US relations 2006

United States of America
2006
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2005

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NOVEMBER 2006

Democrats to Influence Bush's NK Policy
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The Democrats' victory in the U.S. midterm elections is largely viewed by South Koreans as an American verdict on President George W. Bush's foreign policy failures, especially on Iraq, U.S. experts in Seoul said on Thursday. They also said that the Democrats' regaining power in the Congress will also affect Washington's North Korea policies, even though Pyongyang's nuclear threat was not a decisive issue this time. ``From now on, the Bush administration will inevitably pay attention to Democrat opinion on its foreign policies, especially on Iraq and North Korea,'' said Tong Kim, former senior interpreter at the U.S. State Department and now a research professor at Korea University in Seoul.
Rumsfeld Exit Deals Blow to N.Korea Hawks
U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's replacement on Wednesday will rattle to the core of the North Korea hardline faction in the Bush administration led by Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney. The pair were the leading hawks in the administration, pressuring the North and digging in their heels whenever the doves in the State Department called for dialogue with Pyongyang. The hawks apparently drove Colin Powell out of his job as secretary of state when he called for negotiations with the North.
Experts predict that Bush will start reviewing his North Korea policy by appointing a special policy coordinator under the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2007. Some say the coordinator will be James Baker, who was secretary of state under Bush senior. The Democrats Senator Joseph Biden and Congressman Tom Lantos, who have been urging direct bilateral talks with Pyongyang, are likely to be named chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House International Relations Committee. Lantos vowed Thursday to work for a "radical change in course" in the nation's foreign policy. But pundits predict that the basic framework of the Bush administration's North Korean policy will go unchanged as Bush's perception of North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" is rooted in his religious convictions, while the Democrats are not that different in how they regard North Korea. Any direct dialogue with Pyongyang, too, will come in the framework of six-nation talks on the North's nuclear program.
Democrats Outline New Path for U.S.' N.Korea Policy
The Democratic Party's voice in calling for bilateral U.S. negotiations with North Korea was given a boost when they took command of both houses of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday. In an interview with AP, Rep. Tom Lantos, who is favored to head the House International Relations Committee, said changes would be sought in the way the U.S. deals with countries it is at odds with over their nuclear arms development like Iran and North Korea.
U.S. likely to 'freshen up' approach on N.K. dilemma
Despite the Democratic Party's sweeping win in this week's mid-term elections, the main thrust of U.S. policy on North Korea will remain unchanged. But the shift in power will present an opportunity to freshen up how that policy is put into action, observers said. "There will be no big change in the basic policy towards the Korean peninsula, but there will be some changes in its implementation," said Hong Soon-jick, a researcher at Hyundai Research Institute The United States will maintain its commitment to the six-party talks, but become more enthusiastic about bilateral meetings with North Korea and making behind-the-scenes contacts, he said. South Korean government sources agreed there would be no big change in the U.S. foreign policy towards the North, especially at this time when the six-party talks are expected to resume. The sources added that it would be crucial for North Korea to show "reciprocal and strategic flexibility."
A fresh approach by Washington is likely to be exhibited in the U.S. president's appointment of a senior envoy on North Korea slated for next month.
Rodong Sinmun Terms U.S. Worst Human Rights Abuser
Pyongyang, November 8 (KCNA) --The Bush ruling quarters legalized the setting up of secret prisons and harsh methods of interrogation and cruel torture. This is a very dangerous action to legally revive fascism and establish a fascist system in the U.S. It is, therefore, the most cursed empire of evil and the worst human rights abuser in the 21st century. Rodong Sinmun today says this in a signed commentary.
'U.S. Treasury open to direct N.K. talks'
The United States Treasury Department would be willing to hold direct talks with North Korea over its financial sanctions when the six-party talks resume, a deputy Treasury secretary said. Upon agreeing to resume the six-party talks last month, the United States and North Korea decided to take the financial issue to a working-level discussion. "Deputy Secretary Robert Kimmit gave a detailed explanation on the United States law on counterfeits, North Korea's illegal activities and how there are a lot of (actions) North Korea must take," a high-ranking South Korean official said on condition of anonymity. Japan's Nihon Keizai newspaper reported earlier in the day that Kimmit said the Treasury Department was willing to hold a separate bilateral discussion with North Korea over the Banco Delta Asia problem. The South Korean official explained Kimmit was referring to a working group to be set up on the sidelines of the six-party talks to discuss the issue of North Korea's frozen Banco Delta Asia accounts. The official said some Treasury officials would naturally be included in the group. But the venue for the meeting can be any place other than Beijing, the host city for the six-party talks, according to the official. [Sanctions] [Counterfeiting]
Anti-US protesters
Military engineers laying concertina wire yesterday on an expanded perimeter of the U.S. base site in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi province. The barrier is an attempt to keep dogged anti-U.S. protesters from entering the area. [photo] [Anti-Americanism]
Boeing chosen to build spy planes
November 09, 2006 ? South Korea formally awarded its $1.59 billion surveillance aircraft project to Boeing Co. of the United States, the country's defense procurement agency said yesterday. General Kwon Young-woo, chief of the surveillance project at the Defense Acquisition Program Agency, said the price for the deal was less than the agency's target. However, "compared with Turkey and Australia, the price is much lower," he said. The defense acquisition committee, headed by Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung, endorsed the deal. General Kwon said the acquisition agency will sign a formal contract with Boeing by the end of this month. With the project, code-named E-X, South Korea will procure four E-737 spy planes until 2012 ? one plane in 2011 and three planes in 2012. In August, South Korea chose Boeing as the sole bidder for its project to procure early warning aircraft, dropping Israeli aircraft manufacturer IAI ELTA from the competition. In September, South Korea extended the deadline for price negotiations with Boeing over the purchase of surveillance aircraft until the end of November due to large differences in the prices. The surveillance plane project is aimed at strengthening the aerial surveillance capability of South Korea, which is still technically in a state of war with North Korea. The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice instead of a peace treaty. South Korea plans to deploy the first surveillance plane in 2011 and the other three in 2012. The country now depends on U.S. radar aircraft based in Okinawa, Japan, as it has no aerial warning system of its own. [Military balance] [Intelligence] [US dominance]
Seoul Balks at Joining in PSI
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
The strategic dialogue between South Korea and the United States ended on Tuesday with the two countries reconfirming the importance of their alliance, but with no tangible plan on how to cooperate in implementing the United Nations' punitive resolution on North Korea's first-ever nuclear test. One of the key points of this dialogue, the second of its kind this year, was to see whether Seoul would agree to increase its role in the U.S.-led efforts to interdict cargo ships suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction (WMD), going to and from North Korea. But Victor Cha, a director on East Asian affairs at the U.S. National Security Council, said there was no agreement on the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI). ``We just discussed it,'' he said after the dialogue. ``We all want to implement the resolution. We had good discussions about this issue.'' [PSI] [Friction] [Dilemma]
U.S.-Korea talks portray allies in good harmony
November 08, 2006 ? Seoul and Washington reaffirmed yesterday that they will not recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapons state and pledged full cooperation in dealing with the North Korean nuclear crisis. During a visit by two senior U.S. diplomats, the two governments seemed to be trying hard to present a united public front, both in a joint statement and then in a background briefing by a Korean official, who said divisive issues in dealing with Pyongyang were not raised.
Celebrate wartime transfer, Bell says
November 08, 2006 ? The top U.S. commander here reaffirmed yesterday that South Korea's planned takeover of wartime operational control from the United States is "not a cause for concern, but a cause for celebration." "Within the next three to six years, we will stand down this time-honored command and make the transition to independent and complementary ROK [Republic of Korea] and U.S. national commands," General B.B. Bell, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said in a commemorative speech for the 28th anniversary of the founding of the Combined Forces Command. The Republic of Korea is the official name of South Korea. Last month, South Korea and the United States failed to set a target date for the transfer of wartime control during their annual defense talks in Washington. As a stopgap measure, they agreed on a flexible transition timeline between Oct. 15, 2009 and March 15, 2012. [Sovereignty]
No trace of new N. Korean counterfeits in six months: U.S. researcher
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea may have given up its illicit ways of earning hard currency amid a U.S. crackdown that prompted the communist state to boycott international negotiations over its nuclear weapons program, a researcher for the U.S. Congress said. In an interview with the U.S.-based Radio Free Asia on Thursday (Washington time), Raphael Perl, a researcher at the Congressional Research Service, said there has been no evidence in the last six months "of any seizures of either illicit narcotics or counterfeit currency" produced or circulated by the North. [Counterfeiting] [Drugs] [Evidence] [Camouflage]
U.S. Korea, US Seek Joint Strategy
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Robert Joseph, U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, and R. Nicholas Burns, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, will visit Seoul on Monday, amid harsh rhetoric from North Korea ahead of the resumption of the six-party talks on its nuclear weapons program.
U.S. visitors to discuss sanctions
November 04, 2006 ? Senior U.S. officials will make a Northeast Asian tour next week to discuss the resumption of the six-party talks on North Korean nuclear programs, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday in Washington. Also on the agenda for the trip are efforts to implement United Nations sanctions on North Korea. The department's spokesman, Sean McCormack, told reporters that Nicholas Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs, and Robert Joseph, his counterpart for arms control and security, will visit Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul, in that order next week. The spokesman said in response to a question that there were no plans for a meeting with North Korean officials in Beijing. [Bilateral] [Camouflage]
'Roh Defies Bush on North Korea Policy'
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Song Min-soon Foreign minister-nominee President Roh Moo-hyun's appointment of ``doves'' on North Korea in his Nov. 1 Cabinet reshuffle is an apparent move to reject the Bush administration's hard-line policy toward the North, the New York Times reported on Thursday. The report said the recent reshuffle ``seemed to highlight his determination to keep trying to moderate North Korean behavior through engagement'' despite the North's nuclear test and the widening diplomatic friction between the allies on how to deal with the Stalinist regime. Roh appointed new foreign, defense, unification and intelligence chiefs in the wake of North Korea's nuclear test on Oct. 9. But except for Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Jang-soo who was appointed defense minister, the other appointees are considered advocates of engagement. [Friction]
US speeds Attack Plans for North Korea
by Bill Gertz November 3, 2006 Washington Times
The Pentagon has stepped up planning for attacks against North Korea's nuclear program and is bolstering nuclear forces in Asia, said defense officials familiar with the highly secret process. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the accelerated military planning includes detailed programs for striking a North Korean plutonium-reprocessing facility at Yongbyon with special operations commando raids or strikes with Tomahawk cruise missiles or other precision-guided weapons. [Military option]
U.S. Denies Plans to Lift N.Korea Financial Sanctions
China U.S. Persuade N.Korea Back to Negotiating Table The U.S. State Department on Thursday denied reports that the country is considering easing financial sanctions on North Korea before six-way talks on the North's nuclear program resume. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said reports that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill asked China to unfreeze some of the North's assets in Banco Delta Asia (BDA), the Macau bank accused of laundering Pyongyang's money, was "certainly" not true. [Sanctions]
Maritime Interdiction of North Korean WMD Trade: Who Will Do What?
by Mark J. Valencia
November 3rd, 2006
n this article Mark J. Valencia, a maritime policy analyst based in Hawaii and the author of "The Proliferation Security Initiative: Making Waves in Asia", writes, "such interdictions, without the permission of the flag state, on or over the high seas, could be considered an act of war. Some thought North Korea was bluffing when it said it would launch ballistic missiles. They thought it was bluffing when it said it had a nuclear weapon. They also thought it was bluffing when it said it would test a nuclear weapon. Now it has threatened war if its vessels or aircraft are interdicted. Given this history of miscalculation on both sides, the United States and its friends in the region need to carefully consider if hey want to contribute to the cause of a possible Second Korean War."
U.S. envoys to visit Asia on N. Korea From news reports
Senior U.S. diplomats will travel to Asia this weekend to prepare for a resumption of six-way negotiations with North Korea aimed at ending Pyongyang's newly proven nuclear weapons program, the State Department said Thursday. The envoys will press Japan, China and South Korea to maintain tough U.N.-mandated sanctions against North Korea in the run-up to the negotiations and to ensure a united front in insisting the talks lead to Pyongyang's full denuclearization, department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
British believe Bush is more dangerous than Kim Jong-il
Julian Glover Friday November 3, 2006 The Guardian
America is now seen as a threat to world peace by its closest neighbours and allies, according to an international survey of public opinion published today that reveals just how far the country's reputation has fallen among former supporters since the invasion of Iraq. Carried out as US voters prepare to go to the polls next week in an election dominated by the war, the research also shows that British voters see George Bush as a greater danger to world peace than either the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, or the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Both countries were once cited by the US president as part of an "axis of evil", but it is Mr Bush who now alarms voters in countries with traditionally strong links to the US. [Media]
U.S. to Take Separate Sanctions Against N.Korea
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday the U.S. will take its own sanctions against North Korea independent of the UN Security Council resolution condemning the North's nuclear test. Speaking at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, Rice stressed that the implementation of the U.N. resolution is a responsibility of all U.N. member countries. But she added, "As for our part, the United States is now obligated to adopt additional sanctions on North Korea under national legislation."
Envoy Hints U.S. Ready to End N.Korea Financial Sanctions
A U.S.-North Korea working group in the framework of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear problems will seek to resolve issues surrounding Pyongyang's illegal activities and the financial sanctions they prompted, U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow said Thursday. Vershbow made the remark in a lecture at Kookmin University, explaining that the U.S. is ready to discuss the financial sanctions with North Korea by establishing the working group under Tuesday's agreement between Washington and Pyongyang to restart six-party talks.
U.S. Set to Discuss North Korea Finances
U.S. Envoy: Washington Will Work to Resolve Financial Restrictions Against North Korea
SEOUL, South Korea Nov 2, 2006 (AP)— The main U.S. envoy to South Korea said Thursday that Washington will seek to resolve financial restrictions on North Korea that have hindered nuclear talks, after Pyongyang agreed to return to the negotiations following its nuclear test.
U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow said Washington has agreed to form a working group on the financial issue amid the six-nation nuclear talks that North Korea agreed this week to rejoin the first sign of a relaxation of tensions after the North's Oct. 9 test. [Sanctions]
Korean Authorities' Dispatch of "Observers' Group" to U.S.-led PSI Exercise under Fire
Pyongyang, October 31 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland gave the following answer to a question raised by KCNA Tuesday assailing the south Korean authorities' dispatch of an "observers' group" to the U.S.-led PSI exercise: The south Korean authorities sent the "observers' group" to the U.S.-led PSI exercise now underway in the waters off Bahrain since Monday. The authorities' dispatch of the group intended to support the U.S. in its noisy racket of sanctions and blockade against the DPRK is another shameless act of treachery little short of involving themselves in the U.S. moves for a war of aggression. [US dominance]
Korea Needs Balanced FTA With US
Commerce Minister Wants FTAs in Order of US, EU, Japan and China
By Kim Yon-se Staff Reporter
Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Chung Sye-kyun, right, holds a round-table conference hosted by The Korea Times, with Indiana University Prof. Alan Rugman, center, and Samsung Economic Research Institute CEO Jung Ku-hyun, at his office in Kwachon, Tuesday. /Korea Times Photo by Shim Hyun-chul Korea needs a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States but such a bilateral trade pact should be ``balanced'' so as not to come at the expense of one party, the nation's top economic official says.
Uri Leader Warns Vershbow Not to Hurt Pride of Koreans
By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter Kim Geun-tae, right, chairman of the governing Uri Party, speaks at a meeting of party post holders at the party headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. At center is floor leader Kim Han-gill. Yonhap Kim Geun-tae, chairman of the governing Uri Party, yesterday warned U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Alexander Vershbow over his recent remarks against the government's engagement policies toward North Korea. During a meeting with the party's key post holders, Kim said Vershbow's recent interviews and speeches have been inappropriate and seriously offended South Koreans, a party spokesman said. He said Vershbow's remarks over the joint inter-Korean business projects and South Korea's role in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) have hurt the pride of the South Korean public. ``Some people might have misunderstood if the U.S. ambassador had intended to put much pressure upon us with such remarks,'' Kim was quoted as saying. ``It's time for both Seoul and Washington to mutually understand and respect each other to reinforce the alliance between the two countries.'' [Friction] [Dilemma][US dominance] [Pressure]
North Korea wants bank accounts unfrozen
By BURT HERMAN Associated Press Writer © 2006 The Associated Press Nov. 1, 2006, 11:56AM
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Wednesday it would return to nuclear disarmament talks in an effort to get access to frozen overseas bank accounts, a vital source of hard currency for the impoverished and isolated communist nation. The North's Foreign Ministry make only indirect mention of its headline-grabbing atomic test last month, saying in a statement that it hoped to resolve U.S. financial restrictions by going back to six-nation arms talks that it has boycotted for a year. Confirming U.S. and Chinese reports of the agreement Tuesday, the North's Foreign Ministry said Pyongyang decided to return to the arms talks "on the premise that the issue of lifting financial sanctions will be discussed and settled between the (North) and the U.S. within the framework of the six-party talks." Washington had banned transactions between American financial institutions and Banco Delta Asia SARL _ a bank in the Chinese territory of Macau _ saying it was being used by North Korea for money-laundering. [Sanctions]
The North Korean Imbroglio: Who Gains?
Immanuel Wallerstein
Commentary No. 196, Nov. 1, 2006
North Korea has joined the nuclear club, and everyone else claims they are upset. Are they really? There are five actors that really count in this affair: North Korea, the United States, South Korea, China, and Japan. They have all in fact reacted quite differently. North Korea is undoubtedly the most pleased of all. They set off a nuclear explosion for several obvious reasons. They are persuaded that having a weapon in hand eliminates the likelihood of a United States attack. And it probably does. They also wanted to be taken more seriously as a world actor. And despite appearances in the last few weeks, they have probably accomplished this too. They wanted to show not only the United States but everyone else, specifically including China, that there was nothing much they could do about North Korea's decision, and they seem to have done that. And underlying all this, their primary objective no doubt is the survival of the regime. And they have probably done as much as is within their power to ensure this. But of course they too are not all-powerful. The general world analysis of the effect of their action is that it will ensure a spread of nuclear armament, first of all in the region. I agree. Within a very short time, I expect Japan to start its program. It will be followed by South Korea. And then - no one mentions this - it will be followed by Taiwan, thus realizing a totally nuclearized Northeast Asia. Is this good or bad? The answer depends on whose perspective you take.
Japan claims that it is very unhappy, and shares the U.S. hardline position. Pardon me for being skeptical. Isn't Shinzo Abe the man who became prime minister by promising to make Japan into a "normal" nation? This is code language for changing the constitution, creating a full-fledged army and nuclear weapons. The North Korean nuclear explosion gives Abe the immediate justification, and he will take it. Indeed, U.S. neo-cons are publicly calling on him to take it. They do so because they believe it will strengthen the U.S. position in the region and make more likely military action against North Korea. But a Japanese nuclear program may well have the opposite consequence. The one thing that has tied Japan most closely to the United States in the last fifty years has been Japan's dependence on the U.S. nuclear shield. Once Japan has its own nuclear weapons, it has the possibility of being more independent. And sooner or later, it will realize this possibility. China is of course unhappy, and for many reasons. For one thing, North Korea's action exposes the limits of China's power, which seems as helpless as the United States in this situation. For another thing, nuclear proliferation is not in China's interests. It's not worried about North Korea. It's worried about Japan and, above all, Taiwan. [Japanese remilitarisation] [Nuclearisation]
N.K. seeks to end financial sanctions
North Korea affirmed Wednesday it would return to nuclear disarmament talks to seek a resolution of a U.S. campaign aimed at choking the communist nation's access to foreign banks. Stepping back from provocative moves after conducting its first-ever nuclear test three weeks ago, the North said it hoped to resolve the financial issue at resumed six-nation arms talks that it has boycotted for a year. However, Pyongyang made only an indirect mention of its nuclear program and didn't say whether it remained committed to an earlier agreement to abandon its atomic ambitions. North Korea also emphasized that a direct meeting with the United States during previously unpublicized negotiations Tuesday in Beijing had made the diplomatic breakthrough possible. U.S. President George W. Bush, who has long shunned direct talks with Pyongyang, credited China's mediation for the agreement. [Sanctions]
US Expected to End Probe on NK’s Money Laundering
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Washington is expected to conclude its investigation into North Korea's money-laundering charges soon, Yu Myung-hwan, vice minister of foreign affairs and trade, told lawmakers in Seoul on Wednesday. His remarks came a day after Pyongyang agreed to return to the six-party denuclearization talks ``with no conditions.'' Answering a lawmaker's question on whether Washington would lift its financial sanctions on North Korea when the talks are resumed, Yu said he expects the U.S. investigation into the North's alleged illicit activities such as money laundering at Macau's Banco Delta Asia will come to an end sooner or later. ``It could take more time, but I expect the issue will come to an end sometime soon,'' Yu said at the National Assembly. [Sanctions] [Counterfeiting] [Evidence]
The European Business Association in Pyongyang seeks clarification on the UN sanctions imposed on North Korea
Press Release dated 18.10.2006
The European Business Association (EBA) in Pyongyang does not wish to comment on the sanctions passed by the UN Security Council (UNSC) on 14th October, 2006. However, it is seeking clarification to avoid misinterpretation and arbitrary sanctions on civilian goods for civilian purposes.
Although civilian goods (with the exception of so-called "luxury items") are not included in the list of sanctioned items we would like to draw attention to the fact that a number of materials in many civilian products, such as simple household items could be used to build bombs. Certain products used as weedkillers, for example, could also be used as rocket fuel; or aluminium used for bicycles could also be used for rocket tubes. Computers that are normally used at home and in shops, schools and offices of civilian enterprises could also be used in the production of rockets. Chemicals usually needed in the production of pharmaceuticals and in mining operations could also be used for weapons. [Sanctions]
Did the US provoke N Korea?
North Korea: A Nuclear Threat Is Kim Jong Il ready to provoke a regional crisis? An exclusive account of what Pyongyang really wants.
By Selig S. Harrison
Newsweek International
Oct. 16, 2006 issue - On Sept. 19, 2005, North Korea signed a widely heralded denuclearization agreement with the United States, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea. Pyongyang pledged to "abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs." In return, Washington agreed that the United States and North Korea would "respect each other's sovereignty, exist peacefully together and take steps to normalize their relations." Four days later, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sweeping financial sanctions against North Korea designed to cut off the country's access to the international banking system, branding it a "criminal state" guilty of counterfeiting, money laundering and trafficking in weapons of mass destruction. [Camouflage] [Sanctions] [Regime change]
US Policies on North Korea Out of Favor
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter More than half of South Koreans still oppose the United States' policies towards North Korea even though Pyongyang apparently crossed Washington's ambiguous ``red line'' by conducting a nuclear test on Oct. 9. According to a poll conducted by The Korea Times, 39.6 percent of the respondents said they support Washington's North Korea policy in general, but 52.6 percent said they do not. [SK attitude NK] [SK attitude US]
Nation Divided on FTA
By Park Hyong-ki Staff Reporter About 46 percent of respondents in the latest Korea Times survey said that they support a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between Korea and the United States. Among this 46 percent, 3 percent said they fully back the trade accord, while 43 percent said they are ``more or less'' behind an FTA with the U.S.
CEO Provides Classified Information to US'
By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter A co-chairman of a local broadcaster claimed yesterday that another CEO of the company provided classified information to U.S. officials including those of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK). Shin Duk-hyun, co-chairman of Kyungin TV, told a National Assembly panel that Baik Sung-hak, president of Yongan Corporation, who also serves as co-chairman of the broadcasting company, provided documents containing classified information on South Korea to some U.S. officials. [Espionage] [Double standards]
Bell pushes for action on date for handover
October 31, 2006 ? Washington hopes to negotiate an exact date for the transfer of wartime operational control to Korea early next year, a senior U.S. military commander said yesterday, even though the two nations have only this month patched over a disagreement on the speed of the transfer by deferring a decision. General B. B. Bell, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, told a news conference yesterday, "My expectation is that this plan will be completed by the end of the first half of 2007. To meet the desire of the ROK government, it is my hope that at that time we will be able to specify an exact planning date for the transfer of opcon." ROK is the acronym for the Republic of Korea; opcon is "operational control." [Sovereignty]
U.S. Chided for Escalating Arms Race
Pyongyang, October 30 (KCNA) -- The new "national space policy" of the Bush administration aimed at monopolizing and militarizing outer space is nothing but a dangerous attempt to revive the criminal "star wars plan," observes Rodong Sinmun Monday in a signed commentary. It goes on: The U.S. design to use outer space, which should be used for a peaceful purpose common to mankind, as a theatre of war is a criminal one as it threatens the very existence of humankind and obstructs the development of civilization.
USFK Chief Rules Out Preemptive Strike on NK
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Gen. B.B. Bell U.S. Forces Korea commander The top U.S. military commander in South Korea said yesterday that his combined forces command with the South Korean military has no intention of preemptively striking North Korea. But he accused the Stalinist state of `international provocations'' with a series of missile and nuclear tests. Gen. B. B. Bell, chief of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), reaffirmed the provision of the U.S. ``extended deterrence'' for South Korea in case of an attack from the communist regime. But he stressed that ``the term `extended deterrence' is not a military options' package nor does it represent a change in the nuclear umbrella commitment by the United States'' as being interpreted by South Korean officials. Bell concurrently serves as chief of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) and the United Nations Command (UNC). [Military option]
K-Pop Won Over Asia: Can It Win Over US?
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Rain, who is with JYP Entertainment, will advance to the U.S. market next year. Music knows no boundaries. Even language is not a hindrance. Nowhere is this more apparent than the K-pop explosion throughout Asia. K-pop music is already becoming one of Korea's top cultural exports to other Asian countries. Pop stars like BoA, Rain, Se7en, TVXQ and Shinhwa are overcoming the language barrier with their music, even drawing thousands of fans to their concerts in China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Encouraged by K-pop's massive crossover success in Asia, Korean entertainment companies are making a big push in perhaps the world's biggest and most important market - the U.S. [Hallyu] [Softpower]

