman of the National
Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said
on December 7 that Taiwan should value the progress achieved during the
recent meeting between Wang Daohan and Koo Chen-fu and "join hands in
striving for the realization of reunification." Zhang made the comments
during a recent forum sponsored by the All-China Federation of Taiwan
Compatriots and the Central Committee of the Taiwan Democratic Self-
Government League. Forum participants decided on the general principle
of solving the Taiwan issue through peaceful means, Zhang noted.
4. US Policy toward the PRC
Jie Fang Daily ("US POLICY TO CHINA A PARADOX," 12/07/98, P3) issued an
article, written by Wu Baiyi from the China Foundation of International
Strategy Studies, saying that ups and downs in the past two decades of
Sino-US relations are the result of the US paradoxical and speculative
PRC policy. Specifically speaking, the paradox of US policy towards the
PRC can be found in the following three points. First, despite the clear
stance on Taiwan defined in three joint communiques between the PRC and
the US, the US still unilaterally claims responsibility for Taiwan's
defense through arms sale. Second, to safeguard its position as a world
power, the US tends to use internal and regional disputes to restrain and
balance the power of other countries. Third, internal politics in the US
have increasing influence over its foreign policy, which makes the latter
unstable. Its PRC policy is no exception. Against such a background, a
series of bills and policies targeting the PRC have been passed on
Taiwan, Tibet, trade, human rights, and arms control. This paradoxical
policy of the US towards the PRC forecasts long-term zigzagging in the
relationship between these two countries. The policy is not good for
establishing a constructive partnership for the 21st century.
5. China Human Rights Broadcasting
China Daily ("SERIES ON HUMAN RIGHTS BROADCAST," 12/09/98, A1) reported
that the PRC started its first-ever radio series on human rights on
December 8, in a bid to enhance public awareness of the rights,
interests, and obligations of a Chinese citizen in modern society, and
how to protect them. Dong Yunhu, deputy secretary-general of the China
Society for Human Rights Studies, said on December 8 in Beijing that the
essence of the PRC's modernization will be the modernization of its
people and their attitudes. Widening the human rights knowledge of the
country's 1.2 billion people will be a big step forward in promoting the
progress of the cause of human rights in the world, he said. The 24-part
series, consisting of interviews and information on human rights, will be
broadcast from 9:30 pm to 9:45 pm Beijing time every Tuesday and
Wednesday by China National Radio.
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