NAPSNet Week in Review, October 18, 2002

	Week In Review October 18, 2002 United States 1. US DPRK Response Alternatives 2. US Response to DPRK Nuclear Weapons Development 3. US on DPRK Nuclear Technology Transfer 4. US Missile Defense Development Republic of Korea 1. DPRK Nuclear Weapons Program Acknowledgement 2. DPRK Nuclear Program Speculation 3. DPRK Plutonium Production 4. ROK Response to DPRK Nuclear Weapons Development 5. PRC-US DPRK Nuclear Program Discussions 6. ROK-US DPRK Diplomacy 7. DPRK-ROK Railway Development 8. Inter-Korean Relations People's Republic of China 1. PRC Response to DPRK Nuclear Weapons Development 2. PRC on Iraq Arms Inspection 3. PRC-US Military Ties 4. PRC Domestic Economy 5. PRC Taiwan Defection 6. PRC-UN Relations 7. PRC AIDS Crisis 8. Taiwan PRC Spy Ship 9. Cross-Straits Relations 10. Taiwan Army Lieutenant Defection 11. PRC-RF Radioactive Smuggling 12. Cross-Straits Relations Japan 1. Investigation of the Spy Ship 2. SDP on DPRK Abduction Case 3. DPRK-Japan Relations 4. Japanese Abduction Issue 5. US Bases in Japan 6. Japanese Nuclear Industry Scandal		Project Description NAPSNet Reports Current Daily Report Special Reports Profile Directory Member Survey Results Browse Past Updates: Preceding Weekly Update Week in Review Archive Search Nautilus Site Recent Postings Rocky Road to Asian Peace Mohammed AYOOB November 9, 2001 SP #38 Walk Softly in Nuclear South Asia Zia MIAN November 9, 2001 SP #37 Shining light on investment-- The Sudan Peace Act Leif BROTTEM and Sandy BUFFETT November 6, 2001 SP #36 Counterinsurgency and the Conflicts in Afghanistan and Vietnam Henry J. KENNY November 2, 2001 SP #35 *Search Daily Reports:* Email Services: Signup for Email Delivery Latest Report Emailed Now *Send Comments*
	United States
	1. US DPRK Response Alternatives The US sees two main alternatives for dealing with the DPRK: pursuing a verifiable deal to eliminate its nuclear program or isolation and deterrence, a senior US official said on Friday. The official, who was visiting the Canadian capital, told Reuters the administration of President George W. Bush was likely to question the value of an agreement with a country that violated its last one, under which it was to abandon the pursuit of nuclear weapons in return for US energy aid. "The only way to have a reasonable assurance that they weren't cheating again is to have highly intrusive inspections, like the kind that we've had in Iraq," the official said, adding that the Iraqi situation had not worked well because of obstructionism by Baghdad. "US DPRK Response Alternatives" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 18, US)
	2. US Response to DPRK Nuclear Weapons Development US President George W. Bush believes it is "troubling, sobering news" that the DPRK has a nuclear weapons program, his spokesman said Thursday. Talking to reporters who accompanied Bush, spokesman Scott McClellan said the president planned to bring up the issue in talks next week with PRC President Jiang Zemin. McClellan said that Bush decided to address the issue through diplomatic channels. "We seek a peaceful solution," he said. The US and ROK are calling on the DPRK to reverse course and abide by promises to renounce development of these armaments. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Thursday he believed the DPRK already had a small number of nuclear weapons although US intelligence had not confirmed it. "I have not touched them," Rumsfeld said of such arms a day after the US said the DPRK had openly admitted continuing to develop nuclear weapons in violation of international agreements. "They (intelligence officials) have not touched them. No one that I would have any confidence in their judgment has touched them." "But I believe they have a small number of nuclear weapons," the secretary told reporters at a Pentagon briefing, going beyond the US long-standing official intelligence assessment of the nuclear situation on the Korean peninsula. White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters that Bush sees the DPRK challenge differently from the threat posed by Iraq, which the White House says also has weapons of mass destruction. "This is a serious violation of the Agreed Framework and the Nonproliferation Treaty. The president believes this is troubling, sobering news," McClellan told reporters aboard Air Force One as Bush flew to Atlanta. Asked why the North Korean situation differed from Iraq, McClellan said that Iraq is an aggressive regime run by a "homicidal dictator" who threatens his neighbors. "These are different regions, different "US Response to DPRK Nuclear Weapons Development" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 16, US)