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OCTOBER 2006

Seoul sends 3 observers to PSI exercise in Gulf
October 30, 2006 ? North Korea's determination to keep its nuclear programs alive is being matched by determined U.S. efforts to prevent weapons proliferation and nuclear terrorism. The Korean government announced yesterday that it has sent observers to a naval exercise in the Persian Gulf to be held today and tomorrow. The exercise, off the coast of Iran, is a part of the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, aimed at interdicting the flow of components for missiles and weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. State Department said Australia, Bahrain, Britain, France, Italy and the United States will send forces to drill in the inspection of ships suspected of carrying such contraband. Nineteen other countries will play smaller roles in the exercise.
U.S. Pressure on S. Korea to Apply Sanctions against DPRK Assailed
Pyongyang, October 28 (KCNA) -- The United States is pressurizing south Korea to apply sanctions against the DPRK and inciting confrontation with it, citing its nuclear deterrent for self-defence as a pretext. This is an intolerable encroachment upon the dignity and sovereignty of the Korean nation as it is a gangster-like act which clearly reveals its scenario for a war of aggression against the DPRK. A spokesman for the National Reconciliation Council said this in a statement Saturday.
Seoul to Observe PSI Exercise in Gulf
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Seoul has decided to dispatch three officials to observe the U.S.-led exercises to interdict vessels suspected of smuggling weapons of mass destruction (WMD) off the coast of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf from Oct. 30-31, a government official said yesterday. [Pressure] [Sanctions]
US Wants Korean Troops to Extend Stay in Iraq
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
Gen. George W. Casey Jr. The top commander of the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq expressed strong hopes that South Korean troops would continue to stay in the war-torn country on a humanitarian and reconstruction mission for at least one more year. [Imperialism] [US dominance] [Dilemma]
Another Anti-Proliferation Initiative Takes Off
A new U.S.-led Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, a coalition of countries aimed at preventing nuclear materials from North Korea and Iran from falling into the wrong hands, holds its inaugural two-day meeting in Rabat, Morocco from Monday. The meeting, attended for the U.S. by Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph, is expected to endorse a statement of principles and regulations aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism. Russia, China, Japan and eight other countries have signed up. [Proliferation]
Why Bush is Seeking Confrontation With North Korea
By GREGORY ELICH
Weekend Edition October 27 / 29, 2006
North Korea's nuclear test and UN sanctions have brought relations between the U.S. and North Korea to their lowest point since President Bush took office. Yet it was only little more than a year ago that for one brief moment hopes were kindled for a diplomatic settlement of the nuclear dispute. At the six-party talks on September 19, 2005, a statement of principles on nuclear disarmament was signed between the U.S. and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK the formal name for North Korea). The Bush Administration, however, viewed its signature on the agreement as only a tactical delay. During negotiations it had firmly rejected the statement, and was brought around only when the Chinese delegation warned that it would announce that the U.S. was to blame were the six-party talks were to collapse. The ink was barely dry on the document when the U.S. immediately violated one of its main points. Although the U.S. was required under the agreement to begin normalizing relations with North Korea, on literally the very next day it announced the imposition of sanctions on North Korean accounts held in the Macao-based Banco Delta Asia, ostensibly because they were being used to circulate counterfeit currency. [US NK policy] [counterfeiting] [Regime change] [Sanctions] [Evidence] [JS050919] [Camouflage]
U.S. and S. Korean Bellicose Forces' Moves for Nuclear War against DPRK Blasted
Pyongyang, October 27 (KCNA) -- The bellicose forces of the United States and south Korea are nowadays getting evermore frantic in their moves to provoke a nuclear war against the DPRK under the pretext of its nuclear test. They are totally revising and supplementing their scenarios for a war against the DPRK, including "OPLAN 5027" while stepping up the introduction of latest nuclear war means. A spokesman for the Korean National Peace Committee released a statement on Friday blasting such moves. [Joint US military]
US Urges Seoul to Join PSI
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The top U.S. envoy to South Korea yesterday called on the Seoul government to expand its role in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), aimed at interdicting North Korean ships suspected of carrying material that could be used for weapons of mass destruction (WMD). U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow also urged Seoul to take stronger measures against Pyongyang in line with the U.N. resolution for punishing the regime for its defiant nuclear test on Oct. 9. He implicitly pressured Seoul to pull out of the inter-Korean industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong, which Washington suspects puts hard currency into the pocket of the Kim Jong-il regime. [Friction]
Bolton Cancels Trip to South Korea
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has called off his plan to visit South Korea next week due to his busy schedule at the United Nations over Iraqi issues, government officials here said yesterday.
U.S. ambassador: 'Strong response' to test is required
October 28, 2006 ? Seoul should stop dragging its feet and participate in a U.S.-led program aimed at prohibiting the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction, Alexander Vershbow, Washington's top diplomat in Seoul, urged yesterday. [Friction]
Save the U.S. alliance
EDITORIALS] A high-level official of the U.S. Department of Defense said it was nonsense for the South Korean Defense Ministry to call the "extended deterrence," a new achievement from the Security Consultative Meeting. The official was saying the United States has continued to offer extended deterrence. Washington also spoke against the Blue House chief security advisor, Song Min-soon, for saying the United States has had the more wars in its history than any other country. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Mr. Song must be reminded the United States lost 30,000 of its soldiers in the Korean War. It's never surprising to note discord between Seoul and Washington under the Roh Moo-hyun administration. [Friction] [US military] [Imperialism] [Pro-Americanism]
Anti-DPRK War Exercises Assailed
Pyongyang, October 24 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun Tuesday raps at the United States which is getting more hysteric in posing military threat to the DPRK and staging war exercises by instigating bellicose forces of Japan and south Korea. The analyst says: The U.S. imperialist aggression troops in south Korea and the south Korean marines began "joint landing exercises" on Oct. 19 and ground and naval forces of south Korea more than 12,000 strong are to be hurled into "landing operation exercises" in Phohang today. And the U.S plans to form a large fleet and stage a joint war rehearsal in early November against the DPRK involving "sea search" in the East Sea of Korea together with the Japan maritime "Self-Defence Force".
U.S. Decision to Finance Anti-DPRK Broadcasting Services Assailed
Pyongyang, October 12 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the National Reconciliation Council gave the following answer to a question raised by KCNA Thursday blasting the U.S. decision to finance the anti-DPRK broadcasting services in the hands of the anti-communist conservative organizations in south Korea: The U.S. State Department was reported to have decided to make a financial allocation in the fiscal 2007 to start on Oct. 1 for three anti-DPRK broadcasting services including one operated by a group of defectors. [Propaganda]
Dangerous U.S. Moves to Force "Preemptive Strike Strategy" Debunked
Pyongyang, October 12 (KCNA) -- The U.S. war-thirsty forces are these days stooping to a plan to establish what they call Korean Peninsula air battle command which would perform a U.S. air force strike mission under the U.S. Pacific Command when they provoke a Korean war. Synchronizing with this, the U.S. Defense Department announced that the U.S. would sell a "patriot" missile system worth 1.5 billion U.S. dollars to south Korea. Commenting on this, a Rodong Sinmun analyst Thursday says: This is a highly dangerous scheme on the part of the United States to gain "upper hand in strength" and force its "preemptive strike strategy" at whatever cost. This testifies that they have made the provocation of the second Korean war a fait accompli. Pentagon has already reorganized the U.S. 8th army in south Korea and the 3rd army in the U.S. mainland into a field army and rounded off an integrated operational command system over the large forces of the U.S., Japan and south Korea. The establishment of the new Korean Peninsula air battle command of the U.S. means, in the final analysis, that not only the U.S. air force in the Asia-Pacific region but also its air force in the mainland will take part in the operations of this command.
Rumsfeld to Reconfirm Nuclear Umbrella for South Korea
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea and the United States will discuss the U.S. military's provision of nuclear weapons in case of war on the Korean Peninsula when their defense ministers meet next week, a senior military official said yesterday. ``The two sides will discuss joint countermeasures to the North's claimed nuclear test as the No.1 agenda item at the talks in Washington, D.C on Oct. 21 ,'' the official told reporters. Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung will leave for Washington next Thursday for talks with his U.S. counterpart, Donald H. Rumsfeld.
What Precisely Is PSI?
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Late last year, South Korea decided to participate as an observer in U.S.-led exercises, which began by Washington in May 2003 under the name of Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), to stop suspicious arms shipments. The initiative aims to stop trafficking of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their delivery systems and related materials to and from what the U.S. calls ``rogue states,'' such as Iran and North Korea. PSI is not a treaty-based approach. There is no formal organization with a budget or headquarters. [Sanctions]
Korea and the "Axis of Evil"
by Brian S. Willson October 12, 2006 GlobalResearch.ca
Global Research Editor's Note This text by Vietnam War Veteran, author and peace activist Brian Willson was first published by Global Research in 2002. It outlines, what most people in America do not know and which is particularly relevant in assessing the alleged "threats" of North Korea to global security
North Korea lost thirty percent of its population as a result of US led bombings in the 1950s. US military sources confirm that 20 percent of north koreas' population was killed off over a three period of intensive bombings:
Seoul, U.S. on Collision Course Over Inter-Korean projects
South Korea and the U.S. look set for a clash over the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex and tourism to Mt. Kumgang in the North. President Roh Moo-hyun and the government have stressed the importance of joining hands with the international community in addressing Pyongyang's nuclear test claim, but they add the industrial park in the North and the package tours have nothing to do with UN sanctions against Pyongyang. They reportedly made that decision on Wednesday, even before the UN Security Council was done deliberating a U.S. draft resolution that would cut off all financing that could go into the North's weapons development. The draft would stop transfer of all kinds of assets, money, goods and technology related to North Korea's weapons of mass destruction. [Sanctions] [Friction]
What Will Stop North Korea
By Charles Krauthammer Friday, October 13, 2006; Page A29
It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union . -- President John F. Kennedy,
Oct. 22, 1962 Now that's deterrence. Kennedy was pledging that if any nuke was launched from Cuba, the United States would not even bother with Cuba but would go directly to the source and bring the apocalypse to Russia with a massive nuclear attack. The remarkable thing about this kind of threat is that in 1962 it was very credible. Indeed, its credibility kept the peace throughout a half-century of the Cold War. Deterrence is what you do when there is no way to disarm your enemy. You cannot deprive him of his weapons, but you can keep him from using them. We long ago reached that stage with North Korea. Everyone has tried to figure out how to disarm North Korea. It will not happen. Kim Jong Il is not going to give up his nukes. The only way to disarm the regime is to destroy it. China could do that with sanctions but will not. The United States could do that with a second Korean War but will not either. [Bizarre]
Changing Pyongyang regime remains ultimate goal: Bolton
From news reports WASHINGTON - Changing the regime in North Korea is the end objective of the United States and its allies, but the United Nations doesn't share the same goal, a senior U.S. diplomat said Tuesday. Ambassador John Bolton, already on record for his disapproving views of the U.N., said the U.S. goal in Korea has been the same since 1945: to see a peaceful reunification of the country under a democratic government. "And it's not something that people at the U.N. like to talk about," he said on Fox News. "We have a different vision, obviously." "If you talk about changing regimes, from authoritarian or semi-authoritarian to democracies, in the U.N. you would have a lot of countries quite unhappy. "But I think that's something the United States and its friends should be pursuing on their own, because that is our ultimate objective," Bolton said. [Neocon] [John Bolton] [Regime change]
Colombia 'is fake banknote king'
There are an estimated $70m worth of fake notes in circulation Colombia and North Korea are the largest producers of fake US banknotes, a report suggests. The study by the US Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Secret Service said that one in every 10,000 greenbacks was a fake. It said more affordable equipment meant counterfeiting was getting easier. In Bulgaria, previously one of the biggest producers of fake dollars, fraudsters have turned to copying the euro, said the study. [Counterfeiting] [Camouflage] [Evidence]
N Korea 'not forging US dollars'
BBC 2 February 2006 Washington has accused the North of circulating fake greenbacks North Korea is no longer forging US dollars, contrary to US claims, South Korea's intelligence agency has said. The agency had no evidence Pyongyang has made forged, so-called "supernotes" since 1998, a lawmaker briefed by the National Intelligence Service said. US sanctions imposed in connection with the alleged forgery have stalled talks on the North's nuclear ambitions. [Counterfeiting] [Camouflage] [Evidence]
U.S. to impose 'India-Pakistan sanctions' on N.K.
From news reports WASHINGTON - The United States will impose the kind of sanctions against North Korea that were taken on India and Pakistan after their nuclear tests in 1998, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday. The U.N.-invoked sanctions, in the meantime, should remain in place even if North Korea returns to nuclear negotiations, until Pyongyang has made progress in the talks, she said. [Sanctions] [Double standards]
Peace Movement to Bush: Negotiate With North Korea Now!
October 12th, 2006
North Korea's apparent nuclear test is chilling evidence of how the Bush administration's policy of shunning negotiations has failed. There is no doubt: People in the U.S. and around the world are far less safe than we were five years ago. If North Korea did test a nuclear explosive device, it is a setback to the global efforts to stop the spread of nuclear arms. It could destabilize northeast Asia, the wider Asian continent, and have negative repercussions around the world. As a supporter of the elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide, starting here at home, United for Peace and Justice views this development with alarm.
But the primary blame for this situation lies with the Bush administration, not North Korea. The nuclear test is a direct reaction to the Bush administration’s policy of shunning negotiations and threatening North Korea with war and regime change.
Seoul rethinks joining proliferation pact
October 12, 2006 ? Seoul is weighing whether to increase its participation in a multinational program to curb international trade in mass weapons and missile components as negotiations on a resolution to sanction North Korea continued at the United Nations. "It is inevitable to broaden our participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative. I think we have to be more active," a Korean official said, refusing to be quoted by name. Until now, Seoul has been only an observer in the program. [US dominance] [Friction] [PSI]
For Bush, Many Questions on Iraq and North Korea
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG Published: October 12, 2006 WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 - President Bush said Wednesday that he would not use force against North Korea because "diplomacy hasn't run its course," but acknowledged that many Americans wonder why he invaded Iraq but has not taken military action to head off North Korea's race for a bomb.
"I'm asked questions around the country, 'Just go ahead and use the military,' " Mr. Bush said at a morning news conference in the Rose Garden, his first extended question-and-answer session with reporters in the days since North Korea announced it had detonated a nuclear device. "And my answer is that I believe the commander in chief must try all diplomatic measures before we commit our military." Then, without prompting, the president asked an obvious next question. "I'll ask myself a follow-up," Mr. Bush said. " 'If that's the case, why did you use military action in Iraq?' And the reason why is because we tried the diplomacy."
Kim Dae-jung Blames US for Nuke Crisis
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter Former President Kim Dae-jung said yesterday that North Korea's proclaimed nuclear test on Monday proved the failure of the hostile policy of the United States, not the engagement policy of South Korea. He called for bilateral talks between Washington and Pyongyang to resolve the nuclear crisis. [Bilateral]
Bell Reaffirms Security Commitment to S. Korea
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
Gen. B. B. Bell, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), yesterday reaffirmed a strong commitment to the defense of South Korea against a nuclear-armed North Korea.
Panmunjom discussion
A North Korean officer, facing the camera, talks with United Nations Command (UNC) officials about the transfer of North Korean bodies that flowed to the South during the flooding at Panmunjom, Wednesday. /Korea Times 10-11-2006 19:35 [photo of Americans with Korean interpreter?] [Sovereignty]
Seoul Opposes Military Action Against North
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Seoul will not support the U.N. Security Council's (UNSC) move to adopt a resolution that includes a threat of military action against North Korea for its nuclear test, Prime Minister Han Myung-sook said in Seoul on Tuesday. Her remarks came at an interpellation session in the National Assembly as the council is currently drafting a resolution that is expected to invoke the U.N. Charter's sensitive Chapter 7. ``We must oppose Article 42 (of Chapter 7) to be quoted in the resolution as it is very sensitive and may inflict damage (on the Korean Peninsula),'' Han told lawmakers.
Neo-cons come out guns blazing
By Jim Lobe Oct 12, 2006
WASHINGTON - Encouraging Japan to build nuclear weapons, shipping food aid via submarines and running secret sabotage operations inside North Korea's borders are among a raft of policy prescriptions pushed by prominent US neo-conservatives in the wake of Pyongyang's reported testing of an atomic bomb. Writing in publications ranging from National Review Online (NRO) to the New York Times, neo-conservatives claim, contrary to the lessons drawn by "realists" and other critics of the George W
Bush administration, that Monday's supposed test vindicates their long-held view that negotiations with "rogue" states such as North Korea are useless and that "regime change" - by military means, if necessary - is the only answer.
He urged that Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore be invited to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and that Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province of China, send observers to NATO meetings. Frum, who in 2003 co-authored An End to Evil with former Defense Policy Board chairman Richard Perle, also suggested that Washington "encourage Japan to renounce the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and create its own nuclear deterrent". "A nuclear Japan is the thing China and North Korea dread most, after, perhaps, a nuclear South Korea or Taiwan," he asserted. "Not only would the nuclearization of Japan be a punishment of China and North Korea, but it would also go far to meet our goal of dissuading Iran [from trying to obtain a nuclear weapon] ... The analogue for Iran, of course, would be the threat of American aid [neocon] [[Japanese nuclearisation][Intelligent design]
Roh gives ground on North and war control
October 11, 2006 ? President Roh Moo-hyun continued yesterday to back slowly away from his commitment to sovereignty in the form of wartime military control over Korean forces and his continuation of his predecessor's sunshine policy toward North Korea. Yoon Tae-young, Mr. Roh's spokesman, quoted the president as telling political party leaders yesterday that he would gather expert opinion in detail about the effect of North Korea's announced entry into the nuclear club on plans to regain wartime operational military control. [Sovereignty] [Intelligent design]
Vershbow calls for end of financial benefits for Pyongyang
October 11, 2006 ? Countries that have provided assistance to the North should review their policies, Alexander Vershbow, Washington's ambassador to Seoul, said yesterday. He was speaking as the international community began trying to devise a common response to North Korea's self-proclaimed nuclear test Monday. Asked whether Washington would welcome steps by Seoul to end programs such as the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea, which critics say is supplying funds that could be used ultimately for military purposes, Mr. Vershbow declined to comment specifically on what Seoul should do. But, he continued, I would just say that this is probably a time when all countries need to review their programs of assistance that may provide financial benefits to a regime that, as we have seen, enable it to devote a disproportionately large share of its resources to nuclear programs and other military programs. [Sanctions]
Rice Asserts U.S. Plans No Attack on North Korea
Agence France-Presse - Getty Images South Korean rice bound for the North. Sanctions urged by the United States might limit such shipments. By THOM SHANKER and WARREN HOGE Published: October 11, 2006 WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that the United States did not intend to invade or attack North Korea, but she warned the North's leaders that they now risked sanctions unlike anything that they have faced before. Even China, North Korea's most important ally, said Tuesday that tough measures were in order, though its representatives said the punishments might not necessarily be the harsh ones that Washington was proposing. [Double standards] [Sanctions] [Aid weapon] [military option]
Test Byproduct: Quick Scramble to Point Fingers
Paul Sancya/Associated Press Senator John McCain, stumping for Mike Bouchard, left, in Michigan, blamed the Clinton administration for problems with North Korea.
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG Published: October 11, 2006 WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 - North Korea's claim that it detonated a nuclear device rippled through American politics on Tuesday, nowhere more so than at a Shriner's hall in Michigan, where Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican, sought to place the blame on former President Bill Clinton.
I would remind Senator Clinton and other Democrats critical of the Bush administration's policies that the framework agreement her husband's administration negotiated was a failure, Mr. McCain said, referring to his potential rival for the presidency in 2008, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. Mr. McCain's attack was part of an increasingly bitter partisan row over who was responsible for allowing North Korea to achieve nuclear ability. Republicans sought to focus attention on what they said was a misguided and naïve policy of negotiating with North Korea during the 1990's. Democrats pressed the argument that North Korea's claimed advance was a byproduct of President Bush's decision to wage war against Iraq, which proved not to have any banned weapons, while doing too little to confront a real threat developing in North Korea. [Bizarre] [Agreed Framework] [Partisan]
N. Korea Pressures US to Accept Bilateral Talks
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter North Korea's nuclear test was designed to force the United States to acknowledge Pyongyang as a nuclear power and to accept its demand for bilateral talks, in which it wants to negotiate nuclear disarmament in return for security guarantees, a North Korea scholar in Seoul said on Monday. ``The nuclear test was conducted in the run-up to off-year elections in the United States,'' Professor Koh Yu-hwan of Dongguk University said. ``By pressuring the United States, Pyongyang wants to negotiate its future with Washington after being recognized as a nuclear power.''
Bush's 'Axis of Evil' Comes Back to Haunt United States
By Glenn Kessler and Peter Baker Washington Post Staff Writers Tuesday, October 10, 2006; Page A12
Nearly five years after President Bush introduced the concept of an "axis of evil" comprising Iraq, Iran and North Korea, the administration has reached a crisis point with each nation: North Korea has claimed it conducted its first nuclear test, Iran refuses to halt its uranium-enrichment program, and Iraq appears to be tipping into a civil war 3 1/2 years after the U.S.-led invasion. Each problem appears to feed on the others, making the stakes higher and requiring Bush and his advisers to make difficult calculations, analysts and U.S. officials said. The deteriorating situation in Iraq has undermined U.S. diplomatic credibility and limited the administration's military options, making rogue countries increasingly confident that they can act without serious consequences. Iran, meanwhile, will be watching closely the diplomatic fallout from North Korea's apparent test as a clue to how far it might go with its own nuclear program.
"Iran will follow very carefully what happens in the U.N. Security Council after the North Korean test," said Robert J. Einhorn, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). "If the United Nations is not able to act forcefully, then Iran will think the path is clear to act with impunity." Michael E. O'Hanlon, a Brookings Institution scholar and co-author of the new book "Hard Power: The New Politics of National Security," said the U.S. response to North Korea will have ripple effects. "Iran will certainly watch what happens. North Korea watched what happened with Pakistan and decided that the world didn't punish Pakistan too hard or too long," he said. "Iran will certainly notice if North Korea gets treated with kid gloves."
Kim Urges US to Hold Direct Talks With Pyongyang
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter
Former President Kim Dae-jung South Korea's former President Kim Dae-jung said that the United States should give North Korea one more chance even though it is on the brink of a nuclear test. In an interview with CNN's Talk Asia on Sunday, he urged the U.S. to engage in direct talks with North Korea so that the isolated country could give up its nuclear ambition and come back to the negotiation table. ``Even former U.S. President Ronald Reagan had dialogue with the Soviet Union, which he branded as an `evil empire,''' Kim told the U.S. 24-hour news channel. ``I can hardly understand why the U.S. does not hold talks with North Korea.'' He stressed that China, although it has a great deal of influence over North Korea, does not have control of the independent state. ``Talks with the U.S. should be given the top priority, rather than with China and South Korea,'' he said. [Bilateral]
U.S. Weighs Sanctions Against North Korea
By DAVID E. SANGER Published: October 6, 2006 WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 - The Bush administration is developing an extensive list of possible new sanctions against North Korea in the event that it carries through with its threat to conduct a nuclear test, senior officials said Thursday. The measures under consideration include renewing efforts that have been unsuccessful in the past - persuading South Korea and China to cut off energy supplies and trade - and potentially confrontational steps that include intercepting and inspecting sea shipments into and out of the country. Many of the sanctions have been considered before, as part of a long-running argument within the Bush administration over the best way to deal with North Korea. After a series of emergency meetings, including one on Tuesday at the White House, officials on each side of that debate said a nuclear test would end the argument about whether the United States should emphasize rewards or penalties. "If the test happens, all the arguments are over," said one senior official in the midst of the debate. "We'll end up going to full-scale sanctions; the only debate is what 'full-scale' means." [Sanctions]
BUSH-ROH SUMMIT: EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS?
by Jack Pritchard (jp@keia.org)
This past June, President Bush made a series of telephone calls to leaders in the region calling on them to use their influence with Pyongyang in an effort to halt North Korean preparations to launch a Taepo Dong missile. When the news media pointed out that Bush had not called President Roh Moo-hyun, South Korean officials quickly arranged a mid-September Summit in Washington between President Bush and President Roh in an attempt to demonstrate the closeness of the U.S.-ROK relationship and put an end to speculation that the alliance was adrift.
Defense Paper to Mention Command Takeover
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The new defense white paper to be published later this month will contain South Korea's increasing responsibility for its national security with exercising independent wartime command in the future, Defense Ministry officials said yesterday. [Sovereignty]
T-Shirt Offers Protection Against Mistaken Nationality
Alleyway T-shirt vendors in the Itaewon district have a new competitor. The new must-have shirts read “I’m not migook” on the front, and on the back in Korean, “I am not an American.” Since the shirts first turned up at a shop in front of the neighborhood Starbucks in the middle of last month, more than 100 of the shirts have been sold every five days. The man who brought the thoughtful product into the world is a 31-year-old named Michael Kenny who would like to make it clear that he is Canadian. Kenny hatched the idea of starting up his own business only two months ago. “When I started out, it was just to help make money for a trip my girlfriend and I were taking to South America and Australia,” he recalls. He found an untapped niche market: non-American Caucasians in Korea, with their fears of being thrown in the same pot with U.S. citizens [SK attitude US] [Softpower]
Repeal of S. Korea-U.S. Military Treaty Demanded
Pyongyang, October 2 (KCNA) -- The south Korea-U.S. gMutual Defence Treatyh running counter to the requirements of the June 15 era of reunification and unanimously denounced by the whole nation must be repealed without delay, says Rodong Sinmun in an article Monday upon the lapse of 53 years after the conclusion of the treaty. The treaty which the U.S. imperialists fabricated on Oct. 1, 1953, by turning the Syngman Rhee clique round its little finger is a military treaty for aggression, which has hindered reconciliation and reunification of the Korean nation and brought unspeakable misfortunes and calamities to the south Koreans by justifying the U.S. imperialist aggression troopsf occupation of south Korea and their moves to provoke a war of aggression against the DPRK, notes the author of the article, and continues
U.S. Double Standards and Moves for Fresh Arms Race Assailed
Pyongyang, October 2 (KCNA) -- South Korea recently developed a cruise missile targeted against the DPRK. Commenting on this, a signed commentary of Rodong Sinmun Monday says: The U.S. asserts the DPRKfs missile launch is intolerable, while conniving at and supporting south Koreafs missile development. This is a brigandish double-dealing logic and a revelation of its design to invade the DPRK. The U.S. is contemplating deploying south Korean troops on the forefront when invading the DPRK in case of gemergencyh on the Korean Peninsula. This April the U.S. agreed to deliver 42 Harpoons to south Korea. Thatfs why it overlooked its cruise missile development.
US Scholar Calls for Direct Talks Between US, N. Korea
By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter Selig Harrison A U.S. scholar who recently made a five-day visit to Pyongyang said bilateral talks between the United States and North Korea on resolving ongoing sanctions against the communist state are the only way to normalize the stalled six-party talks. "The only way to break the deadlock in the six-party talks is to find some way to resolve the sanctions issue through bilateral negotiations. There is no chance of North Korea capitulating without some face-saving compromise," said Selig Harrison, director of the Asia program at the U.S.-based Center for International Policy, in an article contributed to the Monday edition of the Hankyoreh, a Korean daily. [Bilateral]
Korea, U.S. May Fail to Agree on Troop Control This Month
Korea and the U.S. could fail to narrow their differences at the Security Consultative Meeting in Washington on Oct. 20-21 over when Seoul will take over wartime operational control of its troops, officials fear. A senior official with Korea's Defense Ministry said Monday the 10th Security Policy Initiative meetings in Washington on Sept. 27-28 had difficulty finding points of agreement.
'The More Subtle Kind of Torment'
By Joseph Margulies
Monday, October 2, 2006; Page A19
In these uncertain times, it's worth recalling that the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction in the hands of madmen is not new. Nearly 50 years before Sept. 11, 2001, the American public learned that a group of prisoners in military custody confessed to being part of an elaborate conspiracy to bomb civilian targets with bacteriological weapons. The first prisoner to crack said the goal was "the mass annihilation of the civilian population." As often happens, his confession led to others, and before long, three dozen prisoners had coughed up page after page of chilling, meticulously detailed admissions.
But it was all a lie. Thirty-six American airmen, shot from the sky during the Korean War, falsely confessed to a vast plot to bomb civilian targets. How did this happen? With Congress having approved a "compromise" that gives the president authority to determine the meaning of the Geneva Conventions and redefines the War Crimes Act to protect CIA interrogators, we should revisit this all-but-forgotten moment in U.S. history. During the Korean War, thousands of American POWs were forced to endure grotesque and sadistic physical torture. But the downed airmen were treated differently. The senior officer among them was Col. Frank Schwable, the highest-ranking Marine captured in the conflict. "I want to emphasize," Schwable said later, "that I did not undergo physical torture. Perhaps I would have been more fortunate if I had, because people nowadays seem to understand that better. Mine was the more subtle kind of torment." The airmen were subjected to something new: touchless torture. They were kept isolated from all human contact, apart from their interrogators. One prisoner spent 10 months in solitary confinement, another 13. Schwable did not learn of the armistice until after he confessed.
After the war North Korean atrocities were roundly condemned by the United States, which complained to the United Nations that the Koreans had not complied with the Geneva Conventions. One institution, however, was not repelled but intrigued. The experience led the CIA to accelerate its research into the theory and science of coercive interrogation. Between 1950 and 1962, the CIA poured millions of dollars into studies that tested different interrogation techniques, hoping to learn from and refine the lessons of Korea. The research culminated in the top-secret KUBARK manual, a 1963 primer on how to conduct coercive counterintelligence interrogations. The manual was finally disclosed in 1997 and is now available online. [cbw] [Double standards] [Korean War events]
U.S. Commits Over 180 Cases of Aerial Espionage against DPRK
The U.S. committed more than 180 cases of aerial espionage against the DPRK by mobilizing strategic and tactical reconnaissance planes with various missions in August, the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency reported on August 31 quoting a military source as saying. U-2s took off U.S. air force bases in South Korea almost every day and made shuttle flights eastward and westward in the sky above the areas along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) for hours to photograph the depth of North Korea and conduct electronic reconnaissance of it.
Bell says 8th Army may be eliminated
U.S. general calls headquarters outdated and no longer a war-fighting organization
September 30, 2006 ? General B.B. Bell, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, may have jangled the nerves of Korean conservatives yesterday, saying that the Eighth U.S. Army, the American military's ground element command, might be eliminated or slimmed down dramatically. General Bell called the command somewhat of an anachronism in the information age. "We have layered headquarters that complicate rather than facilitate military operations," he said, adding that the role of the command was "radically different than it was in the Korean War when it served as a war-fighting headquarters." These days, he continued, it acts as a combat support command rather than controlling units engaged in actual fighting. The U.S. commander linked the change to modernization efforts rather than to the proposed handover of wartime operational control of Korean troops to Seoul. [Sovereignty]
Eighth US Army to Be Disbanded
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
Gen. B. B. Bell, commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), listens to questions from journalists during a press conference at the Eighth U.S. Army base in Yongsan, central Seoul, Friday. /Yonhap The top U.S. military officer in South Korea yesterday hinted that the Eighth U.S. Army (EUSA) in charge of U.S. ground troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula is likely to be deactivated as part of the U.S. military's global troop realignment scheme. Gen. B. B. Bell, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), also reaffirmed that 2009 is an appropriate time for the transition of operational control of Korean forces during wartime from the U.S. military to the South. He made it clear that the United States will keep providing overwhelming ``bridging capability,'' including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets, to South Korea if needed even after Seoul exercises independent wartime command.
War Victims Monument Mired in Debate
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter U.S. funding to commemorate victims of the No Gun Ri shooting accident during the 1950-53 Korean War will be withdrawn this week as Washington and the victims' families in South Korea are still at odds over key issues, such as to whom a monument will pay tribute, a Seoul official said on Wednesday.
U.S. U-Turn on N.Korean Threat Raises Eyebrows
The U.S. appraisal of how much of a military threat North Korea poses to South Korea has changed drastically between now and before South Korea moved to take over sole operational control of its troops in wartime. "I don't see them, frankly, as an immediate military threat to South Korea," U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, in a remark AP said was rare in its "skeptical assessment of the North's overall military power." Before the U.S. said 2009 was its ideal target year for returning wartime control to the South, Washington's assessment of the military threat from North Korea was considerably high. In a meeting of the U.S. Senate's Armed Services Committee last month, the U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Burwell Bell said despite aging equipment, 70 percent of North Korea's 1.2 million active troops are in forward deployment in the south of Pyongyang and Wonsan, and their scope was immensely larger than the South's and posed "a continuing immediate threat." Bell said the North could employ around 250 long-range artillery guns that can reach Seoul in a sudden invasion of the South, some 1,600 aircraft, 700 ships and one of the world's strongest submarine fleets. Speaking at an Armed Services Committee hearing last October, Bell said North Korea's ballistic missile development posed a "huge threat" to both the U.S. and South Korea. So just why is there a night-and-day difference in the U.S.'s assessment now? It is widely thought that Rumsfeld's comment were to open a door for the possibility of further troop withdrawals from the peninsula. The USFK has decided to reduce the number of troops to 25,000 by 2008, but now there may be further cuts. Dr. Jonathan Pollack of the Naval War College told Radio Free Asia the statements were likely related to the idea of further reducing troops on the peninsula and redeploying them. The Korean government, however, reaffirms that there will be no additional cuts in U.S. troop numbers even after Korea regains sole troop control. (englishnews@chosun.com ) [Disclosure] [Military balance] [Threat]

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SEPTEMBER 2006

U.S. aide irked at nationalism in control issue
September 29, 2006 ? A senior U.S. Defense Department official criticized the Roh administration Wednesday for making transfer of wartime command an issue of national sovereignty. Richard P. Lawless, the Pentagon's deputy undersecretary for Asia-Pacific affairs, also defended the transfer as a natural step in the evolution of the U.S.-Korea alliance, but asked Korea to pay more to support the U.S. troops here. At a hearing before the U.S. House International Relations Committee, Mr. Lawless repeated U.S. complaints about the "sovereignty versus alliance" debate in Seoul, denying that there was any merit in concerns that the transfer could presage a weakening of the U.S. commitment to Korea's defense. [Sovereignty] [Tribute] [Execptionalism] [Doubler standards]

Roh: North knew about 'approach' beforehand
September 29, 2006 ? President Roh Moo-hyun said yesterday that Seoul had already talked to Pyongyang about the so-called "common and broad approach" to the deadlocked six-party talks before his Sept. 14 summit with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington. "South Korea proposed the new common and broad approach to North Korea long before my trip to the U.S. earlier this month. North Korea has yet to respond fully, but has not shown any negative attitude toward it," the president said during a special interview with local broadcaster MBC-TV, which aired last night. "I don't remember the exact timing for the [secret] contact with North Korea, but my chief secretary [of security] Song Min-soon contacted the North regarding the new proposal." Last night, the president defined the phrase as being an "issue of procedural approach" and a new starting point linked to the Sept. 19, 2005 agreement on North Korea's nuclear program, under which the participants of the six-party talks produced a joint statement on North Korea's nuclear dismantlement in return for security guarantees and economic benefits. Yet Mr. Roh did not offer details of the "approach." [Dilemma] [In denial]

"Annual Report on International Religious Freedom" of U.S. State Department Upbraided
Pyongyang, September 27 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun Wednesday lashes out at the "annual report on international religious freedom" issued by the U.S. State Department recently. It is the height of folly and effrontery to take issue with other countries over the "religious issue", itself having serious religious problems, declares the analyst. Recalling that the U.S., after the "Sept. 11 incident", has murdered many Muslims in cold blood in its mainland, Afghanistan and Iraq and made no bones about insulting and overriding Islam and Islamic culture, the analyst goes on:

Zaytun Unit Likely to Extend Stay in Iraq
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The fate of South Korean forces in Iraq is once again at the center of public debate three months before the troop deployment expires. The Seoul government has remained undecided whether to extend the troop deployment in Iraq for one more year but progressive civic groups have been calling for Korean soldiers to be pulled out of Iraq.

Roh Devising Magic Formula to End Nuclear Standoff
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter President Roh Moo-hyun said the government will unveil a proposal acceptable both to North Korea and the United States in a move to end the nuclear standoff peacefully. He was not specific on the proposal which he said was already offered to North Korea, adding that Pyongyang has not shown any clear opposition so far. {Dilemma] [In denial]

Seoul Moves to Send Troops to Lebanon
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The government plans to send a survey team to Lebanon next month before deciding whether to dispatch troops to U.N. peacekeeping forces to be stationed there, officials at the Defense Ministry said yesterday.

"Transfer of Right to Command Wartime Operations" Unmasked
Pyongyang, September 26 (KCNA) -- The reckless racket of the U.S. and the south Korean war-like forces under the cloak of "transfer of the right to command the wartime operations" is a serious military provocation against the DPRK and intolerable mockery of all the Koreans aspiring after peace and stability in this land, says Rodong Sinmun Tuesday. Commenting on the mad-cap maneuvers staged by the U.S. and the south Korean warhawks for a war of aggression against the DPRK and arms buildup stepped up by them under the veil of the transfer, the analyst says:

War Victims Monument Mired in Debate
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter U.S. funding to commemorate victims of the No Gun Ri shooting accident during the 1950-53 Korean War will be withdrawn this week as Washington and the victims' families in South Korea are still at odds over key issues, such as to whom a monument will pay tribute, a Seoul official said on Wednesday. The five-year term for the United States to spend the $4-million budget _ $1.19 million for the monument and $2.8 million for a scholarship, will expire on Saturday, Lee Kyu-hyung, vice minister of foreign affairs and trade, confirmed at a weekly press briefing in Seoul. ``Washington has notified us of the expiration date,'' Lee said. ``We are trying to extend the period as the United States and the victims' family members have not yet finished negotiations.''
The U.S. administration wanted to build the monument to pay tribute to all innocent civilians hurt or killed by American soldiers during the war. But victims' family members wanted it to be built only for those killed at No Gun Ri and to clearly indicate who opened fire. The South Koreans also hoped to get compensation from the United States, but Washington consistently said there would be no compensation to the victims because it has no precedence of providing financial amends for what happened during wartime in foreign countries. [Korean War events] [Nogunri]

NATO 'Takes Dim View of Separate Korean Command'
NATO believes separate operations by South Korea and the U.S. would be ineffective in case of a war on the Korean Peninsula, the former Grand National Party chairwoman Park Geun-hye said Wednesday. Speaking during a Europe trip, she reiterated it would not be too late to discuss the transfer of wartime operational control of Korean troops to Seoul after the North Korean nuclear problem is resolved. At the press conference in Berlin, Park revealed some of the conversations she had with NATO officials including Jamie Patrick Shea, the director for policy planning. Park said the officials regard Korea-U.S Combined Forces Command as an effective model and questioned the efficacy of independent operations by the two countries in a war on the Korean Peninsula once the CFC is dissolved. Park quoted NATO officials as saying it would also be dangerous if the two countries suddenly have to work together in wartime while going their own way at peacetime, citing the example of joint operations between the U.S. and France in Luxemburg during World War II, which caused huge casualties due to the lack of communication between the two armies. [Sovereignty]

Has Bush Changed His Mind on North Korea?
[Brief on Northeast Asia] Or is the latest conciliatory approach election year desparation?
Kim Tae Kyung (internews) javascript:memo_send('at_code=362934')javascript:memo_send('at_code=362934') Email Article Print Article
Published 2006-09-27 16:49 (KST)
The attitude of the U.S. towards North Korea became much softer recently. The U.S. signaled a flexible approach on the bilateral talks between the two countries, which it strongly opposed before. Interestingly, this change appeared in the midst of discussions over the substance of the "joint comprehensive approach" that resulted from the summit between South Korea and the U.S. on Sept. 14. Christopher Hill, the chief envoy of the U.S. to the six party talks and the assistant secretary of the Department of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, said during his interview with South Korea's Yonhap News Agency on Sept. 22 in New York that the U.S. would be willing to discuss the financial sanctions against North Korea if the North showed its willingness to return to the six-party talks.

U.S. envoy urges unity on transfer
September 27, 2006 ? U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow asked Koreans not to make the transfer of wartime operational control a cause for political division in Korea. Mr. Vershbow was speaking to the Uri Party's Institute for Open Policy in Yeouido, Seoul, yesterday. Referring to the military acronym for operational control, the U.S. envoy said, "I know that the transfer of opcon has triggered an enormous political debate here in Korea, but I sincerely wish that this debate not become politically divisive." He spoke soothingly of Korea's military capabilities and said the transfer would make the U.S.-Korean alliance more balanced. "Our two leaders agreed that we ought to let our military experts work on this issue to determine both the road map for transfer of opcon and the appropriate timetable, without politicizing the issue," he concluded.

North Korea seeks economic concessions in direct talks with US, American analyst says
The Associated Press Published: September 26, 2006
WASHINGTON North Korea wants direct talks with the United States in hopes of winning support for joining the World Bank and obtaining additional evidence that Washington is not seeking to get rid of Kim Jong Il's government, an American analyst said Tuesday.
The talks would be part of a process leading to a resumption of six-party nuclear discussions, which have not been held in 10 months, said Selig Harrison, director of the Asia program at the Washington-based Center for International Policy. Harrison returned in recent days from North Korea, where he held marathon discussions with the country's vice foreign minister and also met with other senior officials. [Media] [Sanctions] [Finance]

Defense Ministry: If war occurs, U.S. will deploy 690,000 troops
September 26, 2006 ? Citing a report by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, the Defense Ministry said over the weekend that U.S. forces deployed to the Korean Peninsula in case of war would be worth $250 billion, the amount of money Seoul would have to pay to have a similar combat ability. Under current security arrangements, such a U.S. force would consist largely of 690,000 ground troops, with support from 2,000 air assets, such as fighter planes. The ministry used the institute's estimates in its report published on Sunday to explain the rationale behind Seoul's bid to take over wartime control of its troops. The total value of the U.S. military presence here was estimated at $20 billion. [In denial] [Sovereignty] [US military]

S. Korea, US to Finalize Program on New Alliance
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea and the United States will hold a new round of military talks in Washington, D.C. from Sept. 27-28 to finalize their program to shape a new alliance, the Defense Ministry said Monday.
At the center of the discussion will be the roadmap for the transfer of wartime operational control, according to informed officials.

"Transfer of Right to Command Wartime Operations" Termed Move for New War
Pyongyang, September 22 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Korean National Peace Committee in a statement Friday termed the "transfer of the right to command wartime operations" much touted by the U.S. and the south Korean military authorities moves to round off the preparations for the second Korean war and ignite it any moment according to the U.S. new anti-north war strategy. Recalling that the commander of the U.S. forces in south Korea blustered they would stage joint military exercises in keeping with the "transfer of the right to command wartime operations" separately from "Ulji Focus Lens" and "RSOI," the statement noted that the U.S. is contemplating using the south Korean army as a shock brigade for a war against the north and bullet shields for the U.S. troops under the signboard of transferring the above-said right. It went on: It is meaningless to talk about the "transfer of the right to command wartime operations" as long as the U.S. military presence and domination over south Korea go on. It is, therefore, no more than a third-rate drama. [Sovereignty]

Bush Invited to Musical on North's Political Prisoners
By Kim Sue-young Staff Reporter
U.S. President George W. Bush has been invited to a musical ``Yoduk Story,'' which depicts the real-life experience of thousands of political prisoners in a North Korean concentration camp, promoters said yesterday. [Manipulation]

U.S. warns of pullout of its warplanes here
September 23, 2006 ? U.S. aircraft in Korea will be pulled out if the U.S. Air Force does not receive permission to use a bombing range within a month, Lieutenant General Garry R. Trexler, the deputy commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said on Thursday. He was speaking in Suwon, Gyeonggi province, at a forum hosted by a group of current and retired provincial government officials. While Washington has been raising the matter of training areas for some time with Seoul, the latest public urging was significantly stronger in tone.

US Analyst Visits Complex in North Korea
A U.S. analyst of South Korean and U.S. policies on North Korea made a one-day trip to the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea yesterday, the Yonhap News Agency reported. During the trip, Stephen Costello, the former executive director of a peace foundation started by South Korea's former President Kim Dae-jung, visited at least two South Korean factories in the inter-Korean industrial complex, the report said, quoting Unification Ministry officials. The visit was the first by an American since Pyongyang launched seven missiles on July 5, it said.

Seoul, Washington Discuss Visa Waiver for S. Koreans
Senior consular officials from South Korea and the United Sates met in Seoul again yesterday to discuss ways of enabling South Korea to benefit from the U.S. visa waiver program. The one-day meeting, the eighth of its kind, was aimed at discussing a variety of measures for Seoul to meet the requirements needed to join the program, including a reduction in the visa refusal rate, introduction of electronic passports and the strengthening of judicial cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a press release. The United States currently grants the visa waiver status to citizens of 27 countries, allowing them to enter the United States without visas and stay for up to 90 days.

Korea Unsure Whether to Keep Troops in Iraq
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter South Korea's rehabilitation forces in Iraq today mark the second anniversary of their presence in the war-devastated Middle Eastern country. But the troops are once again at the center of a controversy _ an extended mission or return?

'US Sanctions Don't Affect North's Insurance Payment'
By Kim Sue-young Staff Reporter North Korea's claim against insurance companies over some recent massive accidents is a separate issue from U.S. financial sanctions, an American researcher said on Wednesday. The North's claim is not related to its missile exports, so it is not in conflict with the financial regulations, Marcus Noland, a senior researcher of the Institute for International Economics, said in an interview with the Radio Free Asia (RFA). The institute is a private, nonprofit research group for the study of international economic policies.
``The North can receive an insurance payment because the contract is legally made and it is damaged by fatal accidents,'' Noland said. ``For those reasons, the United States cannot obstruct a payment receipt.'' In addition, North Korea claimed damages against British and Russian companies, not those in the United States, he said. As for the insurance matter, Molly Millerwise, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Treasury, said, ``Financial sanctions are up to the two nations' authorities because the insurance companies for which the North claimed are based in the two nations.'' North Korea allegedly claimed millions of dollars in respect of four accidents, including the sinking of a passenger ship and a train collision _ both occurred last April. The North had reportedly received some $5 million per year from Western insurance companies for damaged harvests from 1988 to 1993. [Sanctions] [Finance]

US Air Force Sends Ultimatum on Bombing Range
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The chief of the U.S. Air Force in South Korea has emphasized the need to build an electronic weapons scoring system for U.S. aircrew's bombing exercises on Chikdo range in a month. [Friction]

U.S. Termed Harasser of Global Peace
Pyongyang, September 20 (KCNA) -- The United States is a harasser of global peace because its "war on terrorism" has brought to the international community nothing but terror, retaliation, massacre, disaster, uneasiness and horror. Rodong Sinmun Wednesday observes this in a signed commentary. It goes on: Five years have passed since the Bush administration declared "war on terrorism" in the wake of "September 11 incident." The U.S. ruling quarters claim that the "anti-terrorism war" is for the sake of the global peace and security but it is, in essence, aimed to achieve their aggressive purpose and the ambition for world domination.

U.S. 'Will not Renegotiate Troop Control Turnover'
A U.S. defense department official said Tuesday the Security Consultative Meeting in Washington next month will decide the definitive timetable for a handover of wartime operational control of Korean troops to Seoul. The official said dialogue about the handover, which is proceeding in an equivocal and imprecise manner, is not what the Korean people would want. Korea wants to regain troop control in 2012, while the U.S. is hoping for a 2009 turnover. The official said the U.S. first became aware of Korea's 2012 target date after reading about it in a report in the Korean press in June, and received a formal notification in July. Asked if the timeframe is perhaps too hasty, the official said since the pledge from Korea to take over its own defense was borne out of national sentiment, dragging the issue out over a long period of time would only cause unnecessary tension in relations between the two countries. [Sovereignty] [US dominance]

New sanctions target North Korea
North Korea's missile tests led to angry denunciations in Asia Japan and Australia have announced new financial sanctions against North Korea, stepping up pressure on the secretive state over missile tests. The sanctions will freeze the transfer of money to North Korea by groups suspected of having links to its nuclear or missile programmes. The move, which follows similar action by the US, comes after Pyongyang launched several missiles in July. South Korea has urged other countries not to push the North into a corner. [Friction]

Seoul and Washington at odds over North Korea
Washington yesterday reaffirmed its commitment to increase sanctions against North Korea, despite Seoul's request for a postponement. South Korea reportedly asked Washington to defer its plans to increase sanctions against Pyongyang over fears the move would escalate tension and reduce the prospects of reopening the deadlocked six-party talks. According to a high-ranking government official in Washington, President Roh Moo-hyun expressed this request during a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson last week. He asked that Washington to complete its investigation of a Macau bank as soon as possible. Washington's year-long probe into Banco Delta Asia for allegedly helping North Korea's illicit financial activities has been cited by the North as the main reason for its boycott of the six-party talks since last November. "The South Korean government believes that such sanctions could make it impossible for the six-party talks to resume, and therefore asked the Bush administration to suspend them," the source was quoted as saying. But Washington remained resolute to adding even more sanctions. [Friction] [Dilemma][Friction]

Islamist plots here outlined by spy agency
September 19, 2006 ? Since 2002, the National Intelligence Service has investigated 107 suspects in connection with six cases involving Middle East terror organizations, the agency said in a report to a legislator made public yesterday. The intelligence service, according to Representative Won Hye-young of the Uri Party, said South Korea has not escaped involvement with terror attempts by radical Islamist groups. [Dilemma]

Uri cites softer position by U.S. on North Korea
September 19, 2006 ? Alexander Vershbow, the U.S. ambassador to Seoul, was quoted yesterday as saying the U.S. government would be willing to talk directly to North Korea if Pyongyang said conclusively that it was willing to return to the six-party nuclear talks. Mr. Vershbow met the Uri Party chairman, Kim Geun-tae, yesterday; Woo Sang-ho, Uri's spokesman, briefed the press on the talks. The U.S. Embassy said the conversation was private and declined comment. [In denial] [Bilateral]

Trip wire' comments by Roh cause a debate
September 19, 2006 ? Conservatives are angry that President Roh Moo-hyun suggested to American lawmakers that they want U.S. army members stationed on the border to serve as a "trip wire" to an assault by North Korea. President Roh made the comments last week to members of the U.S. House of Representatives during his trip there last week. "Those who oppose the turnover of wartime operational control claim that the U.S. Army's second division should be placed on the Demilitarized Zone as a trip wire," Mr. Roh said, according to his spokesman, Yoon Tae-young. "However, I don't think it is right to use the army of an ally like that." [Pro-Americanism]

US Envoy's Wife Violated Work Law
By Park-Song-wu, Yoon Won-sup and Charles D. Sherman Staff Reporters
Lisa Vershbow, a costume jewelry maker and the wife of U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow, arrived in Seoul last year, bringing with her many pieces of her work. In a recreation room near the embassy residence's pool behind Toksu Palace, she soon set up a workshop, complete with a cozy fireplace. At diplomatic receptions she handed out attractive parchment name cards, identifying herself as a working jewelry designer. Then in June, Mrs. Vershbow entered into an arrangement with the Sun Gallery in the fashionable art district of Insa-dong. Over a two-week period, the gallery sold 20 million won ($20,000) of Mrs. Vershbow's aluminum and plastic ornaments without apparent concern that while the ambassador's wife had a workshop, she had no work permit in Korea. The gallery, after deducting value-added taxes, split the revenue with Mrs. Vershbow. The sales raise the question of what difference there is between Mrs. Vershbow and anyone else who comes to Korea and earns money without the government's authorization? [Double standards]

Bilateral Talks Possible, Says Vershbow
By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter Kim Geun-tae, center, chairman of the governing Uri Party, holds hands with ambassadors of four major nations during a luncheon in Yoido, Monday. They are, from left, Japanese Ambassador Shotaro Oshima, Chinese Ambassador Ning Fukui, Russian Ambassador Glev Ivashentsov and U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow. / Korea Times U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Alexander Vershbow said yesterday it would be possible to hold a meeting between the United States and North Korea if the communist state decides to return to the stalled six-party talks, an official of the governing Uri Party said. [In denial] [Transfer]

The President Shames Koreans in the U.S.
President Roh Moo-hyun told U.S. Congress leaders in Washington last week the people who oppose Korea's sole exercise of operational control of its forces are the very ones who asserted in the past that the U.S. Second Infantry Division must be deployed as a "trip-wire" along the armistice line. But he said it was wrong to employ the troops of a friendly country as a trip-wire. Koreans who rely on the U.S. too much by making that assertion by reaction created the forces who oppose the U.S., he claimed. And he pleaded with his audience to understand Korea's attempt to "withdraw" operational troop control as a process "of overcoming such things." Difficult though it may be to believe, that is what our president said abroad; Cheong Wa Dae says so. [Pro-Americanism]

Seoul Wants Flexible Timetable on Command Transfer
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The government plans to propose to the United States the idea of making the target year for the transfer of wartime operational control of South Korean troops flexible based on the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, a spokesman of the Defense Ministry said yesterday. Seoul will deliver the idea to the United States at the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) next month in Washington D.C., in hopes of it being stipulated in a roadmap for the wartime control transfer, Col. Kang Yong-hee of the ministry's public affairs office told reporters. [Sovereignty]

U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Two N.Korean Firms
The U.S. State Department has imposed sanctions on seven firms including two from North Korea for allegedly providing Iran with material and equipment that could be used to develop weapons of mass destruction or missiles systems. The move hardens suspicions that North Korea and Iran secretly cooperated to develop WMD. [Double standards]

Overachiever to Himself, Underachiever to Most
President Roh Moo-hyun told U.S. opinion leaders on Saturday after his summit with his American counterpart George W. Bush, "Although many are concerned about Korea-U.S. relations, my visit to the U.S. and the summit confirmed that the two countries are friendly and that their friendship will develop in the future." Having agreed with the U.S. that Korea will take over wartime operational control of its forces, as he wished, he will have meant that the country will be able to achieve what he has touted as "cooperative self-defense" and "healthy" Korea-U.S. relations. The president's vision of the development of Korea-U.S. relations is rather different from what most Koreans are hoping for, but he pushed through with his plans regardless. Some 66.3 percent here oppose our sole exercise of operational control of our troops because it imperils our security and is premature, while 29.4 percent approve it because it goes to our sovereignty and because we are capable of self-defense [Sovereignty] [Pro-Americanism]

EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS
Christopher R. Hill, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
No other part of the globe holds greater potential benefits and challenges for the United States than East Asia. The region is home to some of our most stalwart security and trade partners, to an established power—Japan—and a rising power—China—and to a political and economic dynamism that is the envy of other regions. The region accounts for nearly a third of the Earth's population; a quarter of global GDP; a disproportionate share of global growth; and 26 percent of our exports, including about 37 percent of our agricultural exports—in all, some $810 billion in two-way trade with the United States. In every regard—geopolitically, militarily, diplomatically, economically, and commercially—East Asia is vital to the national security interests of the United States. At their core, the United States' long-term, strategic foreign policy priorities are very simple. We want to see a world that is democratic, prosperous, stable, secure, and at peace. Our policies toward the East Asia-Pacific region are based on these global objectives, and we are engaged extensively throughout the region to advance these fundamental goals.

Vow to Restart Korea Atom Talks
By BRIAN KNOWLTON International Herald Tribune Published: September 15, 2006 WASHINGTON The United States and South Korea recommitted themselves Thursday to restarting the stalled six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear program, but a meeting between the American and South Korean presidents apparently produced little else.
President George W. Bush, taking questions alongside President Roh Moo Hyun, said that the North should understand that there is still "clearly a better way forward" if it were to end a nuclear program that analysts say has produced six to eight nuclear weapons. Added Roh, "We are working very hard on restarting the six-party talks." He told a reporter it was premature to suggest the talks might fail. Bush said that the refusal of the North's leader, Kim Jong Il, to cooperate had "really strengthened an alliance of five nations who are determined to solve this issue peacefully but recognize a threat" from the North Korean program. Bush's talk of a strengthened alliance aside, his relationship with Roh long ago turned frosty. [Friction]

S. Korea Seeks US Firing Site

Challenge to ROK-US Alliance
[Desk column]

Increasing Potential for North's Nuclear Test

Global Action for Putting End to U.S. Interference in Internal Affairs of Other Countries Called for
Pyongyang, August 20 (KCNA) -- The United States is disclosing its ugly colors as the chieftain of aggression and interference in the internal affairs of other countries. Rodong Sinmun today observes in a signed article in this regard: The U.S. regards its interference in the internal affairs of other countries as an important lever for establishing its order for the world domination. It forces other countries to accept freedom and democracy of American style and puts political and economic pressure upon those countries failing to comply with its demand or unhesitatingly resorts to even military aggression against them.

ROK-US Joint Drill Kicks Off
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
South Korea and the United States Monday kicked off their annual joint military exercise amid heightened tension over North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons programs. The annual training exercise, dubbed Ulchi Focus Lens (UFL), is to continue through Sept. 1. This year's exercise will involve about 8,000 American troops, including 3,000 from U.S. military bases in Guam, Japan and other areas, according to the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK). An unspecified number of South Korean soldiers are also to participate in the 12-day joint drill. The drill, started in 1975, is a simulation-driven, command post exercise designed to train, evaluate and improve joint operations in the case of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula. [Joint US military]

Korea Mulls Troop Dispatch to Lebanon
SEOUL (Yonhap) _ South Korea is considering contributing troops to the proposed United Nations peacekeeping force for southern Lebanon, government officials said Sunday. "South Korea is among the U.N. member countries asked to dispatch peacekeeping troops to Lebanon," an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. "Related ministries are in consultations on the issue."

