Korean Peninsula

1. US-DPRK Talks
2. DPRK-Japan Relations
3. ROK Policy toward DPRK
4. DPRK Military
5. PRC-DPRK Relations
6. DPRK Visit to Canada
7. ROK Military Development

Korean Peninsula

DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye-gwan and US special envoy Charles Kartman met in New York this week to discuss preparations for an expected visit to Washington by a high-ranking DPRK official. Kim was expected to press for the removal of the DPRK from the list of terrorist-sponsoring nations.
"DPRK-US Talks" (Daily Report, March 10, ROK)
"US-DPRK Talks" (Daily Report, March 9, US)
"US-DPRK Talks" (Daily Report, March 7, US)
"DPRK-US Talks" (Daily Report, March 7, ROK)
"US-DPRK Talks" (Daily Report, March 6, US)
"DPRK High-Level Visit to US" (Daily Report, March 6, US)

The DPRK announced that it had begun investigations into allegations that it had kidnapped several Japanese citizens. Japan announced that it would ship 100,000 tons of aid to the DPRK before the resumption of normalization talks early next month. Several members of the ruling coalition expressed their opposition to this plan.
"Alleged DPRK Kidnappings of Japanese" (Daily Report, March 10, US)
"DPRK's Suspected Abduction of Japanese" (Daily Report, March 10, Japan)
"Japanese Aid to DPRK" (Daily Report, March 10, Japan)
"DPRK-Japan Talks" (Daily Report, March 10, ROK)
"DPRK-Japan Talks" (Daily Report, March 9, ROK)
"DPRK-Japan Talks" (Daily Report, March 8, ROK)
"DPRK-Japan Talks" (Daily Report, March 8, PRC)
"DPRK-Japan Talks" (Daily Report, March 7, US)
"Japanese Aid to DPRK" (Daily Report, March 7, ROK)
"Japanese Aid to DPRK" (Daily Report, March 7, Russia)
"Japanese Food Aid to DPRK" (Daily Report, March 6, US)

ROK President Kim Dae-jung announced in Berlin that the ROK is willing to engage in government-to-government economic cooperation with the DPRK. He also reiterated that Korean unification should come only after a long period of reconciliation between the two states. Kim also visited the Vatican and proposed that Pope John Paul II make a visit to the DPRK
"ROK Policy towards DPRK" (Daily Report, March 10, ROK)
"ROK Policy toward DPRK" (Daily Report, March 10, Japan)
"ROK View of Unification" (Daily Report, March 9, US)
"ROK Policy toward DPRK " (Daily Report, March 7, US)
"ROK President's Vatican Visit" (Daily Report, March 7, ROK)

US Admiral Dennis Blair, commander of chief of US forces in the Pacific, and Thomas Schwartz, commander of US Forces Korea, testified before the US Senate that the DPRK continues to maintain a credible military threat despite its economic difficulties. Schwartz argued for the need to maintain military preparedness through joint US-ROK exercises. ROK analysts expressed concern that the DPRK's nullification of the Northern Limit Line would lead to renewed naval confrontation this spring.
"DPRK Military" (Daily Report, March 10, US)
"March 7 Briefing by Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Pacific Forces" (USIA Text)
"Statement of General Thomas A. Schwartz Before The Senate Armed Services Committee" (Special Report)
"Northern Limit Line" (Daily Report, March 9, ROK)

DPRK leader Kim Jong-il visited the PRC Embassy in Pyongyang on March 5 at the invitation of PRC Ambassador Wan Yongxiang. Stratfor warns that the visit may indicate a PRC-DPRK strategy to coordinate simultaneous, yet low-risk, provocations in the Yellow Sea and the Taiwan Straits. The PRC Foreign Ministry announced that DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun will visit the PRC March 18-22.
"DPRK-PRC Relations" (Daily Report, March 6, US)
"DPRK-PRC Relations" (Daily Report, March 8, PRC)
"DPRK-PRC Relations" (Daily Report, March 7, ROK)
"China and North Korea Coordinate" (Stratfor Global Intelligence Update)
"DPRK Foreign Minister's PRC Visit" (Daily Report, March 9, US)

The Canadian Foreign Ministry announced that a DPRK delegation had visited Canada this week. Since the two countries have no diplomatic ties, the meetings were considered unofficial.
"DPRK-Canada Talks" (Daily Report, March 10, US)

The ROK Ministry of Defense announced that it plans a major purchase of jet fighters by next year. The ministry also said that it needs to develop a force capable of defending the country in the event of eventual US troop withdrawal.
"ROK Fighter Purchases" (Daily Report, March 10, US)
"ROK Military Development" (Daily Report, March 6, US)