	3. US on DPRK Nuclear Technology Transfer US intelligence officials have concluded that Pakistan was a major supplier of critical equipment for the DPRK's newly revealed clandestine nuclear weapons program, current and former senior American officials said today. The equipment, which may include gas centrifuges used to create weapons-grade uranium, appears to have been part of a barter deal beginning in the late 1990's in which the DPRK supplied Pakistan with missiles it could use to counter India's nuclear arsenal, the officials said. "What you have here," said one official familiar with the intelligence, "is a perfect meeting of interests the North had what the Pakistanis needed, and the Pakistanis had a way for Kim Jong Il to restart a nuclear program we had stopped." The PRC and Russia were less prominent suppliers, officials said. "US on DPRK Nuclear Technology Transfer" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 18, US)
	4. US Missile Defense Development An interceptor rocket destroyed a Minuteman II missile high above the Pacific in the latest test of the nation's missile defense system. Monday night's test was the seventh such test for the Missile Defense Agency and the fourth consecutive success, said Lt. Col. Rick Lehner in Washington. Of the seven tests, five in all have succeeded. The test provided a colorful light show for much of California as the launch of the Minuteman II created a fiery trail seen by people from as far north as the San Francisco Bay area and south to Los Angeles. The modified Minuteman II, carrying a mock warhead and an unspecified number of decoys, was launched from this central California base at 7 p.m., sent on a 4,800-mile path toward the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. At 7:22 p.m., an interceptor missile was launched from the Kwajalein Atoll, and it hit the Minuteman six minutes later. "It directly collided with the Minuteman," Lehner said. The ongoing tests cost roughly US00 million each and are part of the Pentagon's drive to develop such a missile defense network. Construction is under way in Alaska on a simple version of the system, which the administration hopes to complete by fall 2004. Critics say the program - which the Pentagon will spend more than US$7 billion on next year - is too expensive and the technology too uncertain. "US Missile Defense Development" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 15, US)
	Republic of Korea
	1. DPRK Nuclear Weapons Program Acknowledgement The DPRK has told the US that it has a secret nuclear weapons program in violation of an agreement signed with the Clinton administration, a senior administration official said Wednesday night. The DPRK also told US diplomats it no longer is beholden to the anti-nuclear agreement, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. On October 3-5, US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly flew to Pyongyang for security talks and demanded that the DPRK address global concerns about its nuclear and other weapons programs. In response, the DPRK accused Bush's special envoy of making "threatening remarks." The United States refused all comment on the discussions. The source said Kelly also raised with the DPRK evidence that the DPRK may have a uranimum-enrichment program. The DPRK confirmed the allegation. The administration has not decided how to respond. "We're going to keep talking," the official said. "DPRK Nuclear Weapons Program Acknowledgement" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 17, US)
	2. DPRK Nuclear Program Speculation The DPRK's decision to enrich uranium rather than plutonium, means it is pursuing a nuclear weapons technology that is easier to hide and more reliable, but harder to mount on a missile. Still, the DPRK can put a nuclear warhead on any of its missiles, including those under development that may be able to reach US territory. "They've clearly demonstrated a missile technology far beyond the range of Japan," said Charles Curtis, president of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. The DPRK has the technology to make smaller, more advanced weapons using much less of either uranium or plutonium, however, said Curtis. That means the DPRK could make weapons small enough to fit atop any of its arsenal of missiles. "DPRK Nuclear Program Speculation" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 18, US)
	3. DPRK Plutonium Production To establish the extent of the DPRK's illegal nuclear weapons program, the head of the UN atomic agency on Friday said could take three years for his inspectors to "see everything" - provided the DPRK lets them in. Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said information on how far along the DPRK is remained "murky." The DPRK probably has produced more plutonium - which can be used in nuclear warheads - over the past decade than it has declared, he told reporters. It could be grams or kilograms," ElBaradei said, refusing to speculate on whether the DPRK was near the eight-kilogram (17.6-pound) threshold needed for a nuclear weapon. "We need to go out and do a proper inspection to be able to estimate the amount." ElBaradei said since 1993, outside inspectors have been only been given access to a scattering of facilities to verify that they are not producing weapons-grade material. "DPRK Plutonium Production" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 18, US)