Unionists Oppose Korea-US Military Exercise
The country's largest public servants' union has denounced an annual joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States, which starts today and continues through Sept. 1. In a statement, the Korean Government Employees' Union (KGEU) urged the government to abolish the joint military drills, called the Ulchi Exercises launched about 40 years ago, claiming that they are straining the relationship between South and North Korea, both at the government and civilian levels. KEGU, an outlawed organization with more than 140,000 members, is the larger of Korea's public servants' unions, the other being the Confederation of Government Employees' Unions (CGEU) with about 70,000 members. [Human rights] [Double standards] [Joint US military]

Two Korea's Misreading International Realities
U.S. President George W. Bush said Friday, "If North Korea were to conduct a test, it's just a constant reminder that North Korea poses a threat." The U.S. broadcaster ABC earlier quoted State and Defense Department officials as saying North Korea seems to be preparing a nuclear test in Gilju, North Hamgyeong Province. If the North goes through with the test, the objective must be to goad the U.S. into coming to bilateral negotiations. Since its declaration in February last year that it is a nuclear power and its missile tests last month proved fruitless, the North is now monkeying around with a more powerful card. [Media] [Spin] [Bilateral]

Papers describe mixed signals given to U.S.
Notes to embassy 2 years ago said Seoul agreed to troop 'flexibility'
February 03, 2006 ? The Foreign Ministry exchanged diplomatic notes with the U.S. government supporting the deployment of U.S. troops here to regional hot spots, a lawmaker said yesterday, seemingly without the knowledge of the National Security Council or the Blue House. Choi Jae-chun, an Uri Party legislator, showed reporters what he described as classified documents, apparently from the National Security Council. They contained a complaint from the Blue House information office about confusion in the administration's stance on "strategic flexibility," the potential use of U.S. troops here in other parts of the region. It said, "Because of the delivery of our proposal note, the United States thought it had an understanding that there was an agreement in place concerning strategic flexibility but they are now confused. President Roh made a speech in March at the Air Force Academy that seemed to contradict the note." In that March 2005 speech, Mr. Roh had vowed that Korea would not get entangled in regional conflicts against its will. [Friction] [Dissension] [Pro-Americanism][Sovereignty]

U.S. trade hearing ends in uproar
February 03, 2006 ? A public hearing on the proposed South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement was interrupted and eventually cancelled yesterday because of rowdy protests by farming groups. At the hearing, conducted by the Foreign Ministry yesterday morning at COEX in southern Seoul, about 100 protesters demanded the cancellation of negotiations on the pact. The meeting had proceeded through a review of trade relations between the United States and Korea, and was scheduled to move on to a presentation on the free-trade proposal and a discussion period when the protesters began to demonstrate. [Friction]

Brass parade
February 03, 2006 ? General Peter Pace (right), chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, with General Lee Sang-hee, chairman of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a ceremony at the Defense Ministry yesterday. The U.S general visited the ministry, met a front-line Korean artillery unit and visited Panmunjeom. He will attend a change of command ceremony today at U.S. Forces Korea. [YONHAP] [Photo]
American-style "Globalization" Bound to Go Bust = Commentary on International Situation
Pyongyang, February 2 (KCNA) -- As was known already, the World Social Forum denouncing the U.S. "neo-liberalist" policy was held in Caracas from Jan. 24 to 29. The forum discussed the construction of "socialism in the 21st century" and the ways of countering the U.S. strategy of "globalization" for aggression and plunder. A resolution calling on the international community to conduct a widespread movement against American-style "globalization" was adopted there. During the forum tens of thousands of delegates of political parties and public organizations from different countries made an international march in Caracas under the slogan of "Against War, Imperialism and Neo-Liberalism."
'Roh Uninformed of Diplomatic Exchange'
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The foreign ministry did not report to President Roh Moo-hyun on its exchange with the United States in 2003 of a diplomatic document allegedly supporting Washington's request for ``strategic flexibility'' of its forces in South Korea, a lawmaker said in Seoul Thursday. But the presidential office flatly denied the lawmaker's argument, saying that Chong Wa Dae and the ministry have been in close consultations on the issue. Exposing this allegation now is a tactic considered to be related to an upcoming confirmation hearing on Lee Jong-seok, who was recently nominated as the new unification minister. Lee, who worked as deputy chief of the presidential National Security Council (NSC), has been deeply involved in forming the strategies on the South Korea-U.S. alliance. [Friction] [Dissension] [Pro-Americanism]
Roh's Security Priorities Well Balanced: US Expert
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter President Roh Moo-hyun has cleverly maintained the balance between South Korea's two core national priorities _ promoting reconciliation with North Korea and reshaping its alliance with the United States, a prominent foreign expert said. Selig S. Harrison, Asia program director at the Center for International Policy in the United States and author of the famous book ``Korean Endgame,'' gave relatively high scores to Roh's foreign and security policies for the first three years of his five-year tenure. In carrying out his election campaign pledge to reshape the South Korea-U.S. alliance, he has ``skillfully balanced'' conflicting national priorities, the Korea specialist said in an article in Korea Policy Review, a local English-language monthly.
University Trains Korea Experts for Pentagon
By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter Sponsored by the U.S. government, eleven American students are taking a program at Korea University to become Korea experts. The Korean Language and Culture Center at the university in Seoul has operated the program to nurture Korea specialists in line with the National Flagship Language Initiative (NFLI) launched by the U.S. Department of Defense in late 2004. The initiative was designed to nurture competent professionals and linguistically proficient experts to understand information from foreign sources and to interact with foreign nationals in virtually every country of the world for U.S. national security.
Summit meeting brings no concrete agreements
'Common and broad approach' sought on North
September 16, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? Two presidents whose relations have been strained came face-to-face yesterday in Washington, but their summit meeting brought only a vague promise to take a "common and broad approach" toward getting North Korea to return to the six-party talks over its nuclear weapons. South Korean officials yesterday said the promise means that there will be many rounds of multilateral talks ? as well as possible contact between the United States and North Korea. Sources in Washington were skeptical. A Department of State official said he does not understand what a "common and broad approach" means, as the Department of State has not used the term yet. All discussions, now, are "at the working level," President Roh Moo-hyun told the media yesterday, after meeting with President George W. Bush. He said negotiations were "very complex," making him hesitant to offer more detailed answers. The relations between the two presidents have diverged, particularly because of their different approaches toward North Korea. Mr. Bush has pushed hard for sanctions and financial pressure against the communist regime, while Mr. Roh has sought a softer approach. [Friction]
U.S. and S. Korea to Push To Restart Nuclear Talks
Bush, Roh Play Down Differences on N. Korea By Peter Baker Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, September 15, 2006; Page A04
President Bush and South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun agreed yesterday to work together to restart stalled six-party nuclear talks with North Korea, but they skated over their deep differences in how to deal with the isolated Stalinist government in Pyongyang. Emerging from an Oval Office meeting, Bush stressed the potential benefits to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il if he returns to the negotiating table and ultimately gives up his nuclear weapons. Bush avoided the sort of hard-edged tone that in the past has irritated the South Koreans, who want to take a less confrontational approach.
"First and foremost," Bush said, "the incentive is for Kim Jong Il to understand there is a better way to improve the lives of his people than being isolated -- that stability in the region is in his interests." But Bush and Roh made no concrete progress on the North Korean stalemate, U.S. officials said, nor did they reach a breakthrough on various other issues that divide them.
They have also been discussing a plan for U.S. commanders to relinquish operational command of South Korean troops during wartime. [Friction] [Sovereignty]
At the summit, a let-down
[EDITORIALS The results of the summit between President Roh Moo-hyun and President George W. Bush are disappointing. Nothing concrete was done in regard to important and pending issues, such as North Korea's nuclear development or South Korea's exclusive exercise of wartime operational command. North Korea's nuclear development has become so urgent that reports are even suggesting the country might soon test a bomb, but the issue was dressed up in diplomatic rhetoric. In regard to wartime operational command, both presidents agreed on Korea having exclusive control and decided to decide the timeline at the Security Consultative Meeting, scheduled for October. The future of the Korea-U.S. alliance, our national security and economy do not seem bright. [Sovereignty]
Bush-Roh summit an opportunity for alliance
[Column] By Jack Pritchard
South Korean President Roh-Moo-hyun will meet President George W. Bush September 14 in Washington, D.C. It is an excellent opportunity for presidents to do what they do best: set the course for the future of the alliance for years to come.
The dangers of the wartime control debate
A stronger voice from conservative forces ahead of elections
• Conservatives collect signatures against regaining wartime operational control [Column] Koh Won, Senior Researcher, Seoul National University’s Institute of Korean Political Studies The issue of handing over of wartime command of the Korean military is a very important one for the security and national interest of Korea, the last remaining island of the Cold War and one of the world’s only remaining divided nations. That is why there obviously needs to be intense debate about the subject. [Sovereignty]
Summit meeting brings no concrete agreements
'Common and broad approach' sought on North
September 16, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? Two presidents whose relations have been strained came face-to-face yesterday in Washington, but their summit meeting brought only a vague promise to take a "common and broad approach" toward getting North Korea to return to the six-party talks over its nuclear weapons. South Korean officials yesterday said the promise means that there will be many rounds of multilateral talks ? as well as possible contact between the United States and North Korea. Sources in Washington were skeptical. A Department of State official said he does not understand what a "common and broad approach" means, as the Department of State has not used the term yet. All discussions, now, are "at the working level," President Roh Moo-hyun told the media yesterday, after meeting with President George W. Bush. He said negotiations were "very complex," making him hesitant to offer more detailed answers
A key Blue House official said the outline of the discussions over the six-party talks would take place gradually. Another source who said the approach involves having countries present possible incentives to North Korea, such as a lightwater nuclear reactor and the lifting of financial sanctions, in return for Pyongyang's denuclearization. Seoul hopes the term "common and broad approach" would be face-saving for every party involved. According to sources here, North Korea told China that it might be interested in such an approach. [Friction] [In denial]
Inchon Landing Commemorated Amid Changing ROK-US Relations
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The landmark amphibious landing operation at Inchon by American forces under Gen. Douglas MacArthur on Sept. 15, 1950, not only turned the tide of battle in the early stages of the Korean War but also laid the foundation for the South Korea-U.S. alliance. Fifty-six years later, the half-century alliance is undergoing a major transformation amid growing anti-U.S. sentiment in South Korea and young people's changing views on the United States and North Korea.
Roh, US Business Leaders Positive on FTA
By Ryu Jin Korea Times Correspondent WASHINGTON _ President Roh Moo-hyun has displayed his determination to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the United States, officials accompanying Roh said. Meeting U.S. business leaders over lunch here on Wednesday, Roh asked for their support of South Korea's efforts to get a U.S. visa waiver program, the officials told reporters.
Kim Dae-jung Hits US Hawks on Nuke Crisis
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Former President Kim Dae-jung has expressed strong opposition to Washington's move to impose additional sanctions on North Korea, accusing hawkish members of the U.S. government of disrupting the peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear impasse. In an interview with Le Monde Diplomatique, a French current affairs magazine published in Seoul, Kim reiterated that the United States should engage the communist state, dropping its hard-line policy toward Pyongyang. He urged the U.S. administration to ``respect'' ways that Seoul deals with the North. The former president's remarks came as the White House is said to be considering additional economic sanctions on North Korea when the U.N. General Assembly reconvenes this month because of Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. ``North Korea is eager to talk with the United States. But the `neocons' of the Bush administration are pushing the North into a corner similar to the situation in Israel where a barrier has been constructed against the Palestinians,'' Kim said in the magazine's inaugural issue published in Korean. [Bilateral] [Friction] [China confrontation]
U.S. Commits Over 180 Cases of Aerial Espionage against DPRK
The U.S. committed more than 180 cases of aerial espionage against the DPRK by mobilizing strategic and tactical reconnaissance planes with various missions in August, the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency reported on August 31 quoting a military source as saying. U-2s took off U.S. air force bases in South Korea almost every day and made shuttle flights eastward and westward in the sky above the areas along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) for hours to photograph the depth of North Korea and conduct electronic reconnaissance of it. [Espionage]
Troop Control: What Remains to Be Seen and Done
The agreement between President Roh Moo-hyun and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush that Korea will exercise sole wartime control of its troops has naturally drawn the most comment here. The two countries are to discuss concrete measures including the timetable to put the agreement into practice at the annual Security Consultative Meeting in Washington next month. ? When? Controversy over when to exercise sole operational control will if anything increase after the summit. The government favors 2012 and the Pentagon 2009. Many Koreans want an even later date
Roh applauds alliance before U.S. audiences
September 15, 2006 ? WASHINGTON - President Roh Moo-hyun, abandoning rhetoric about self-reliance and "talking back" to the United States, has so far portrayed himself as the head cheerleader for the half-century military alliance of the two nations. In remarks to Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of state, Mr. Roh called the alliance the "foundation of South Korean security," and said the two governments had "maintained and developed a firm alliance." Mr. Roh's spokesman, Yoon Tae-young, and Song Min-soon, a Blue House security adviser, briefed reporters after the meeting. Mr. Roh also reportedly said that the alliance was being smoothly readjusted in a reasonable direction, to which Ms. Rice responded that recent changes in the bilateral relationship over the past few years have modernized the alliance. He continued his eulogy to the alliance at a meeting with U.S. business leaders later, noting that South Korea has been "together with the United States in their fight for the world's freedom and order."
Bush, Roh will discuss resuming 6-party talks
September 15, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? The two presidents will jointly discuss today ways that both countries can take to resume the six-party talks designed to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons, Song Min-soon, the Blue House security aide, said yesterday in a news briefing with Korean reporters. The exact contents will be announced at the end of the summit between presidents Roh Moo-hyun and George W. Bush, a Foreign Ministry official said.
U.S. asks UN countries to detail their sanctions
September 15, 2006 ? What sanctions have you taken lately against North Korea? That's the message in a "non-paper" that the U.S. State Department sent to every UN member nation, including South Korea, a Seoul Foreign Ministry official said yesterday. The document asks each country to say specifically how they've complied with the United Nations resolution adopted in response to North Korea's missile launches on July 5, the official said yesterday. The "non-paper" also contains Washington's opinion on what measures it considers to be in line with the resolution. Robert Ogburn, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy to Seoul, said yesterday that it does not comment on diplomatic correspondence. A South Korean government official, however, said yesterday the document in question was delivered by a U.S. Embassy official two to three weeks ago. South Korea responded by outlining the current measures it has taken, another Seoul government official said yesterday. Seoul officials yesterday described the document as a simple checklist from Washington but said the document also contained "suggestions." As to whether these suggestions could be described as new types of sanctions, officials declined to comment, saying only that discussions are currently going on to formulate a uniform response by UN member nations. Speculation has risen in the media that Washington was looking to impose a new set of sanctions against the North; among those mentioned were sea blockades. The resolution requires all UN member states to prevent, within their respective country's laws, North Korea from obtaining missiles or missile-related items, materials, goods and technology or the transfer of related financial resources. [US dominance]
Summit Helps Roh Dodge Criticism
By Ryu Jin, Christopher Carpenter Staff Reporters President Roh Moo-hyun will return to Seoul today with new ammunition to deflect criticism that his administration has allowed U.S.-Korea relations to deteriorate. U.S. President George W. Bush's broad affirmation of the alliance will not be least among them.
Roh, Bush Formally Agree Troop Control Handover
Troop Control Handover: What Options Remain?
President Roh Moo-hyun and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush agreed on Thursday that Washington's handover of wartime operational control of Korean troops to Seoul serves the development of the bilateral alliance. But the two leaders decided to leave the date for the handover to the bilateral Security Consultative Meeting in October. Nonetheless, it was the death knell for Combined Forces Command, which has played a central role in deterring war on the Korean Peninsula. [Sovereignty]
Seoul backs censure of North
By David R. Sands THE WASHINGTON TIMES September 14, 2006 South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon yesterday said Seoul strongly supports the United Nations' condemnation of North Korea for its recent missile tests, and denied that South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun was trying to play down the missile tests when he described them recently as tests carried out by the communist North for political, not military effect. "I do not know if the United States and others have fully made up their positions, but the South Korea government will faithfully implement the U.N. Security Council resolution [1695]. We fully supported it," Mr. Ban said. Mr. Ban spoke with reporters from The Washington Times on the eve of an Oval Office summit today between President Bush and Mr. Roh. Mr. Ban acknowledged there was a "perception gap" between the two allies on North Korea and other issues, a gap often exaggerated by South Korea's domestic press. [Media] [Ban_UN}
Roh to tell Bush Korea 'faithful' on sanctions
September 14, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? President Roh Moo-hyun will tell President George W. Bush that Seoul has been and will continue to observe faithfully the United Nations Security Council resolution condemning North Korea's July 5 missile tests, Mr. Roh's aides told reporters as they arrived in the U.S. capital Tuesday night. The North Korea resolution, adopted unanimously by the council on July 15, requires UN member nations to prevent the North from obtaining missile-related parts and technology and block the "transfer of any financial resources" related to Pyongyang's programs to develop missiles or weapons of mass destruction. A senior Korean official said the two leaders would not discuss any additional sanctions against North Korea. Those protestations of good faith in adhering to the resolution appear to be an effort to soothe restive U.S. officials who believe Seoul is not doing enough to enforce sanctions or, at worst, is undermining them. [Fiction] [Sanctions] [US dominance] [Dilemma]
Militaries train together in the U.S.
September 14, 2006 ? EDGEWOOD, Maryland ? South Korea and the United States conducted a three-hour training exercise here on Tuesday, the first such exercise on American soil. Fourteen South Korean servicemen from the 24th Special Forces Chemical Battalion surveyed, sampled and decontaminated a site simulated to be a suspected holding place of biological and/or chemical weapons. A similar exercise was last held in 2000 in South Korea, but follow-up training was suspended after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. [cbw] [Joint US military]
In Washington
[Photo] September 14, 2006 ? South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun shaking hands with Christopher Hill, U.S. pointman to the six-party talks, yesterday upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington D.C. [YONHAP]
Summit Seeks Nuclear Solution
Bush Unlikely to Specify Timing of Command Transfer to Korea
By Ryu Jin Korea Times Correspondent
President Roh Moo-hyun shakes hands with Christopher Hill, left, the U.S. point man on North Korea's nuclear program, as he arrives at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, Wednesday. /Yonhap WASHINGTON _ President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush will not discuss when the United States will transfer its wartime command of South Korean troops to Seoul during a summit here on Thursday, officials accompanying Roh said Wednesday. Seoul wants wartime operation control to be transferred in 2012, while Washington prefers 2009. But the two leaders will reaffirm their ``robust alliance'' to help South Korea put an end to domestic disputes over the transfer issue, the officials said. They will focus on the North Korean nuclear issue, while trying to find ways to bring the North back to the six-party denuclearization talks rather than discussing further punitive measures against the Stalinist state, the officials said. [Sovereignty] [Friction]
Political Leadership Needed to Iron Out Differences in FTA
By Choe Won-gi Choe Won-gi The third round of Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) talks in Seattle ended Sunday without producing any practical progress on core issues. While the negotiation result is disappointing, it is not totally unexpected, given the inhospitable conditions of the negotiations. Only a strong political leadership in both countries will help steer the trade talks to a workable direction in the future rounds of negotiation.
Roh, Bush Should Trade Tinted Glasses at Summit
By John Feffer The U.S. and South Korean presidents look at North Korea so differently that it almost seems as if they wear different glasses. George Bush's glasses are tinted with fear. Roh Moo-hyun, on the other hand, wears glasses that are colored with hope. When the two presidents meet in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, they should do more than shake hands and exchange words. They should trade glasses. Such an exchange of eyewear is particularly important for Bush. When he looks at North Korea, he sees a nuclear program of unknown size and capability as well as missiles that might one day reach the United States. He sees a hobbled economy and a persistent food crisis that threaten the region. He sees refugees who are still crossing the border into China. And he sees human rights abuses that _ at least in the political and civil sphere _ have not substantially improved in recent years.
Turkish, Iranian Hackers Attack Korean Web Sites
By Kim Tae-gyu Staff Reporter Hackers from Iran and Turkey vandalized many South Korean Internet sites last month. This is possibly due to Korea's continued stationing of forces in Iraq.
PM's Husband an Avid Opponent of New USFK Base
The husband of Prime Minister Han Myung-sook was until recently a committed opponent of the relocation of U.S. Forces Korea headquarters to Pyeongtaek, which gave rise to violent protests there this year. Park Sung-jun is a professor at SungKongHoe University (formerly St. Michael's Theological Seminary).
North Korea Rebuffs U.S. Offer to Talk
South Korea Confirms That U.S. Offered North Korea Direct Talks Over Nukes, but Was Rebuffed
By JAE-SOON CHANG SEOUL, South Korea Sep 13, 2006 (AP)— South Korea's vice foreign minister said Wednesday he understood the United States had offered one-on-one talks with North Korea on the communist nation's nuclear program, but was rejected. However, a U.S. official said in Washington that no new offer of direct talks had been made to Pyongyang. South Korea's Yonhap news agency and other media reported Tuesday that the chief U.S. nuclear envoy, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, proposed a meeting with his North Korean counterpart during a recent stop in China. The North did not accept the offer, the reports said. "I understand that Assistant Secretary Hill made such a gesture on his own initiative in an effort to resume" six-nation talks on the North's nuclear program, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told a news briefing. [Transfer] [Spin] ][Bilateral]
Seoul: 'Frustrated' U.S. still working on diplomacy toward North Korea
September 13, 2006 ? A Korean official conceded yesterday that skepticism has mounted in Washington about Pyongyang's commitment to a tentative nuclear accord struck in September 2005 to scrap its nuclear arms. But the official, speaking off the record, insisted that Washington had not abandoned efforts to resolve the continuing crisis through negotiations. "Because there has been no progress on the North Korean nuclear issue, there is frustration and pessimism about the possibility of a successful diplomatic solution," he said, "but I don't think they [the United States] have given up on trying diplomatic dialogue." [Transfer]
U.S. to Take More Sanctions on N.Korea 'After Summit'
The U.S. has told partners in stalled six-country talks on North Korea's nuclear program that it will take punitive measures against the North under the UN Security Council resolution condemning Pyongyang's July missile tests, officials say. That suggests Washington will implement more sanctions against North Korea soon after the South Korea-U.S. summit in Washington on Thursday. "It is not a matter of whether [the U.S.] will take punitive measures against North Korea under the UN resolution, but a matter of when and how," a high-ranking official here told reporters Tuesday. "We are in a situation where we cannot call for a delay in implementing the UN Security Council resolution." Another government official said the U.S. is highly likely to put sanctions against North Korea into practice "after the summit."
The U.S. believes the money from South Korea that goes to the North via the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mt.Kumgang tourism could flow into Pyongyang's WMD development. Experts predict that more sanctions will put Washington on a collision course with Seoul. President Roh Moo-hyun arrived in Washington on Tuesday and meets President George W. Bush on Thursday. [Friction] [Dilemma] [Sanctions]
Let the President Watch His Words at the Summit
The Korea-U.S. summit may turn out to be entirely different in nature from previous ones, where the presidents of the two countries exchanged diplomatic pleasantries about bilateral relations. Depending on the mindset of the president, the Korea-U.S. relationship itself could change.
Roh-Bush Summit 'Unlikely to Narrow Differences'
The meeting between President Roh Moo-hyun and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush in Washington on Thursday is unlikely to narrow differences between them on how to handle North Korea, press agencies said Sunday. But experts here predict the differences will not be made public, while the summit will produce agreement that Korea is to exercise sole wartime operational control of its troops.
Diplomats join transfer protest
September 12, 2006 ? In what seems to be turning into a full-scale revolt against the Roh administration's military policies, a group of former diplomats, including three one-time foreign ministers, have issued a statement opposing the return of wartime control of Korean troops to Seoul. A group of former police chiefs also joined the ranks of transfer foes. President Roh Moo-hyun has championed the change as the redress of a slight to Korean sovereignty. In a third protest, a group of Christian clergy delivered to the Foreign Ministry and the U.S. Embassy what they said were 30,000 signatures of congregation members opposing the transfer. [Sovereignty]
Roh to Persuade Bush Over Nukes
By Ryu Jin Korea Times Correspondent WASHINGTON _ President Roh Moo-hyun will seek to reach an agreement with U.S. President George W. Bush in a summit on Thursday on the North Korean nuclear issue, officials accompanying Roh said on Tuesday. Although the nuclear issue is ``quite complicated'' and ``very difficult to deal with,'' he will try his best to reach a common understanding of the situation and agreement to the principle of a peaceful resolution with Bush, the officials said.
South Korea, US Won't Issue Joint Statement
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter U.S. President George W. Bush South Korea and the United States will not adopt a joint statement or declaration at the end of a summit between their presidents, government officials in Seoul said Monday. The meeting is slated for Thursday in Washington, D.C. ``The agreement not to issue a joint document was reached during a visit by chief presidential security secretary Song Min-soon to Washington last week,'' a Chong Wa Dae official told the Yonhap News Agency, asking not to be named. Song visited the United States on Sept. 5-7 to fine-tune agenda items for the summit between President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush and met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, he said. ``The reason for deciding not to issue any joint document is that both countries do not have a lot of new agenda items that are excluded from their latest joint statement issued after the Roh-Bush summit last November,'' the official noted. [Friction] [US dominance]
Ex-Diplomats Oppose Command Transfer
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
Former chiefs of the National Police Agency read a declaration against wartime command transfer to South Korea from the United States at the Korea Press Center, Monday. /Korea Times Photo by Kim Ju-sung The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade yesterday issued a carefully-worded statement to cope with retired diplomats' strong opposition to Seoul's planned retrieval of wartime operational control of its armed forces from the United States. A day earlier, a joint statement was released by 160 former diplomats, including three ministers, demanding more time to strengthen the nation's defense capabilities and build public consensus before taking back command authority. [Sovereignty]
FTA Will Be on Roh, Bush Agenda
By Christopher Carpenter Staff Reporter The free trade agreement (FTA) talks will be on the agenda at this week's South Korea-U.S. summit, a U.S. trade negotiator said Monday. Assistant U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Wendy Cutler said during a teleconference with reporters that the FTA is an ``important component'' of the summit and will be ``on the agenda'' when presidents of the two countries meet on Thursday. Chief USTR Susan Schwab will hold separate talks with her South Korean counterpart, Kim Hyun-chong, who will accompany President Roh Moo-hyun, Cutler said.
In Need of Breakthrough, Not a Ceremonial Summit
By Moon Chung-in Professor of Political Science at Yonsei University Professor Moon Chung-in of Yonsei University On Nov. 17, 2005, President Roh Moo-hyun and President George W. Bush adopted the Joint Declaration on the ROK-U.S. Alliance and Peace on the Korean Peninsula during the fifth summit talk in Kyongju, South Korea
Seoul Calls for Washington's Flexibility on Pyongyang
SEOUL (Yonhap) _ Lee Jongseok, South Korea's point man on North Korea, urged the United States on Monday to show more flexibility in dealing with the communist state, Lee's spokesman said, as a senior U.S. envoy warned that Pyongyang will face more economic sanctions unless it rejoins the six-way talks on its nuclear program. [Friction]
2,100 US POWs From Korean War Presumed Alive'
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) _ Some 2,100 U.S. prisoners of war (POWs) are presumed to be alive from the Korean War (1950-53) as of the end of last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs said. A tally released earlier this month by the department said 7,140 American servicemen were captured and interned during the war, 2,701 died in captivity and 4,418 were returned to the U.S. side. The tally also showed that 21 Korean War soldiers had refused to return to the United States, the only group to do so among veterans of all the wars the United States has engaged in. 09-11-2006 21:03
'ROK Is Our Best Ally in Turning NK Around'
[Interview] Steve Clemons, New American Foundation
Emanuel Pastreich (internews)
Published 2006-09-12 12:10 (KST) In the political jungle of Washington D.C. Steve Clemons is a unique political animal. Navigating between warring factions and ideological traditions that present no space for compromise, Clemons some how manages to maintain a broad range of associates and build bridges. Starting with the assumption that no matter how different perspectives may be, common ground can be found between groups concerned about international relations and security, Clemons never hesitates to jump into the fray.
He is an imposing figure who draws attention when he enters the room; Clemons speaks with authority and charisma. Nevertheless, he is also quite sensitive to everyone in the crowd, taking time out to converse with students and interns. He is a remarkable figure in that he is simultaneously an insider and an outsider in Washington D.C. His blog, "The Washington Note" is an excellent source for information about American politics and a tribute to the range of Clemons' connections. Most importantly, of those who understand Washington from within, he is one of the very few who takes East Asia seriously.
Farm goods, trade rules still hold back FTA talks
15 arrests but no violence at Seattle round September 11, 2006 ? SEATTLE ? The third round of talks on a free trade agreement between Korea and the United States in Seattle ended with little progress on Saturday. "Although there were some improvements, no substantive advances in core issues were made," said Kim Jong-hoon, the chief negotiator of the Korean team, at a press conference here. Mr. Kim said the U.S. team did agree to remove some textile tariffs immediately rather than after 10 years, but he added that the movement was not enough to satisfy his negotiators. [Friction]
Official: Korea will again try to buy spy planes from U.S.
September 11, 2006 ? South Korea plans to quietly ask the United States to sell it four surveillance planes to watch North Korea, though Washington refused to sell them last year, fearing technology leaks, a government official said yesterday. Seoul will ask to purchase the unmanned aerial vehicle Global Hawk during the upcoming Security Policy Initiative talks the official said, on condition of anonymity. The request will be made informally, rather than on the official agenda, the official said. The U.S. $45-million Global Hawk can fly at an altitude of 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) for up to 36 hours to provide high-resolution, near real-time imagery of large geographic areas. The high-altitude spy aircraft is also known to be able to detect and verify the movements and composition of objects as small as 30 centimeters long. The Defense Ministry sought to purchase four Global Hawks as part of its efforts to increase its surveillance capabilities against North Korea. But Washington officially rejected Seoul's offer during a meeting of the U.S.-South Korea Security Cooperation Committee in June of last year, according to ministry officials. The ministry again submitted a written request to the U.S. Department of Defense early last month, but it has yet to hear from the Pentagon, officials said. Washington has failed to give reasons why it rejected Seoul's request, but analysts believe it is because the United States fears a possible transfer or leak of technology related to the high-stakes deal. The country's efforts to increase its aerial surveillance capability come amid its plan to take back wartime control of its troops from the United States before the end of 2012. Washington, which has long shared its information from of its surveillance of the North with Seoul, has offered to transfer its wartime control of South Korean troops by 2009. [Friction] [US military dominance] [Intelligence]
Korea-US FTA Talks Make Little Headway
By Kim Yon-se Staff Reporter South Korea and the United States failed to narrow differences in agriculture, anti-dumping measures and other key sectors during the third round of free trade talks that ended in Seattle on Sep. 9. [Friction]
Cheney's Power No Longer Goes Unquestioned
By DAVID E. SANGER and ERIC SCHMITT Published: September 10, 2006
WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 - From those first moments five years ago when Secret Service agents burst into Vice President Dick Cheney's office on Sept. 11, lifted him off his feet and propelled him to the underground Presidential Emergency Operations Center, the man who had returned to Washington that year to remake the powers of the presidency seemed unstoppable.
On national security issues, Mr. Cheney, once the unchallenged adviser to a president who came to office with little experience in foreign affairs, remains a pivotal figure but now vies for influence with other officials like Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser. Over the past 18 months, Mr. Cheney appears to have reluctantly given ground on detention practices and, at least for now, on policy disputes involving Iran and North Korea.
At the height of his influence in the Bush White House two years ago, Mr. Cheney stepped into the Oval Office early one evening and raised an alarm about an agreement that American negotiators were about to sign in Beijing. The negotiators, mostly from the State Department, were trying to entice North Korea to sign a document outlining the steps for resolving the standoff over the country's nuclear weapons. But it lacked the tough language on disarmament that North Korea had rejected and that Mr. Cheney knew Mr. Bush wanted. With Colin L. Powell, then the secretary of state, and his deputy, Richard L. Armitage, at a black-tie dinner where they could not be easily reached on secure telephones, Mr. Cheney "declared this thing a loser," said a former senior official involved in the discussions that night. Mr. Bush sent new instructions to the negotiators - through the National Security Council, rather than the State Department - that essentially killed the deal. "Powell and Armitage were not happy," one official said. "But it was too late."
It would be hard to imagine a similar course of events today. Soon after the start of the second term, Mr. Bush began signaling to foreign leaders visiting him in the Oval Office that he knew much had gone wrong in his first term, and that he empowered Ms. Rice to put a new emphasis on consultation and teamwork with allies. Ms. Rice, aides said, asserted her authority early, sending her own envoy to the North Korean nuclear talks last September, though the process has so far proved fruitless.
Deceptive Persuasion
Awkward Justification for Premature Recovery of Wartime Control
The presidential office Chong Wa Dae is trying to make out what is patently false to be true to justify its attempt to recover wartime operational control of South Korean forces from the United States by 2012. President Roh Moo-hyun said that those opposing the recovery of wartime control are limited to the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) and some conservative media. However, in reality, former defense ministers, retired military generals, noted intellectuals including professors and scholars are spearheading the opposition. Former President Kim Young-sam made it clear Wednesday that "a U.S. move to attack Pyongyang in 1994 due to its nuclear weapons program was halted by the function of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) under which Korea is qualified to exercise wartime control jointly with the U.S." The former president stood up to support the earlier remarks by former Defense Minister Cho Young-kil that "the planned U.S. attack against the North was averted by the opposition of Korea as a co-exerciser of wartime operational control." But, when Cho made the remarks in a contribution to the Dong-A Ilbo, a vernacular daily, last week, Chong Wa Dae countered that the U.S. had renounced its military attack in 1994 as a result of successful mediation by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, which had nothing to do with Korea. [Sovereignty] [In denial]
South Korea Paints Itself Into a Corner
Cho Young-kil, the first defense minister of the Roh Moo-hyun administration, on Monday wrote, "If a U.S.-North Korea war breaks out after South Korea dismantles allied wartime operational control, it will find itself a third country in the conflict. Will it arbitrate in the war under the famous balancer theory, or be covered with shell splinters watching a tremendous catastrophe unfold in the North?" He added, "When South Korea gains its so-called independence by dismantling allied wartime operational control, the U.S. will secure the U.S. Forces Korea's strategic flexibility and freedom to take military action against North Korea." This government contends that if we have operational control of our forces, we will exercise leadership if a war breaks out here or an emergency occurs in the North. That is tantamount to admitting complete ignorance of what is happening in the international community. Under the current Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, the two countries jointly exercise operational control, and the U.S. is tied shoulder to shoulder with South Korea. Washington therefore has to respect Seoul's position on issues on the peninsula. A case in point is that the U.S. suspended planned military sanctions against the North during the 1994 nuclear crisis after objections from the Kim Young-sam administration. If we exercise operational control of our troops alone, on the other hand, the CFC will be dissolved and the U.S. forces will act independently. As the price for our meaningless independence, the U.S. earns the freedom to use the USFK at its own sole discretion. Ideas are already maturing in Washington to deal with the North Korean nuclear standoff in cooperation with China, and with a North Korean emergency in collaboration with Japan. South Korea is becoming a bystander in matters concerning the peninsula. [Sovereignty] [Dilemma]
R.O.K. Foots Bill for 'Strategic Flexibility'
[Brief on Northeast Asia] U.S. military relocation plan expensive for Seoul
Kim Tae-kyung (internews) Published 2006-08-31 19:03 (KST)
The government of South Korea, which had previously argued since 2003 that the relocation of the U.S. forces in Yongsan in Seoul had not been related to the strategic flexibility and the relocation of the U.S. forces overseas, has suddenly changed its position.
Below is the gist of conversations between Choi Jae Chun, a lawmaker of the ruling Uri party in South Korea, and You Myung Hwan, the assistant minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, during a session of the Committee of Reunification, Foreign Affairs, and Trade in the South Korean parliament on Aug 25.
On Aug 17, Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. defense secretary, sent a letter to Yun Kwang Woong, the Minister of Defense in South Korea, demanding an "equitable" sharing of the defense expenses in Korea, while promising the return of wartime operational command in 2009. The word "equitable" may imply a 50-50 division, and the U.S. has complained that South Korea has been paying less than 40 percent. Last year, the defense expenditure South Korea was obligated for was about $0.7 billion. To meet U.S. demands, South Korea has to increase its share 10 percent. Meanwhile, South Korea has paid additional expenses, such as providing the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA). The total expenses South Korea pays may reach some $10 billion. If U.S. forces stationed in South Korea become deployable as task forces in Northeast Asia, South Korea may have to spend $60 billion for national defense to ensure an "independent defense" until 2020. Most weapons purchased for the enhancement of military power are imported from the United States. [Tribute] [Sovereignty]
The Burden of Having to Choose
South Korea is facing critical foreign policy choices
Walter Hendler (cicero)
Published 2006-09-07 08:16 (KST) As President Roh prepares to go to Washington for a summit with George Bush to discuss the future of the ROK-U.S. security alliance, the Republic of Korea has three vital strategic choices to make. The outcome of these decisions will determine the fate of the Korean peninsula and affect the geo-political balance in Northeast Asia for years, possibly decades to come. In a nutshell South Korea may be forced to choose between: (1) The United States and North Korea; (2) The United States and China; and (3) North Korea and China.
Unification vs. Alliance
At the heart of the current strain in the ROK-U.S. alliance lies a wide and growing gap in perception of the threat posed by North Korea and the best ways to address it. Whereas Washington favors a multilateral approach to dealing with the nuclear issue, in the prospect of isolating the Pyongyang regime should it refuse to abandon its nuclear arsenal, Seoul increasingly sees the six-party talks as futile, as they have been deadlocked for a year over Washington's financial sanctions and efforts to prevent counterfeiting of the U.S. currency by the North.
The current South Korean administration blames the hawks in the Bush Administration for the impasse. The Roh Administration favors a bilateral dialogue between the United States and North Korea as the best way forward.
Another major irritant in the ROK-U.S. relations is the growing perception in Seoul--justified or otherwise--that Washington increasingly favors its historic antagonist, Japan, in the disputes over territory and the interpretation of history.
All these developments have led many South Koreans, especially the younger generation, to the conclusion that China may in the future replace the United States as the ultimate guarantor of stability and security on the Korean Peninsula. Indeed, as the survey detailed below illustrates, a growing number of young Koreans see such developments as desirable.
Many in Seoul are openly expressing concern over the Pyongyang's growing dependence on Chinese economic assistance and trade. In a nutshell, the greatest fear in Seoul is that China would install a pro-Beijing regime in Pyongyang or, possibly, even try to annex the northern part of the peninsula. China might contemplate this course of action as a means of preventing South Korean and American militaries from moving close to its frontiers. Beijing might also be concerned over the rise of separatist sentiments among ethnic Koreans in its northeastern provinces.
An Alliance in Disarray
Future of U.S.-ROK security relationship uncertain
Walter Hendler (cicero)
Published 2006-08-28 15:27 (KST)
The United States and South Korea are in the initial stages of a divorce process, which might turn acrimonious and could have momentous ramifications for the security on the Korean Peninsula and in the broader Northeast Asia region. The heretofore-close allies distrust each other's motives and intentions. The half-century old U.S.-R.O.K. alliance is dissolving before our eyes. Now the policymakers in both countries have to determine what -- if anything -- can be salvaged from the old alliance, and reshape it in a way that would make it tolerable to the South Korean public while ensuring U.S. geo-strategic interests in Northeast Asia.
Riled commanders
September 09, 2006 ? About 7,000 retired military generals gathered near Seoul's City Hall to condemn the Roh administration's efforts to take over wartime operational control of Korean forces from the United States. They said they would ask prosecutors to charge President Roh Moo-hyun with treason. By Kim Seong-ryong [Pro-Americanism] [Sovereignty]
Allies plan war games to test command plans
September 09, 2006 ? An official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday that the United States and South Korea will conduct a series of drills to prepare for the handover of wartime control of Korean troops to Seoul. The officer said three planned training exercises would look for flaws in procedures to put the new command relationships into effect. The change would put Seoul in the lead in fighting a war, with U.S. forces in a supporting role. [Joint US military]
US Wants More Access to Cable, Satellite Broadcasting
By Yoon Ja-young Staff Reporter The United States has asked for Korea to raise the permitted ceilings on foreigners' stakes in its cable and satellite TV broadcasters. In a briefing about the outcome of the second-day of negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA), South Korean chief negotiator Kim Jong-hoon confirmed the U.S. demands in 12 sectors including accounting and legal services. [Friction]
ROK, US to Conduct Pre-Transfer Joint Exercises
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea and the United States have agreed to a three-stage joint military training program, which is to begin two years before Seoul regains wartime operational control of its troops from the U.S., a military source said yesterday. The plan was proposed by Gen. B. B. Bell, commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).
Most Koreans Want Halt to Troop Control Negotiations
Most Koreans want to halt the handover of wartime operational control of Korean troops to Seoul, a telephone poll suggests. Out of 800 people polled, 44.6 percent supported delaying negotiations on the control until the next government takes office, while 35.5 percent opposed the idea. The rest were undecided. The poll was conducted by pollsters Research & Research. A majority of the respondents (72.1 percent) were worried about a possible surge in taxes if the Korean military has sole wartime operational command of its soldiers. Some 34.4 percent expected taxes to increase considerably and 37.7 percent forecast a small rise. About 12.4 percent said the tax burden would remain the same, and 4.2 percent predicted it would go down. The confidence level was 95 percent with a margin of error of 3.5 percent. [Sovereignty]
'ROK, US Losing Mutual Confidence'
Scholars Criticize Command Transfer
By Jung Sung-ki, Kim Sue-young Staff Reporters
South Korea and the United States are losing the mutual confidence that has been built up over more than half a century because of a growing gap in the perception of threats posed by North Korea and the importance of their alliance, a professor said yesterday. Hyun In-taek, a professor of political science at Korea University in Seoul, said it is not the time to address the takeover of wartime control over Korean troops from the U.S. military, citing the volatile situation in Northeast Asia affected by North's increasing military threats. ``I believe the controversy over the transition of wartime control reflects the current relationship between South Korea and the United States,'' Hyun said during a forum hosted by the Korean-American Club at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul. [Pro-Americanism] [Sovereignty]
Big Businesses Rap US for Call on Chaebol Control
US Claims Chaebol's Dominance Blocks Access by Multinationals to Korean Market During FTA Talks
By Park Hyong-ki Staff Reporter The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), Korea's big business lobby group, has raised its voice against the U.S. demand for stricter rules on family-run South Korean conglomerates, or chaebol in the free trade agreement (FTA) talks between the two countries. In a statement, FKI said yesterday that although the Korean business community greatly supports an FTA with the U.S., it cannot accept the U.S. request, as the proposal overlooks Korea's market, business environment and international standards. [Friction]
US Wants Korea to Open Farming Sector
By Kim Yon-se Staff Reporter
/ Yonhap On the first day of talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) in Seattle on Sep. 6, the United States pressed South Korea to open its rice market more promptly. In response, Korea maintained its rice market should not be fully opened in compliance with the U.S. request and wanted to keep tariffs on some other agricultural imports. [Friction]
USFK Chief Reaffirms Command Transfer
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
Gen. B. B. Bell, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), yesterday reaffirmed that Washington wants to transfer operational control of South Korean armed forces during wartime to Seoul by 2009. [Sovereignty]