Taiwan Straits

US Defense Secretary William Cohen said that there was little chance that increased tensions across the Taiwan Straits would lead to a direct military conflict. Although delegates to the PRC's National People's Congress called on the People's Liberation Army to "actively prepare for war," PRC President Jiang Zemin expressed optimism for peaceful reunification with Taiwan. The Mainland Affairs Council of the Executive Yuan of Taiwan issued an official statement in response to the PRC's recent white paper. Harvey Sicherman, President of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, analyzes whether recent PRC statements on Taiwan "represent something new rather than just something provocative."
"Cross-Straits Relations" (Daily Report, March 10, US)
"PRC Policy toward Taiwan" (Daily Report, March 8, US)
"PRC Position on Taiwan Issue" (Daily Report, March 8, PRC)
"PRC Threat to Taiwan" (Daily Report, March 7, US)
"PRC-Taiwan Relations" (Daily Report, March 7, Russia)
"PRC Military View of Taiwan Issue" (Daily Report, March 6, US)
"US View of Taiwan Issue" (Daily Report, March 6, US)
"PRC White Paper on Taiwan" (NPP Flash, Vol. 2, No. 8)
"PRC Threat to Taiwan" (NPP Flash, Vol. 2 No. 8)

The US Defense Department notified Congress that it plans to sell Taiwan upgraded anti-aircraft missiles and surveillance radar. The PRC criticized an earlier US decision to sell destroyers equipped with anti-missile systems to Taiwan.
"US Arms Sales to Taiwan" (Daily Report, March 9, US)
"PRC View of Missile Defense Sale to Taiwan" (Daily Report, March 8, PRC)

People's Republic of China

The PRC released a new defense budget of 120.5 billion yuan (US$14.5 billion), 12.7 percent higher than last year's. However, US and Taiwan analysts said that the actual figure is much higher.
"PRC Defense Budget" (Daily Report, March 8, PRC)
"PRC Military Budget" (Daily Report, March 7, US)
"PRC Defense Budget" (Daily Report, March 7, Russia)

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov visited the PRC and held talks with President Jiang Zemin. Earlier, PRC Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan traveled to Moscow and met with acting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian and US experts analyzed these talks in the context of an emerging "strategic partnership" between Russia and the PRC.
"PRC-Russian Relations" (Daily Report, March 8, PRC)
"RF-PRC Relations" (Daily Report, March 7, Russia)
"PRC-Russian Relations" (NPP Flash, Vol. 2, No. 8)

The PRC and India held two-day security talks in Beijing this week. Director-General of the Asian department of the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zhang Jiuhan, who led the PRC delegation, issued a statement at the conclusion of the meeting urging India to renounce nuclear weaponization. For its part, India warned the PRC that its assistance to Pakistan's nuclear and missile program is threatening regional stability.
"India-China Relations" (SANDNet, March 8)
"PRC-India Security Talks" (Daily Report, March 8, US)

The Japanese Defense Agency's research institute, the National Institute of Defense Studies, published a report arguing that the PRC's opposition to theater missile defense (TMD) is unwarranted as the system is purely defensive. Bates Gill and James Mulvenon argue in the Washington Post that the US has not taken PRC reactions sufficiently into account in planning for TMD. Greg May of the Nixon Center argues that the PRC's real objection to TMD is fear that it will lead to the integration of Taiwan into the US-Japan security alliance.
"Japanese View of TMD" (Daily Report, March 10, Japan)
"Effect of Missile Defense on PRC" (Daily Report, March 6, US)
"PRC View of Theater Missile Defense" (NPP Flash, Vol. 2, No. 8)

Japan

The US and Japan held bilateral talks on arms control and nonproliferation issues. The two sides agreed on the need for pushing the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the strengthening of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
"Japanese-US Arms Control Talks" (Daily Report, March 10, Japan)
"US-Japan Arms Control Talks" (Daily Report, March 9, US)

US Ambassador the Japan recently met with Japanese political parties to discuss the issue of Japanese financial contributions to the stationing of US troops in Japan. Japanese Ambassador to the US Shunji Yanai criticized the US for pushing the issue and not taking into account Japan's financial difficulties.
"Japanese-US Host-Nation Support" (Daily Report, March 10, Japan)

Produced by the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development in partnership with:
International Policy Studies Institute Seoul, Republic of Korea
The Center for Global Communications, Tokyo, Japan
Center for American Studies,
Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China

Timothy L. Savage: napsnet@nautilus.org
Berkeley, California, United States

Gee Gee Wong: napsnet@nautilus.org
Berkeley, California, United States

Kim Hee-sun: khs688@hotmail.com
Seoul, Republic of Korea

Hiroyasu Akutsu: akutsu@glocomnet.or.jp
Tokyo, Japan

Peter Razvin: icipu@glas.apc.org
Moscow, Russian Federation

Chunsi Wu: dlshen@fudan.ac.cn
Shanghai, People's Republic of China

Dingli Shen: dlshen@fudan.ac.cn
Shanghai, People's Republic of China