	4. ROK Response to DPRK Nuclear Weapons Development Despite criticism of its efforts to engage the DPRK, the ROK asserted Thursday that dialogue is the best way to deal with concerns about the DPRK's nuclear weapons program. Other ROK officials said the DPRK's confession may be sign that it wants to resolve the problem through negotiations rather than confrontation. They planned to raise the issue in Cabinet-level talks this weekend with the DPRK, which has yet to comment. "ROK Response to DPRK Nuclear Weapons Development" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 16, US)
	5. PRC-US DPRK Nuclear Program Discussions US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly met PRC officials on Friday to urge the PRC to stop what US officials say is assistance for a secret DPRK nuclear weapons program. US Embassy officials declined to say whom Kelly had met. He was to leave the PRC on Saturday, heading to the ROK and Japan for talks on the US assertion that the DPRK has admitted having a secret nuclear weapons program. In Washington on Friday, officials said Kelly had had "very useful and productive" talks in Beijing and the US believed the DPRK shared US concerns about the program. "PRC-US DPRK Nuclear Program Discussions" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 18, US)
	6. ROK-US DPRK Diplomacy The top ROK negotiator plans to travel this weekend to the DPRK to discuss recent nuclear developments. ROK Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun was to fly Saturday to Pyongyang for talks scheduled well before the US revelation that the DPRK has admitted developing nuclear bombs. Jeong's original plan was to promote projects to bring peace to the divided Korean peninsula, but those measures are now in jeopardy. The ROK says dialogue is the best way to deal with concerns about the DPRK, including the nuclear issue. The US, which says it wants a peaceful resolution to the DPRK problem at the same time that it considers war against Iraq, was urgently pursuing dialogue with allies in Europe and Asia. "ROK-US DPRK Diplomacy" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 18, US)
	7. DPRK-ROK Railway Development The ROK has agreed to lease excavators, trucks and communication cable to the DPRK for the construction of cross-border railways and roads, officials said. The agreement at inter-Korean talks Saturday and Sunday came after the DPRK promised not to use ROK equipment for military purposes, the ROK's unification ministry said Monday. The ROK has pledged a 50-billion-won (39-million-dollar) aid package for the impoverished DPRK to speed up the construction of railway and road links across the world's last Cold War frontier. The package offers the DPRK construction materials and equipment on a credit basis. The first shipment from the ROK includes 78 items such as 30 kilometers (18 miles) of communication cable, 3,000 tonnes of fuel oil, 20,080 tonnes of cement, 9,148 tonnes of iron bars, 34 excavators and 238 trucks, the ministry said. "DPRK-ROK Railway Developments" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 18, US) "DPRK-ROK Railway Development" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 15, US)
	8. Inter-Korean Relations A DPRK passenger plane flew to the ROK on Tuesday to pick up ROK nuclear technicians who are helping build nuclear power plants in the DPRK. It was the first such flight since a test run in July, when a DPRK plane picked up 11 workers from the ROK. A Russian-built, 150-seat TU-154 plane from the DPRK's Air Koryo landed at Yangyang International Airport in eastern ROK, carrying 53 ROK workers returning for vacations or job transfers. The plane left two hours later, carrying 11 foreign and 113 ROK nuclear technicians to Sunduck Airport near Sinpo on the DPRK's east coast, where two nuclear reactors are being built, said Lee Shi-hyuk, an airport official. "Inter-Korean Relations" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 15, US)
	People's Republic of China
	1. PRC Response to DPRK Nuclear Weapons Development The PRC denounced the "proliferation of any weapons of mass destruction" on Thursday-- a revelation that could put some distance between the two Asian neighbors and allies. "We pursue a policy of not supporting, not encouraging and not helping other countries in the development of weapons of mass destruction," Zhang Qiyue, a PRC Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said at a regularly scheduled briefing. Zhang chose her words carefully. "We have always supported denuclearization in the Korean peninsula," she said. "The nuclear issue of North Korea should be settled through dialogue and negotiation, and should be settled peacefully." She said the PRC was "opposed to the proliferation of any weapons of mass destruction." "PRC Response to DPRK Nuclear Weapons Development" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 16, US)