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SEPTEMBER 2006

Sanctions to Aim at North’s Fire Power
By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter The United States is likely to resume imposing economic sanctions on North Korea this month as part of implementation of the U.N. Security Council’s resolution banning missile transactions with the communist state, diplomatic sources said. Ranking South Korean officials in Washington told the Yonhap News Agency that the Bush administration is expected to announce a package of economic sanctions on the North after the planned summit between U.S. President George W. Bush and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun on Sept. 14 in the U.S. capital. ``The economic sanctions won’t be related to the U.S.’ ongoing crackdown on suspected counterfeiting and money-laundering by Pyongyang including the tracking of some 50 bank accounts believed to be held by North Korea at Banco Delta Asia in Macau,’’ an official was quoted as saying by Yonhap. ``The sanctions will be mainly focused on following the U.N. resolution to prevent the North’s transactions of missile and other weapons of mass destruction,’’ he added. [Sanctions]

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AUGUST 2006

KCNA Blasts Military Adventure of U.S. and South Korean Warmongers
Pyongyang, August 18 (KCNA) -- The U.S. and south Korean warlike forces are going to stage "Ulji Focus Lens" joint military exercises in south Korea despite the repeated warnings of the DPRK. The exercises will be staged for 12 days beginning on Aug. 21 allegedly to help "the U.S. troops and south Korean army get familiar with cooperation procedures in contingency on the Korean Peninsula." They will be participated in by more than 8,000 U.S. troops including the overseas-based forces and hundreds of thousands of south Korean servicepersons as well as latest war means. [Joint US military]
"Panmunjom Incident" Termed Carefully Premeditated Provocation
Pyongyang, August 18 (KCNA) -- The "Panmunjom incident" that occurred on August 18, 1976, driving the situation on the Korean Peninsula to the brink of a war, was a provocation perpetrated by the U.S. imperialists under a carefully pre-arranged plan to all intents and purposes, observe Pyongyang-based papers today in their signed commentaries carried on the occasion. They cite concrete facts to prove that it was orchestrated by the U.S. in a premeditated and deliberate manner. [Disinformation]
U.S. Denounced for Stockpiling Depleted Uranium Shells in S. Korea
Pyongyang, August 18 (KCNA) -- The U.S. should stop its reckless anti-DPRK nuclear racket and withdraw its troops from south Korea as well as all the war means including depleted uranium shells and nuclear weapons if it is interested in the settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula even in the least. This demand is contained in information bulletin No. 922 released by the Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland Friday. The bulletin said: The U.S. imperialist aggressor forces present in south Korea have stockpiled 2.74 million depleted uranium shells in their military bases in Suwon, Chongju, Osan and other places of south Korea. This quantity is 3.5 times those used by them in the Gulfs War and 7 times those in the possession of the U.S. troops in Japan. [Military balance]
Roh Predicts Tough Talks With Bush
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter President Roh Moo-hyun has expressed his frustration about the deadlocked ties between North Korea and the United States, saying that he feels it is almost impossible to persuade President George W. Bush to mend fences. ``I don't think I can persuade the United States any more. I expect it would also be tough for me to persuade Bush to normalize relations with Pyongyang in the next month's summit,'' he was quoted as telling senior journalists in a meeting at Chong Wa Dae last Sunday. ``But President Bush likes me personally. I heard about that much indirectly.'' His comments were made during the ``off-the-record'' session with a few senior journalists. However, a daily reported them yesterday after an apparent leakage of a shorthand note. In the two-and-a-half-hour talks, Roh presented his frank opinions on a variety of pending state issues while setting forth his deep-seated sentiments as the head of state, who has only one and a half years left in office [Friction] [In denial]
GNP's Anti-Wartime Control Transfer Drive Losing Steam
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter Following its extensive offensives in recent days against the government plan to get wartime military control back from the United States, the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) now seems to be searching for a path of retreat. Though some of its members continued sporadic attacks yesterday, the conservative party was apparently in efforts to get out of the dilemma, as the majority of people were found in opinion surveys to favor an early return of operational command. It was on Monday, following U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Alexander Vershbow's visits to major political parties, that the opposition's anti-wartime control transfer campaign actually started to run out of steam. [Sovereignty] [Pro-Americanism]
U.S.-Korea liaison to be at war office
August 18, 2006 ? The defense minister yesterday described to the National Assembly the outlines of a bilateral command structure following the proposed reversion of wartime command of Korean troops to Seoul. Yoon Kwang-ung briefed lawmakers while his ministry released a report on the command transfer and other matters. While there are still many unanswered questions about how the new war-fighting system would work, the ministry suggested that the replacement of the Combined Forces Command would be a liaison or coordinating office headed by one general "above the two-star level" from each country.
2nd North Korean quits Seoul for U.S.
August 18, 2006 ? LOS ANGELES ? Another North Korean defector who has legally been residing in South Korea was granted asylum in the United States by the Los Angeles Immigration Court, sources here said Wednesday. A 33-year-old woman, whose name was withheld, was given court approval on July 6, according to the sources. She had fled North Korea through China in 2001 and settled in South Korea the following year, entering the United States illegally in July 2005. The first North Korean defector via the South approved for U.S. asylum drew criticism from Seoul. He had complained of discrimination against his family in the South. ["Last time, the U.S. administration said it has a limit in intervening in judicial decisions, so we will listen to the U.S. government's position one more time before reacting," Lee Youn-soo, a foreign ministry spokesman, told the JoongAng Daily when asked about Seoul's position on the U.S. court decision.] [Friction] [Refugee reception]
Fake smokes called big North cash cow
August 18, 2006 ? North Korea is believed to earn $500-700 million per year by making and selling fake American and Japanese cigarettes, a U.S. radio station reported Wednesday, quoting a former U.S. official. "Counterfeit tobacco is one of the largest, probably the largest, single source of income for the North Korean regime," David Asher said in an interview with the Washington-based Radio Free Asia. Mr. Asher, who until July 2005 worked for James Kelly, then the assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs at the State Department, said the North's communist regime operates perhaps 10 plants to make the fake cigarettes. He said those plants are scattered throughout North Korea. The counterfeit cigarettes, Mr. Asher said, are usually packed and sent in containers to China and then to other Asian countries for sale. "They need to start inspecting containers more aggressively," he told the radio station, referring to inspections in Japan. [Counterfeiting] [Camouflage] [Evidence]
FM Meets Special Assistant to Rev. Franklin Graham
Pyongyang, August 17 (KCNA) -- Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun met and conversed with Melvin L. Cheatham, special assistant to Rev. Franklin Graham, religious leader of the U.S., and his party at the Mansudae Assembly Hall on Thursday. On hand were officials concerned.
U.S. Urged to Halt Its Moves to Invade DPRK
Pyongyang, August 17 (KCNA) -- The "Panmunjom incident" on August 18, 1976 was, to all intents and purposes, a product of the premeditated and deliberate plot hatched by the U.S. to ignite a war against the DPRK. The military tension on the Korean Peninsula is greater than that three decades back. A spokesman for the Korean National Peace Committee observed this in a statement issued Thursday, 30 years since the U.S. imperialists orchestrated the incident. It said:
US to Share Military Intelligence After Command Transfer
South Korea Unveils 5-Year Roadmap
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The United States has promised to share its military intelligence systems with South Korea even after Seoul regains operational control over its troops during wartime, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. In a report to the National Assembly, the ministry unveiled a draft five-year roadmap to take back wartime operational control from the U.S. military. Seoul and Washington are in the final stage of completing joint studies on a future alliance framework.
'USFK Will Never Withdraw Additional Troops'
Foreign Minister Urges Next Japanese Leader to Understand Shared History Correctly
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon The nation's top diplomat said Thursday that Seoul's plan to take over wartime operational control of its armed forces from Washington will ``never'' trigger an additional withdrawal of U.S. forces stationed in South Korea. Describing the transfer as an expression of the nation's confidence in its armed forces, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon underlined that the time has come for South Korea to be responsible for its own security. ``I would like to make it clear that the government will seek the handover of wartime control in a way that solidifies the joint defense system and does not affect the peninsula's security situation,'' he said at a forum hosted by the Korea Broadcasting Journalists Club in Seoul. Rebuffing worries about the alliance drifting into a breakup, the minister said Washington also supports Seoul's plan to take back wartime control as it thinks South Korea is now capable of defending itself from possible North Korean aggression.
National Assembly Told of End to Combined Forces Command
Korean and U.S. forces participate in a joint training crossing the Imjin River that runs through the Demilitarized Zone on March 9, 2003.
Taking back wartime operational control of the nation's troops from the U.S. will mean a shift to a joint defense system where the nation's armed forces play a leading role and the U.S. Forces in Korea a more supportive one. The projected "military cooperation center" is to come under control of generals from Seoul and Washington, the Ministry of Defense said in a roadmap for the forces control takeover to the National Assembly. That was the official announcement that the Korea-U.S. combined defense system, and with it Combined Forces Command, will be dismantled 34 years after they were set up by mutual agreement in 1978. [Sovereignty]
The Government Knows Nothing of Give-and-Take
The Uri Party and Defense Ministry on Wednesday said Korea will get U.S. guarantees on four matters as a means of filling any security vacuum feared when we exercise sole wartime operational control of our troops. They are adherence to the Korea-U.S. mutual defense treaty; continued stationing of U.S. Forces Korea here and the dispatch of U.S. reinforcements in case of war; continued support where Korean forces are deficient in capacity like military intelligence; and war deterrence and joint preparedness. That takes a laid-back view of the world. If war breaks out on the peninsula under the current Combined Forces Command, the CFC commander exercises wartime operational command of our forces. In addition, the U.S. is capable of dispatching 3,000 Air Force planes, five fleets of aircraft carriers and 660,000 infantry and marines. [Sovereignty] [Pro-Americanism]
Criticism of the U.S. is counterproductive
[OVERSEAS VIEW]
After Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok was criticized by ruling and opposition lawmakers for stating in the National Assembly that the United States had made the greatest failure by allowing North Korea to launch missiles, President Roh rose to his defense and asked, "Can't a Korean minister criticize the United States?"
My answer to that question is, "Yes, of course, a Korean minister can criticize the United States." After all, the U.S. makes mistakes and as the world's only superpower we are certainly used to being criticized from all quarters. British, Australian and Japanese ministers say critical things on occasion and it does not fundamentally damage bilateral relations.
The most famous criticisms include President Roh's statement at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council on November 12, 2004 that "it is understandable for North Korea to have nuclear weapons because of the United States' first-strike policy," and his claim after meeting President Bush in Santiago, Chile, that week that he had convinced Mr. Bush to "give up all use of force" against North Korea. President Roh and the Blue House have repeated the assertion on several occasions, arguing that "the United States hinted at the use of force" but South Korea's "strong objections" have ensured that "there will be no war on the Korean Peninsula as long as South Korea is opposed to it." Put in this context, I would argue that there are at least five reasons why senior South Korean leaders should stop and think before casting stones at the United States. First, the criticism of the United States is often based on inaccurate claims. President Bush has never "hinted" at using force against North Korea and never seriously considered any options other than diplomatic ones to get rid of North Korea's nuclear programs
* The writer is former senior director for Asian affairs at the U.S. National Security Council.
by Michael Green [Friction]
"Ulji Focus Lens" Joint Military Exercises Denounced by Many Sides
Pyongyang, August 16 (KCNA) -- Organizations in the north and the south of Korea and abroad simultaneously made public a joint statement in Pyongyang, Seoul and abroad on August 16 to denounce the south Korea-U.S. "Ulji Focus Lens" joint military exercises to be staged from August 21 to September 1
Roh to Meet Bush Amid Tense Times for Alliance
Korea-U.S. Summit Must not Hurt Alliance Further President Roh Moo-hyun is to meet U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington on Sept. 14, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Jung Tae-ho said Wednesday. It will be the sixth summit between the two. Before that, Roh is to visit Greece and Romania starting Sept. 3 and attend the Asia-Europe Meeting in Finland. The Korean president will be in the U.S. from Sept. 12 to 16.
Korea-U.S. Summit Must not Hurt Alliance Further
President Roh Moo-hyun will meet his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush on Sept. 14, in the sixth bilateral summit since the present government assumed power. The summit will see "in-depth discussions of ways to cement the Korea-U.S. alliance further, joint measures to counter the North Korean nuclear and missile threats and on the situation of Northeast Asia," a government spokesman said.
South Korea's Lines of Communication Are Cut
Did Bush Freeze Roh Out of N.K. Missile Discussions?
White House spokesman Tony Snow said Tuesday that President George W. Bush contacted some dozen heads of state on North Korea's rumored imminent launch of a ballistic missile. Surely the United States needs the closest cooperation from South Korea, but Bush did not talk to our president. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice substituted their talk with a conversation with Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon.
The Korean and American presidents had their last telephone conversation on Sept. 20 last year, the day after the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program produced a statement of principle. The period since saw a number of major issues other than the missile question arise between our two countries, including Pyongyang's dollar counterfeiting, an accord on strategic flexibility for the U.S. Forces Korea, the relocation of U.S. military bases to Pyongtaek and negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement. But the two presidents have had nothing to say to each other. [Friction]
Ex-Defense Chief Speaks Out Against Wartime Control
Former defense minister Chun Yong-taek on Wednesday denounced President Roh Moo-hyun and the government's plan to take over sole wartime operational control of Korean forces from the U.S. "It was the U.S.' capability to reinforce its troops in case of war on the Korean Peninsula that helped Korea achieve economic development and deterred a war here," the former minister said. "It is a strong support for Korea to win wars." [Sovereignty] [Pro-Americanism]
Safeguarding Our Security With Wishful Thinking
Roh Firm on 'Withdrawal' of Wartime Troop Control In his Independence Day address on Tuesday, the president said, "We should try to build a new order of unity in Northeast Asia." President Roh Moo-hyun said Korea's role was very important in this. "Depending on what attitude we take, the attitude of other countries can change. Our national strength and our relations with neighboring countries have changed." Northeast Asia is a theater pitting four powers against each other: the world's sole superpower the U.S., potential challenger China, Japan in pursuit of greater military power to restrain China's resurgence, and a Russia struggling to restore its past glory. That is wishful thinking. The region's power structure is not moving toward an "order of unity," no matter how much the president may hope so based on Korea's emergence as the world's 10th largest economy. [Sovereignty]
New Military Contingency Plan Due
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea will draw up a new military contingency plan in which U.S. troops play a supporting role after it takes back wartime operational control of its armed forces from the United States, a government source said yesterday. The measure is part of ``four preconditions'' to South Korea's regaining of wartime control agreed upon between the government and the governing Uri Party, the source said on condition of anonymity. [Sovereignty]
Washington Sends Ultimatum on Firing Range
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The U.S. Forces Korea has notified Seoul that it will conduct aerial training outside the Korean Peninsula unless a proper air-to-ground bombing range is offered by October, a Defense Ministry official said Wednesday.
Roh urges free trade pact, more 6-way talks
August 16, 2006 ? President Roh Moo-hyun covered a wide range of subjects in his annual Liberation Day address yesterday, but avoided bombshells of the kind that have made some of his earlier addresses memorable ? some would say notorious. He described the return of wartime military control to Korea as a rightful establishment of national sovereignty in the televised address. "We must be armed with a resolute will and the power to protect our own country," Mr. Roh said, adding that the change would remedy a violation of the spirit of the constitution in regard to the right to command troops. [Sovereignty]
Koreans Called upon to Force U.S. to Pay for Blood Shed by Them
Pyongyang, August 14 (KCNA) -- The Koreans will never forget the monstrous massacres committed by the U.S. imperialists but certainly force them to pay for the blood shed by them. Rodong Sinmun Monday says this in a signed commentary, 60 years since the U.S. imperialists massacred workers in Hwasun Coal Mine, South Jolla Province, the first mass-killing of Koreans after their occupation of south Korea. It goes on: On August 15, 1946 the U.S. made a surprise attack on the coal miners on their way to Kwangju to participate in the event to mark the first anniversary of the liberation of the country and killed them by mobilizing troops, planes and tanks. The past more than six decade-year long history of the U.S. imperialists' presence in south Korea was a history of massacre and plunder. The October popular resistance, Jeju islanders' uprising, soldiers' revolt in Ryosu, the April popular uprising, October resistance for democracy and the Kwangju popular uprising were savagely put down by the beast-like U.S. imperialists. Many civilians fell victim to their medieval crackdown and massacre.
Roh Will Meet Bush Sept. 14
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter President Roh Moo-hyun is scheduled to meet U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington on Sept. 14 to discuss bilateral and international issues, such as North Korea's nuclear programs, Chong Wa Dae announced Wednesday.
Constitutionality Over Command Transfer Stirs Up Debate
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Amid an intensifying dispute over the planned takeover of wartime control over South Korean troops from the United States, a fresh debate over the ``constitutionality'' of the command transfer has arisen. In a speech marking the 61st Liberation Day on Tuesday, President Roh Moo-hyun called the current command structure between the South Korean and U.S. militaries ``an abnormal state that stands at variance with the constitutional spirit.'' [Sovereignty]
Vershbow sees transfer as alliance boon
August 15, 2006 ? At separate meetings with the leaders of the Uri and Grand National parties, U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow predicted that the transfer of wartime control of Korea's military to Seoul would strengthen the U.S.-Korea military alliance. [Sovereignty]
Anti-, Pro-US Rallies Held on Liberation Day
By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter Progressives and conservatives have been holding rallies in Seoul since Sunday in celebration of Liberation Day, which falls today, but their gatherings are being held separately and they are expressing different opinions about the government's policies toward the United States, North Korea and unification. Student activist groups are also staging a sit-in at Yonsei University in central Seoul, but their occupation of the campus is triggering debates between activist and non-activist students.
Wartime Control Transfer Negotiations Almost Complete
By Christopher Carpenter Staff Reporter Negotiations for South Korea to regain control of its forces during wartime are nearly complete, South Korean Ambassador to the United States Lee Tae-sik said Monday. The United States has promised to fill in any gaps that appear until Seoul can exercise independent control, Lee said. He refuted speculation that military capabilities will be compromised because of the control transfer or that the United States will pull out additional troops from South Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported. [Sovereignty]
US Considered Dismantling Combined Command in 1992
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter Washington considered dismantling the South Korea-United States Combined Forces Command (CFC) over a decade ago, a hot topic which has recently reemerged with regard to the transition of wartime military command to Seoul. A 1992 U.S. government report to Congress, obtained by the news channel YTN yesterday, stated that the CFC would ultimately be disbanded as early as 1994 if the North Korean threat sufficiently weakened. [Sovereignty]
U.S. False Propaganda prior to Military Invasion under Fire
Pyongyang, August 13 (KCNA) -- It is preposterous for the U.S. imperialists to resort to a false propaganda against other countries, lording it over in the international arena and this is nothing but a mockery of humankind. Rodong Sinmun today says this in a signed article. It goes on: The West is engaged in a ceaseless false propaganda in a bid to isolate Iran in the international arena by branding its peaceful nuclear activities as ones for "the development of nuclear weapons" and seek a regime change.
U.S. Forces' Bombing of Tok Islet and Mass Killing of Civilians under Fire
Pyongyang, August 11 (KCNA) -- Some days ago, the press corps of the south Korean KBS disclosed the fact that a civic organization of Ullung Island found out concrete evidence including bomb splinters and unexploded bombs which proved the fact that the United States used Tok Islet as a bombing drill ground of its air force right after August 15 liberation of Korea. Among other things it told the shocking story that on June 9, 1948 a U.S. bomber appeared in the sky above Tok Islet and indiscriminately dropped bombs over the islet as well as on fishing boats at work in the waters near it, killing many fishermen. A spokesman for the North Headquarters of the Nationwide Special Committee for Probing the Truth behind the GIs' Crimes issued a statement on Friday in this regard. The statement said the killing of at least 300 civilians by indiscriminately bombing Tok Islet in peace time, not in the wartime, was thrice-cursed barbarism which could be committed only by beast-like U.S. troops and a deliberate mass killing of Koreans.
Call a Referendum on Wartime Control
by Kim Dae-joong
[Sovereignty] [Pro-Americanism]
After transfer, new agency will be liaison
August 12, 2006 ? After Seoul regains wartime control of its troops, a new organizational system will replace the current ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command to ensure military cooperation between the two sides, the Blue House said yesterday. "We are preparing to have an efficient cooperative system," said Suh Choo-suk, senior secretary for security policy at the Blue House, in a radio interview with Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. Mr. Suh said both sides are currently consulting on the future organization, which would coordinate the two militaries and act as a liaison office.
U.S. is powerful but detested
[FOUNTAIN] The United States is the most powerful nation in the world and maybe the least favorite nation at the same time. It has been criticized for being responsible for the vices of the world, problems of certain societies and even personal tragedies. Its expansionist policies and pursuit of global hegemony are the biggest antagonistic factors. The ill feelings have been growing even more since the Iraq War. Anti-Americanism has become a global phenomenon. Some distinguish anti-American sentiments from anti-Americanism. An anti-American sentiment might be a temporary feeling, but anti-Americanism is a permanent ideology. Political scientist Kim Jin-ung wrote in his book "Anti-American" that anti-Americanism in Korea usually takes the form of anti-American sentiment. Most Koreans oppose certain U.S. policies or actions, instead the United States itself. As Western Europe fell into the sphere of U.S. influence after World War II, anti-American sentiment grew there. Third World countries in South America, the Middle East and Asia exhibit far more intense antagonism based on their historical experiences. Anti-Americanism sometimes turns into "scapegoat" politics. Some countries blame the United States for all of their problems. According to a theory, anti-Americanism is not opposition to the United States itself but a resistance to the United States as a dominant nation. The most notable mark of anti-Americanism is the double standard. People abhor the United States but enjoy American pop culture and admire the American lifestyle. You will find "Yankee Go Home!" slogans on the walls in every corner of South America, but they will half-jokingly add, "Take me to the United States with you." The movie "The Host" contains anti-American sentiment. Although not as obvious as the anti-Japanese code in the movie "The Korean Peninsula," the record-breaking hit conveys clear anti-American messages. However, the viewers have had an interesting response. While the anti-American code has made the movie entertaining and popular, most viewers insist "The Host" is not an anti-American movie. They argue that a cultural anti-American sentiment is different from political anti-Americanism. "The Korean Peninsula," struggled at the box office, and moviegoers seemed to have enjoyed the "implicit anti-American sentiment" but find "blunt anti-Japanese code" uncomfortable. Anti-American sentiment is a complicated emotion, paradoxical and self-contradictory. What is important is that extremisms share many things in common, whether anti-American or pro-American. by Yang Sung-hee The writer is a culture and sports desk writer for the JoongAng Ilbo. [Anti-Americanism] [Softpower]
U.S. Termed World's Biggest Biological and Chemical War Criminal
Pyongyang, August 10 (KCNA) -- With no trick can the U.S. cover up its true colors as the world's biggest biological and chemical war criminal and arch proliferator of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), says Rodong Sinmun Thursday in a signed article. The article goes on: The Washington Post reported about the start of the construction of an 8-storeyed laboratory with a floor space of about 18,000 square yards at the cost of 128 million U.S. dollars in Fort Detrick, Maryland by the National Biodefence Analysis and Countermeasures Centre under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, adding that germ warfare lab would operate after two years with access of outsiders to it strictly restricted. This brings to light the criminal intention and true colors of the U.S. keen to launch another biological and chemical warfare [cbw]
Roh Wants Flexibility in Retrieving Wartime Control
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
A senior Chong Wa Dae official on Friday clarified President Roh Moo-hyun's recent remarks about Seoul taking over wartime operational control of South Korean forces from the United States. Suh Choo-suk, senior presidential secretary for security policy, said the president wanted to underline the importance of flexibility in setting the timetable for the command transfer. This interpretation came after Roh recently said Seoul can get back operational control any time between 2009 and 2012. [Sovereignty]
Students Plan Anti-US Rally at Yonsei
An outlawed South Korean student group said Friday it will go ahead with plans to hold a massive anti-U.S. pro-unification rally at Yonsei University next week despite disapproval by the university authorities. "Hanchongnyeon," or the Federation of Korean University Student Councils, plans to hold the rally at Seoul's Yonsei University on Aug. 13-14 marking the 61st anniversary on Aug. 15 of Korea's liberation from Japan's 36-year colonial rule in 1945. The group has held similar rallies in the past and often clashed with the police trying to block them. Group leaders said they expected this year's rally will draw up to 20,000 students and supporters.
Military Experts Rally Against Forces Control Plans
Senior military and security experts were joined by thousands of conservative activist groups on Friday in a rally against Korea's efforts to take over sole wartime operational control of its forces. Participants said President Roh Moo-hyun and his administration were destroying the Korea-U.S. alliance with efforts to take wartime control out of U.S. hands and called for Roh's resignation if they persist. Some slogans called for the president to be impeached. Altogether 173 groups including the Korea Retired Generals and Admirals Association gathered in front of Seoul Station to protest against what they say is the dismantling of Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, a "scheme" to expel the U.S. Forces Korea and a "plot" to destroy the alliance. They said the government efforts were singularly ill-timed now the country faces "a crisis threatening its very existence" due to North Korea's missile tests early last month, adding this required a strengthening rather than a dilution of the alliance.
U.S. Army Keeping Close Eye on Han River Monster
The U.S. military newspaper Stars & Stripes on Friday ran a story titled, "USFK morgue incident inspired S. Korean horror movie" that outlines the way that the movie "The Host" is based on a real-life pollution case whose convicted perpetrator remains in his old job here. The film attributes the birth of a mutant monster in the Han River to chemicals dumped by U.S. Forces Korea personnel, a McGuffin some interpret as anti-American. "At the time that the film was in its planning stages is when news of the McFarland toxic chemical dumping incident was in the press," the blockbuster's director Bong Joon-ho has said. "Besides the idea of the monster haunting the Han River, there was no deeper motive. It is true that there is satire of the U.S., but if that level of satire can be called anti-American, it would also suggest that Americans think all South Koreans were anti-American because of their rage at the Apollo Anton Ono incident" - the notorious short-track skating race where South Korean skater Kim Dong-sung at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics was disqualified by what many Koreans thought was a biased umpire, with gold going to the U.S, skater instead. "If Hollywood can constantly depict other nations as villains, then why can't the U.S. become the object of satire in the films of other nations?"
Roh Warns U.S. Lawmaker Against N.Korea Sanctions
President Roh Moo-hyun expressed concern in a meeting with a senior U.S. lawmaker about possible new U.S. sanctions against North Korea over its recent missile tests, a source said Friday. The president made the remarks in a meeting Thursday with the hawkish chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Henry Hyde. The source quoted Roh as saying a carrot was more useful in dealing with the North Koreans than a stick. Hyde reportedly countered that offering nothing but carrots was no way to persuade the reclusive North Korean regime to change. However, the two agreed that North Korean issues can be dealt with through bilateral consultations between Korea and the U.S., the source added.
Angry former defense chiefs
August 11, 2006 ? Former defense ministers pay their respects to the national flag yesterday in Seoul before meeting together. They later reaffirmed their strong opposition to an early handover of wartime military control from U.S. forces to Korea [Photo] [Sovereignty]
U.S. lawmaker says handover OK
August 11, 2006 ? With the debate in full swing here on whether a transfer of wartime command of South Korean troops to Seoul is feasible, a visiting senior U.S. lawmaker said yesterday that such a transfer is "appropriate." "Enough time has gone by for them [Seoul] to be up-to-speed in terms of training and equipment. So I would support a transfer of operational control at the earliest possible moment," said Henry J. Hyde, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' committee on international relations, in a press conference yesterday in Seoul. [Sovereignty]
Roh Under Fire Over Wartime Command Withdrawal
Sixteen former defense ministers and nine retired generals on Thursday expressed dismay at President Roh Moo-hyun's remarks in an interview Wednesday that suggested Korea can withdraw wartime control of its troops from the U.S. any time. The president had told the Yonhap news agency Korea is capable of exercising sole wartime operational control of its troops "even if we get it back now" instead of leaving it in the hands of the U.S.-led Combined Forces Command. In a statement, the ex-defense chiefs called on the government to seek public consent and parliamentary approval for the move, saying the transfer of operational command is a vital security matter and will cost the taxpayer an astronomical amount of money
US Forces Commander Reaffirms Alliance
By Christopher Carpenter Staff Reporter After days of speculation about how much and when the United States will reduce its armed forces in South Korea, the top U.S. commander here reaffirmed the importance of the more than 50 year alliance in a message posted on the U.S. Department of Defense Web site under U.S. Forces Korea (USFK). ``We will remain in Korea as a reliable ally as long as we are welcome and wanted,'' Gen. Burwell Bell said in the message.
Korea-US Defense Cost Talks Make Little Progress
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter South Korea and the United States on Thursday saw their two-day talks on how to share expenses for maintaining American soldiers stationed here fail to make any tangible results. [Friction] [US military dominance] [Tribute]
Korea can retake wartime control in 2009, Roh says
In rare interview with Yonhap, president ties handover to U.S. military base move
August 10, 2006 ? President Roh Moo-hyun said yesterday that regaining wartime military control from the United States could happen "anytime between 2009 and 2012. Our defense capacity is strong enough." He suggested, in a rare exclusive interview with the state-run Yonhap News Agency, that "reasonable timing" for the transfer to happen would be when U.S. troops move into the Pyeongtaek base. He also said that will probably happen later than 2008, the original target date. He said Koreans should not worry about their security following the transfer. "The U.S. troops will stay [on the peninsula]," he said.
'Korea Can Take Wartime Control Now'
President's Plan Invites Criticism From Opposition GNP for Weakening Defense Capability
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
South Korea is capable of retrieving wartime control of its forces from the United States even at the current stage and the alliance will not be affected by the recovery as Washington also hopes to give it back to Seoul, President Roh Moo-hyun said on Wednesday. After the transfer, Washington could possibly downsize the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), but the number of American soldiers stationed here is not as important as the quality of their services, said Roh in a special interview with the Yonhap news agency. The interview comes at a time when the governing camp has been strongly criticized by the nation's largest opposition Grand National Party (GNP) for allegedly weakening the alliance.
US Air Force Likely to Use Firing Range in Chikdo
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
The government will begin construction of an electronic scoring system for air-to-ground firing training at a shooting range in North Cholla Province before October to resolve the lack of training sites for U.S. airmen here, a military spokesman said Wednesday. The move came as the United States has added pressure to South Korea to offer U.S. aircrew on the Korean peninsula a range for strafing and bombing exercises as an alternative to the Koon-Ni Range in Kyonggi Province that closed last August.
'US FTA Will Help S. Korea Become Advanced Nation'
SEOUL (Yonhap) _ South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said Wednesday that a trade pact with the United States is a ``challenging strategy'' which South Korea can use to join the ranks of advanced countries. ``South Korea's economy has grown with the liberalization of its markets, and that means the country is now faced with severe competition in terms of the quantity and quality (of goods and services)'' Roh said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency. ``We have come a long way, but we have a long way to go'' he said, adding that the FTA with the United States will be a challenging strategy for the country to join the group of advanced countries." The president said that Asia's fourth largest economy has grown following Japan's growth model, but the country is not in a position to just adopt the neighboring country's development model.
Ex-Defense Chiefs to Meet on Command Takeover
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
Defense cost talks: Officials from South Korea and the United States discuss sharing the cost of maintaining the U.S. Forces Korea at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul, Wednesday. The two-day meeting ends Thursday. /Yonhap A group of 15 former defense ministers will meet today to voice their concerns over the government's move to take back operational control of its armed forces from the U.S. military. During the meeting, they are expected to issue a joint statement calling for halting the ongoing talks over the command transfer, which they argue would weaken the ROK-U.S combined forces capability against North Korea, according to former Defense Minister Lee Sang-hoon Wednesday. Currently, wartime command of South Korea's 680,000-member military lies in the hands of the top commander of 29,000 American troops stationed here. [Sovereignty]
Roh Says Korea Could Handle Wartime Control 'Now'
President Roh Moo-hyun on Wednesday said Korea is capable of exercising sole wartime operational control of its troops "even if we get it back now." In an interview with the Yonhap news agency, the president said, "The South Korean military's capability is sufficient and it can get U.S. military support." The remarks pour oil on the flames of controversy by suggesting that what Seoul calls the "withdrawal" of operational control will be possible to achieve even before the 2012 timeframe the government has set. Scores of foreign and security affairs experts including 13 former defense ministers say even 2012 is unfeasible.
Staking National Security on Semantics
A high-ranking government official has said the reason the U.S. proposed an unfeasibly early date to hand over wartime operational control of Korean forces to Seoul may have been "a counterattack motivated by anger because the U.S. feels Korea is seeking the 2012 withdrawal for political reasons." The official said ever since the issue first came up three years ago, the U.S. asked Korea not to use the ominous term "withdrawal" of wartime control, but Cheong Wa Dae, at the urging of the National Security Council, insisted. That insistence on "withdrawal" poses a fundamental threat to the alliance. Currently, operational control is exercised by Korea's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in peacetime and by the commander of Combined Forces Command -- namely the U.S. Forces Korea commander -- in wartime. But in reality, the CFC chief cannot just exercise wartime control as he sees fit, and his course of action is determined by strategic guidelines from the National Command and Military Authority (NCMA), which consists of the two countries' presidents and defense ministers and the Korea-U.S. Military Committee including the heads of both Joint Chiefs. In short, wartime operational control is jointly exercised by the two allies, which is why we should be saying "sole control of our troops" instead of "withdrawal." [Sovereignty]
Pentagon official: U.S. troops will be further reduced
Cuts won't be 'substantial,' source said, but will exceed number agreed to in 2004
August 09, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? The U.S. military presence on the Korean Peninsula will be further reduced due to a proposed change in Seoul's command structure, a U.S. Pentagon official said. "Will it be a substantial reduction? I do not believe so," said the official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity. He did not give specific numbers. "In no way are we suggesting a significant reduction in the American commitment to the Republic of Korea," the official said. "We are actually increasing our [military] capabilities as this process goes forward." U.S. troops here are in the process of a gradual reduction that would see the current force of 30,000 reduced to level of 25,000 by 2008. Both sides agreed upon the reduction in 2004.
Fill space left by U.S. troops
[EDITORIALS] A high-ranking official in the U.S. defense department said the number of U.S. troops in South Korea will be reduced, although it won't be by a large number. Washington decided to take that measure, he said, because the U.S. troops in Korea will have a supporting role after Korea regains wartime operational command. Korea's senior military officials worried that if Korea had wartime control, the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command would be dismantled and the number of U.S. soldiers would decrease. These worries have become reality. The U.S. official's remarks might have been intended to calm worries about the entire withdrawal of U.S. ground forces. The intention can be read in such remarks as "this additional reduction is not part of a full-scale withdrawal, but is an adjustment for Korea's takeover of wartime command," and "U.S. troops will be reduced at a special pace and in a special way that does not cause insecurity to Korea's national security." However, as an increasing number of Americans have ill feelings about the Roh Moo-hyun administration, it is hard to believe his remarks. There are two reasons for this. The first is the timing of the takeover. Former and incumbent commanders of the U.S. forces in Korea have repeatedly said that Korea's military power is not sufficient to take over wartime control. However, this time, Washington proposed handing over wartime control in 2009, which is two years earlier than when the South Korean government thinks it will have enough military power to regain control. Washington seems to mean Seoul can take over wartime operational command, whether it has enough military power or not. This cannot happen if the two countries are allies in a real sense.
US Plans Further Troop Reductions
By Jung Sung-ki, Christopher Carpenter Staff Reporters A senior U.S. Defense Department official said Tuesday the United States will slightly reduce its troops in South Korea following the planned transfer of its wartime control of the South Korean armed forces to Seoul. ``As the adjustments take place, there will be a reduction in the number of U.S. forces located in the Republic of Korea beyond the level of 25,000 that we currently agreed to,'' the official told Yonhap news agency. The official said, however, the reduction would not affect U.S. combat capability.
ROK-US Defense Cost Talks to Begin
South Korea and the United States will begin talks in Seoul today on how to share next year's expenses for maintaining thousands of American soldiers here. The two-day meeting comes after the two rounds of talks in Hawaii in May and Washington in June failed to bring about tangible results.
Economists Call FTA With US Hasty
By Yoon Ja-young Staff Reporter Seoul National University President Chung Un-chan, who is also a prominent economist, has criticized the government's handling of the free trade agreement with the United States as hasty application of theory. Chung aired his views at the start of a speech text prepared for the international seminar by the Korean Economic Association, scheduled to be held today and tomorrow under the theme ``Prosperity for All.'' An economics professor at Seoul National University, Chung is also president of the association.
Hyde to Meet Roh Amid Shaky Alliance
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the U.S. House International Relations Committee, will arrive in Seoul Wednesday as part of an Asian tour. He plans to meet President Roh Moo-hyun on Thursday. Given his strong criticism of Seoul's North Korea policies, the meeting will likely draw big attention, especially as its happening at a time many critics are raising questions about South Korea-U.S. relations.
US Gov. Plans Trip to North Amid Nuclear Stalemate
Governor Bill Richardson A senior U.S. politician may be planning a visit to reclusive North Korea amid the communist state's prolonged boycott of international negotiations over its nuclear ambitions, the Yonhap News Agency in Seoul reported Tuesday. A diplomatic source in Seoul was quoted as saying, "I believe Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico, is negotiating his visit to the North with the North Korean mission to the United Nations" in New York. The proposed visit has yet to materialize, according to the source, but if made, it would be the Democrat's second trip to the communist state in less than a year following his four-day visit to the North in October last year, during which he said he was ``allowed to visit a military nuclear reactor'' in Yongbyon
U.S. Flags More Troop Cuts in Korea
A high-ranking official in the U.S. Department of Defense on Monday flagged more cuts in troop numbers in Korea, sparking a flurry of explanations and denials from the Defense Ministry here on Tuesday
N.Korea Gulag Musical to Hit Washington
N.K. Prison Camp Musical Falls Foul of Seoul Officialdom Don't Avert Your Eyes From 'Yoduk Story' N.Korea Gulag Musical Exceeds All Expectations [Manipulation]
US, North Korea may be on collision course: group
Aug 8, 2006 — By Jon Herskovitz SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea needs to be given a face-saving way of coming back to talks on its nuclear weapons program or it might opt to increase tension through missile or nuclear tests, a report released on Wednesday said. The influential International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report on the stalled six-way nuclear talks and the North's multiple missile launches in July that one way to reduce tensions might be for the United States to ease some of the financial restrictions it placed on the communist state [Victim]
Moves to Perpetuate U.S. Forces' Presence in S. Korea under Fire
Pyongyang, August 7 (KCNA) -- The U.S. and the south Korean military authorities agreed to stipulate the continued presence of the U.S. aggressor forces in south Korea in the so-called "alliance blueprint" to be produced by the 38th south Korea-U.S. "annual security consultative meeting" slated to take place in upcoming October. Rodong Sinmun Monday observes in a signed commentary carried in this regard:
S. Korea, US Envision Separate Commands
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) and the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) will serve as independent commands under a ``joint defense system'' after Seoul retrieves wartime operational control over its troops, a military source said Monday. Defense officials from South Korea and the United States have agreed on the new idea, which will be reported to the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held between their defense ministers in Washington D.C. in October, the source at the JCS said on condition of anonymity. Seoul has set the target year for command transfer at 2012, while Washington wants to hand it over by 2009. [Sovereignty]
Seoul to Observe Int'l Military Drill in Mongolia
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea plans to dispatch five military officers to participate as observers in an international military exercise to be held in Mongolia later this month, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday. In a statement, the JCS said it will evaluate the training results and consider whether to dispatch a company-level contingent to take part in the annual exercise after 2007. Khaan Quest 2006, previously a joint Mongolian-U.S. military exercise, will take place on Aug. 10-25 in Ulaan Baatar as well as at the Tavan Tolgoi (Five Hills) Training Camp, 56 kilometers west of the capital. As well as South Korea Russia officers from China, Britain, France, Canada, Italy and Japan will have observer status this year. Some 220 U.S., 630 Mongolian and 242 troops from Fiji, Tonga, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India will take part in the exercise, according to the JCS. [China confrontation]
Korea, U.S. in War of Nerves Over Troop Control
The U.S. is playing tit-for-tat by offering to hand over wartime operational control of troops to Korea at what experts say is the unfeasibly early date of 2009-2010, a high-ranking official speculated Monday. Seoul aims at the "withdrawal" of wartime control of Korean troops, as it is officially termed, in six years' time. "Perhaps this is a counterattack motivated by anger because [U.S. authorities] feel Korea is seeking the 2012 withdrawal for political reasons," the official said. A Korean source quoted a U.S. official as saying in recent bilateral discussions that Korea will not realistically be ready to exercise independent control of its forces even by 2012, but since that deadline appeared to be politically motivated, there was no reason for Washington to cling to military logic either.
Another government official, asked to confirm the remarks, denied they were made at the negotiating table. "But outside of negotiations, crossing the i's and dotting the t's of what the U.S. said, it does seem to be true that they're getting fed up." The issue appears to be turning into a war of nerves. [Sovereignty]
U.S. 'Wants Shot of Wartime Command Sooner'
Washington wants to return wartime operational control of Korean forces to Seoul by 2009-2010, military sources said Tuesday. The government has been pushing for a handover in five or six years' time, but first concrete statements from the U.S. suggests Washington would like to be shot of it sooner rather than later. A military source said Tuesday that Washington told Seoul in Security Policy Initiative meetings last week that returning wartime operational command before 2010 would be desirable, while another source said the U.S. is targeting 2009. The U.S. apparently pointed to the cutting-edge communications and command system C4I which the Korean military is establishing as among steps that have boosted Korea's independent defense capability, and feels 2011-2012 is too long to wait. [Sovereignty]
Defense Minister Rejects Pleas on Wartime Control
Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung on Thursday said the government will proceed with efforts to take over wartime operational control of its troops from the U.S. The announcement in a snap press conference was a clear rejection of pleas from a group of 13 former defense ministers and senior military experts to the minister on Wednesday to halt the process. [Sovereignty]
The United States and the Japanese Mengele: Payoffs and Amnesty for Unit 731 Scientists
By Christopher Reed [Japan Focus 7 August 2006]
[Tsuneishi Keiichi of Kanagawa University had already been unearthing secrets about Japan’s biological warfare (BW) program for a quarter century when he made a vital discovery about Unit 731 in summer 2005. The two memoranda he discovered from July 1947 were written by Brig. Gen. Charles Willoughby, head of GHQ’s intelligence unit during the American Occupation, and found in the U.S. National Archives. The documents shed new light on GHQ’s carrot-and-stick method of obtaining BW data at the outset of the Cold War as the arms race against the Soviet Union heated up. The Americans offered the Japanese scientists far more carrots—in the form of cash payments and other rewards as well as immunity from prosecution—than was previously understood.
In exchange for cooperation from the Japanese side, the horrific war crimes of Unit 731 were suppressed by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Not only were the unit’s members not prosecuted for war crimes, they were rewarded and went on to occupy prestigious positions in postwar Japan’s medical and academic communities
Counterpunch editors’ note: Under the overall codename Project Paperclip US intelligence agencies made similarly diligent efforts to acquire the research records of Nazi doctors working in the death camps. They also brought over several of the Nazi medical experimenters and set them to work in US military research centers such as Ft. Detrick. The Nazi research was quickly put into play in the field. In 1950, the CIA's Office of Security, headed at the time by Sheffield Edwards, opened a project called Bluebird whose object was to get an individual "to do our bidding against his will and even against such fundamental laws of nature as self-preservation." The first Bluebird operations were conducted in Japan in October 1950 and were reportedly witnessed by Richard Helms, who would later run the Agency. Twenty-five North Korean POWs were given alternating doses of depressants and stimulants. The POWs were shot up with barbituates, putting them to sleep, then abruptly awoken with injections of amphetamines, put under hypnosis, then interrogated. The operation was, of course, in total contravention of international protocols. The Bluebird interrogations continued through the duration of the Korean War. This history is laid out in detail in our book Whiteout: the CIA, Drugs and the Press, Verso, available from Counterpunch. AC/JSC. [cbw] [Double standards] [human rights]
US to Maintain Troops After Control Lapses
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) and the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) will serve as independent commands under a ``joint defense system'' after Seoul retrieves wartime operational control over its troops, a military source said Monday. Defense officials from South Korea and the United States have agreed on the new idea, which will be reported to the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held between their defense ministers in Washington D.C. in October, the source at the JCS said on condition of anonymity. Seoul has set the target year for command transfer at 2012, while Washington wants to hand it over by 2009. [Sovereignty]
Ex-Defense Chiefs Wary of Change
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
A group of 15 former defense ministers and retired generals have postponed a meeting to issue a statement calling for a halt to talks on the transfer of wartime control of South Korean troops from the U.S. military, to sometime after Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said. They were originally scheduled to hold the meeting Monday to discuss ways to block the government's move, which they claim will lead to a security vacuum on the Korean Peninsula. Wartime command of South Korea's 680,000-member military lies in the hands of the top commander of 29,000 American troops stationed here. The postponement was made when Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung called his military colleagues expressing concerns that the issue could evolve into a social conflict between conservative and progressive forces, a ministry official said. [Sovereignty] [Pro-Americanism]
Korea-U.S. Alliance 'at Tipping Point'
Although North Korea launched the missiles last month, South Korea is intensifying efforts to lay out a roadmap in October for taking over wartime operational control of its troops from the U.S. Is that the fruit of the "independent diplomacy" advocated by Roh Moo-hyun administration for the last three and a half years?
Prof. Han Sung-joo of Korea University, who served as the current administration's first ambassador to the U.S., in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo said the Korea-U.S. alliance has reached a point where complete healing will be difficult. The interview was recorded on July 31 and Aug. 4.
Thirteen former defense ministers recently raised concerns about taking back wartime operational control. If Korea exercises sole wartime control, what would become of U.S. Forces Korea and Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command? Since there will be a command each in charge of Korean and U.S. troops, the only option will be cooperation, similar to the current U.S.-Japan alliance structure. But contrary to that, Japan is on its way to unifying its command with that of U.S. -- an inevitable move since Korea has asked the U.S. for more rope and Washington has to consolidate military ties with Japan. What becomes of Korea's status in the international arena during the last three and a half years?
Seven countries other than the members were invited to the G8 summit of industrialized nations in July. Korea was not among them, making it clear that the international community sees no need for a South Korean leader to attend. When you resigned as U.S. ambassador in December 2004, you rated the Korea-U.S. relationship as "B." How do you rate it now? I would hardly give it above C+. The U.S. seems intent on giving back wartime operational control and promoting cutbacks or withdrawal of the USFK: the Korea-U.S. alliance is on its way to weakening or dissolving. [Sovereignty]
U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Two N.Korean Firms
The U.S. State Department has imposed sanctions on seven firms including two from North Korea for allegedly providing Iran with material and equipment that could be used to develop weapons of mass destruction or missiles systems. The move hardens suspicions that North Korea and Iran secretly cooperated to develop WMD. The sanctions bar U.S. government agencies from buying goods or services from the blacklisted companies and also prohibit the sale of some military equipment, services and technologies to them or their subsidiaries. The two North Korean firms are Korean Mining and Industrial Development Corporation (KOMID) and Korea Pugang Trading Corporation, which have already been branded WMD proliferators by the U.S. Treasury and had their U.S. assets frozen. Washington has reportedly tracked transfers of missile-related materials and equipment by ship and air between Pyongyang and Teheran for several years. Along with the two North Korean companies, Washington also slapped sanctions against two businesses from India, two from Russia and one from Cuba. [Sanctions]
N.Korea claims capture of U.S. submersible
By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Mon Aug 7, 6:02 AM ET SEOUL, South Korea -
North Korea claimed it has captured an unmanned U.S. submersible and put it on display in Pyongyang, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan said Monday. The U.S. dismissed the report.
The small vessel was captured during a reconnaissance mission in waters off North Korea's eastern city of Hamhung, said the Choson Sinbo newspaper, which is published by a pro-North Korean association linked to the Pyongyang government. The newspaper report on its Web site, which is monitored in Seoul, was accompanied by a picture purported to be of the black torpedo-shaped U.S. vessel. There were no further details as to when or how North Korea obtained it. A spokesman for the U.S. military in South Korea, David Oten, dismissed the report.
US Plans to Complete Command Transfer by 2009
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Growing anti-American sentiments here amid deteoriating ROK-U.S. miltiary alliance is the impetus behind Washington's plan to hand over wartime operational control over Korean troops at an early date, the Washington Times reported Friday, citing an unidentified senior U.S. defense official. The Pentagon official, involved in the Security Policy Initiative (SPI) talks between the allies, also confirmed that the United States is aiming to complete the command transfer by 2009, earier than Seoul's target year of 2012. [Sovereignty] [Disinformation]
Warships on Target During Exercise
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korean Navy ships will return home later this month after taking part in a month-long international maritime exercise, the Navy said Friday. A fleet of South Korean destroyers, submarines, and maritime patrol planes and helicopters are participating in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercise in the waters off Hawaii. RIMPAC is a biennial large-scale multinational power projection and sea control exercise conducted under the leadership of the U.S. Third Fleet. This is South Korea's ninth participation in the maritime exercise since 1990, they said. RIMPAC started in 1971. This year's exercise brought together eight maritime forces of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Chile and Peru, according to the Navy. On Thursday, South Korea's 4,200 ton-class KDX destroyer, ``Mun Mu Dae Wang,'' successfully test-fired SM-2 ship-to-air missiles hitting an unmanned aerial target flying at a speed of 450 knots, a Navy spokesman said. SM-2 missiles are effective against cruise and airborne missiles and for striking aircraft. [Joint US military] [Military balance] [Double standards]
PM Begs to Differ With Japan, U.S. Over N.Korea
Prime Minister Han Myong-sook has made it clear Seoul does not agree with Washington and Tokyo about slapping additional sanctions on North Korea to enforce a ban on proliferation of missile technology. The ban is part of a non-binding UN Security Council resolution passed after Pyongyang's missile tests on July 5. "If we interpret the resolution too widely, it will become difficult for us to come up with a solution to the matter," Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun quoted Han as saying. In an exclusive interview with the daily on Thursday, Han said there was no need to give up the administration's engagement policy toward North Korea and vowed the government would proceed with inter-Korean cooperative projects. She added there was "no clear evidence" that North Korea is using part of the profits from these projects to build up its military and weapons arsenal. But Han downplayed reports of a rift between Seoul and Washington over North Korea issues. "Our two countries can coordinate their differences over those issues because they stem only from different geopolitical factors and policy priorities," she said.
Turning to bilateral issues, Han warned Japanese politicians “to abandon historical perceptions that offend against our sovereignty” -- a reference to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors war criminals, and territorial designs on Korea’s Dokdo islets. Asked about Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea, Han said, “I fully understand that Japan is paying a great deal of attention to the issue and making efforts to resolve it. But we need to remember that there are still many people just like Megumi Yokota” -- the most famous Japanese victim -- “who were abused against their will by Japan’s past conduct in Asia” such as the “comfort women” drafter as sex slaves for the Japanese military during World War II. [Friction] [Yasukuni] [Sanctions][Abductee] [Double standards]
Boeing gets nod to build Korea's high-tech planes
August 04, 2006 ? The American aircraft manufacturer Boeing Corporation was selected yesterday as the provider for Seoul's procurement project for high-tech surveillance aircraft for the country's armed services. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration dropped Israel Aircraft Industry ELTA from the list of potential bidders. The administration said yesterday that the Israeli firm failed to provide an answer on whether it could guarantee U.S. government export approval for key components that are manufactured in the United States. [Military balance] [US dominance]
Yoon: Seoul ready for 2012 transfer of wartime command
August 04, 2006 ? Despite a direct appeal by his predecessors a day earlier, Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said yesterday that the transfer of wartime control of South Korean troops from Washington would go ahead as planned. Dismissing concerns from the retired generals that a transfer could weaken the military alliance and that Seoul does not have the capability to exercise sole control of its troops in the case of a confrontation with North Korea, Mr. Yoon said, "We should not underestimate our ability and will." [Sovereignty]
Boeing Final Bidder for Early Warning Aircraft
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
Boeing's B-737 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) plane U.S. aircraft maker Boeing has been selected as the sole candidate for the country's $2-billion surveillance aircraft deal, beating Elta of Israel in the year-long competition.
``The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has selected Boeing's B-737 model as the only bidder equipped to meet the requirements for the early warning aircraft project,'' Lee Yong-chul, deputy chief of DAPA, said in a briefing after a meeting of the agency's supreme decision-making committee at the Defense Ministry in Seoul. Elta, a subsidiary of Israel Aircraft Industries, was dropped as it failed to guarantee obtaining the required export licenses from the U.S. government regarding key items to be installed in its product for the sealing of the contract, he said. [US dominance] [Military balance]
Afghans Rally Against Korean 'Proselytes'
Afghans have taken to the streets against a bizarre "peace march" planned in the devoutly Muslim nation by hundreds of Korean evangelicals as violence continued unabated in the country. It emerged Thursday that an explosive device was recently discovered in the vest of a Korean aid worker. [Religion] [Imperialism]
Defense Minister Rejects Pleas on Wartime Control
Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung on Thursday said the government will proceed with efforts to take over wartime operational control of its troops from the U.S. The announcement in a snap press conference was a clear rejection of pleas from a group of 13 former defense ministers and senior military experts to the minister on Wednesday to halt the process. Yoon said the fears of the ministers, whose combined tenures span 40 years, are "due to the fact that people who were in the military or worked as defense ministers a long time ago are unable to precisely understand the development of our military." Korea and the U.S. plan to lay out a roadmap for the handover in this October's Security Consultative Meeting in Washington D.C. The U.S. seeks to handover control by 2009 or so, while Korea aims for 2012. [Sovereignty]
Minister Trusts US Security Commitment
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter U.S. reinforcement of South Korea in the event of war will remain unchanged even after Seoul regains operational control of its armed forces during wartime from the United States, Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said Thursday. In a meeting with reporters at the ministry, Yoon stressed Seoul and Washington have agreed in principle that American forces will continue to be stationed here as a deterrent against North Korea's military threats after the command transfer in accordance with a bilateral defense treaty signed in 1953.
``The two sides have agreed that U.S. forces' continued presence in South Korea and an overwhelming troop and weapons deployment in the event of an emergency are a prerequisite to their talks on the wartime command transfer,'' he said. [Sovereignty] [In denial]
Precarious Alliance
Korea-U.S. Military Bond Feared Being Torn Apart
Soldiers of the two Koreas guarding the demilitarized zone traded fire Monday evening in a brief gun battle triggered by two shots fired by North Korean soldiers toward a South Korean guard post. The provocation, though minor and the first of its kind in three years, was enough to put people here on edge. It was true that the once rampant armed clashes along the DMZ have become a rarity as the two Koreas have been pushing for reconciliation since the first inter-Korean summit in 2000.
Ex-Defense Chiefs Urge Halt to Command Handover
U.S. Mulling Separate Wartime Command From Korea U.S. Congress Asked About Boosting UN Command in Korea USFK Chief's Questions Need Answers Regular Talks See U.S. Press Korea on Bomber Range 40 Years of Defense Experience Speak in One Voice b A group of senior military experts including 13 former defense ministers have urged Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung to stop seeking the return of wartime operational control from the U.S. The meeting came at Yoon's invitation on Wednesday. It is rare for the contents of such a meeting to be made public, especially when it focuses on a call to end a core government project. The group included Lee Sang-hoon and other former defense ministers as well as retired Gen. Paik Sun-yup and former vice defense minister Lee Jung-rin. They said now is not the time to reclaim wartime operational control of troops but rather the moment to strengthen the Korea-U.S. alliance.
They urged Yoon to stake his portfolio on calling on Cheong Wa Dae to delay the process, which is expected to result in the dissolution of Combined Forces Command. They said taking over wartime control "would cause the collapse of the Korea-U.S. alliance," making the issue more important than the National Security Law. They said this October's Security Consultative Meeting between the allies in Washington must not, as planned, draw up a roadmap for the handover. [Sovereignty] [Pro-Americanism]
40 Years of Defense Experience Speak in One Voice
Thirteen former defense ministers on Wednesday called on Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung to halt a government plan to take over wartime operational control of troops from the U.S. by 2012. Ex-defense minister Lee Sang-hoon reportedly told Yoon to stop plans to agree a road map for the handover at the Seoul-Washington Security Consultative Meeting in October, and to stake his post on persuading the president to abandon the idea. Former defense minister Kim Sung-eun added Korea does not have the military intelligence power to exercise operational control on its own and needs U.S. support. Other former defense chiefs were unanimous in demanding to know why the government is going the way it is when the reverse course, of strengthening the alliance with the U.S, is the need of the hour. After the meeting, Lee said he told Yoon, "I've sought a meeting with Gen. Burwell ?ell, the commander of the U.S. Forces Korea. If I meet him, I'll suggest that he ignores what the South Korean government says." [Sovereignty] [Pro-Americanism] [Role of ROK military]
Google Asked to Identify Korea Correctly
By Cho Jin-seo Staff Reporter
The National Geographic Information Institute said Wednesday that it will hand over an English-language map of Korea to Google this month with a request that the U.S. Internet company stop using Japanese terms on the map of Korea. [Japanese colonialism]
Former Defense Chiefs Oppose Early Transfer
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter A group of former defense ministers Wednesday asked the government to review plans to take back operational control of South Korean troops during wartime from the U.S. forces, military sources said. In a luncheon meeting with Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung at the ministry, they stressed that the government should make more efforts to bolster the existing combined forces command based on a solid ROK-U.S. alliance rather than seek to create an independent command, the sources said. [Sovereignty] [Pro-Americanism]
Korea, U.S. Announce Date for Annual Simulation Drills
Annual joint exercises between Korean and U.S. forces dubbed the Ulchi Focus Lens will take place from Aug. 21 to Sept. 1 this year, Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command said Friday. The drill is a command post exercise or CPX that makes use of computer simulation of battlefield conditions. The first exercise was held in 1975; this year is no. 32. Some 8,000 U.S. troops will participate in this year's exercise, 5,000 from the U.S. Forces Korea and others from the U.S. mainland and other bases off the peninsula. North Korea has been demanding an end to all joint exercises. The CFC informed the North of the schedule for this year's exercise by way of the UN Command Military Armistice Commission. (englishnews@chosun.com ) [Joint US military]
North Korea Blew Up KAL Aircraft in 1987, Says Ex-U.S. Envoy in Seoul
North Korea blew up Korean Air Lines flight 858 in 1987, on account of which the United States included North Korea into the list of terror-sponsoring countries, James Lilley, 76, the former American ambassador in Seoul, disclosed Thursday. Lilley made the remarks in an address he delivered at a ceremony commemorating the publication of his memoir "China Hands" held at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. The incident prompted the United States to initiate support for security at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, he said. [KAL858]
U.S. mulls sanctions to punish North
From news reports The U.S. administration is looking at reimposing broad economic sanctions on North Korea in response to the Stalinist state's recent missile test, an official said Monday. "It's one of the options that's on the table," said Molly Millerwise, a spokeswoman for Stuart Levey, the U.S. Treasury Department's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. [Sanctions] [Camouflage]
Rodong Sinmun Lashes at Scheduled "Ulji Focus Lens"
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- The scheme of the United States to stage massive "Ulji Focus Lens" joint military drills with the south Korean trigger-happy forces comes under fire in Rodong Sinmun Monday. Castigating the war game as another grave military provocation against the DPRK and an intolerable challenge to all the Koreans desirous of peace and reunification, the analyst goes on: The plan of the U.S. to stage the war rehearsal clearly reveals its adventurous scheme to venture armed aggression on the DPRK and it is little short of a declaration of war. [Joint US military]
US Considers Reimposing 2000 Sanctions
By Christopher Carpenter Staff Reporter The United States is thinking of reimposing the economic sanctions it lifted in 2000 in response to North Korea's recent missile test, the Financial Times reported Sunday. The sanctions include a travel ban, a broad trade ban and restrictions on investment and remittances.
Levey, who runs the investigations into North Korea's illicit finances, said the U.S. believes North Korean leaders may be hiding ``significant amounts'' in banks around the world. He said the US would ``encourage financial institutions to carefully assess the risk of holding any North Korea-related accounts,'' the Financial Times reported. He praised China for the recent move by Bank of China to freeze North Korean accounts in its Macau branch.
USFK Denies Report of Imminent Troop Withdrawal
SEOUL (Yonhap) _ The United States is considering a total pullout of its troops from South Korea after 2008, according to a U.S. political analyst Monday, although U.S. military officials deny the claim. "Now under consideration is a further reduction to a small token force or possibly a total withdrawal sometime after 2008," Richard Halloran said in his contribution to the U.S. political Web site RealClear- Politics.
Bush Election 'Stopped Kim Jong-il Visiting Seoul'
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il told China's then president Jiang Zemin in September 2001 he hesitated to return a historic visit from South Korean president Kim Dae-jung because he expected little gain from such a trip after George W. Bush became U.S president. Jiang quotes the remarks in a quasi-autobiography titled "For a Better World: Jiang Zemin's Overseas Visits." "I'm weighing whether to make a return visit to South Korea. My visit to the South would show the world that Koreans can settle issues related to the Korean Peninsula by themselves," it quotes Kim as telling Jiang during a Pyongyang visit. "But the international political atmosphere has changed after the U.S presidential election. It's difficult to forecast what results my return visit would bring." The purported remarks came 15 months after Kim Dae-jung visited the Stalinist country. The book covering Jiang's trips from 1990-2002 was written by former Chinese diplomats at the direction of the ex-president. [Summit00]
Yale dean rues state of U.S.-Korea ties
July 31, 2006 ? In a recent interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, Harold Hongju Koh, now dean of the Yale Law School and U.S. assistant secretary of state for human rights from 1998 to 2001, said he was shocked to see the growth of anti-American sentiment in Korea. He blamed the Bush administration policies for the trend. Emphasizing that neither country will be able to resolve issues associated with North Korea without the other, Mr. Koh urged Seoul and Washington toward more cooperation and honest consultation. He also advised the South Korean government to use pressure and dialogue at the same time to negotiate with North Korea, including problems of human rights abuses and security. [Friction]
US Democrats Call for Direct Talks With NK
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) - The U.S. Democratic Party criticized the administration of President George W. Bush on Saturday for failing to resolve the North Korean nuclear and missile problems. Delivering a radio address to outline his party's future diplomatic policy goals, Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, said the current impasse surrounding North Korea has the potential to become dangerous. He said that while the Bush administration has been arguing against bilateral talks with Pyongyang, the communist country has quadrupled its amount of weapons-grade plutonium. [Bilateral] [Partisan]
Half of Koreans Oppose US FTA
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Half of South Koreans said in a recent poll that they oppose a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States. In the survey of 1,000 Korean men in their 40s and 50s, 50 percent of the respondents disapproved of the FTA, 3.7 percentage points higher than those approving it.
More USFK Pilots Leave Peninsula for Training
Top USFK Official Renews Demand for Bombing Range
More U.S. pilots stationed in Korea now fly more frequently to U.S. air bases outside the peninsula for training. There have been a string of hints from top U.S. military officials including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that the Air Force could move pilots abroad unless the Air Force is given a new bomber training range here to replace the closed-down Kooni Range in Maehyangri, Gyeonggi Province. [US military dominance] [Sovereignty]
U.S. 'Ready to Isolate N.Korea'
The U.S. is ready to isolate North Korea internationally over its nuclear weapons program, its top nuclear negotiator said on Sunday. The North Koreans "seem to like to isolate themselves," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, who is visiting Philippines, said. "If they want to get isolated, we are happy to isolate them." The remarks were made during Hill's visit to a military academy in the northern resort city of Baguio. Hill, however, added he was optimistic the North could be persuaded to return to the six-party talks on its nuclear program. [Victim]