	2. PRC on Iraq Arms Inspection The PRC said on Tuesday that UN weapons inspectors should return to Iraq before the council decides what action to take against Baghdad. "We think the most pressing matter at the moment is for UN arms inspectors to return to Iraq as soon as possible to actually assess the relevant situation and report to the Security Council afterwards," said PRC Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue. "After reading this objective and researched report, the Security Council can decide what action it should take," she told a news conference a day before the council debates a resolution on Iraq. Zhang's comments appeared to back France's proposal for a "two-step" approach requiring a second resolution to authorize the use of force if Baghdad failed to comply with one sending arms inspectors. "PRC on Iraq Arms Inspection" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 15, US) "PRC on Iraq" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 17, US)
	3. PRC-US Military Ties The PRC hopes to agree to resume full military exchanges with the US when President Jiang Zemin meets President Bush at his Texas ranch next week, a senior PRC official said on Wednesday. Jiang is expected to focus on these issues, terrorism and trade when he meets Bush in Crawford, Texas, on October 25 for a summit. "Right now, the military-to-military relations are not normal," said the official. "I think it's in our common interests to be back to where they should be." The third Bush-Jiang meeting "will be an opportunity for the two sides to agree to proceed and we hope that both sides will agree to seize the opportunity to do it," he said. "PRC-US Military Ties" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 17, US)
	4. PRC Domestic Economy The PRC's economy grew 7.9 percent in the first nine months of 2002, driven by a continued policy of massive state spending as well as strong domestic demand and surging exports, the government announced. Growth hit 8.1 percent year-on-year for the third quarter alone, all but guaranteeing Asia's second-largest economy will easily exceed its stated 7.0 percent growth target for 2002, the National Bureau of Statistics said. "PRC Domestic Economy" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 17, US)
	5. PRC Taiwan Defection A PRC man has defected to Taiwan and requested political asylum, Taiwan officials said on Tuesday, in a case that could complicate Taiwan's attempts to improve relations with the PRC. The defection of Tang Yuanjun poses a dilemma for the government of Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, who analysts say is counting on closer ties with the island's rival the PRC to boost his chances of re-election in the 2004 presidential polls. Taiwan authorities said they were still investigating and have not decided whether to grant Tang political asylum. "PRC Taiwan Defection" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 15, US)
	6. PRC-UN Relations United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan held talks in Beijing with the PRC's heir apparent, Vice President Hu Jintao, with discussions expected to focus on international wrangling over Iraq. Hu greeted his guest by referring to "in-depth" talks Annan had with both President Jiang Zemin and Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan on Monday, both of which covered the Iraq situation, according to Chinese state media. "I'd be happy to hear your views" on the international situation, the 59-year-old Hu said before beginning private talks with Annan. Annan emerged from Monday's meeting with Jiang expressing confidence that a consensus would be reached soon within the UN Security Council about Iraq. "PRC-UN Relations" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 15, US)
	7. PRC AIDS Crisis UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on the PRC's leaders on Monday to step up their fight against AIDS or face an explosive epidemic. "There is no time to lose if China is to prevent a massive further spread of HIV/AIDS. China is facing a decisive moment," Annan said. "For the truth is today, China stands on the brink of an explosive AIDS epidemic," he said in remarks prepared for delivery at Zhejiang University, where he was to receive an honorary degree. According to the latest United Nations estimates, between 800,000 and 1.5 million Chinese were infected with HIV -- the virus that causes AIDS -- at the end of 2001 and about 30,000 have so far died from the disease. But the number could soar to 10 million by the end of the decade if there is no effective action, UN officials say. While most HIV infections in the PRC can be traced to unsafe procedures for paid blood collections or the sharing of tainted needles by intravenous drug abusers, sexually transmitted cases are on the rise, Annan said. "Clearly, China has everything to gain if it can stem the tide of the AIDS epidemic now and everything to lose if it fails to do so," he stated. "PRC AIDS Crisis" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 15, US)
	8. Taiwan PRC Spy Ship The Taiwanese navy and coast guard vessels have chased away a PRC spy ship after it sailed close to the island's territorial waters, according to officials. "After we received a tip-off from the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), we immediately sent a warship to the waters off Lanyu to drive the Chinese ship away," a naval spokesman told AFP Saturday. According to the CGA, "Xiangyanghong No. 14," was detected 26 nautical miles (48 kilometers) off Lanyu, an island southeast of Taiwan, on Thursday. "The Chinese ship immediately left the area after the coast guard's 'Hsunhu No. 2' and a naval Lafayette frigate scrambled to the site," a CGA spokesman said. "Taiwan PRC Spy Ship" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 15, US)