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JULY 2006

Rodong Sinmun on Bush Administration's Aggressive Military Strategy
Pyongyang, July 28 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today carries a signed article which castigates the Bush administration for establishing preemptive nuclear attack strategy as the keystone of its aggressive military strategy in the 21st century and committing the inhuman crimes of increasing the danger of a nuclear war. The U.S. has advocated that it will use nukes as a means of threat or a last resort to strike, but it has openly changed this stand into the reckless preemptive nuclear attack strategy, the article says, and goes on: The Bush group designated the DPRK and other countries as the targets of nuclear attack, which is a revelation of very dangerous attempt to put its preemptive nuclear attack strategy into practice. The U.S. imperialists declared all over the world that their main military doctrine is a preemptive nuclear attack. It is clear that the U.S. is the very one who poses a nuclear threat in the world. The U.S. is stepping up the development and production of smaller nukes in a bid to use nukes as if they are conventional weapons.
Defending Independence Is Basic Guarantee for National Development: Rodong Sinmun
Pyongyang, July 28 (KCNA) -- The realities today when the alleged "only super power" of the world is getting all the more wanton in its aggressive and dominationist hysterics make it quite urgent for the Koreans to hold higher the banner of independence in the struggle to carve out the destiny of the country and the nation, says Rodong Sinmun in an article Friday. Holding higher the banner of independence is a highly important matter in foiling the U.S. imperialists' current moves to destroy national identity under the slogan of "globalization," the author of the article notes, and goes on: [Independent states]
Just How Unbreakable Is the Alliance?
"In the space of just 37 months, the United States of America lost a total of more than 36,000 of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines...We will maintain our presence there. America's commitment to peace in the region, and to the security of our friends, is unbreakable." U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney told those gathered at an armistice anniversary held at the Korean War Memorial in Washington on Thursday, "We will maintain our presence there. America's commitment to peace in the region, and to the security of our friends, is unbreakable." He reminded them that South Korea has grown into the third largest economy in Asia today on the sacrifice of the fallen.
When the Korea-U.S. alliance was established, in 1953, South Korea's per-capita income was US$67 and GDP $1.3 billion. Last year our per-capita income stood at $16,291 and GDP at 787.5 billion. With a GDP 605 times what it was 52 years ago, South Korea has become the 13th richest country in the world, and that miraculous growth was made possible because the Korea-U.S. alliance ensured our survival and enabled us to sell as many products as we could to liberal democracies around the world
Cheney says U.S. military will stay in South Korea
July 29, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? U.S. troops will remain on the Korean Peninsula until the land is a place of peace and stability, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said. "All of us look to the day when the light of freedom and progress covers all of Korea, and stability on the peninsula rests on a foundation of peaceful reconciliation," Mr. Cheney said Thursday, speaking at a ceremony commemorating the 53rd anniversary of the Korean War armistice. Mr. Cheney stressed that America's security commitment was unbreakable. "Stability and peace will be maintained by our great military alliance. We will maintain our presence there [Korea]." Both Koreas are still technically at war, because the Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. Mr. Cheney's speech not announced in advance. Despite the presence of Lee Tae-sik, Seoul's top envoy to Washington, Mr. Cheney made remarks about North Korea. "North Korea is a scene of merciless repression, chronic scarcity and mass starvation," he said. Seoul, which favors reconciliation, has openly admitted it is at odds with Washington over North Korea. One government official in Seoul interpreted Mr. Cheney's speech as a positive sign that despite differences between Seoul and Washington, the alliance was solid. "Fundamentally the relationship is very healthy," the government official said. "You can argue with a friend. That's called dialogue. You remain friends." Ambassador Lee Tae-sik agreed that the alliance with Washington is strong and will remain in the future. "Today, we need to take into account the new geopolitical environment, and consider a viable approach in light of our common U.S.-Korea vision of a prosperous, democratic and united Korean Peninsula." In a possible nod to Mr. Lee's presence, the vice president refrained from making any further controversial remarks about North Korea. by Kang Chan-ho [Sovereignty] [In denial] [US military dominance]
'ROK-US Alliance Firm, Solid'
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) ? U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday reaffirmed Washington's commitment to peace on the Korean Peninsula and to a strong U.S.-South Korea military alliance. ``All of us look to the day when the light of freedom and progress covers all of Korea and stability on the Korean Peninsula rests on the foundation of peaceful reconciliation,'' he said in his speech at a ceremony marking the 53rd anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Day. ``Until then, stability and peace will be maintained by our great military alliance,'' he said. American troops proudly serve in Korea today, the vice president said. ``We will maintain our presence there.'' He said, ``America's commitment to peace in the region and the security of our friends is unbreakable.'' [Sovereignty] [US military dominance]
Korea churches urge Bush to talk and lift sanctions on North Korea
Seoul (ENI). The head of Korea's National Council of Churches has written to US President George W. Bush urging the lifting of sanctions on North Korea and also the use of diplomacy to replace an armistice signed on the Korean Peninsula in 1953 with a peace agreement. Anglican Bishop Park Kyung-Jo, president of the National Council of Churches in Korea said he had sent his letter on behalf of churches to Bush. In it he said: "It is generally understood that the sanctions against North Korea since 1950 have been enforced by the USA in its own political interest. Experts indicate that the sanctions against North Korea have been one of the significant causes of the increasing suffering of the North Korean people." [Sanctions] [Sanctions effect] [Bilateral]
'Different Voice With US Makes Alliance Stronger'
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook said on Thursday that South Korea ``can speak with a different voice'' than the United States, saying Seoul's independent comments will not break its alliance with Washington. Her remarks are in sync with those of Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok who recently said Seoul sometimes needs to demand Washington fit its North Korea policies to those of Seoul if the issue is more important to South Korea. [Friction] [In denial]
Cheney to Attend Korean Armistice Ceremony
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney The annual Korean Armistice anniversary ceremony will be held in Washington D.C. on Thursday with a U.S. vice president making a speech for the first time, Yonhap News Agency reported. Vice President Dick Cheney will deliver a keynote address at the ceremony at the Korean War Veterans Memorial. Park Seh-jik, chairman of the Korea Veterans Association, and Lee Tae-sik, Seoul's ambassador to Washington, will attend from the South Korean side, Yonhap reported.
UN Members Urged to Freeze North Korean Assets
By Christopher Carpenter Staff Reporter
U.N. member states should freeze assets of 11 North Korean entities designated as missile and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferators by the United States last year as a first step in implementing the U.N. Security Council resolution adopted this month, U.S. Undersecretary of Treasury Stuart Levey said Wednesday. In a telephone interview with Yonhap News Agency, Levey said China has taken "responsible action" in responding to concerns over North Korea's alleged illicit activities and that he hoped to visit Beijing. [Sanctions] [Double standards]
Cardinal Kim rips Roh's comments
July 27, 2006 ? Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan denounced President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday for defending the unification minister's comment that the "U.S. failed the most" in regard to North Korea's missile launches, during a courtesy call from the Grand National Party's new chairman. "The president's comments do not help the national interest, though it may help him recover some popularity," Cardinal Kim said, according to GNP spokesman Yoo Ki-june. In defense of Unification Minister Lee Jeong-seok's comments, Mr. Roh said on Tuesday, "Is it wrong for a South Korean minister to say that the United States failed in the policy?" The cardinal, who has supported conservatives in the past and has been a cardinal since 1969, said he was concerned about the shaky South Korea-U.S. alliance, saying, "South Korea cannot develop further without help from the United States." [Religion] [Pro-Americanism]
Sanctions on North advance in the U.S.
July 27, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? The U.S. Senate approved Tuesday the proposed North Korea Non Proliferation Act, which would impose sanctions on individuals or companies that sell or transfer technology related to weapons of mass destruction to North Korea. The U.S. House of Representatives has not yet acted on a similar bill; the Senate approved its version in a voice vote only 10 days after the bill was presented to the upper chamber. [Sanctions]
Roh, Bush to Reaffirm FTA in Summit
By Lee Hyo-sik Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George Bush are expected to express their joint determination for the establishment of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) during their September summit in Washington.
`Inter-Korean Economic Projects Not Worrisome'
By Park Song-wu, Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter
Inter-Korean economic cooperation programs are not a worry to the United States as the money ending up in North Korea is not likely to be used for developing weapons of mass destruction (WMD), a ranking U.S. finance official said. In an interview with the Voice of America on Tuesday, U.S. Undersecretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Crimes Stuart Levey said what Washington worries about is the North attempting to abuse international financial institutions to secure funds for its development of WMD. He said the Kaesong industrial park project and the Mt. Kumgang tourism program _ the two examples of cross-border cooperation _ are not the concerns the U.S. government has in mind to safeguard the international financial system.
In a related development, the Kaesong complex is expected to churn out products worth a record high of $6 million this month, despite security concerns on the Korean Peninsula caused by the North's missile launches on July 5, an official at the Unification Ministry said. Denying a negative outlook for South Korean factories in Kaesong, Ko Gyoung-bin, who is in charge of supporting the project, said ``everything is going perfectly okay [Counterfeiting] [Camouflage] [Diversion] [Sanctions] [Kaesong]
No US Military Presence Planned for Unified Korea
South Korea and the United States have agreed to exclude discussions on the presence of American troops on the Korean Peninsula after the eventual unification of the two Koreas in their joint studies on how to better reshape their security alliance, Yonhap News Agency reported on Wednesday. "It is beyond the scope of the joint studies to discuss the presence of American troops after the unification of South and North Korea," said Kim Kyu-hyun, chief of international cooperation affairs at the Defense Ministry. The two sides have finalized the studies on the terms of the alliance, with a focus on South Korea's wish to play a greater role in its military operations, the official said. [Sovereignty] [US military]
A Presidential Bull in the China Shop
"Can't a Korean minister say, 'I don't think that a U.S. policy succeeded in that regard? Should such ministers be grilled at the National Assembly?" President Roh Moo-hyun said in a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. The president was coming out all guns blazing in support of Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok, who was harshly criticized by lawmakers for having said in a TV interview the U.S.' North Korea policy "failed the most" when the North launched its missiles on July 5. What Lee meant to say was that South Korea failed less, the chief executive explained. "Ministers should be ready to ask back, 'Then are you insisting on suffocating North Korea?' and "Do you lawmakers think the U.S. is a faultless country?'" The presidential remarks sound like he, too, thinks the U.S. was a bigger failure than South Korea in the North Korean missile crisis
Shake Off Outdated Concepts of Independence
Ex-FM Lambastes Gov't Diplomacy
Prof. Yoon Young-kwan, who served as the first foreign minister of the current administration, said in a lecture to a Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations affiliate on Monday, "Despite becoming the 10th largest economy in the world, the consciousness of South Korea remains in turn-of-the-19th-century resistant nationalism and passive concepts of independence, desperate to get out from under the influence of the Great Powers. We have to pursue positive independence taking advantage of our relations with these powers to achieve our national interests." Yoon cited the former German chancellor Helmut Kohl as representing a spirit of genuine independence when he achieved German unification through close diplomatic ties with the U.S. Germany achieved unification by overcoming fears of a united Germany in neighboring countries or former enemies like France, the Soviet Union, Britain and Poland through cooperation with Washington. [Pro-Americanism] [Sovereignty] [Independent states] [Imperialism]
KCNA Blasts Rice's Outcry
Pyongyang, July 24 (KCNA) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rice, when interviewed by Asian reporters on July 22, uttered that north Korea is such an irresponsible and dangerous country as refusing to issue an advance notice about its missile launches to different directions and openly claiming that it has nuclear strike capability. Obviously, Rice made such outcry in a bid to justify the U.S. hostile policy to pressurize the DPRK with the ministerial meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum at hand and draw regional countries into its pressure campaign. Her remarks are nothing but a sheer distortion of the reality which can convince no one. They only betray her political ignorance because her remarks are so naive that one can hardly interpret them as the words uttered by the diplomatic chief of a country. The Bush administration sparked a new global nuclear arms race and a vicious cycle of terrorism under the pretext of "anti-terrorism" after deliberately listing legitimate sovereign states as an "axis of evil" and openly threatening to mount "preemptive nuclear attacks" on them. We would like to ask Rice if there is any other country more dangerous and irresponsible than the U.S. administration. The Bush administration is made up of the worst gangsters in the world because it adopted it as its state policy to perpetrate wars and genocide after dividing the world into "good and evil", refusing to face up to the trend of history towards peace and security, and does not hesitate to commit invasion against other countries and kill guiltless civilians in order to meet its selfish political purpose. It was none other than Rice who let loose a spate of such piffles over the launch of a few missiles as part of military training to cope with the U.S. reckless moves for aggression and war. This cannot be construed otherwise than an outburst made by a political imbecile. The DPRK launched missiles only after airspace, land and waters of the sea had been confirmed to be completely safe from them. Their launches, therefore, hurt neither ships nor civilian planes nor anyone. This fact was admitted even by the neighboring countries. The United States now technically at war with the DPRK had been kicking up a war atmosphere for a month in collusion with Japan, threatening to intercept any missile to be launched. Had the DPRK announced its plan for missile launches in advance as demanded by Rice, an extremely grave situation would have been created in the Asia-Pacific. It is not hard to guess what kind of foreign policy is followed by the Bush administration whose secretary of State is free to make such reckless remarks. [ARF]
U.S. Urges Seoul to Match N.Korea Sanctions
A U.S. request for South Korea to fall in line behind financial sanctions on North Korea over the country's alleged financial crimes has fallen on deaf ears here
But Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon told reporters the same day the Korean government needs to take no further steps. "The nation's financial regulations provide appropriate legal means to conduct investigations and take necessary steps when illegal money laundering or suspected transactions by those connected with terrorist activities occur," a ministry official said. [Evidence] [Friction] [Dilemma] [Sanctions]
China freezes N.K. accounts: lawmaker
A South Korean lawmaker yesterday claimed that the Bank of China froze its North Korean accounts in relation to the alleged counterfeiting activities of the communist regime. Citing former and incumbent Washington officials, Grand National Party lawmaker Park Jin said the latest move by China was connected with the United States' financial measures against North Korea's counterfeiting and laundering of money. "This is a virtual ban against dealing with North Korea by China, leaving North Korea all the more devastated," Park said. Park was in Washington to attend a seminar that started on July 15.
North Korea is apparently concerned that the BDA measure could also affect some $200 million to $300 million accounts that are scattered in Singapore, Austria, Switzerland and Russia
Reports in Tokyo yesterday said Japan was contemplating revising foreign exchange and trade laws, as part of its additional sanctions on North Korea over its missile launches. The revisions are likely to require about 300 Japanese-based companies with business ties with North Korea to suspend exports of about 40 materials to destinations that are believed to be linked to the North's missile program, the Yomiuiri newspaper reported. It will require the companies to report to the Trade Ministry the details of their exports of targeted materials, including large trucks, titanium alloys and carbon fiber, the Yomiuri said. Japan is also considering banning cash remittances and freezing North Korean assets in the country. [Sanctions] [Extraterritoriality]
The U.S. 'failed the most' over North's missiles
Unification minister says that other countries are also at fault
July 24, 2006 ? Although many countries failed in trying to prevent the test-firing earlier this month, the United States "failed the most," Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said yesterday. In an interview with the Seoul Broadcasting System posted on its Web site, the minister admitted that Seoul's efforts to halt the North from launching its missiles had failed, too, but stressed everyone deserved a share of the blame. "China has failed and we admit that we have failed, but other countries in the international community had difficulties persuading the North," Mr. Lee said. "If the North's aim was to threaten the United States the most, if you think about failure, theoretically Washington has failed the most." He admitted that there are differences between South Korea and the United States in matters pertaining to North Korea, due to geopolitical and strategic reasons. The minister said the strategic alliance between the two sides was in sync in everything, except for issues over the North. [Friction]
Uri members say damage at U.S. bases 'very serious'
July 24, 2006 ? Environmental damage at U.S. military installations scheduled to be returned or already returned to Seoul's control is "very serious," several Uri Party lawmakers said yesterday, urging a National Assembly hearing and special investigation into the government's negotiation with the United States on the matter. They said such a poor negotiation outcome will result in a financial burden for the Korean people. Earlier this month, Seoul and Washington agreed on the return to Korean control of 15 U.S. military bases around the country but at standards laid out by Washington rather than those requested by Seoul, which included the replacement of contaminated soil.
Government vows it 'will not yield' on Kaesong
July 24, 2006 ? Korea will "not yield to the United States" on including the Kaesong Industrial Complex products as made-in-South Korea items, Chung Mon-soo, President Roh Moo-hyun's economic advisor, vowed Friday. As the government dug its heels in on that issue, critics say Korea has already given in or will give in soon on four "prior" conditions: the reduction of a screen quota system for made-in-Korea movies, allowing U.S. beef to be imported, changing Korea's tax system on imported vehicles based on engine capacity and Korea's plan on the drug reimbursement system. The movie and beef issues have already been announced, but the government has denied any deals on the other issues.
Rodong Sinmun Calls for Rejecting U.S. Double Standards
Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today in a by-lined article calls for not allowing the imperialists to apply the double standards but rejecting them to establish a new fair international order and develop the international relations on a sound basis. It says: It is a criminal act of violating the principle of impartiality in the international ties to apply the double standards. The U.S. is chiefly to blame for pursuing a blatant double-dealing policy. It has applied diverse standards when dealing with international issues and internal affairs of other countries. Its standards vary according to its interests and the stance of the relevant countries towards it and their political systems. This is well illustrated by the double standards applied by the U.S. in handling human rights issues.
Minister Lambastes U.S. for 'Failed' N.Korea Policy
Seoul's top official in charge of North Korea policy on Sunday singled out the U.S. as the nation whose policy toward Pyongyang "failed the most." "China has failed" to prevent the North from test-firing missiles "and we also recognize our own failure," Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said. "But if it was the U.S. the North tried to threaten the most, the logic goes that it is the U.S. that failed the most." Lee made the remarks on an SBS TV program, hinting that an irate North Korea fired the missiles because Washington turned down its invitation to the U.S. chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill early last month. [Friction] [Dilemma]
U.S. sanctions on North lifted in 1999 may return
July 20, 2006 ? The Bush administration is weighing the reinstatement of trade sanctions on North Korea that were lifted during the Clinton administration. A visiting U.S. Treasury Department official, Stuart Levey, described Washington's policy direction to Korean government policymakers during a visit here from Sunday through Tuesday. Yesterday, a government official described those discussions to journalists, and the Treasury posted a cautious statement by Mr. Levey on its Web site. [Sanctions]
Tenacious U.S. Confrontation Psychology against DPRK Revealed
Pyongyang, July 18 (KCNA) -- The "national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2007" passed through the U.S. Senate in June calls on the state and defense departments to submit to the Congress a report on "deterrent to north Korea" of the "UN Command" present in south Korea. The report is to specify the possibility of requesting the nations, which took part in the Korean war, to dispatch their troops in peace time in a bid to reinforce the "deterrent to north Korea" of the "UN Command", those nations which are able to send troops and, in case they are dispatched, the effect on the diplomatic efforts to remove "nuclear threat" from someone, and so one and so forth. Minju Joson in a commentary Tuesday describes this as a vivid indication that the U.S. has made the provocation of a second Korean war an established fact and is preparing another military attack on the DPRK under the UN cloak.
"Tragic Story" about Record Death Toll of U.S. Army
Pyongyang, July 18 (KCNA) -- The Korean war (June 1950 - July 1953) claimed record casualties of the U.S. invaders compared with the number of the mobilized armed forces. A Japanese book "Has U.S. been defeated?" says the casualty rate of the "UN Forces" runs into 40-60 percent which surpasses that of U.S. forces (7.5 percent) and German forces (55.8 percent) in the Second World War. There is one more story showing that the toll rate of the U.S. forces in the Korean war was much more than the above-said figure. MacArthur flew in the temporarily occupied Pyongyang on October 21, 1950, and visited F Company of Fifth Cavalry Regiment, which was the first to make an inroad into the city as the U.S. forces, for the purpose of citing soldiers of the company. Standing before 200 company soldiers, he ordered those who had survived since the company landed in Korea to take a step forward. There were only five GIs who made a step forward. Three of them had their heads, arms and legs bandaged. It meant 99 percent of the company was killed or wounded. The company was an epitome of the losses divisions including the First Cavalry Division under the U.S. Eighth Army Corps had sustained. MacArthur had been supplemented with 10,000 - 15,000 forces from the U.S. mainland every month from August 1950. Surprised at the tragic reality which was more miserable than what he had imagined, he gave up his original plan to upgrade those who "distinguished themselves" and went back. Terror about death prevailed in the U.S. army and evaders from military service ever grew in number. The U.S. Navy Prosecutor-general deplored that the number of deserters of the U.S. Navy reached 46,000 in the period from the start of the war to the end of 1952 and the deserters of the army amounted for 20,000 on a monthly average, sometimes 3,000 a day. In the Korean war, 405,498 U.S. aggressors were killed, wounded or taken prisoners. [Korean War events]
Korea-US Alliance Cracking
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter
South Korea finds itself increasingly at odds with the United States over how to deal with the adamant North Korea as Pyongyang adopts a more hardline policy in the face of growing pressures from the outside. North Korea's missile tests on July 5 initially brought the allies to a united front. But there is now a widening rift over decisions regarding sanctions on North Korea since the United Nations Security Council resolution on July 15. Hardliners in Washington and Tokyo proposed stronger measures to tame the Stalinist North but President Roh Moo-hyun called for a ``softer'' diplomatic approach to the problems. In a meeting of security-related Cabinet ministers at Chong Wa Dae Wednesday, Roh set forth his negative feelings toward additional sanctions or pressures on the North, a thinly veiled objection to the hawkish [Dilemma] [Friction]
US Gets Tough With North Korea
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Six North Korean refugees bore witness at a press conference in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday to their experiences in the North's ``Nazi-style death camp'' and ``cannibalism,'' boosting the U.S. call for a new security framework in Northeast Asia that puts emphasis on human rights. Their vivid testimony of what is happening in North Korea came as many U.S. lawmakers are ``vexed'' at the six-party framework that has failed to produce any tangible result, an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Thursday.
``If we focus only on containing weapons programs, we will not solve the root of the problem, which is the regime it self,'' the Associated Press quoted Sen. Sam Brownback, who organized the press conference, as saying.
Joseph, 31, was quoted by AFP as talking about a popular restaurant in the North Korean town where he once lived. ``That person killed and cannibalized 13 people,'' he said. ``They brought (young children) in, gave them a bath and then they choked them to death. Then they cleaned them up and butchered them, and made them into a Korean delicacy.'' [manipulation] [black]
Rice Likely to Cancel Visit to Seoul
SEOUL (Yonhap) _ U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is likely to call off her planned trip to South Korea next week, as she is tied up with the crisis in the Middle East.
Roh Against U.S.-Japanese Sanctions on N.Korea
President Roh Moo-hyun on Wednesday indicated he opposes attempts by the U.S. and Japan to impose additional sanctions on North Korea after a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Pyongyang's missile tests. Roh said "oversensitive reactions" to North Korea's missile launches on July 5 "will create unnecessary tension and confrontations on the Korean Peninsula and do not help resolve the problem." The remarks came at a meeting with ministers in security-related portfolios. But in his remarks on the issue, the president also denounced the missile tests as a threat to peace and a trigger to an arms race. [Friction] [Dilemma]
N.Korea 'Will Change if U.S. Does'
North Korea will not need its nuclear arms program if the U.S. ends its attempts to overthrow the regime, a Pyongyang mouthpiece in Japan reiterated Tuesday. The Chosun Shinbo, published by the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan or Chongryon, said trust between the two countries could be fostered if the U.S. "withdraws its hostile policy toward North Korea, and as North Korea would no longer feel threatened, it would not need a single nuclear weapon." It said the North repeatedly made this clear and had already made a strategic decision to give up nuclear arms. "This was reflected in the joint statement at the six-way talks," it said. "But the U.S. is exhibiting no resolve to enact the joint statement and continues to pursue the overthrow of the North Korean authority."
U.S. and Japan press on with plans for sanctions
July 22, 2006 ? The recent visit to Seoul by a U.S. Treasury Department official and his stops in other regional capitals is a sign that Washington intends to tighten the financial noose around Pyongyang. After telling Korean officials that Washington might reinstate trade sanctions on North Korea that were lifted during the Clinton administration, Stuart Levey, the under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, moved on to Vietnam, Singapore and Japan. Sources in Seoul said yesterday that the main purpose of his trip was to search for bank accounts linked to illicit activities in which North Korea is engaged. On Tuesday, the under secretary reportedly met with Vietnamese government and financial officials. A diplomat in Seoul said, "A bank account that is used by Hyundai Asan and North Korea has been under investigation there." [Sanctions] [Sovereignty] [Extraterritoriality]
U.S. Nuclear-Powered Carrier Flotilla Enters Pusan Port
Pyongyang, July 21 (KCNA) -- A U.S. nuclear-powered carrier flotilla consisting of Enterprise, Aegis destroyer, cruiser, submarine, etc. entered Pusan port of south Korea on July 18, according to press reports. The flotilla has been involved in the large-scale RIMPAC-2006 joint military exercises simulating a war of aggression against the DPRK. This portcall is stirring up the deep concern of the public at home and abroad as it fully revealed the intention of the U.S. imperialists to further strain the situation on the Korean Peninsula and thus realize their ambition to start a nuclear war.
Uri Party Moves to Inspect US Base Return Accord
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The governing Uri Party plans to conduct an Assembly investigation into negotiations between Seoul and Washington over the sharing of environmental cleanup costs for U.S. bases to be returned to South Korea, party officials said Friday.
ROK-US Joint Drill Due Next Month
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea and the United States will conduct their annual joint military exercise next month, the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) said Friday. Ulchi Focus Lens 2006, which will be held between Aug. 21 and Sept. 1, will draw about 8,000 American troops and an unspecified number of ROK soldiers, a CFC spokesman said. The drill is a simulation-driven, command post exercise designed to train, evaluate and improve joint operations in the case of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula. [Joint US Military] [Double standards]
Korea Regularly Violates Strategic Materials Export Ban
Korean exports violate a U.S. ban on shipments of so-called strategic materials some 10 times a year, it emerged Friday. A government official here said the U.S. Department of Commerce calculates the totals every year, and the amount is small in relation to Korea's overall trade volume. However, it could become a problem if the U.S. takes issue with them, he added. A researcher with a national policy research institute said there were four or five case last year, which brought protests from the U.S. when they were uncovered, "but through negotiating channels the decision was made not to make the issue public." After Libya renounced development [Imperialism] [Sovereignty]
Korea, U.S. Announce Date for Annual Simulation Drills
Annual joint exercises between Korean and U.S. forces dubbed the Ulchi Focus Lens will take place from Aug. 21 to Sept. 1 this year, Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command said Friday. The drill is a command post exercise or CPX that makes use of computer simulation of battlefield conditions. The first exercise was held in 1975; this year is no. 32. Some 8,000 U.S. troops will participate in this year's exercise, 5,000 from the U.S. Forces Korea and others from the U.S. mainland and other bases off the peninsula. North Korea has been demanding an end to all joint exercises. The CFC informed the North of the schedule for this year's exercise by way of the UN Command Military Armistice Commission. (englishnews@chosun.com ) [US joint military] [US dominance]
Experts say money squeeze on North is working
July 21, 2006 ? For 10 months, Washington has enforced a systematic plan to clamp down on cash going into North Korea. The measures are working, experts say. Nam Sung-wook, a North Korea expert at Korea University, estimated yesterday that the recent measures have led to a 40 percent decline in North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's income. Since the 1980s, Kim Jong-il has regularly collected money from four sources: forged bank notes, arms sales, drug trafficking and money coming from ethnic Koreans living in Japan who acquire money by operating legal gambling casinos there. Mr. Kim used the money to cement his hold on the North Korean elite, such as the military. Those in the right position received from the "Dear Leader" gifts ranging from German luxury cars to Japanese electronics. However, since 2002, when the Bush administration started to tackle the issue with its North Korea Working Group, the situation changed and has squeezed the North. The U.S. group is composed of 14 government organizations, including the U.S. treasury department. Washington's efforts against counterfeit money have yielded results: At the end of last year Irish national Sean Garland and six others were indicted for distributing North Korean-manufactured "supernotes." The North is believed to have produced annually $15 million to $25 million of forged money. As a result of international pressure, one government official said it would be harder for the North to print new forged bank notes and circulate them. The arms trade is also an important money maker for the North. However, since it sold 15 Scud-type missiles in December 2002 to Yemen, Pyongyang has not inked another arms deal [Evidence] [Counterfeiting]
Rodong Sinmun on Danger of RIMPAC War Gamble
Pyongyang, July 20 (KCNA) -- The RIMPAC-2006 joint military exercises are overall military operations and a preliminary war aimed to take a preemptive attack on the DPRK in view of their period, contents, characters and scale. Rodong Sinmun Thursday says this in a signed article, and goes on: The U.S. imperialists described the military exercises as those for guaranteeing "security of sea routes" and countering "terrorism". This is nothing but a sophism to cover up and justify the criminal nature, purpose and danger of the exercises.
Korea May Not Insist on Kaesong
By Park Hyong-ki Staff Reporter
Kim Jong-hoon, chief of Korea's negotiating team with the United States on a free trade agreement (FTA), Thursday hinted that Seoul may not insist on including the Kaesong issue in the bilateral trade pact. ``We have not decided on which areas we will defend at all costs,'' Kim told economic editors of newspapers and broadcasting stations. ``I will consult decision-makers on the list.'' Kim's remarks came after last week's negotiations in Seoul where the U.S. delegation, led by Wendy Cutler, rejected Seoul's request for the exemption of tariffs on products made in the South Korean-led industrial complex in the North Korean town, in the event Kaesong-made goods are exported to the U.S. [Sanctions] [FTA] [Friction] [Dilemma]
Defector Takes Story to US Stage
By Kim Tae-jong Staff Reporter ``Yodok Story,'' a musical about the horrors of a North Korean prison camp, will be staged with English subtitles at the National Theater in Washington D.C. from Sept. 25 to Oct. 1.
Foreign Ownership Ceiling on Telecoms Pits 2 Nations
The following is the second in a series of articles on prospects of Korea-U.S. negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). _ ED.
By Kim Tae-gyu Staff Reporter
The United States seeks to open the local telecom market through free trade agreement (FTA) talks while South Korea is in desperate defensive mode _ particularly at issue is the nation's foreign ownership cap. Currently, foreigners' combined stake in Korean telecom operators may not exceed 49 percent as regulations are geared toward preventing foreigners from controlling crucial telecom assets. Washington has yet to ask Seoul to ease or abolish the limitation because discussions on the telecom sector were postponed to the third round of talks slated for early September. [FTA] [Friction] [Sovereignty]
US Ties Macau Bank to Kim Jong-il
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) _ The U.S. government has figured out most of North Korea's transactions in a Macau bank and believes they were mostly personal dealings involving Pyongyang's leadership, a diplomatic source said Wednesday. Washington has studied North Korea's transaction records with the Banco Delta Asia, where about $24 million in cash was deposited by North Korea, but frozen by U.S. sanctions. The bank in the Chinese territory froze about 40 North Korean accounts last year after it came to the brink of bankruptcy as U.S. banks stopped their transactions with it in response to Washington's claim that Pyongyang was laundering its illicitly earned money there. The U.S. found that the bank has produced handwritten transaction data regarding North Korea in addition to official computer records, the source said on condition of anonymity. The bank seemed to have used written records of the North Korean transactions as a way to hide them from official view, the source said. [Sanctions] [Extraterritoriality] [Imperialism]
6 North Koreans to Get US Permanent Residency
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) _ The United States will grant six North Korean citizens permanent resident rights for the fiscal year 2007 that begins this October, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday. The North Koreans are among the 50,000 winners of the 2007 Diversity Visa Lottery, it said in a press release posted on its Internet site. The diversity lottery is conducted under the terms of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act and makes available 50,000 to 55,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. About 5.5 million people applied for permanent resident visas at the end of last year.
Korea 'Unprepared for Command Handover in 2010'
A high-ranking military official says a 2010 deadline the U.S. envisages for handing over wartime operational control of forces to Seoul is too soon. "If Korea intends to exercise sole wartime operational control, software and hardware, capabilities, and readiness must all be considered," the official told the Chosun Ilbo on condition of anonymity. "It won't be until after 2010 that our military has that kind of capability, so realistically achieving the handover before that time will be difficult." He stressed that Korea has in mind a 2012 deadline. In preparation for the return of wartime control, the First and Third Korean Army headquarters will be combined into a single ground operation command by 2010. [Sovereignty] [Collusion]
Seoul-Washington Discord Over N.Korea to Deepen
Discord between Seoul on the one hand and Washington and Tokyo on the other over additional sanctions on North Korea is inevitable, observers say. The U.S. and Japan announced they will take sanctions over the North's missile tests on top of a UN Security Council resolution against the communist country if it does not return to six-party talks to dismantle its nuclear program. The sanctions are unlikely to cause the North great pain since bilateral trade between the U.S. and North Korea is vanishingly small and Washington only provided some 20,000 tons of food aid last year. In the case of Japan, the money flow from the country to North Korea comes in the form of cash visitors from Japan to the North give directly to families there, which means Tokyo can do little to stop it.
However, earlier financial sanctions by the U.S. put real pressure on the North Korean regime - one reason, pundits speculate, why Pyongyang test-fired missiles after already explicitly boycotting the six-nation talks because of them. The North is unlikely to return to the negotiating table simply because the sanctions are imposed; the influence of China and South Korea is needed to bring the North back. [Friction] [Sanctions] [Six Party Talks]
Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Busan
The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise arrived in Busan yesterday for a port call, dogged by a small number of anti-American activists. U.S. Navy officials said the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier's visit was not a reaction to North Korea's missile launches, although the carrier, normally a part of the Atlantic fleet, was moved to the Pacific for the first time in 17 years earlier this month. A Pentagon report several months ago said the United States planned to deploy six of its 12 carriers in the Pacific. [US military] [China confrontation] [photo]
US Ready to Restore Sanctions Against Pyongyang
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The United States is considering restoring a package of economic sanctions against North Korea that was eased in July 2000, as Pyongyang recently violated its moratorium by launching seven missiles, a ranking U.S. official confirmed during his stay in Seoul on July 16-18. Stuart Levey, the U.S. Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, told South Korean officials on Tuesday that senior U.S. officials are discussing such punitive measures, an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told reporters on Wednesday.
Washington Plans to Transfer Wartime Command by 2009
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The United States plans to hand over operational control of South Korean armed forces during wartime to Seoul in about four years, earlier than Seoul's target year of 2012, a government source said Wednesday. During the ninth Security Policy Initiative (SPI) meeting in Seoul last week, the U.S. delegation notified the government of that plan, citing Seoul's increased military capabilities, the source said on the condition of anonymity. [Sovereignty]
Air Force to Participate in Pacific Drill
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The South Korean Air Force will participate in a multinational drill starting today in the waters off Alaska, the Air Force said Monday. The drill, codenamed ``Cooperative Corp Thunder 06-3,'' brings together 11 air force units from around the world, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Slovak Republic and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), it said in a statement. Mexico, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Russia are among the nations expected to observe the event. This is South Korea's fourth participation in the exercise under the leadership of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) since 2001. [US military dominance] [Double standards]
Korea Tries to Keep 100 Services Out of FTA With U.S.
Korea delivered a reserve list of some 100 services to the U.S. on Thursday, the fourth day of their free-trade talks in Seoul. Areas it wants to keep out of a free trade agreement include public utilities such as communications and electricity, as well as broadcasting, law, mandatory elementary and middle school education and delivery services. Korea also wants to keep its optical market closed since opticians need a license here. [Friction]
Drug trade dispute ends free trade talks early
July 15, 2006 ? The free trade negotiations between Korea and the United States hit a snag yesterday, when talks on trade in goods, trade regulations, trade in services and environmental issues broke down. The Trade Ministry said yesterday that the U.S. delegates suddenly boycotted a session on trade regulations and service industries yesterday, ending the second round of talks a day earlier than planned. Korean negotiators were poised to attack U.S. trade measures, such as anti-dumping penalties, that Seoul contends have been applied unfairly against Korean products. [Friction] [FTA]
USFK bases given to Korea, minus environment work
July 15, 2006 ? Korea and the United States have agreed on the return to Korean control of 15 U.S. military bases around the country, Korean officials said yesterday. Civic groups railed, however, at the U.S. refusal to fund an environmental clean-up at the base sites. The Pentagon plans to return 59 base areas to South Korea by 2011; the two governments have been negotiating details of each turnover and environmental issues base by base. Yesterday's agreement broke a deadlock that has persisted since May 2005.
Roh meets pastor
July 15, 2006 ? President Roh Moo-hyun told a prominent American pastor yesterday that his major task before his term expires in 2008 is to continue dialogue "to stabilize and systemize the peace between North and South Korea." Mr. Roh's visitor, pastor Rick Warren, will visit North Korea on Monday to make plans to preach there next year. "We hope the United States has the goal of stabilizing peace in Northeast Asia. If the United States sees South Korea as the post of peace, it will be of great help," Mr. Roh said, according to presidential spokesman Jung Tae-ho.
Lawmakers off to U.S. for talks next week
July 15, 2006 ? Lawmakers from South Korea and the United States will discuss bilateral security and economic issues next week amid escalating international tension over North Korea's recent missile launches, a South Korean lawmaker said yesterday.
Roh Critical of US Financial Sanctions
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun has set forth a critical view of Washington's policy of placing more pressure on North Korea, citing the U.S. financial sanctions on the isolated Stalinist state since late last year, according to sources on Sunday. While scolding North Korea for its recent missile tests and Japan's ``overreaction'' in a meeting with senior party leaders last week, Roh also launched strong criticism of the United States for its hard-line approach, figures who attended the dinner said. Citing a Chinese proverb ``Behead first, judge later,'' he told the closed-door session that the U.S. has demanded North Korea show its account books unilaterally, without presenting evidence to prove the North counterfeited U.S. dollars, according to the sources. ``He said, as the world acknowledges, the July 5 missile tests were a political act to demand a U.S. concession,'' said a lawmaker who asked not to be named. ``I think he believed that the missile provocation would not be a matter for a U.N. resolution.''
``(America, or Bush) sees the North Korean problems within the concept of good and evil, which makes it even harder for me to persuade,'' the source quoted Roh as saying. ``We can't blame the U.S. since it is our ally. But we can't tolerate the Japanese move.'' [Evidence] [Counterfeiting] [Friction] [Dilemma]
15 US Military Bases to Be Returned to Korea
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Seoul and Washington Friday agreed on the transfer of 15 of 59 U.S. bases to South Korea where the U.S. side had cleaned up environmental pollution in accordance with a bilateral accord, the Defense Ministry said. The agreement was made during the ninth Security Policy Initiative (SPI) meeting in Seoul. The 15 bases include the Camp Bonifas near the inter-Korean border; the Camp Howze and the Camp Greaves both in Paju, Kyonggi Provicne; and the Koon-Ni Range in Maehyang-ni, Kyonggi Province, the ministry said in a statement. The two sides, however, failed to narrow differences over cleanup costs and contamination levels at 11 other bases which have soil pollution levels in excess of South Korean environmental standards. [Friction]
U.S. pastor to meet Roh, then travel to North
July 13, 2006 ? A well-known American pastor said yesterday he will talk with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun before heading to North Korea Monday. "I am looking forward to a personal and private conversation with (President Roh)," Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, Calif., said in a press conference at a Seoul hotel. Warren will travel Monday to the Mount Kumgang resort in the North to meet North Korean religious officials. "After our time in South Korea is completed, I'm going to Kumgangsan [Mt. Kumgang] and meet with some religious leaders there as a simple preparation for next year's big event," he said. The pastor was invited to visit by the North Korean Christian Federation to talk about preaching in March of next year. That trip will mark the 100th anniversary of a Christian revival that took place in a Pyongyang church
Government apologizes for fake report on Web site
July 13, 2006 ? The state-run Government Information Agency apologized yesterday for posting a fabricated report on its Web site that quoted Yonsei students who were never interviewed. The students were quoted as speaking in favor of the free trade talks with the United States. However, the agency confirmed yesterday the interviews had been fabricated. [Disinformation]
'Purpose Driven' Pastor to Visit North
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter
Rick Warren, prominent U.S. pastor and mega-selling author, Wednesday confirmed that he would visit Mt. Kumgang in North Korea next Monday to outline his plan to preach at a public outdoor Christian service scheduled next year in the communist country. Speaking at a press conference at a Seoul hotel, the founder and senior pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church in California, United States, stressed that the visit has ``nothing to do with the politics,'' although it will take place amid continuing tension between the United States and North Korea as well as other countries in the region over the North's recent missile launches. Warren, a 52-year-old pastor who had his name on lists such as ``100 Top Celebrities in the World'' by Forbes magazine and ``15 People Who Make America Great'' by Newsweek, arrived in Seoul Wednesday to preach at massive Christian rallies planned in major cities in the South as well as to make a preparatory trip to the communist North. Warren is well-known for his book ``Purpose-Driven Life,'' which sold over 25 million copies around the world and 800,000 in South Korea alone since its publication in 2002. Seoul evangelists hope that the book's influence and his visit will provide momentum in their efforts to boost the dwindling Christian population here.
'Transfer of Wartime Command Premature'
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter It is premature for South Korea to take back operational control of its armed forces during wartime from the United States in six years, given its lack of intelligence capabilities shown in North Korea's recent test firing of missiles, a lawmaker said yesterday.
``It is total nonsense to exercise independent wartime command in five or six years without the U.S. military's intelligence and surveillance backup,'' Rep. Song Young-sun of the main opposition Grand National Party said in a telephone interview with The Korea Times.
Reports said South Korean military authorities received the report of North Korea's test-launch of its first short-range Scud missile into the East Sea at 02:41 a.m., nine minutes after the firing was conducted, from the U.S. military. The Scud missiles with a range of 500 kilometers are believed capable of striking the whole of the Seoul metropolitan area within five minutes of launch. Over 90 percent of Seoul's key intelligence and information on North Korea reportedly comes from the United States, which has a number of state-of-the-art spy planes, reconnaissance spacecraft and radar systems. South Korea operates two reconnaissance aircraft _ Paekdu for signals intelligence and Kumgang for capturing images _ but their capabilities lag far behind those of the U.S. and Japanese militaries, according to experts. [Sovereignty] [Intelligence]
Seoul Braces for Anti-FTA Protests
By Kim Tong-hyung Staff Reporter
Protestors chant anti-globalization slogans at Incheon International Airport Sunday, upon the arrival of the U.S. delegation taking part in the free trade negotiations. /Yonhap With Seoul and Washington resuming talks over a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S., law enforcement authorities are bracing for possible fierce anti-globalization protests around the Korean capital. Farmers, workers and civic activists are planning a series of massive rallies in Seoul this week. Some of the protests expect to draw tens of thousands of people calling for the government to withdraw from the free trade talks.
U.S. Aerial Espionage against DPRK at Dangerous Stage
Pyongyang, July 6 (KCNA) -- The U.S. imperialists flew strategic and tactical reconnaissance planes with different missions to commit aerial espionage acts against the DPRK on more than 1,000 occasions in the first half of the year. They intensified aerial espionage from the beginning of the year while kicking up hullabaloo to extremely coil up the situation on the Korean Peninsula. In January, they conducted over 190 aerial espionage acts with such strategic and tactical reconnaissance planes as U-2, RC-135, E-3, EP-3, RC-7B, RC-12. In February the number of aerial espionage acts by U-2s, RC-135s, E-3s and EP-3s exceeded 30. The U.S. was hell bent on espionage over military objects of the DPRK in March when it staged large-scale RSOI and "Foal Eagle" joint military exercises, bringing about the dark cloud of nuclear warfare.
The aerial espionage acts are 1.3 times those in the corresponding period of the last year.
Korea Expects Little Progress in Second FTA Talks With US
By Park Hyong-ki Staff Reporter
Seoul doesn't expect any breakthrough in the July 10-14 second round of negotiations with the United States for the establishment of a free trade agreement (FTA), its chief negotiator said Friday.
Summit With Bush Touchstone for Roh
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter September's summit between President Roh Moo-hyun and President George W. Bush will be another touchstone for the former's diplomatic ability as Bush collides head-on once again with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Despite Seoul's multi-faceted efforts to thwart any provocative action by the North, the Stalinist state went ahead with its missile tests last Wednesday, putting Roh in a difficult situation stuck between Pyongyang and Washington.
Roh has sometimes been forced to walk the tightrope between the U.S. and the North, while drawing criticism from both conservatives and progressives for spoiling the South Korea-U.S. alliance on one hand, and for not being more active in efforts to improve the inter-Korean relations on the other. [Dilemma] [Friction]
U.S. Bans Officials From Visiting Kaesong
The U.S. government has banned visits by officials to the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North, diplomatic sources in Seoul said Friday. The ban comes after North Korea test-launched several missiles on Wednesday in defiance of international criticism. Members of the U.S. Congress have halted plans to visit the complex. That also means a visit to Kaesong from Washington's special envoy on North Korean human rights, Jay Lefkowitz, planned for the end of the month is now on hold. After the launch the U.S. informed South Korea of the cancellation of Lefkowitz's trip, and a Kaesong management committee passed the news to the North. Lefkowitz earlier voiced doubts about wages and working conditions at the complex, prompting the Unification Ministry to invite him to see for himself. [Sanctions] [Manipulation]
Key Senator Says U.S. Should Talk Directly With North Korea
As the Bush administration seeks a united stance with other world leaders to find a diplomatic solution to the standoff with North Korea over its missile tests, one influential U.S. lawmaker says the United States should consider direct talks with the North Koreans. Senator Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, supports the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program. But Lugar has also long advocated direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang, and in an interview with VOA, he says his position has not changed following North Korea's missile tests this week: [Bilateral]
North Korea's Politicized Refugees
By Andrew Chongseh Kim The North Korean government is a repressive, isolationist regime with nuclear weapons. North Korea's refugees and its citizens, however, tend to be disempowered victims. Unfortunately, the United States seems incapable of recognizing that distinction. Inspired by images of the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the U.S. envisions ``an inner collapse of the North Korean regime started by a flood of refugees,'' ignoring the refugees' non-political motivations. Around 50,000 North Korean refugees currently live illegally in China. The North Korean government is not very nice, but fewer than 3 percent of them left for political reasons. The vast majority left their homes, families, and country to find food, to survive famine. The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (NKHRA) explicitly addresses human rights like the freedom to listen to radios, but neglects other rights, like the right to eat. The act specifically forbids the U.S. from giving any additional food or medicine to North Korea. While addressing the possibility a renewed food crisis could kill millions of innocents, Sen. Brownback optimistically noted: ``That will have a profound impact on people willing to move out of North Korea.'' America's strategy to end the tyranny of the North Korean government over its people really does involve starving those same people into submission. Sadly, this inhuman plan will not work [Refugee encouragement] [Manipulation]
US Explores UN Forces Expansion
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The U.S. Congress has asked the White House to review a possible expansion of the United Nations forces in South Korea, a scenario that would affect U.S. military's presence and role on the Korean Peninsula, Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday. In the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2007 passed on June 22, the Senate's Armed Services Committee requested a joint report by the Defense and State Departments on the role and enhanced participation of each member nation in the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC). The move is drawing keen attention as it coincides with a major transformation of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) and the ongoing talks for Seoul's regaining operational control of its armed forces from the U.S. military. Some military experts predict Washington is likely to keep its influence on the peninsula by expanding the UNC's role after the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) is dismantled in tandem with the transfer of wartime command, which is expected in about five years. [US military dominance] [Sovereignty]
U.S. Accused of Military Reinforcement and Exercises
Pyongyang, July 4 (KCNA) -- The Bush administration is raising the military spending and accelerating the production of new sophisticated weapons allegedly to arrest terrorism and guarantee peace. Meanwhile, it is ceaselessly staging large-scale war exercises in different parts of the world, increasing the danger of war. Commenting on such moves, a news analyst of Rodong Sinmun Tuesday says: After the Cold War the United States has pushed ahead with the reorganization and relocation of the U.S. military forces mainly to establish its domination over the Asia-Pacific region, massively deploying modern military equipment in the region. And it has ceaselessly conducted all-round military exercises aimed at preemptive attack, intentionally rendering the situation strained.
RIMPAC-2006, the joint military exercises now under way in the waters of the Pacific, is also a naval offensive operation, pursuant to the U.S. strategy for domination over the Asia-Pacific region, and an escalation of the U.S. aggressive moves for a new war.
Berkeley University of California Professor and His Party Arrive Here
Pyongyang, July 4 (KCNA) -- Professor of Government Emeritus of Berkeley University of California in the United States Robert A. Scalapino and his party arrived here Tuesday.
U.S. plans to sell Korea 48 surface-to-air missiles
If Congress approves, would go on ships in 2008
July 04, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? The Pentagon has asked the U.S. Congress to approve the sale of surface-to-air missiles to South Korea's Navy, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency confirmed yesterday. South Korea's Navy requested the sale of 48 Raytheon Co. SM-2 Block IIIB surface-to-air missiles, with which the Navy plans to equip its new Aegis class destroyers when they are deployed in 2008. If approved, the contract is valued at up to $111 million. The missile has a range of 167 kilometers (103 miles). The Pentagon said that improving South Korea's defense capabilities was beneficial to the United States, citing the country's position as a key ally in the East Asian region.
The weapons will enable the Japanese ships to detect and intercept North Korean ballistic missiles. A difference between the South Korean and Japanese Aegis ships is that South Korean vessels are expected to be armed with cruise missiles which are considered attacking weapons. Japan does not plan to do so because it would go beyond the self-defensive nature of its Navy. by Lee Sang-il [US military dominance] [Military balance] [Proliferation] [Japanese remilitarisation]
Song heads to Washington to discuss N.K.
The president's chief secretary for national security Song Min-soon headed to Washington today to discuss North Korea's pending missile threat and deadlocked nuclear negotiations. In a three-day U.S. trip, Song will meet Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and other high-rank administrators.
Korea, U.S. negotiating SM-2 missile sale
Korea and the United States are negotiating sales of U.S. medium-range missiles in a proposed deal that is estimated to cost $111 million, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on its website. In a document dated June 26, the DSCA said the Korean government has requested to purchase 48 Standard Missile-2 Block IIIB standard missiles. The agency notified the U.S. Congress about the date of a "possible sale" of the missiles. No specific agreements, however, have been determined at this time, the DSCA said. The U.S. defense giant Raytheon Systems Company is set to be the primary contractor for the surface-to-air tactical missiles, it said. The SM-2 missiles are effective against cruise and airborne missiles and for striking aircraft and ships. The SM-2, usually installed on destroyer ships, is the U.S. Navy's primary surface-to-air fleet defense weapon. [Military balance] [Proliferation] [Double standards]
Korea, US Negotiate Defensive Missile Sale
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea is seeking to buy 48 sophisticated defensive missiles from the United States and install them in the country's Ageis-equipped KDX-III destroyers, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Monday. According to a DAPA spokesman, negotiations are underway to buy the Raytheon Systems' SM-2 Block IIB Tactical missiles in a deal worth some $111 million. SM-2 missiles are effective against cruise and airborne missiles and for striking aircraft.
``It is vital to the U.S. national interest to assist our ally in developing and maintaining a strong and ready self-defense capability, which will contribute to an acceptable military balance in the area. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives,'' it said. [US military dominance] [Military balance] [Proliferation]
U.S. Denounced for Deploying Ultra-Modern Reconnaissance Plane in S. Korea
Pyongyang, July 1 (KCNA) -- The U.S. has deployed latest "U-2 S Block 20" in south Korea, timed to coincide with its evermore undisguised military threat and blackmail against the DPRK. This is another grave military provocation against the DPRK and an extremely dangerous move for a war of aggression against it to push the situation on the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war.
At Least 220 Cases of U.S. Aerial Espionage Committed against DPRK in June
Pyongyang, June 30 (KCNA) -- The U.S. imperialists committed at least 220 cases of aerial espionage against the DPRK in June by mobilizing strategic and tactical reconnaissance planes with different missions, according to military sources. They illegally infiltrated an RC-135 based in Okinawa, Japan, into the air above the economic waters of the DPRK east of Musudan and Hamhung again on June 28 to intensively spy on its strategic targets for hours. More than 20 cases of aerial espionage were conducted by such type planes after illegally intruding into the air above the economic waters off the east coast of the DPRK in June and over 30 planes were involved in them. Aerial espionage was perpetrated by U-2 almost everyday during the month. On June 27 U-2 made a shuttle flight in the air above areas west of Tokjok Islet and east of Phochon and Sokcho to commit such espionage as photographing major targets and military movements of the DPRK and intercepting communications, etc. At least 140 tactical reconnaissance planes with different missions including RC-7B and RC-12 flew in the air above areas along the Military Demarcation Line almost every day in June to spy on major military targets on the forefront of the DPRK. 15 planes of such types were involved in the spy missions on June 14.
Hill Rejects Direct Talks
By Christopher Carpenter Staff Reporter
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill said Thursday that holding direct talks with North Korea was not an option the United States was interested in, although some U.S. lawmakers favor it. [Bilateral]

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JUNE 2006

U.S. and Gaeseong
In a welcome move, North Korea and the United States have agreed on a visit to the Gaeseong industrial complex by Washington's special envoy on the North's human rights. We hope that the South Korean-brokered visit will serve, among other things, to resolve the differences between Seoul and Washington regarding the operation of the joint Korean project. Jay Lefkowitz's visit to the North Korean city next month is all the more welcome because its announcement came in the midst of a crisis over Pyongyang's threat to test-fire a long-range missile. [Kaesong] [Friction] [Manipulation]
KPA Air Force Command Warns against U.S. Imperialists' Aerial Espionage against DPRK
Pyongyang, June 11 (KCNA) -- The Air Force Command of the Korean People's Army issued the following report on Sunday: The U.S. imperialist warmongers committed such serious military provocation as illegally infiltrating a strategic reconnaissance plane into the sky above the waters of the DPRK on June 10. An overseas based RC-135 made a frantic shuttle flight in the sky above the waters of the DPRK east of Hwadae, Sinpho and Wonsan from around 9:25 to 10:40 on an espionage mission.
KPA Air Force Command Gives One More Warning to U.S. Imperialists
Pyongyang, June 12 (KCNA) -- The U.S. imperialist warmongers committed one more grave military provocation by illegally infiltrating a strategic reconnaissance plane into the sky above the DPRK's economic waters on June 12. In this regard the Air Force Command of the Korean People's Army issued the following report on Monday: At around 12:05 on June 12, an overseas-based strategic reconnaissance plane of the U.S. imperialist aggression forces infiltrated into the sky above the waters of the DPRK east of Chongjin and Hwadae and made a shuttle flight there for hours to spy on its strategic targets.
KPA Air Force Command Warns against U.S. Ceaseless Military Provocations
Pyongyang, June 16 (KCNA) -- The Air Force Command of the Korean People's Army released today the following report on the ceaseless military provocation perpetrated by the U.S. imperialist warmongers: The U.S. imperialist warmongers committed one more military provocation by infiltrating a strategic reconnaissance plane into the sky above the DPRK's economic waters on June 16. At around 8:00 Friday an "RC-135" of the U.S. imperialist aggression forces illegally intruded into the sky above the waters of the DPRK east of Chongjin, Hwadae and Riwon and spied on its strategic targets for hours, being refueled in the midair.
United States, Germ and Chemical War Criminal
Pyongyang, June 21 (KCNA) -- June 25 is the day when the U.S. imperialists started a war of aggression in Korea. Though half a century has passed, the Korean people still vividly remember the criminal biochemical warfare the U.S. imperialists committed against the peaceable inhabitants and cities in gross violation of the international law during the Korean war (June 25, 1950-July 27, 1953). The aggressors launched germ and chemical warfare in the northern half of Korea during the war. [cbw]
U.S. Reckless Provocations Are Bound to Be Foiled
Pyongyang, June 22 (KCNA) -- The U.S. imperialist warmongers have been intensifying military provocations against the DPRK of late. Recently they illegally infiltrated strategic reconnaissance planes into the sky above the DPRK's economic waters to spy on its strategic targets in several times.
U.S. Blasted for Having Blocked DPRK's Religious Delegation's Entry into U.S.
Pyongyang, June 22 (KCNA) -- The U.S. authorities barred a delegation of the Korean Christian Federation from entering the U.S. to participate in the 217th meeting of the U.S. Presbyterian Church slated for late June at the official invitation of the Church. A spokesman for the KCF Central Committee in a statement issued on June 22 in this regard denounced this as a hostile action against the DPRK and demanded they officially apologize for this. [Religion] [Double standards]
DPRK's Stand on Projected RIMPAC-2006 Clarified
Pyongyang, June 23 (KCNA) -- The army and people of the DPRK will always follow with a high degree of revolutionary vigilance the moves of the United States and its followers against the DPRK which are inching closer to the line of danger as the days go by and decisively react against the reckless provocations of the aggressors with strong measures for self-defence. A spokesman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland declared this in a statement issued on Friday in connection with the U.S.-led large joint military exercises RIMPAC -2006 to be staged in the waters of Pacific from June 25 to July 29.
The south Korean authorities decided to participate again in the war exercises with huge forces, availing themselves of the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK. This is a blatant perfidy to the June 15 joint declaration adopted between the north and the south of Korea, a dangerous provocation as it will endanger the overall inter-Korean relations and a treacherous act of escalating the confrontation and tension on the Korean Peninsula. [Joint US military]
Mystery surrounds Kim Jong Il
Thursday, June 22, 2006 Posted: 0746 GMT (1546 HKT) (CNN) -- For all the attention he is getting, North Korea's Kim Jong Il is one of the most mysterious leaders in the world. The reclusive communist leader has been portrayed variously as an unstable nuclear-armed madman and a cognac-swilling playboy serviced by a team of women known as the "Joy Brigade." It is unclear where or when he was born, how many times he has been married or even exactly how many children he has. But despite his reputation as being very odd, some experts maintain Kim is quite rational. "He's not crazy. He might be somewhat emotional. He might be somewhat eccentric. But crazy? Absolutely not," says Peter Maass from the New York Times magazine. [Media] [Personalisation][Bizarre]
Kaesong Issue Could Poison Korea-US FTA
By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter
The top U.S. envoy in Seoul has expressed serious concerns about the status of products made in the Kaesong Industrial Complex, North Korea, labeling them ``poison'' to the currently negotiated free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the United States, a source said Monday. The products made in the Kaesong Industrial Complex could poison the negotiating process of the South Korea-U.S. FTA and later the ratification process in the U.S. Congress, the source quoted U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Alexander Vershbow as saying during the Korea-U.S. Business Council meeting in Seoul last week
Meanwhile, the ambassador hinted at the possibility of South Korea joining the visa waiver program (VWP), which allows visitors from countries to enter the United States for up to 90 days without a visa. In response, Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong said that if the United States includes South Korea in the VWP, it will be welcomed by South Koreans and helpful for the successful conclusion of an FTA between the two countries. However, a participant in the meeting, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that he got the impression that the U.S. ambassador tried to use the visa waiver as a wild card to lead the FTA negotiations in favor of the United States. [Sanctions]
US Military Deploys Spy Plane in S. Korea
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
An advanced U.S. reconnaissance aircraft has been deployed here as concerns mount over North Korea's suspected missile activities, a U.S. Air Force broadcaster said Monday. The U-2S, nicknamed ``Dragon Lady,'' arrived at Osan Air Base, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, under the United States Forces Korea (USFK) reconnaissance modernization program, the broadcaster, AFPN, reported on its Web site. ``The Block 20 aircraft is a new, modern cockpit with a computer on board that analyzes and displays a lot more information on three, 6-by-8-inch multifunction displays and two smaller displays,'' Lt. Col. Lars Hoffman, the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron commander, was quoted as saying. But a USFK spokesman denied that the deployment had anything to do with the recent developments of the North's nuclear weapons program or long-range missile threat. ``The USFK made this plan a long time ago. It is unrelated to North Korea's move to test-fire a Taepodong missile,'' he said, asking not to be named.
The Block 20 U-2 provides critical intelligence to decision-makers through all phases of conflict, including peacetime indications and warnings, crises, operations other than war and major theater war. The aircraft is capable of collecting multi-sensor photo, electro-optic, infrared and radar imagery, as well as collecting signals intelligence data. It can carry thousands of pounds of reconnaissance sensors to more than 70,000 feet, and remain aloft for more than 10 hours. [Espionage] [Intelligence]
Fighter's Crash
Though Time-Consuming, Thorough Probes Are Needed
The crash of a state-of-the-art jet fighter flown by top pilots Wednesday caused embarrassment as well as a deep sense of loss. Of course, the sea-dive of an F-15K plane that cost $100 million and the loss of two elite officers caused great damage to Korea's power. Fighter crashes during training flights are not uncommon, but previous accidents usually took place with aged aircraft. This makes the crash of Boeing's recent model all the more mysterious. Air Force officials cite three possible causes for the incident; mechanical defects, poor maintenance and/or operational error. One can't help but note their order
Military experts note there are no technical manuals written in Korean for the F-15K planes, causing considerable difficulties for repairmen. This is a real problem as the Air Force, which has bought 20 F-15s, plans to purchase another 20 to make it the nation's main fighter model by 2008.
Looking back, there were controversies when the nation decided to introduce the Boeing-made planes, which proved inferior to those produced by Dassault of France. Critics said the need to maintain Korea-U.S. military cooperation held precedence over function and price at the time [US dominance]
Seoul Hosts ROK-US Strategic Forum
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) and the College of William and Mary will jointly hold the first South Korea-U.S. Strategic Forum on Northeast Asian security issues at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul on Tuesday. During the day-long forum, Choi Kang, IFANS professor, and Jonathan Pollack, Naval War College professor, will give presentations on a nuclear-free North Korea and Northeast Asian security.
Nobel Laureates Advise on Bush's NK Rights Policy
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Applying pressure to North Korea is not a good way to improve the Stalinist state's human rights situation as it will only strengthen Pyongyang's cause to shrink from the outside world, former President Kim Dae-jung said Saturday. In a televised debate, Kim underlined that South Korea is doing its part to better the North's human rights record, even though Seoul appears to pay little attention to the political pressures North Koreans now suffer. [Manipulation]
Sen. Calls for Direct Talks With N. Korea
By FOSTER KLUG The Associated Press Sunday, June 25, 2006; 4:33 PM
WASHINGTON -- Leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Sunday the Bush administration should talk directly with North Korea as concerns grow over a possible test launch of a missile that could reach the U.S.
Senators also rejected the idea by a former defense secretary that the U.S. make a pre-emptive strike against a North Korean missile.
Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Chris Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator in the Korean nuclear talks, in interviewed by The Associated Press in Washington, Dec. 2. 2005. Hill has faced down Slobodan Milosevic, barricaded himself against a mob storming the U.S. embassy in Macedonia and been summoned to North Korea by minions of Kim Jong Il. He also has survived the internecine warfare of official Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File) (Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP) [Spin]
"We are not anywhere close to talking about attacking North Korea, and we should shut up and stop it," said Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. "We need to talk directly with North Korea. The sooner we do that, the sooner we're going to get this resolved," Hagel, the second-ranking Republican on the committee, told CNN's "Late Edition." The committee's chairman, Sen. Richard Lugar, also spoke out against attacking the missile while it was on the ground. "It would be advisable to bring about a much greater intensification of diplomacy, and this may involve direct talks between the United States and North Korea," said Lugar, R-Ind.
Intelligence reports say fuel tanks have been seen around a missile at North Korea's launch site on the northeastern coast. But officials say it is difficult to determine from satellite photos if the rocket is actually being fueled.
Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware urged close U.S. contact with South Korea and Japan as events unfold. "If we were to strike a missile and that resulted in an artillery retaliation, killing thousands of people in South Korea, it would be a very big deal," said Biden, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. Direct talks with North Korea may not work, he said, but would be "a better way of approaching this and finding what the bottom line is than this brinksmanship." [Bilateral] [Partisan] [Evidence] [Military option]
Bush should consider direct N. Korea talks: senators
By Jeremy Pelofsky Reuters Sunday, June 25, 2006; 4:46 PM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration should consider direct talks with North Korea amid signs that country may soon test a long-range missile, senior members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on Sunday. The United States so far has refused direct discussions on a possible missile launch and instead has focused on six-way talks, involving the two Koreas, Japan, China and Russia, to persuade Pyongyang to end its nuclear arms program in return for aid and security assurances. "It would be advisable to bring about a much greater intensification of diplomacy, and this may involve direct talks between the United States and the North Koreans," Sen. Richard Lugar, the committee chairman and one of President George W. Bush's fellow Republicans, said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
"We can't take anything off the table, and, of course, there are always sanctions short of military force," Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat and member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said on the CBS program. She also said she supported direct talks with North Korea. The added pressure from Congress comes after the Senate last week approved an amendment to a defense authorization bill that would require Bush to appoint a senior presidential envoy as a coordinator of U.S. policy on North Korea. It must still pass the House of Representatives to become law. [Bilateral] [Strategic incoherence]
U.S. Wraps Up War Games in the Pacific
By ERIC TALMADGE The Associated Press Friday, June 23, 2006; 5:19 PM
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- The largest U.S. military exercise in the Pacific in decades ended Friday after showing North Korea and other nations that the United States can swiftly muster a huge combat force in the region, officials said.
The five-day "Valiant Shield" exercises massed an armada of three aircraft carriers and 25 other ships along with 22,000 troops and 280 warplanes off this tiny U.S. territory about halfway between Hawaii and Japan.
Officials stressed that the exercises, America's largest in the Pacific since the Vietnam War, were not held in response to the North Korean activity or directed at any one nation, but said they did demonstrate the United States' capacity to respond to a crisis. [China confrontation] [Media] [Double standards]
Senate calls for new N. Korea envoy
Reuters Thursday, June 22, 2006; 10:58 PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday demanded the appointment of a new senior envoy to review and lead policy on North Korea in what critics say is sign of plummeting confidence in President George W. Bush's approach. The vote came on an amendment to the defense authorization bill sponsored by Senators Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic minority leader; and Carl Levin of Michigan and Joseph Biden of Delaware, senior Democrats on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committee, respectively. [Partisan] [Strategic incoherence]
NATO poised to affiliate with Seoul
'Global partnership' status could be effective in 2008
June 27, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? The United States and Britain have proposed that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization invite South Korea, Japan and Australia to join as "global partners," a senior U.S. government official told the JoongAng Ilbo in a recent interview. The official, who asked that his name not be used, said the three nations may be able to win that associate status by 2008 if they wished to do so. [Imperialism] [Globalisation]
Roh on U.S. forces
[EDITORIAL] Last week, President Roh Moo-hyun renewed his vow to accomplish the three major military programs his administration has pursued with passion - the relocation of the U.S. Forces in Korea, the development of self-reliant defense capabilities, and the recovery of full operational control of the armed forces. His candid policy pronouncement made during a private dinner met with the usual rebuff from a critical media as again revealing his anti-U.S. stance. However, it did allow a closer look into the president's philosophy behind the mission to transform the combined Korea-U.S. defense structure that has been in place since the Korean War half a century ago. First, the president finds the origin of the three policy objectives in the Roh Tae-woo administration that followed the 1987 democratic reforms that included the revival of direct presidential elections. He recalled that it was during the earlier Roh (Tae-woo) presidency that the government started working to remove the U.S. Forces headquarters from Seoul, establish an independent defense posture against North Korea, and take back military operational control from the U.S. commander here [Sovereignty]
N. Korean Missile Test Not Imminent
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter North Korea's test-fire of a long-range ballistic missile does not look imminent, a Seoul official said on Tuesday, rebuffing news reports that Pyongyang could launch it within weeks. ``There has been no known indication that they have fueled a missile,'' the official said, requesting anonymity. He declined to elaborate further due to the sensitivity of the issue. [Friction] [Disinformation]
Foreign diplomats visit joint-Korean complex
June 13, 2006 ? [Photo]
Foreign diplomats based in Seoul including Alexander Vershbow, second from left, the U.S. ambassador to south Korea, visited the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea yesterday. The 76 foreign ambassadors and senior diplomats were invited to the complex as part of efforts by Seoul to shed a positive light on the project, which has come under criticism from Washington in particular over labor conditions there.
KPA Air Force Command Gives One More Warning to U.S. Imperialists
Pyongyang, June 12 (KCNA) -- The U.S. imperialist warmongers committed one more grave military provocation by illegally infiltrating a strategic reconnaissance plane into the sky above the DPRK's economic waters on June 12. In this regard the Air Force Command of the Korean People's Army issued the following report on Monday: At around 12:05 on June 12, an overseas-based strategic reconnaissance plane of the U.S. imperialist aggression forces infiltrated into the sky above the waters of the DPRK east of Chongjin and Hwadae and made a shuttle flight there for hours to spy on its strategic targets. Such ceaseless illegal infiltration and aerial espionage are arousing a bitter indignation from the officers and men of the KPA Air Force.
Seoul Wants NK to Scrap Missile Test
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
North Korea's test-fire of a long-range ballistic missile does not look imminent, a Seoul official said on Tuesday, rebuffing news reports that Pyongyang could launch it within weeks. ``There has been no known indication that they have fueled a missile,'' the official said, requesting anonymity. He declined to elaborate further due to the sensitivity of the issue. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe also told reporters in Tokyo that his government does not see the launch of a missile as imminent. But Reuters quoted a U.S. official as saying: ``There is no doubt about it. They are engaged in missile test preparations completely consistent with launching a missile.'' [Spin] [Friction]
U.S. Envoy Tours Kaesong Complex
U.S. Ambassador to Korea Alexander Vershbow paid his first visit to the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North on Monday together with some 75 diplomats chaperoned by Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon. The diplomats went on a thorough four-hour inspection of the joint-Korean facility. Vershbow made frequent stops to take pictures and asked Deputy Foreign Minister for policy planning Park In-kuk, who was also on the tour, to take his picture with staff there. The ambassador greeted staff at the facility in Korean and asked a Woori Bank staffer if North Korean workers use the bank to collect their earnings -- a matter of topical interest since Washington's special envoy for North Korean human rights recently expressed concern about wages at Kaesong. When the North Korean guide at the factory, Kim Hyo-jeong, asked the envoy for his first impressions, Vershbow responded it had been "interesting." The ambassador dodged a question on his government's support for the complex, calling it tricky, but said he had seen quite a lot of U.S.-produced equipment while looking around. The ambassador gave Kim his business card and asked politely where she had learned her English. But the guide discovered the limits of diplomatic forbearance when she asked him about the U.S.' opinion on the human rights situation in the North. Vershbow reminded her there were reporters present and said he was unable to continue the discussion. [Manipulation]
76 Foreign Envoys Visit Kaesong Monday
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
More than 70 foreign envoys in South Korea, including U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, will visit the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea on Monday to make a first-hand observation of what has been repeatedly criticized for possible ``worker exploitation.'' Seventy-six ambassadors, or 84.4 percent of 90 foreign envoys in South Korea, requested the South Korean government to arrange their visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Friday.
They include Ning Fukui of China and Gleb Ivashentsov of Russia, both member states of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. But Shotaro Oshima of Japan, also a member state in the talks, did not apply for the visit. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon will accompany a total of 109 delegates, including the ambassadors, reporters, government officials and the heads of four international organizations.
US Drops Education From Wish List
By Yoon Ja-young Staff Reporter Korea's chief negotiator Kim Jong-hoon, left, and his U.S. counterpart Trade, Representative Wendy Cutler talk at a reception ahead of the FTA talks in Washington. / Korea Times File With the closing of the first round of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations in Washington, Friday, both Korea and the U.S. confirmed their major differences in such critical areas as agricultural, textile, and pharmaceutical products. Both sides will try settling outstanding issues during second round in Seoul July 10-14. The U.S is Korea's second largest export market. ``We have started the first step of the long itinerary. I think the first step was successful,'' Korea's chief negotiator at the talks, Kim Jong-hoon, said at the end of the five-day-discussions. Importantly, though, the U.S. stressed it is not interested in opening Korea's education and medical services sectors. Those who oppose a Korea-U.S. FTA argue it would ruin the nation's public education and medical service market. ``The U.S. wouldn't have much to gain under the current system, even if the market is open,'' a Ministry of Finance and Economy official said.
Korea, U.S. Fail to Agree on Kaesong-Made Goods
The first round of free-trade negotiations between Korea and the U.S. failed to produce agreement on products made at the joint-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea. The issue will be carried over into the second round in Seoul next month, but Korea will have a hard time overcoming U.S. resistance to including products from the border town. Korea's top negotiator to the talks Kim Jong-hoon told reporters Tuesday there would be no agreement on the matter in this round, which ends Friday. Instead, the two sides' divergent viewpoints will be recorded in the minutes. Kim vowed to continue pressing the U.S. on the issue. "The issue is not just economic but also a political problem that needs to be addressed taking into account many factors including improvement in North Korea-U.S. relations," he added. [Sanctions]
South Korea to take US envoy, diplomats to North
By Jon Herskovitz Reuters Saturday, June 10, 2006; 11:12 PM SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's Foreign Ministry will on Monday take the U.S. ambassador and dozens of other diplomats on an unprecedented trip to an industrial complex in North Korea that is at the center of war of words between Seoul and Washington. South Korea said the trip is designed to give U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, Alexander Vershbow, and other diplomats a first-hand view of the industrial complex that Seoul sees as a model of economic integration between the two Koreas.
The top U.S. official for human rights in North Korea has said the park, where South Korean companies take advantage of cheap North Korean labor and land, may be counterproductive and end up providing funds that prop up Pyongyang's leaders. Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon will join the group and he has not been to North Korea since taking office. Neither has Vershbow since becoming the U.S. envoy to the country. About 80 diplomats will visit the Kaesong Industrial Park, including the Russian and Chinese ambassadors, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said. [Sanctions] [Manipulation]
F-15 crash spurs intelligence agency eyes
June 10, 2006 ? The crash of a new, U.S.-made F-15K fighter jet off Korea's east coast has not only sparked concerns that Seoul's plans to receive more of the jets might be delayed, but also has sent foreign intelligence services scrambling for more information. The purchase of the F-15s (The "K" designation is for an export model provided to Korea) was billed as a move to beef up Korea's defenses against North Korea, but they could also, at least in theory, be used for air strikes in other parts of Northeast Asia
After buying F-15Es, Israel flew them 2,900 kilometers (1,750 miles) to Poland in 2003, analysts noted, saying the flight may have been a demonstration for the benefit of Iran, within 1,300 kilometers of the Jewish state. [Threat]
'Korea to Regain Wartime Military Control in 5 years'
SEOUL (Yonhap) _ President Roh Moo-hyun said Friday Seoul is expected to take back wartime operational control of the South Korean military from the U.S. in about five years. ``Foreign troops will no longer be stationed in Seoul. South Korea's takeover of its wartime military operational control won't take 10 years. It could be possible in around five years,'' Roh said in a meeting with local democracy activists at the presidential office, Chong Wa Dae. South Korea voluntarily put operational control of its military under the American-led U.N. command shortly after the Korean War broke out in 1950. It regained peacetime control of its forces in 1994, but wartime operational control remains in the hands of the commander of the U.S. Forces Korea. [Sovereignty] [In denial]
U.S. "War on Terrorism" Bound to Meet Fiasco
Pyongyang, June 8 (KCNA) -- Some time ago, U.S. President Bush admitted that the Iraqi War was a wrong war as it was launched by mistake. Rodong Sinmun Thursday in a signed article says that the U.S. imperialists' "war on terrorism" is bound to meet a fiasco as it is the most reactionary and aggressive policy going against the trend of the times and trampling down upon the desire of the people
Seoul concerned by N.K. missile test
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon yesterday said it was worrisome that North Korea was showing signs of testing its missiles during the sensitive time of the stalled multilateral talks on the nuclear standoff. "We (South Korea and the United States) shared views that North Korea must not take any measures that will aggravate the situation," Ban said in a regular press briefing in Seoul yesterday. It was revealed last month that South Korean and U.S. military officials have been keeping track of signs that North Korea is preparing to launch long-range missiles in North Hamgyong Province. The missile in question was suspected to be a 35-meter Taepodong-2, which can reach as far as the U.S. mainland.
U.S. Reckless Moves for Space War under Fire
Pyongyang, June 7 (KCNA) -- The U.S. imperialists are disclosing their wild ambition to misuse modern science and technology for turning outer space into a theatre for carrying out their strategy for world supremacy, observes Rodong Sinmun Wednesday in a signed article. It says: The warlike Bush administration is putting spurs to the militarization of outer space by spending a stupendous amount of funds despite unanimous rebuff and opposition of the public at home and abroad. The U.S. is now hell bent on the moves to militarize space in quest of its world supremacy.
Two Dead After Jet Crashes in East Sea
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter The Air Force indicated Thursday that it may delay the purchase of more F-15K fighter jets from its manufacturer, U.S. aircraft giant Boeing.
The accident dealt a blow to the South Korean Air Force's plan to purchase a total of 40 F-15K fighter jets by 2008 at about $105 million per aircraft, with 20 more expected to be bought from 2009. Under the so-called F-X program, the Air Force signed a contract with Boeing in 2002 designating the company's F-15K as its next-generation fighter model, nicknaming it ``Slam Eagle.'' The crash, however, seemed to back the critics' claim that the Air Force's decision to choose Boeing over a French competitor was due to the influence of the country's strong military alliance with the United States. Critics complained of its relatively high price and some questionable software problems. Observers predict that a legal battle between the South Korean Air Force and Boeing is a looming possibility over damages if a technical problem turns out to be the cause of the crash _ the fighter jet is not covered by insurance. [Friction] [Tribute]
US Democrats join Korean protesters
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- Downtown traffic was temporarily jammed Wednesday as South Korean protesters opposing a trade agreement with the United States rallied the Buddhist way, bowing to the ground every three steps. The marchers started off Market Square near the U.S. Capitol and proceeded nearly 10 blocks before the police ordered them to stop. Police officials said the march was taking too long and could no longer receive protection. [FTA]
US Says It Does Not Know of NK Women Trafficked in US
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The United States is not aware of North Korean women refugees being trafficked into the country but also said it cannot say such instances do not exist at all, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported Wednesday, quoting a senior State Department official. Michael Horowitz, senior researcher at the conservative Hudson Institute in Washington, recently claimed that North Korean women hiding out in China have been brought into the United States and forced to work at massage parlors run by the Korean mafia in the vicinity of the White House. The mobsters force the women take amphetamine pills to make them "pliable and serviceable as trafficked women and slaves within the shadow of the White House," Horowitz said. [Manipulation]
Korea, U.S. Fail to Agree on Kaesong-Made Goods
The first round of free-trade negotiations between Korea and the U.S. failed to produce agreement on products made at the joint-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea. The issue will be carried over into the second round in Seoul next month, but Korea will have a hard time overcoming U.S. resistance to including products from the border town. Korea's top negotiator to the talks Kim Jong-hoon told reporters Tuesday there would be no agreement on the matter in this round, which ends Friday. Instead, the two sides' divergent viewpoints will be recorded in the minutes. [Sanctions] [Friction]
N.Korea Missile Launch Worries Growing
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon has voiced concern that North Korea may be poised to test-fire a new Taepodong-style ballistic missile. The remark came after U.S. Ambassador to Korea Alexander Vershbow and other U.S. officials expressed similar concerns. "The indication of preparations for a missile launch in North Korea are a matter of great concern for both Korea and the U.S.," Ban told reporters Wednesday. "The two countries recognize that any move by the North to further aggravate the situation is unacceptable." He said the two allies are exchanging information and "keeping a close eye on North Korea's every move."
U.S. report assails pay, forced labor in North
June 07, 2006 ? The North Korean government may be pocketing most of the pay foreign employers pay North Korean workers, a U.S. report on human trafficking asserted. The report was released Monday by the State Department in Washington. The report also said North Korean workers dispatched to other countries may also be in the same situation, adding that U.S. officials had raised the issue with some third-country governments. North Korea was given the lowest ranking, Tier 3, in the human trafficking report, reserved for governments Washington says do not comply with minimum standards of protection and are making no meaningful attempts to do so. South Korea was ranked in the highest category in the report, Tier 1. The issue of foreign-hired North Korean workers has come under increased scrutiny recently in connection with the Kaesong Industrial Complex, where South Korean manufacturers have set up production plants. [Manipulation] [Sanctions] [Kaesong]
US Questions Legitimacy of Kaesong Wage System
By Christopher Carpenter Staff Reporter
The United States is concerned wages intended for North Korean employees working for South Korean companies in the Kaesong Industrial Complex may be going to the North Korean government instead. A U.S. State Department report on global human trafficking released Monday placed the communist nation in ``Tier 3'' in terms of human trafficking. The lowest ranking possible, tier 3 is given to governments that do not comply with even minimum standards and are make no effort to do so. ``The DPRK regime reportedly provides workers for foreign investors operating in North Korean industrial parks,'' the Trafficking in Persons Report said. [Manipulation] [Sanctions]
South Korea Sends Replacement Troops to Iraq
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter A group of 570 South Korean soldiers left for Iraq Wednesday to relieve troops conducting rehabilitation work in the war-torn Middle East nation, the Army said. [Spin]
Web Site Map Shows Korea as Part of China
SEOUL, June 6 (Yonhap) ? A world map carried on the Web site of Burger King, the worldwide hamburger chain restaurant owned by Texas-based Pacific Group, mistakenly displays the Korean Peninsula as Chinese territory, a South Korean Internet watchdog said Tuesday. [Friction]
Protesters usher in trade talks with a noisy Washington rally
June 06, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? The first round of bilateral free trade negotiations between Korea and the United States were scheduled to begin this morning, or late yesterday evening in Seoul. The Korean negotiating party lead by Kim Jong-hoon is the largest ever in Korea's short history of free trade talks. The Korean delegation is 158 strong, with representatives from 23 government agencies. Wendy Cutler, the U.S. chief negotiator, reportedly has a team of 178 backing her up.
USFK Chief Complains About Stalling in Giving Back Bases
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The top U.S. military officer here Monday complained about the stalled process in handing over U.S. bases to South Korea because of differences over the level of environmental cleanup required at the bases.
`Korea-US Combined Forces Command to Be Scrapped By 2012'
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea is considering dismantling the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) by 2012 in tandem with the planned takeover of operational control of its military during wartime from the United States, the Defense Ministry said Monday. [Sovereignty]
US Weighs Hill's Visit to N. Korea
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The United States continues to weigh the possibility of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill visiting Pyongyang, rather than flatly refusing North Korea's invitation, a South Korean official in Washington said on Saturday. The official's remarks followed talks between South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick in Washington on Friday. [In denial]
Korea Could Take Back Wartime Troop Control in Five Years: Minister
Pillar of Korea-U.S. Military Alliance 'for the Scrapheap'
Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung on Monday said experts agreed that the handover of wartime operational control of Korean troops from the U.S. to Korea "is possible five or six years from now." That in effect confirms information obtained by the Chosun Ilbo that Korea plans to take over charge by 2011 [Sovereignty]
Apology and Compensation from U.S. Demanded
Pyongyang, June 4 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the North Headquarters of the Nationwide Special Committee for Probing the Truth behind the GIs' Massacres issued a statement Saturday in connection with the recent disclosure of a letter written by the U.S. ambassador in Seoul during the last Korean war, which sparked off a great sensation at home and abroad. The letter contained the fact that the U.S. directly ordered GIs to kill civilians during the war.
Pillar of Korea-U.S. Military Alliance 'for the Scrapheap'
In a seismic shift in an alliance that has held since the Korean War, the military plans to scrap Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command by 2012, it emerged Sunday. Wartime operational control of Korean forces will also return to the country, probably by 2011, since it now rests with the commander of the U.S.-led CFC. According to a military source, plans to abolish the CFC are clearly stated in the top strategy document from the Joint Chiefs of Staff "Joint Military Strategy." The document is updated every three years and serves as a basic guideline for all strategic and organizational schemes of the Korean military. The source said the "independent defense" promoted by the Roh Moo-hyun administration will be achieved in six years' time, with the return of wartime operational control and the CFC's demise the pivotal points. [Sovereignty] [In denial]
Seoul Wants to Scrap Combined Forces Command
The Korean defense ministry wants more control over its troops in deterring outside threats although U.S. forces are stationed here. In line with South Korea's goal to change its military defense capabilities to become more self-reliant, the government wants to replace the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command with a new organization. The U.S.-led Combined Forces Command is the wartime command unit set up to deter North Korean aggression against the South. The CFC has operational control over around 600,000 Korean and U.S. soldiers stationed south of the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas. Government sources here say South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff are devising a plan to replace the CFC that would put South Korea on a par with the U.S by giving its military an independent operational command center. If the plan is realized, Korea's armed forces will have an autonomous command with more say in how it wants to coordinate its troops in a joint military operation. [Sovereignty]
Strategic Flexibility of USFK and South Korea's Strategic Responses
Choi Jong-cheol Professor, Dean of Division of Military Studies Korea National Defense University
Introduction It is no exaggeration to say that the concept of strategic flexibility is central to the United States' Global Defense Posture Review (GPR), which is closely related to its defense transformation program. Over the past half a century, flexibility has been shaping up as the key concept of the U.S. defense reform in almost all fields, including realignment and relocation of overseas U.S. military bases, joint operations, strategy, procurement, military personnel readjustment and forces modernization.
Korea, U.S. Mulling Halfway House for Wartime Control
A new combined command structure is being considered where the nation's armed forces take charge of ground operations and the U.S. Forces Korea of aerial and maritime operations in an emergency on the Korean Peninsula, source said. Under the existing command structure, the commander of Combined Forces Command (CFC) under U.S. control exercises wartime operational control on all ground, maritime and aerial operations. The idea is to strengthen the role of Korea's armed forces before full wartime operational is returned. [Sovereignty]
N.Korea Reproaches U.S. Over War Killings
The Associated Press Sunday, June 4, 2006; 2:13 AM SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea criticized the United States on Sunday over the mass killing of South Korean refugees during the Korean War and demanded that U.S. troops withdraw from the South. The comments come after the revelation of a 1950 letter from the U.S. ambassador to Seoul, informing the State Department that American soldiers would shoot refugees approaching their lines [Korean War events] [War crimes]
U.S. rejects invitation for talks in Pyongyang
June 03, 2006 ? Washington rejected yesterday a recent invitation by Pyongyang to receive Christopher Hill, the U.S. representative to the six-party talks on North Korean nuclear weapons issues. The U.S. government said North Korea should return to those multilateral talks. Asked by reporters about the invitation, Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, said, "The United States sticks by its position, which is North Korea has to return to the six-party talks." He urged Pyongyang to honor the terms outlined in a tentative agreement reached at the talks in September, and added, "The United States is not going to engage in bilateral negotiations with the government of North Korea. We're going to continue to do it through the appropriate forum." But a senior State Department official said yesterday that Washington would take a closer look at the proposal from the North, and that a visit by Mr. Hill at some point was not completely out of the question. Mr. Hill, in what seemed to be an off-hand comment after the September agreement was struck, said he would like to visit North Korea; Pyongyang probed further but nothing happened. Other sources here said Pyongyang's resumption of operations at its Yongbyon nuclear reactor triggered a Washington suggestion that halting those operations would be a good-faith gesture to make such a trip possible; the reactor is still in operation. Yesterday, a mid-level U.S. official, Kathleen Stephens, visited the Kaesong Industrial Complex; Yonhap reported that Jay Lefkowitz, the U.S. envoy for North Korean human rights, would do so as well. The U.S. Embassy said it could not confirm the report. [Bilateral]
Dear U.S.: Talk to the North
[EDITORIALS]
The six-nation talks have long been in a stalemate due to Pyongyang's reaction to U.S. financial sanctions. Meanwhile, North Korea invited Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. nuclear negotiator and an assistant secretary of state, to Pyongyang. North Korea announced yesterday that it would invite the U.S. chief delegate to the six-party talks to Pyongyang if the United States made the "political decision to implement truthfully the September 2005 statement and give us its explanation," as a Foreign Ministry spokesman put it. The six-party talks have been rapidly losing their drive due to conflicts between Pyongyang and Washington over the issues of the North's alleged illicit trades, such as in counterfeit money. Experts' analysis is divided over Pyongyang's real reason for inviting Mr. Hill in such circumstances. Some say that the North is trying to find a face-saving measure to return to the talks. Others say that it is preparing to make an excuse to blame Washington for the failure of the talks. No matter what its intentions might be, we believe that the United States can think positively about the North's invitation. [Bilateral]
U.S. Rights Envoy to Visit Kaesong Complex

The U.S. special envoy on North Korean human rights, Jay Lefkowitz, is likely to visit the joint-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea, sources said Friday. Lefkowitz earlier took issue with working conditions at the complex [Manipulation]
Korea's War of Words With Washington's Rights Envoy
1 May 2006
U.S. in a Bind Over Korean Ire at Lefkowitz Slur U.S. Rights Envoy to Visit Kaesong Complex
A government official on Sunday denounced the U.S. special envoy for human rights in North Korea, Jay Lefkowitz, accusing him of being "biased and interfering in our internal affairs." The attack came over an op-ed piece Lefkowitz wrote for the Wall Street Journal last Friday, in which he asserts that by channeling large amounts of unmonitored aid to North Korea, some governments are in fact propping up the North Korean regime, and that there is no guarantee that the less than US$2 South Korean firms pay their North Korean workers a day in the Kaesong Industrial Complex is delivered to the workers. In a separate statement, the Unification Ministry said, "To deny North Korea humanitarian aid is to turn a blind eye to the difficult situation the North Korean people face. It goes against humanitarian principle and human rights and represents a unilateral and single-track attitude." Lefkowitz, thinking perhaps of the U.S. minimum daily wage of $40 for eight hours of work, regards the daily minimum of less than $2 North Koreans can earn in Kaesong as in itself inhumane. But the W4,500 those workers get at North Korea's official exchange rate far exceeds workers' average monthly wage of W3,000 elsewhere in the country. If Lefkowitz meant to imply that the workers at Kaeseong are exploited, he may well be accused of knowing too little about realities in the North. But the whole rhetorical battery -- against humanitarian principle and human rights, unilateral, single-track and what have you -- that our officials poured out at Lefkowitz is usually reserved for enemies at war. Use them to describe an ally and you are in danger of making an enemy of them. Worse, it is absurd for a government that has been so negligent about the human rights situation in North Korea to accuse others of offending against humanitarian principle. Everyone knows that South Korea and the U.S. have not seen eye to eye on the question, with Washington wanting to give priority to the North's human rights record and Seoul urging a softly-softly approach. Already the unification and foreign ministers for that reason declined to meet Lefkowitz when he visited Seoul late last year. But there we have it. The relationship between Seoul and Washington has reached a point where one side openly criticizes the other in the press, whereupon the other side flies into a rage that unleashes an orgy of abuse. Whatever next? [Manipulation] [Friction]
U.S. in a Bind Over Korean Ire at Lefkowitz Slur
2 May 2006
Korea's War of Words With Washington's Rights Envoy U.S. Rights Envoy to Visit Kaesong Complex
The U.S. State Department on Monday attempted to smooth Korean feathers ruffled by disparaging remarks about the joint-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex from Washington's North Korea human rights envoy. But the department said, "The world knows little about what actually goes on at Kaesong," -- the same words Special Envoy Jay Lefkowitz used in a Wall Street Journal article on Friday that incensed officials in Seoul, not least by its insinuation that South Korean firms there exploit their North Korean workers. [Manipulation] [Friction]
U.S. Rejects an Invitation for Talks in North Korea
By NORIMITSU ONISHI Published: June 2, 2006 TOKYO, June 1 - North Korea on Thursday invited the top American nuclear envoy to visit its capital, Pyongyang, for bilateral talks, but the White House insisted that the North return to long-deadlocked six-nation talks instead.
North Korea invited Christopher R. Hill, an assistant secretary of state and chief negotiator in the nuclear talks, to Pyongyang, indicating that it wanted to discuss an agreement that was reached last September but never carried out. "If the U.S. has a true political intention to implement the joint statement, we kindly invite once again the head of the U.S. side's delegation to the talks to visit Pyongyang and directly explain it to us," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement released through the official Korean Central News Agency. [Bilateral]
N. Korea Invites US Nuke Negotiator
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter North Korea's Foreign Ministry on Thursday invited chief U.S. delegate to the six-party talks, Christopher Hill, to Pyongyang, saying it wants him to explain Washington's political decision, if any, on implementing the denuclearization agreement reached last September. A Seoul official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, however, said it is unlikely Hill would go to Pyongyang ``under this situation,'' given that what the North wants now is to talk only about resumption of the six-party talks. [Bilateral]
Navy to Participate in Pacific Rim Exercise
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The South Korean Navy is set to participate in Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2006 to be held June 25-29 in the vicinity of Hawaii, Navy officials said Friday. RIMPAC is a biennial large-scale multinational power projection and sea control exercise conducted under the leadership of the U.S. Third Fleet. This is South Korea's ninth participation in the maritime exercise since 1990, they said. RIMPAC began in 1971. [Imperialism] [US military dominance] [Military balance] [China confrontation]
N.Korea Invites U.S. Chief Nuclear Negotiator Again
North Korea has repeated an invitation to the U.S. chief representative in stalled six-nation talks Christopher Hill on the North's nuclear program to visit Pyongyang. "If there is political resolve in the U.S. to sincerely enact the joint statement" reached in the talks last September, "their representative at six-party talks should come to Pyongyang and explain things to us directly," a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement Thursday. In September, the North agreed in principle to scrap all its nuclear programs in return for security guarantees and economic aid. [Bilateral]
N. Korea Invites U.S. to Bilateral Talks on Arms
By Anthony Faiola Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, June 2, 2006; Page A15
TOKYO, June 1 -- North Korea on Thursday invited Washington's chief delegate in nuclear disarmament talks to hold bilateral negotiations in Pyongyang, but only if the United States effectively demonstrates a commitment to working with the government of North Korea's ruler, Kim Jong Il. [Media] [Bilateral]
Defectors are not (officially) refugees
June 01, 2006 ? Contrary to a South Korean pastor's claims, the United Nations has not granted refugee status to North Korean asylum seekers, a U.S. government-funded broadcaster reported Wednesday. The Rev. Chun Ki-won, pastor of Durihana Mission in Seoul, is helping North Korean defectors. He said that a second group of asylum seekers from the North will be arriving in the United States after getting refugee status from the UN refugee agency. They don't have to bother going through the refugee status determination process because South Korea grants citizenship to defectors upon arrival, Jennifer Pagonis, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) in an interview. The RFA said that the UN agency has not made a decision on the granting of such status to North Korean asylum seekers. If they opt to go to a third country, such as the United States, Ms. Pagonis said the UN agency is only obligated to consult with them, then send them to a relevant foreign mission. [Refugee reception]
U.S. official plans to visit Kaesong
June 01, 2006 ? A diplomatic source in Seoul said yesterday that U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State D. Kathleen Stephens is expected to visit the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea tomorrow. The source said that the official, during a visit to Seoul which began Tuesday, notified officials of her desire to visit the complex and that Pyongyang has already approved the visit.
U.S. Nuclear Envoy Invited to North Korea
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: June 1, 2006 Filed at 3:02 a.m. ET SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea on Thursday invited the chief U.S. nuclear envoy to visit the communist nation if Washington proves its commitment to an agreement last year in which the North pledged to abandon its atomic weapons program. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill has previously expressed a desire to visit the North if it would help the arms negotiations, which have been stalled since last year. ''If the United States has made a political decision to truly carry out the joint declaration, (we) again invite the head U.S. delegate in the six-party talks to visit Pyongyang and directly explain (it) to us,'' an unnamed spokesman for the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
NK Should Open Up Like China: Wolfowitz
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz held a meeting with President Roh Moo-hyun at Chong Wa Dae in Seoul Tuesday, a day after he said the global lender is willing to help North Korea if it follows in China's footsteps. His remarks came amid rising tension between the United States and North Korea over Pyongyang's refusal to return to the six-party denuclearization talks, citing Washington's ``financial sanctions'' against it. Wolfowitz, a leading planner of the 2003 Iraq War, formerly served as U.S. deputy secretary of defense in the George W. Bush administration before being appointed to the World Bank in June last year. [Disinformation] [Opening] [Sanctions] [Victim]
Shift in U.S. Stance Shows Power of Seven-Letter Word
By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, June 1, 2006; Page A13
The Bush administration's decision to consider sitting down with the Iranian government underscores a central truth of diplomacy today: Nuclear weapons buy leverage. For six years, President Bush and his aides have dismissed the idea of talking with Iran about its nuclear programs, and until last year gave little support to European efforts to restrain Iranian nuclear activity. Attempts by former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, a moderate, to foster a dialogue were rejected, and even back-channel moves failed to gain traction.
Now, in perhaps the biggest foreign policy shift of his presidency, Bush has approved the idea of sitting down at the table with the Iranian government -- one headed by a former student radical who denies the Holocaust. Attached to the U.S. offer was a stern condition: a verified suspension of Iran's nuclear enrichment operations. But the offer overturned a long-standing taboo, and it came from an administration stocked with officials who have made little secret of their desire to overthrow the government in Tehran. [Bilateral] [Media]
What Does GI's Note Forgery in S. Korea Show
Pyongyang, May 30 (KCNA) -- Allen, soldier belonging to the U.S. second division in south Korea, was recently reported to have forged notes, lashing south Koreans from all walks of life into fury. According to investigation made by the south Korean police, he forged 20 U.S. dollar notes with the help of a computer and laser printer at his billet inside the unit before using them. This fact goes to prove that any American soldier can perpetrate such illegal act without difficulty as he pleases. He even forged south Korean notes and used them. One cannot rule out the possibility that the U.S. forces all over the world may forge notes of different countries where they are stationed and disturb financial order worldwide. As already reported, the world has vehemently denounced the U.S. for conducting illegal dealings with lip-service to "war on terrorism" and "protection of financial order". Academic and press circles in many countries including the Netherlands, Austria and other European countries are becoming increasingly critical of the U.S. hypocritical nature. The present Bush administration and the Republican Party of the U.S. depend on the money provided by such illicit money launderers as the bankrupt Enron. The American economy is also kept afloat by dint of dirty money laundering. No wonder, Internet Homepage Conspiracy Planet on April 26 commented that but for the illicit money laundering the U.S. economy would have gone long bankrupt. The U.S. is a kingpin of illicit dealing and criminal financial transaction as it is disturbing the international financial order. [Counterfeiting] [Bluster]
US Official to Visit Kaesong Complex Friday
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter A ranking U.S. State Department official will visit the Kaesong Industrial Park in North Korea on June 2 to assess the working conditions of North Korean workers there, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul said on Tuesday. D. Kathleen Stephens, principal deputy assistant secretary of state, will become the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Kaesong, just north of the demilitarized zone (DMZ), should she realize her trip to the economic enclave. Till now, eight U.S. embassy staff members and aides to U.S. congressmen have visited Kaesong in two groups on March 20 and April 11, respectively. [Manipulation] [Sanctions]
24 of 27 U.S. Bases Violate Korean Pollution Standards
The level of soil pollution at 24 of the 27 bases the U.S. Forces Korea are vacating exceeds the maximum considered safe in Korea, it was revealed Tuesday. The disclosure comes amid a continuing standoff between the allies over who should pay for the environmental cleanup when the USFK moves to new bases.
AP Find Confirms No Gun Ri Shooting Was U.S. Policy
A letter written by the U.S. ambassador to Seoul more than 50 years ago reveals that Washington had authorized American soldiers to fire at Korean refugees should they approach U.S. defense lines. The letter was published by the Associated Press, which won a Pulitzer Prize for its reports on the civilian massacre at the hamlet of No Gun Ri during the Korean War. Washington gave the green light to U.S. troops to fire at Korean refugees at No Gun Ri, according to the letter to the U.S. State Department by then ambassador to Seoul John Muccio. In the letter, the ambassador said American soldiers would shoot anyone approaching U.S. defense lines should they disregard warning shots. He said U.S. commanders feared disguised North Korean soldiers would sneak behind American lines huddled among the crowds of refugees. The letter indicates that the issue was also discussed at a high-level meeting in South Korea on July 25, 1950, the night before the Seventh U.S. Cavalry Regiment opened fire on refugees at No Gun Ri who were fleeing an onslaught of North Korean troops. Korean survivors say about 400 were killed in the massacre, mostly women and children. The Pentagon has portrayed the incident as a tragedy rather than a deliberate massacre triggered by nervous soldiers who opened fire without orders. Arirang News [Korean War events] [War crimes] [Disinformation]

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MAY 2006

Pong Su four not guilty of drug charges
March 5, 2006 - 12:39PM
The captain and three officers from an alleged North Korean drug-running cargo ship have been found not guilty of helping to import heroin into Australia. Following more than seven months of evidence and 10 days of deliberations, a Victorian Supreme Court jury has found the men not guilty of aiding and abetting the importation of a commercial quantity of heroin. The alleged sophisticated drug-running operation has been described as the largest detected in Victoria and one of the largest in Australia. The Crown prosecution said the cargo ship Pong Su carried 150 kilograms of heroin to Australia in 2003. A man died while allegedly trying to bring the load to shore in a rubber dinghy in treacherous weather, off Lorne in Victoria's south-west, on April 16. The ship was seized off the NSW coast after a dramatic four-day pursuit involving several naval vessels. The ship's captain Man Sun Song, 65, its "political secretary" Dong Song Choi, 61, first mate Man Jin Ri and chief engineer Ju Chon Ri, both 51, pleaded not guilty to the charge that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The accused men's lawyers have said their clients were not aware heroin was on board the ship and the Crown case was built on speculation and a lack of evidence. [Pongsu] [Drugs] [Evidence]

Experts point finger at leader
Keith Moor Insight editor 06mar06
THE jury that acquitted four Pong Su crew members yesterday never got to hear evidence about the North Korean Government's alleged role.
Two eminent US experts on North Korea, Balbina Hwang and Joe Bermudez, gave written and verbal evidence during the Pong Su trial. But Supreme Court judge Murray Kellam ruled the jury was not allowed to hear it. Both experts said they had no doubt the North Korean Government was involved in the heroin run. They revealed the North Korean Government created a secretive department, known as Bureau 39, to control and increase the flow of foreign exchange through legal and illegal imports. [Pongsu] [Disinformation] [Evidence] [Media]

Freighter crew cleared of drug charges
By Peter Gregory and Geesche Jacobsen March 6, 2006
A NORTH KOREAN freighter that has cost Australian authorities an estimated $2.7 million remained berthed in Sydney last night after senior crew members were acquitted in Victoria's largest heroin importation case. The 3743-tonne Pong Su was seized by the federal police after a four-day chase along the NSW coast in April 2003 on suspicion that it was used to import 150 kilograms of heroin. The ship's captain, Man Sun Song, its political secretary, Dong Song Choi, the first mate, Man Jin Ri, and the chief engineer, Ju Chon Ri, were found not guilty of drug importation after a seven-month trial yesterday. The jurors sat for less than an hour on their 10th day of deliberations before returning the verdicts in one of Victoria's longest trials. [Pongsu] [Evidence]

Crew acquittal weakens North Korea drugs link
By Peter Gregory, Chief Court Reporter March 6, 2006
VICTORIA'S biggest heroin importation could not be "pinned" on the North Korean Government after the acquittal of four senior crew members of the freighter Pong Su, a United States Government analyst said yesterday. Speaking from Washington, Raphael Perl, a senior policy analyst for terrorism, narcotics and crime, said he had no doubts that North Korea was involved in the drugs trade "big time". But he said a Supreme Court jury's verdict yesterday finding the four men not guilty of aiding and abetting the importation of 125 kilograms of heroin - estimated by police to be worth up to $160 million - had to be respected. [Pongsu] [Evidence]

North Korea Narcotics Involvement Termed "Likely but Not Certain"
01 March 2006 Pyongyang uses network of front companies to launder proceeds, U.S. report says Washington -- North Korea most likely sponsored narcotics production and trafficking in 2005, although there were no public reports of incidents with clear, demonstrable links to the Pyongyang government, according to a State Department report released March 1. The International Narcotics Control and Strategy Report 2006 (INCSR) noted that North Koreans have been apprehended trafficking in narcotics and engaging in other illicit activities for decades. [Pongsu] [Evidence] [Drugs] [Counterfeiting]

International Narcotics Control Strategy Report
US State Dept annual report 2006 [Pongsu]

Base clean-up negotiations stalled
May 30, 2006 ? South Korea and the United States ended defense talks last week with no agreement on an environmental clean-up of former U.S. bases, the Defense Ministry said yesterday.

U.S. made threat to move Air Force
Documents: Lack of bombing training facilities spurred complaints May 30, 2006 ? The United States threatened last year to relocate some of its air force troops out of South Korea to other countries unless Seoul guaranteed a suitable air-to-ground bombing training facility, according to a South Korean Defense Ministry document leaked to the media. American Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld issued the threat when he met with his counterpart, Yoon Kwang-ung, during an annual security consultation in Seoul in October, the documents showed. According to the Defense Ministry document, created in April for submission to the National Assembly, Mr. Rumsfeld complained about the lack of bombing ranges in Korea for the U.S. Air Force. In the past, Washington hinted at the possibility it would relocate some of its 7th Air Force to areas outside Korea due to poor training facilities, but it was the first time Mr. Rumsfeld made an issue of it during U.S.-South Korea talks. The 7th Air Force consists of about 10,000 air force personnel located primarily at Osan and Gunsan air bases. They fly and maintain F-16 Falcons and A-10 Thunderbolt combat aircraft.