	9. Cross-Straits Relations Although a real breakthrough in relations with the PRC is yet to be achieved, the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Hsiao Bi-khim and the People First Party's (PFP) Raymond Wu believe there are initial signs that the PRC has altered its approach to Taiwan. Speaking at the Heritage Foundation in Washington on Thursday, Hsiao stated that "incremental" changes have been seen in the attitudes of the governments on both sides of the Taiwan Strait toward one another. The PRC is moving away from actively encouraging unification, and more toward preventing the permanent separation of Taiwan from the mainland, according to Wu. "Cross-Straits Relations" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 15, US)
	10. Taiwan Army Lieutenant Defection A Taiwan army officer from a sensitive air defence unit has fled to the PRC with his family in the first such case in decades, prompting an apology from the island's defense minister. Wang Yi-hung, a political warfare officer with a Hawk surface-to-air missile company, flew to Beijing from Bangkok on October 7 and has not returned, but it was too early to label it a defection, the military said on Wednesday. "The military apologizes to our countrymen for lieutenant Wang's unauthorized trip to the mainland," minister Tang Yiau-ming told parliament's defence sub-committee on Wednesday. The military has issued an order for Wang's arrest but said it had yet to determine whether it was a defection by the lieutenant, who it said did not have access to military secrets. "It is likely that it was a premeditated escape," Lieutenant-General Hsu Shih-chin told reporters. "Taiwan Army Lieutenant Defection" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 17, US)
	11. PRC-RF Radioactive Smuggling Customs officers in eastern Kazakhstan have foiled an attempt to smuggle nearly 900 kilograms (1,980 pounds) of radioactive waste into the PRC through this former Soviet republic in Central Asia, officials said Wednesday. Customs inspectors on the Kazakh-PRC border seized 17 sacks containing a light-brown substance and one sack with a dark substance on September 30, said Valentina Lisitskaya, a regional customs department official. The sacks had come from Russia and were bound from Russia to the PRC, she said. The sacks were hidden under the wooden floor of a truck. Radiological tests at the national epidemiological center identified the substances as low-level radioactive waste, authorities said. The cargo belonged to a private Russian firm and was shipped to a PRC citizen. The substances have been put in safe storage, the truck driver has been taken into custody and the case is being investigated, officials said. "PRC-RF Radioactive Smuggling" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 17, US)
	12. Cross-Straits Relations Taiwan urged the PRC on Thursday to begin talks on reopening long-severed direct air and sea links after the PRC's vice premier was quoted in an interview as saying he is willing to set aside a sovereignty dispute and negotiate the matter. PRC Vice Premier Qian Qichen stated that opening direct links with Taiwan is purely an economic issue and does not require the island to first recognize the "one-China" principle. Qian said China is willing to consider the links simply as "cross-strait routes," since Taiwan refuses to view them as "special domestic routes." Qian's remarks raised hopes about long-delayed negotiations on opening air and sea links. "Cross-Straits Relations" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 16, US)
	Japan
	1. Investigation of the Spy Ship Japanese transport minister Chikage Ogi inspected the DPRK spy ship that was salvaged last month from the East China Sea and is now moored at a private dockyard in Kagoshima Prefecture. Ogi, minister of land, infrastructure and transport, inspected the ship together with Kenichi Fukaya, chief of the Japan Coast Guard. During the inspection, Ogi offered words of encouragement to the coast guard personnel in charge of the investigation. Thus far, more than 700 items have been recovered from the ship, including a number of pins bearing the image of late DPRK leader Kim Il Sung and a large cache of weapons and ammunition, including portable ground-to-air missile launchers and bullets. Japan has concluded the ship was used by the DPRK for espionage activities. "Investigation of the Spy Ship" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 18, Japan)
	2. SDP on DPRK Abduction Case Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Takako Doi apologized to the families of the people kidnapped to the DPRK, admitting that the party, despite its long-standing ties with the Korean Workers' Party, failed to sufficiently pursue the abduction issue. "The party's effort may have not been sufficient to live up to the expectation of the families of the abducted," Doi told a news conference. "I would like to apologize to the families." She said the party would review its policy toward the DPRK in light of the revelations. "SDP on DPRK Abduction Case" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 18, Japan)
	3. DPRK-Japan Relations A group of Japanese leftist radicals who have lived in the DPRK since they hijacked a plane there in 1970 had no contact with more than a dozen Japanese who were kidnapped and taken to the DPRK, the group's legal adviser said Thursday. The Red Army hijackers and the abductees have long been a thorn in relations between Japan and the DPRK. The nine radicals, their Japanese wives and twenty children maintained a tightly knit community in Pyongyang, said Yukio Yamanaka, head of the legal support group that has already overseen the return of two wives and eight children to Japan. The four surviving hijacking suspects have been told Japan refuses to offer them clemency if they return, Yamanaka said. He did not specify if or when they would return, but said he hopes to bring six more of their children to Japan by early next year. The group of visiting kidnap victims is scheduled to return to North Korea perhaps sometime next week. It is not clear if they will ever return to permanently live in Japan, but the government is making preparations to enable them to do so, if they choose. "DPRK-Japan Relations" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 16, US)
	4. Japanese Abduction Issue After nearly a quarter century in the DPRK, five Japanese kidnapped by spies returned to their homes Thursday, and at least two of them applied for Japanese passports. It was unclear, however, how their move might affect their plans to return to the DPRK and questions remained over whether they could - or even wanted to - stay in Japan for good. The five have been greeted by cheering crowds since arriving in Tokyo on Tuesday - the country's most emotional homecoming since World War II. Their visit was scheduled to last only 10 days, and they were forced to leave children in the DPRK. However, Yasushi Chimura and his wife, Fukie Hamamoto, applied for Japanese passports Thursday in their hometown of Obama, state official Ryochi Niwamoto said. Niwamoto said the two would receive passports Friday, but he would not speculate on their intentions in requesting the travel documents. Earlier in the day, Chimura hinted that he couldn't turn his back on the DPRK, saying he had already laid down roots: "We have married, raised children, lived happy lives there." "Japanese Abduction Issue" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 16, US) "Japanese Abduction Return" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 15, US)
	5. US Bases in Japan Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara asked US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to back his idea of converting the US Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo into a joint civilian-military airport. "I think the governor did raise the issue of the Yokota air base and the possible use of that as a civilian facility," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a regular news briefing, referring to a 45-minute meeting between Ishihara and Armitage. "The deputy secretary said, as we have before, it's a matter for discussion between the national governments of the United States and Japan." Ishihara was in Washington when terrorists attacked the US on Sept. 11, 2001, forcing him to cancel his appointments. "US Bases in Japan" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 18, Japan)
	6. Japanese Nuclear Industry Scandal The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has decided to supervise all inspections of nuclear reactors as part of efforts to prevent a recurrence of reactor damage cover-ups by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), agency sources said. The agency will introduce "voluntary inspections" covering all equipment and facilities regarding reactors and put them under state control. Aside from the voluntary checks, the state regularly examines reactors, but government checkups only cover some important reactor facilities. Currently, voluntary checks by power companies are not covered by any law. "Japanese Nuclear Industry Scandal" (NAPSNet Daily Report, October 18, Japan)
	The NAPSNet Week in Review aims to serve as a forum for dialogue and exchange among peace and security specialists. We invite you to reply to today's report, and we welcome commentary or papers for distribution to the network. 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 Brandon Yu, Security Program Officer: napsnet@nautilus.org Berkeley, California, United States Hans Kristensen, Security Program Officer: napsnet@nautilus.org Berkeley, California, United States Timothy L. Savage, Security Program Officer: napsnet@nautilus.org Berkeley, California, United States Zulfiqar Ahmad, Security Program Office: 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

United States

Republic of Korea

People's Republic of China

Japan