Letter on Korean War Massacre Reveals Plan to Shoot Refugees
Historian Discovers U.S. Envoy's Writings Relating to No Gun Ri
By Charles J. Hanley and Martha Mendoza
Associated Press Tuesday, May 30, 2006; Page A04
More than a half-century after hostilities ended in Korea, a document from the war's chaotic early days has come to light -- a letter from the U.S. ambassador to Seoul, informing the State Department that U.S. soldiers would shoot refugees approaching their lines.
The letter -- dated the day of the Army's mass killing of South Korean refugees at No Gun Ri in 1950 -- is the strongest indication yet that such a policy existed for all U.S. forces in Korea, and the first evidence that that policy was known to upper ranks of the U.S. government.
"If refugees do appear from north of US lines they will receive warning shots, and if they then persist in advancing they will be shot," wrote Ambassador John J. Muccio, in his message to Assistant Secretary of State Dean Rusk. The letter reported on decisions made at a high-level meeting in South Korea on July 25, 1950, the night before the 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment shot the refugees at No Gun Ri.
Estimates vary on the number of dead at No Gun Ri. U.S. soldiers' estimates ranged from fewer than 100 to "hundreds" dead; Korean survivors say about 400, mostly women and children, were killed at the village 100 miles southeast of Seoul, the South Korean capital. Hundreds more refugees were killed in later, similar episodes, survivors say.
The No Gun Ri killings were documented in a Pulitzer Prize-winning story by the Associated Press in 1999, which prompted a 16-month Pentagon inquiry. The Pentagon concluded that the No Gun Ri shootings, which lasted three days, were "an unfortunate tragedy" -- "not a deliberate killing." It suggested panicky soldiers, acting without orders, opened fire because they feared that an approaching line of families, baggage and farm animals concealed enemy troops. But Muccio's letter indicates the actions of the 7th Cavalry were consistent with policy, adopted because of concern that North Koreans would infiltrate via refugee columns. And in subsequent months, U.S. commanders repeatedly ordered refugees shot, documents show. [Korean War events] [War crimes] [Nogunri]

Ban, Rice to Discuss NK Nuke Standoff
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon will meet with U.S. counterpart Condoleezza Rice in Washington, D.C. on Friday over the North Korea nuclear standoff, the ministry said on Monday.

U.S. groups express concern over rallies
May 27, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? Thirty-two Korean-American organizations in the Washington D.C. area released a statement on Thursday expressing concern about planned rallies by South Korean civic groups to protest free-trade agreement negotiations. In its statement, the organizations argued that violent protests could jeopardize ties between South Korea and the United States and have a negative impact on Seoul's efforts to get Washington to waive the requirement that its citizens get a visa for short trips here. The organizations said the best thing to do was to cancel the scheduled protest. They said if a protest was held, it should be conducted in a peaceful, law-abiding manner. Huh Young-gu, an official with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said yesterday there would be nothing to worry about. "There will be no violence. We have no intention to have illegal protests, nor could we," Mr. Huh said in an interview with a South Korean Internet news outlet. He said the Seoul government was trying to cast the protest as a violent one. On Thursday, Balbina Hwang, a Korean-born researcher for the conservative American think tank Heritage Foundation, warned in a Washington seminar that TV footage of violent South Korean protesters could raise questions by American citizens of how they were allowed to enter the country. The "visa waiver agreement and the free trade agreement might not be successful due to factors out of the White House's control," the researcher said. Diplomats at the South Korean Embassy to Washington also expressed concern yesterday, saying violent protests would cast a negative light on the ongoing visa waiver talks. by Lee Sang-il [FTA] [Friction]

World Methodists to meet in Korea, seek to build bridge to North
Seoul (ENI). Ten thousand Methodists from around the world are to assemble in the South Korean capital Seoul in July for the 19th World Methodist Council (WMC) with the theme "Reconciling God in Christ", to pray for the peaceful resolution of global conflicts. The chairperson of the Korea Methodist Council, Shin Kyung-Ha said, "There will be more than 6000 foreign guests and it will be the biggest international event in 120 years of Korean church history." About 20 United Methodist Church (UMC) leaders from the United States are working to have a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jung-Il, prior to proceeding to Seoul. [329 words, ENI-06-0433] 24 May 2006 [Religion] [Peace efforts]

U.S. envoy: North Korea at fault for stalled talks
May 27, 2006 ? On a trip through Northeast Asia designed to revive six-party talks, Christopher Hill, Washington's top envoy to the discussions, yesterday squarely blamed North Korea for the impasse in ongoing nuclear negotiations aimed at dismantling the North's nuclear arsenal.

Korean, US Defense Chiefs to Meet in Singapore
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Yoon Kwang-ung Defense minister Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung will meet his U.S. counterpart Donald H. Rumsfeld in Singapore next month to discuss issues of mutual concern, including Seoul's bid to regain wartime command from the U.S.Forces in Korea, ministry officials said Thursday.

U.S. State Department Official Talks Defectors With Seoul
The director of the U.S. State Department's Office of Refugee Admissions, Terry Rusch, was in Korea recently to discuss policies on North Korean defectors. On the agenda was the question what to do with four North Korean refugees who barged into the U.S. Consulate in Shenyang after making their way to the South Korean legation there. Rusch reportedly told South Korean officials the U.S. decided to accept them since their dash for the U.S. mission came after they learned that Washington had for the first time granted asylum to a group of six defectors who fled to a Southeast Asian country. Government officials here are said to have made it clear that Seoul cannot accept demands from North Korean refugees who have already found refuge at South Korean legations to move on to the U.S. The American official reportedly signaled understanding. Seoul and Washington reconfirmed that the U.S. will in principle not accept asylum requests from North Korean refugees who have already settled in the South. After the Bush administration granted asylum to the six North Koreans early this month, the Los Angeles Immigration Court approved asylum for Seo Jae-seok, a defector who had settled in Seoul. That prompted the two countries to coordinate their policies. (englishnews@chosun.com ) [Fiction] [Refugee reception]

U.S. to Grant Asylum to Shenyang Four
China and the U.S. have reportedly agreed that four North Korean defectors who barged into the U.S. Consulate in Shenyang after making their way into the South Korean legation will be permitted to leave the country. It is understood that the U.S. has decided to give them asylum. Sources said Thursday's secret negotiations were favorable to the defectors, adding Washington would accept the group's request for asylum. U.S. Ambassador to Korea Alexander Vershbow had earlier denied Internet reports that the U.S. had decided not to grant asylum to the four. Given worries in Beijing that news of the agreement will lead to a flood of defectors to China, the U.S. is considering sending the group to America via a third country. [Refugee reception]

Seoul to Prevent Double Defections by N.Koreans
South Korea will try to prevent a recurrence of an incident last week when a group of North Korean refugees who had sought shelter in the South Korean Consulate in Shenyang, China, changed their minds and forced their way into the U.S. legation to seek asylum there instead. The four overpowered a staffer at the South Korean Consulate to get their way. A government official on Monday said in view of Seoul's relations with China, it was "impossible" to transfer individuals who have already entered South Korean government buildings abroad to the U.S. mission there. The government appears to have restated this position to coincide with an expected rise in the number of North Korean defectors seeking to go to the U.S. after Washington made it clear it will now admit more of them under its North Korean Human Rights Act. [Friction] [Refugee reception]

RS on Failure of U.S. in "Human Rights Diplomacy"
Pyongyang, May 24 (KCNA) -- Forty-seven countries including a number of non-aligned and developing countries were elected member nations of the newly inaugurated UN Human Rights Council at a recent UN General Assembly session. Commenting on this, a news analyst of Rodong Sinmun Wednesday says: Thus the United States and other countries of the West tasted a bitter cup of failure in their "human rights diplomacy" though they sought to make the Council a theatre of their solo performance in a bid to interfere in the domestic affairs of the progressive countries and put pressure upon them under the false cloak of "defense of human rights". The U.S., styling itself an "international human rights judge", laid obstacles in the process of the foundation of the UN Human Rights Council, coming out with unreasonable argument only to fail even to have a finger in its election. [Manipulation]

Rice's Deputy Intends to Resign, Aides Say
By JOEL BRINKLEY Published: May 25, 2006
WASHINGTON, May 24 - Robert B. Zoellick intends to resign as deputy secretary of state, the department's second in command, after barely 15 months in the job, aides and associates said Wednesday.
From his first days at the State Department, Mr. Zoellick has chafed at his subordinate position, frequently remarking that he was finding the adjustment difficult after running his own office during four years as United States trade representative, which is a cabinet position. In addition, friends said, Mr. Zoellick had at times felt marginalized at the State Department, where his subordinates, including R. Nicholas Burns, an under secretary of state, manage most of the major issues, including matters related to Iran, Iraq, the rest of the Middle East and North Korea

US-NK Ties Key to Peace on Peninsula, Kim DJ Says
By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter Former President Kim Dae-jung Tuesday expressed hopes that his planned visit to North Korea late next month will contribute to inter-Korean cooperation and the resumption of the stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program.
``North Korea must completely give up its nuclear weapons program, and in return, the United States must guarantee the North's safety and lift sanctions from its economy. Such a give-and-take deal must be carried out simultaneously,'' he added.
The former president recalled that Kim Jong-il agreed with his idea that the U.S. military forces should remain on the peninsula even after unification is achieved.
``As a reason, Kim Jong-il pointed out that the three neighboring countries involved in the six-party talks, China, Japan and Russia, have tried to dominate Korea as their colony, but the United States has not,'' Kim said. [Bizarre]

Seoul may face fiscal challenge to N.K. aid
From news reports WASHINGTON - South Korea is fiscally able to handle its economic aid to North Korea, but the situation may change in the future when it will be required to spend more on its social welfare system, a senior official at Moody's suggested Monday. Speaking at a symposium by the Institute for Corean-American Studies (ICAS), Thomas Byrne, vice president of the international credit rating agency, said he does not agree that North Korea is headed to meaningful economic reforms. South Korea is one of three nations whose geopolitical risks are considered in judging its credit rating. Israel and Taiwan are the others. According to Byrne, the situation keeps South Korea one notch below the credit rating it normally deserves. [SK Dilemma] [SK aid] [Unification cost]

U.S. Scheme to Revive "Multi-National Forces" Flayed
Pyongyang, May 22 (KCNA) -- The army and the people of the DPRK will destroy aggressors to the last man with their matchless self-defensive deterrent built up under Songun politics and wreak bitter grudges on the U.S. imperialists, if these warmongers dared start another Korean War, captive to war hysteria, declares a Rodong Sinmun analyst Monday. Recalling that the United States recently, through the "UN Command," brought together officers on the active list, civilian experts and others of 13 satellite states which participated in the past Korean War, upwards of 200 all told, and discussed "a plan for the operation of special units" in the event of "contingency on the Korean Peninsula," he goes on:

S. Korea, US to Hold Security Talks
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea and the United States will hold a new round of military talks in Hawaii on Thursday to review the progress of their program to shape a new alliance, the Defense Ministry said Monday. ``During the one-day talks, the two sides will exchange views on the outcome of preliminary studies by a joint panel to be presented to this year's annual meeting of defense chiefs,'' Kwon An-do, the ministry's chief policymaker, said in a briefing.

US Visa Waiver Roadmap Delayed
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
Seoul and Washington failed to reach an agreement on a roadmap for South Korea's admission to a U.S. program for visa-free entrance during their seventh working-group meeting in Washington, D.C. on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul said Monday.

Korea-U.S. Defense Talks to Focus on Wartime Command
The forthcoming eighth Security Policy Initiative talks between the U.S. and Korea starting this week will focus on the return of wartime operational control of its forces to Korea and the environmental cleanup at U.S. Forces Korea bases here. [Sovereignty]

S.Korea's ex-leader urges North, US to cooperate
By Lee Jin-joo Reuters Tuesday, May 23, 2006; 2:01 AM
SEOUL (Reuters) - Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung urged North Korea and the United States on Tuesday to adopt a give-and-take attitude and return to six-way talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs. The talks have been deadlocked due to Pyongyang's refusal to return to the table unless Washington ends a crackdown on firms suspected of aiding the North in illicit financial activities.
"North Korea must completely give up its nuclear weapons program, and in return, the United States must guarantee North Korea's safety and lift economic sanctions. Such a give-and-take deal must be carried out simultaneously," Kim said.

APTN Opens Full-Time North Korea Office
The Associated Press Sunday, May 21, 2006; 11:22 PM
PYONGYANG, North Korea -- AP Television News opened a full-time office in North Korea on Monday, becoming the first Western news organization able to provide regular coverage of that nation. Under the arrangement, international staff from APTN, which is headquartered in Britain, will work with local staff recruited from Korean Radio and Television.
The announcement followed four years of negotiations with the state broadcaster, Korean Radio and Television, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [media]

Kaesung Ignites U.S.-SK Tensions: Low wages and support for North Korea raise questions
Kim Tae-kyung
The governments of South Korea and the U.S. have had conflicts over working conditions in the Kaesung industrial complex. They have exchanged relatively harsh criticisms about each other. However, a disagreement over working conditions is a superficial interpretation of their conflict. Indeed, the nature of this conflict should be understood as U.S. influence bearing down on South Korea, as it has squeezed North Korea by economic sanctions. [Camouflage] [Friction] [Kaesong]

REMEMBERING GWANGJU
GOING TO THE BLOGS] "It's been 26 years since the fateful events of May 18, 1980," writes Robert at "The Marmot's Hole" (http://www.rjkoehler.com) this week, "but as recent news would indicate, the past is still with us." In one of a range of perspectives offered by bloggers on the Gwangju Uprising and its legacy, Robert focuses on the politicking of both major parties on the issue, and its predictably disastrous results. Robert also unearths a tribute to the victims of the Uprising, written by former President Kim Dae-Jung while living in exile in the United States in 1983. "About the United States," Robert writes, "[Kim] said the Gwangju Uprising (or suppression thereof) was a disaster brought on by the irresponsible actions of the USFK commander who held operation command over the Korean military, and that it had brought about a decisive change in the attitude of Korean citizens toward the United States." Though most bloggers agree with the second part of that statement, they angrily reject the first. "Kwangju... was the source of a myth (at least partly the result of slipshod, biased research) leading to a layer of anti-Americanism that still exists," writes Richardson at "The Korea Liberator," (http://www.korealiberator.org/), echoing a sentiment displayed by a great many commenters this week. Meanwhile, in a clear dig at the Roh government's conciliatory stance toward North Korea, Andy at "The Flying Yangban" (http://gopkorea.blogs.com/flyingyangban/) posts a picture of the president and other political bigwigs at a memorial service for the victims of the military crackdown, juxtaposed with shots of activists protesting North Korean human rights issues. [Bizarre]

Don't Link Nuke Dispute and Kaesong Complex: Roh
President Roh Moo-hyun on Friday promised leaders of small-and medium-sized businesses the government "will do everything in its power" to make the joint-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North Korean border town a success. "We need to deal with the North Korean nuclear problem on its own, just as we need to deal with the issue of North-South exchange on its own," the president told the businesspeople at a Cheong Wa Dae luncheon. "The success of the Kaesong project will be a key to stability in inter-Korean relations as well as to national security." The president said the project, which has taken some rhetorical flak from the U.S., "should not be seen simply as an inter-Korean unification campaign. It will be another breakthrough for the South Korean economy." He said the North Korean nuclear standoff should "not be a reason to hesitate about investing in the Kaesong Complex." These statements represent divergent views from those expressed by the U.S. Special Envoy on North Korean human rights Jay Lefkowitz, and U.S. ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow, who have brought up the issue of working conditions in the complex. (englishnews@chosun.com ) [Sanction] [Friction] [SK dilemma]

There Can Be no Profit in Protesting in America
Gov't Urges Anti-FTA Protestors to Stay Home
A coalition opposing the planned Korea-U.S. free trade agreement made up of some 270 organizations such as, of course, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Coalition of Farmers' Associations is preparing protests in Washington DC ahead of the first round of FTA negotiations between the two countries. The government expects some 100 protestors to rally in the U.S., some of whom have already arrived there. In a statement Friday, the government urged them to desist since the protests would tarnish our national

In S. Korea, a Stubborn Stand Against U.S. Military Presence
By Anthony Faiola Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, May 21, 2006; Page A20
DAECHURI, South Korea -- Here in the marshy heartland of the Korean Peninsula, the rabble-rousing rice farmers of this tiny village are engaged in their own little war against the U.S. military. With American forces in the midst of their largest regional realignment in decades, the farmlands of Daechuri have been condemned to make room for the expansion of a nearby U.S. base. While about half the residents have quietly accepted a lucrative cash-for-land deal being offered by the South Korean government, a core group of about 70 holdouts have rebuffed all efforts to buy them out.
Their refusals to make way for the base -- or give in to what many of the farmers are calling "American bullying" -- have won them instant hero status among some South Korean labor unions and student groups. Over the past several weeks, protesters have held the largest anti-American demonstrations in South Korea in four years, turning Daechuri into a symbol of their struggle to drive U.S. troops out of the country.

5 aides blanch at FTA protest plans in U.S.
Ministers cite 'image' issues and danger to visa waivers May 20, 2006 ? Five ministers have issued a written appeal to anti-free trade activists to drop plans to travel to Washington, D.C., next month to stage demonstrations there. Negotiators for Korea and the United States are scheduled to begin formal negotiations toward a free trade pact in the U.S. capital.

Activists Urged to Scrap Anti-FTA Rally in US
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
Ban Ki-moon, minister of foreign affairs and trade The government on Friday urged the country's labor organizations not to stage a rally in the United States against a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries. In a joint statement issued by five cabinet ministers concerned with the FTA, the government denounced plans by labor groups to dispatch a group of protesters to America. The ministers said it would seriously damage the country's international reputation and relations between the two allies.

South downplays U.S. approach to N.K.
Seoul officials yesterday downplayed a report from Washington that President Bush's top advisers were considering a new approach on North Korea's nuclear issue. Officials here said the indicated change was not too different from the Joint Statement of principles agreed on last year. But analysts also suggested that the report may indicate Washington's agony over the aggravating North Korea problem, and its wish to let Pyongyang know that the intensified pressure was not meant to be followed by a breakdown in communication. The New York Times reported May 17 that top advisers to President George W. Bush have recommended a range of options on dealing with North Korea that include starting talks on a peace treaty. The paper quoted senior administration officials and Asian diplomats who said the president was likely to approve the new approach but on the grounds that North Korea return to the multilateral negotiations. It said the decision to soften Washington's hard-line tactics may have been influenced by increased concern over Iran's nuclear program. "The report may suggest a broad approach (of the U.S. government) but it did not offer any new approach," a high-ranking government official told The Korea Herald. Based on the Joint Statement of principles on denuclearization, North Korea would get financial aid and achieve normalization of relations along with a negotiation to instill a peaceful structure on the Korean Peninsula. "The issue of discussing the peace treaty is already included in the Joint Statement. There is nothing new about it," the official said. [Camouflage] [Negotiating style]

U.S. Said to Weigh a New Approach on North Korea
By DAVID E. SANGER Published: May 18, 2006
WASHINGTON, May 17 - President Bush's top advisers have recommended a broad new approach to dealing with North Korea that would include beginning negotiations on a peace treaty, even while efforts to dismantle the country's nuclear program are still under way, senior administration officials and Asian diplomats say.
Aides say Mr. Bush is very likely to approve the new approach, which has been hotly debated among different factions within the administration. But he will not do so unless North Korea returns to multinational negotiations over its nuclear program. The talks have been stalled since September. North Koreans have long demanded a peace treaty, which would replace the 1953 armistice ending the Korean War. For several years after he first took office, Mr. Bush vowed not to end North Korea's economic and diplomatic isolation until it entirely dismantled its nuclear program. That stance later softened, and the administration said some benefits to North Korea could begin to flow as significant dismantlement took place. Now, if the president allows talks about a peace treaty to take place on a parallel track with six-nation talks on disarmament, it will signal another major change of tactics. The decision to consider a change may have been influenced in part by growing concerns about Iran's nuclear program

Bush May Seek North Korea Peace Treaty to Restart Nuclear Talks
May 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration is considering opening direct talks with North Korea on a peace treaty as a new approach to persuading that nation to end its pursuit of nuclear weapons, a U.S. official said. Advisers to President George W. Bush have recommended that the administration begin the peace talks on condition that separate six-party negotiations on the nuclear issue resume, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Those negotiations, currently stalled, involve North Korea, China, Russia, the U.S., Japan and South Korea.

U.S. Official's Arrogant Act Flayed
Pyongyang, May 17 (KCNA) -- The special envoy for north Korean human rights issue of the U.S. State Department in an article contributed to the Wall Street Journal shortly ago accused south Korean businesses that have advanced to the Kaesong Industrial Zone of helping the north Korean regime, spinning out a string of trash about human rights performance in the north. Ridiculing his arrogance in throwing together balderdash slandering the DPRK and interfering in the internal affairs of south Korea, a Minju Joson analyst Wednesday says south Korea is not what it was in the past [Bluster]

US puts condition on N.Korea treaty talks
By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent Reuters Thursday, May 18, 2006; 5:46 PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is open to discussions with North Korea on a peace treaty at the same time as six-country talks on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear programs, but it must first come back to the negotiating table, U.S. officials said on Thursday. Commenting on a report in The New York Times, two officials said the concurrent efforts had been under way for months. They played down the Times' report that the Bush administration was considering a new approach.
But some experts said there seemed to be at least a slight change in U.S. emphasis designed to entice Pyongyang back into talks and keep Asian allies from blaming Washington for the moribund diplomacy. [Camouflage] [Victim] [Negotiating style]

U.S. Branded as World's Worst Human Rights Abuser
Pyongyang, May 16 (KCNA) -- It is not without reason that world people are branding the U.S. as the worst human rights abuser and a barren land of human rights. Rodong Sinmun Tuesday says this in a signed article dealing with the human rights abuses by the U.S. styling itself a "protector of human rights". The article goes on: The U.S. in its every "annual report on human rights" comments on "human rights records" of other countries in a freewheeling way according to its "human rights standards" based on the American view on value and interferes in their internal affairs over their human rights issues. This is an impudent behavior, an indication of its extreme arrogant and brigandish nature. Citing what is happening in Iraq as a good example revealing the hypocrisy of the U.S. much publicized "protection of human rights," the article stresses that the wanton human rights abuses by the U.S. forces in Iraq clearly show how hypocritical and deceptive the U.S. call for "protecting human rights" is.
Rail links and the U.S.
[EDITORIALS] South and North Korea have agreed in principle to conduct test runs on the Gyeongeui and Donghae railway lines across the Demilitarized Zone and will settle the essential military security procedures at general officer talks tomorrow.
If the two sides agree and the test runs do take place, their meaning and effects will be significant. According to research by experts, the railways would enable North Korea to earn $300 million-$400 million annually from freight and service charges. Also, if Pyongyang could modernize its railroad facilities with outside help, it could be an opportunity for North Korea's industry to record rapid growth. For South Korea, the opening of the railroads could reduce logistics costs with the North by one-third, and it would help Seoul to emerge as a hub of northeast Asian logistics. The event also holds great symbolic meaning as it allows Korea to become a point of contact with continental Asia. The agreement is the first step to a project that could benefit both Koreas.
Pyongyang, however, must bear in mind that unreasonable requests, like asking for Seoul's concession on the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea, will not be tolerated
Considering Washington's financial sanctions on North Korea and its acceptance of North Korean refugees, there is little chance that the Bush administration will welcome the recent decision. It is different here. But while welcoming advances in relations with North Korea, the majority of Koreans also believe that conflict with the U.S. is undesirable. Therefore, the government must have a responsible explanation to the people about the correlation between the agreement and relations with the Bush administration [Friction] [NLL] [Railways]
U.S. Can Never Cover Up Its True Colors as Biological and Chemical War Criminal
Pyongyang, May 13 (KCNA) -- The U.S. bellicose forces, not content with being the biggest possessor of biological and chemical weapons in the world, are continuously developing and producing new nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and openly using them in aggression and war against other countries in defiance of international law. Citing data, a signed article of Rodong Sinmun Saturday says: The U.S. imperialists committed a germ and chemical warfare in a real earnest in the northern half of Korea during the last Korean War. [cbw]
U.S., Kingpin of International Terrorism
Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- The history of the U.S. is that of crimes stained with plot-breeding and terrorism as well as that of aggression and plunder, says Rodong Sinmun Thursday in a signed article. It goes on: The U.S. is styling itself an "international judge" to find fault with other countries, interfere in their internal affairs and threaten them. It makes no scruple to commit military aggression against them if necessary. The U.S. imperialists are kingpin of international terrorism. They invaded Iraq, openly blustering that their major objective is to remove the Iraqi leadership. In January 1961 first Prime Minister of Democratic Congo Lumumba was cruelly assassinated, for which the U.S. was chiefly to blame. Former Chilean President Allende and many other state leaders and political figures fell victims to the U.S. terrorism.
Prosecutors and police seek protest leaders
May 09, 2006 ? After a continuation of efforts by protesters to trespass on a future U.S. military base site in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi province, the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office said yesterday that it would subpoena the leaders of the civic group alliance leading the protests. Among those to be questioned is a well-known anti-U.S. activist, Father Moon Jung-hyun, a Roman Catholic priest.
US Urged to Accept More NK Refugees
By John Carpenter Staff Reporter The six North Korean refugees granted asylum last week in the United States may only be the tip of the iceberg if one U.S. senator has his way. Speaking at a meeting of the Asia Society in New York Monday, Sen. Sam Brownback (RKansas) urged the Bush administration to open up more to North Korean refugees, calling it a "great act of compassion." [Manipulation]
Unification Head Makes 1st Visit to Kaesong Complex
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok on Tuesday visited an inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, just north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), for the first time since taking office in February. His visit came as some U.S. officials take issue with North Koreans' working conditions in the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Lee's one-day trip, delayed for nearly two months, was expected to give clear answers to Washington's skepticism about the inter-Korean economic project. ``One of the main purposes of his visit is to reaffirm the government's unswerving determination to make the Kaesong project a success,'' the ministry said in a statement on Monday. [Friction] [Sanctions]
US Ban on NK-Flagged Ships Takes Effect
Ships flying the North Korean flag are off limits to U.S. citizens as of Monday, when a U.S. Treasury ban took effect. Under the ban, ``U.S. persons'' cannot own. Lease, insure or operate North Korea-flagged vessels. The ban is the latest punitive action against a state accused of counterfeiting American currency and cigarettes. U.S. persons refers to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, U.S. entities, including their foreign branches, and any person in the United States. The ban is an amendment to the Foreign Assets Control Regulations (FACR), announced on April 6. [Sanctions]
Unification Minister to Visit Kaesong Amid US Criticism
Unification Minister Lee Jongseok will visit the North Korean border town of Kaesong Tuesday, in his first visit to inspect the inter- Korean industrial complex there. Lee's visit comes amid a war of nerves between Seoul and Washington over the human rights situation for North Koreans working in Kaesong. Executives of Hyundai Asan, which spearheads the inter- Korean business projects there, will accompany the minister along with scores of ministry officials. They include Hyun Jeongeun, chairwoman of Hyundai Group, and Yoon Man-joon, president of Hyundai Asan. Lee, Hyun and Yoon were also recently together at Mt. Kumgang on the occasion of a concert commemorating deceased composer Isang Yun. During their stay at Mt.Kumgang, Lee and Hyun criticized the remarks of Jay Lefkowitz, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights. [Friction] [Manipulation]
Warrants Issued for 6 Anti-U.S. Protesters
A local court Tuesday issued arrest warrants for six anti-U.S. activists for their violent protests against a plan to relocate an American military base to Pyongtaek City, about 170 kilometers south of Seoul.
The New Face of the South Korea-U.S. Alliance and the North Korea Question
By Selig S. Harrison
Japan Focus 8 May 2006
In carrying out his election campaign pledge to reshape the U.S.-South Korean alliance, President Roh Moo Hyun has skillfully balanced conflicting national priorities during the first three years of his tenure. Economic priorities make it necessary to avoid a sudden disruption of the alliance. The U.S.-ROK Mutual Security Treaty creates a climate of stability favorable for foreign trade and investment and for preferential treatment by U.S.-controlled international financial institutions. The U.S. force presence also provides an economic subsidy to South Korea by enabling Seoul to maintain a much more formidable defense posture than it could afford on its own. [Friction] [SK US relations]
U.S. admits 6 from North as refugees, senator says
May 08, 2006 ? A group of six refugees from North Korea, including four women who said they were sold into sexual slavery or forced marriages, arrived in the United States on Friday, a U.S. senator said in an interview with an international news outlet on Saturday. The Associated Press reported that Senator Sam Brownback said that the group had been taken to an undisclosed location in the United States Friday night, coming from a Southeast Asian nation that he would not identify for the security of the refugees' families and to avoid diplomatic complications for the transit country. The group of North Koreans is the first to be given refugee status since the U.S. Congress approved the North Korean Human Rights Act in 2004, which makes applying for such status easier.
According to the news reports, Mr. Brownback, a co-sponsor of the law, said, "This is a great act of compassion by the United States and the other countries involved." He added that the refugees' arrival in the United States showed "the act is working" by making refugees' human rights a part of U.S. policy toward the North. [Manipulation] [Refugee encouragement]
U.S. pressures N.K. by accepting defectors
Lee Joo-hee [NEWS ANALYSIS]
The first ever acceptance by the United States of six North Korean defectors as refugees is widely seen as an attempt by Washington to ramp up the pressure on the communist regime over its human rights abuses. The United States has been extremely vocal about the North's rights abuses in recent years, but was more hesitant when it came to accepting defectors seeking asylum. In a similar case, on April 27 Los Angeles immigration accepted Suh Jae-seok as a political refugee. Suh had defected to South Korea in 1999.
While the United States and Japan wish to address the human rights problem together with the nuclear issue, South Korea and China remain uncertain about the wisdom of this. South Korea's Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said in March, "There now also exist voices (in Washington) that they (the United States) need to first confirm the North's willingness to open up, and that it may be better to tackle other issues such as human rights at the same time." But he added that such ideas have yet to make their way into the mainstream of the U.S. administration. [Manipulation] [Transfer]
U.S. Army Unwelcome in South Korea
[Opinion] America should listen to its detractors and leave
Tom Pauken II (Pauken)
In February 1950, the U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson spoke before the Washington National Press Club. He described the defensive perimeter of the Pacific -- where the U.S. was compelled to defend Japan and the Philippines -- but said Korea was an area of "lesser interest." Historian Chuck Downs, in his book "Over the Line," writes that a classified document revealed that the Joint Chiefs of Staff showed "little interest" in setting up bases on the peninsula. North Korean leader Kim Il-sung used this U.S. policy to exploit the vulnerability of the South. Downs writes of spring 1950: "North Korea initiated deceptive peace initiatives, including calls for peaceful unification, to distract the South's attention for the North's preparation for war." Then on June 25, 1950, the North Korean army attacked the South Korean army, draining their strength from 98,000 to 22,000. Shortly afterwards, the South Korean army retreated to the southeastern corner of their nation and all seemed lost. President Harry S. Truman raised a U.N. military force led by General Douglas MacArthur to assist them. The North Korean army was pushed back behind their borders by Oct. 1. North Korea seemed destined for defeat with a unified Korea governed by a democracy. But China came to their rescue and entered the conflict. This brought the Korean War to a stalemate where an armistice, not a peace treaty, was signed in July 1953. Nowadays, North Koreans must endure the hardships of a brutal dictatorship while South Koreans enjoy the benefits of a thriving economy and free society. Nevertheless, many young South Koreans fail to appreciate the assistance they've received from the U.S. Instead, many protestors believe America -- not North Korea -- is their greatest nemesis.
Report: U.S. will accept 6 North Korean refugees
May 06, 2006 ? A group of six North Korean refugees are expected to arrive in the United States within two weeks, The Associated Press reported from Washington yesterday, quoting a State Department official. The group would be the first North Koreans given official refugee status since the U.S. Congress passed the North Korean Human Rights Act in 2004. The legislation specified the U.S. government would make efforts to allow North Koreans to apply for refugee status in the United States. [Refugee reception] [Manipulation]
Probe into Truth behind Killing of Civilians to Be Made in S. Korea
Pyongyang, May 2 (KCNA) -- The Committee for Correcting Past History for Truth and Reconciliation in south Korea reportedly held a news conference on April 25 at which it decided to conduct a survey of massacres of civilians. At the news conference the committee said that more than 380 cases of massacres of different types and scopes have been raised. It clarified that it would probe the truth about those cases, asserting that more than 360 civilians were killed by the U.S. forces' bombing of the Kokgye Tunnel in Tanyang County, North Chungchong Province on Jan. 20, 1951, the biggest massacre committed in a day. [Korean War events][War crimes]
Police Investigate 524 Pyongtaek Activists
By Kim Tong-hyung Staff Reporter Engineering and infantry troops erect a barbed wire fence around farmland in Pyongtaek, Kyonggi Province, Thursday, a designated location for the expansion of the U.S. military base Camp Humphreys. / Yonhap With the clash between police and protestors in Pyongtaek Thursday, resulting in more than 200 injured, critics are questioning whether the police used excessive force in suppressing the rally.
NK Defectors' Asylum Bid in US to Become Political Football
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter The case of a North Korean defector who, after first settling in South Korea, was again granted refugee status in the United States seems to have created a headache for South Korea and the United States. South Korean government officials have criticized a U.S. court decision late last month to accept a former North Korean defector with South Korean nationality as a political refugee. Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok called the court ruling ``nonsense'' in a speech last Wednesday, while Ban Ki-moon, minister of foreign affairs and trade, said Seoul expects Washington to explain the matter. [Friction] [Manipulation]
Hundreds Held in Eviction of U.S. Base Protesters
A bloodied protester who was part of efforts to obstruct the expansion of a U.S. military base is being led away from the scene by police in Daechu-ri, Pyeongtaek on Thursday morning./Newsis
Police and the military on Monday evicted protesters against the expansion of a U.S. base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province and set up a barbed wire fence around the site. The massive 10-hour operation to throw the activists out of their impromptu headquarters at Daechu-ri Elementary School, on land that is to become the U.S. Forces Korea's new headquarters, saw 471 protesters from outside including students and members of civic groups and the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions arrested. There were near 100 reports of injuries. Police decided to punish all the violent protesters according to the law. At around 4:30 a.m. 115 companies of police or some 11,500 started to pour into the area. When the operation ended at 4 p.m., police had obtained control of the school.
The Future of US-Korean Relations
The Imbalance of Power
Edited by John Feffer
April 2006: 234x156: 232pp Hb: 0-415-77037-8: £75.00 Pb: 0-415-77038-6: £19.99
US relations with North and South Korea have been characterized by profound asymmetries of power and perception which in recent years have led to increased tensions among the three countries. An uneasy truce concerning North Korea's nuclear ambitions ended in 2002 bringing the US closer to a war footing. In South Korea, meanwhile, anger and resentment over an unequal partnership, combined with an ongoing US re-evaluation of its security role on the peninsula, have put an enormous strain on a longstanding alliance.
Bringing together twelve prominent experts on US-Korean and US-Pacific relations, this book explores the many dimensions of current and future US foreign policy. The contributors chart new developments in North and South Korea by examining US-Korean relations through such prisms as nationalism, the media, regional relations and human rights issues. In relating the downward spiral in US relations with the Korean peninsula, the book provides an analysis that runs counter to conventional interpretations, and offers clear and balanced policy recommendations for remedying the crises. The Future of US-Korean Relations is deeply incisive and broadly relevant as an ideal resource for students, teachers and policy professionals interested in security studies, East Asian politics and US foreign policy.
US Base Expansion Plan Gains Momentum
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The stalled U.S. base relocation plan is finally getting off the ground as South Korean authorities Thursday forced activists and farmers off the land for a new U.S. military installation in Pyongtaek, Kyonggi Province. Barbed wire fencing about 29-kilometers long was erected by engineering soldiers around an area of some 9.5 million square meters, including Taechuri village bordering part of Camp Humphreys, officials at the Defense Ministry said. ``This is a good step forward setting the stage for the agreed base relocation plan between the two allies,'' Col. Park Wang-ok of the ministry's public affairs office told The Korea Times. The site was declared as a military protection zone with checkpoints and restrictions to public access, he added. The expansion of Camp Humphreys is part of an agreement that was struck between Seoul and Washington in 2004. The camp is to be trebled in size by 2008 to accommodate both the command headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, and infantry units stationed north of Seoul.
Seoul's Rights Envoy Awaits Showdown With Lefkowitz
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Park Kyung-seo, South Korea's human rights envoy, said on Thursday that he plans to meet his U.S. counterpart Jay Lefkowitz at an international conference in Norway next week to ``honestly'' discuss how to approach North Korea's human rights issue. His remarks came as the American official recently triggered a controversy over the working conditions of North Koreans at Kaesong, just north of the Demilitarized Zone, where an inter-Korean industrial cooperation project is underway. [Friction] [Manipulation] [Sanctions]
Lefkowitz Faces Growing Criticism in Seoul
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter Seoul officials are stepping up criticism against Jay Lefkowitz, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, who in recent months has made comments that are interpreted in Seoul as an attempt to throw cold water on South Korea's joint business project with the North in the border town of Kaesong. Ko Gyoung-bin, head of the Unification Ministry's Office of Kaesong Industrial Project, said Wednesday that Lefkowitz seems to be ``backbiting because of a lack of understanding on the situation.'' Lefkowitz wrote in a recent commentary in the Wall Street Journal that ``there is ample cause for concern about worker exploitation'' in the Kaesong Industrial Complex. ``The factories in Kaesong are now operated by South Korean companies under the rules set up by the South as well as the North,'' Ko told The Korea Times. ``That Lefkowitz is raising doubts about the human rights situation is an insult to our companies.'' Ko asked the U.S. envoy to come and see the situation in Kaesong himself. [Friction] [Manipulation] [Camouflage]
Ban: Japan-U.S. deal won't hurt Korean alliance
May 04, 2006 ? A stronger military relationship between the U.S. and Japan will not affect the alliance between South Korea and the United States, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said yesterday. The new military cooperation between Washington and Tokyo also won't change the supporting role of U.S. forces in Japan in case of a war on the Korean Peninsula, Mr. Ban said yesterday. "Exaggerating assessments or concerns is not desirable," the foreign minister said. His remarks came after local media reports suggested the new deal would further cast a shadow on the South Korea-U.S. alliance. [Friction] [In denial]
North Korean defectors get admittance
May 04, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? Five or six North Korean defectors currently staying at U.S. embassies in Southeast Asian countries are soon expected to be allowed to enter the United States with refugee status, U.S. officials here said Tuesday. According to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, there is a large number of these North Korean defectors, and about six to eight of them wish to come to the United States. The rest wish to be resettled in other countries, mostly South Korea, the official said. The officials, however, refused to provide any more details, citing the sensitivity of the issue and possible disputes it may cause between the Asian countries and the United States or North Korea. The State Department refused to confirm the claim, saying it would not comment on "specific cases." South Korean officials also remained tightlipped. "It is a matter to be confirmed by the U.S. State Department," South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said in his weekly press briefing. The United States has rarely accepted North Korean refugees despite the enactment of a special law on North Korean human rights early last year requiring the country to actively assist North Korean defectors and accept those coming directly from their communist homeland. [Manipulation] [Refugee reception][Friction]
Minister: L.A. court's ruling was 'nonsense'
May 04, 2006 ? A landmark court decision in which a North Korean defector was allowed to seek refuge in the United States due to oppression from Seoul was "nonsense," Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said yesterday. He said, however, he would not protest the decision. On Friday, the Los Angeles Immigration Court approved the asylum bid by the defector, who used the pseudonym Seo Jae-sok, a former North Korean military officer who entered the country through the Mexican border in 2004 with his wife and two children, according to Yonhap. [Friction] [Refugee reception]
Seoul Wants US to Explain Grant of Political Asylum to NK Defector
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday he expects Washington to explain a U.S. court's recent decision to grant political asylum status to a North Korean defector who had already received South Korean citizenship. Minister of Unification Lee Jong-seok said in a more blunt manner that it is ``nonsense'' for the court to accept the defector's argument that he was subject to oppression in South Korea. [Friction] [Refugee reception]
Protest against US base expansion
A bloodied protester who was part of efforts to obstruct the expansion of a U.S. military base is being led away from the scene by police in Daechu-ri, Pyeongtaek on Thursday morning./Newsis [photo] [Human rights]
Pyongtaek Activists Face Expulsion
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The government will implement plans to drive out activists and farmers refusing to vacate lands needed for a new U.S. military installation in Pyongtaek, Kyonggi Province, as early as Thursday, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
More N.Korean Defectors to Seek Asylum in U.S.
A group of North Korean defectors in Southeast Asia is reportedly seeking asylum in the United States. In an interview with Korea's Yonhap News, a U.S. official who asked not to be named said six to eight North Korean refugees wish to enter the U.S. from the Southeast Asian nations where they have fled, adding the exact number could change. Another U.S. official said while a large number of defectors are rumored to be staying in Southeast Asia, only a few wish to settle down in the U.S. He said that they are likely under the protection of U.S. legations there. [Friction] [Refugee reception]
S. Korean Police Storm U.S. Base Protest
By AHN YOUNG-JOON The Associated Press Thursday, May 4, 2006; 12:55 AM
PYEONGTAEK, South Korea -- Thousands of police armed with batons stormed an abandoned school in South Korea on Thursday to evict activists who were protesting plans to expand a U.S. military base, sparking clashes that resulted in dozens of injuries. About 3,000 police battled with hundreds of local residents and anti-U.S. protesters in the village of Pyeongtaek, about 40 miles south of Seoul, where they had occupied the school building overnight to protest the expansion plans. Some 7,000 police stood nearby.
Some of the protesters were seen bleeding from the head. Police said the clash left at least 65 injured on both sides.
US pressure on N.Korea may not be effective: Seoul
By Jack Kim Reuters Wednesday, May 3, 2006; 5:24 AM
SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. pressure on North Korea can squeeze its finances but may not reform Pyongyang, South Korea's top policy maker on the North said on Wednesday in comments that highlight recent friction with Washington. The United States has increased pressure on North Korea recently with a crackdown on firms it suspects of aiding Pyongyang on illicit activities such as counterfeiting.
Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said the U.S. crackdown has dealt a painful blow to the North, but its long-term effectiveness in making the North behave more responsibly was questionable. "I agree that, when it comes to having an impact on the North, it has been a very strong tool," Lee said. "But it is an entirely different question whether the tool will be effective, from a strategic viewpoint, in leading the North to reform, ease tension and establish peace," Lee told a forum of senior journalists in Seoul. South Korea earlier this week used unusually blunt language to criticize remarks made by U.S. President George W. Bush's point man on human rights in North Korea, calling him biased and ill-informed. [Friction] [Camouflage] [Transfer]
Sharply Increased US Sanctions are based on the USD Supernote Accusation against North Korea. But Counterfeit Experts say the Accusation is Baseless.
In an interview with the Associated Press (AP) on 19.4.2006 Klaus W. Bender, the author of the new book ´Moneymakers - The Secret World of Banknote Printing´, Wiley-VCH Verlag, Weinheim, Germany, 39.90 Euro, outlines that ´in the opinion of experts, this allegation is not tenable.´ It is to do with the paper used in the ´supernotes´ using original dollar paper (made by a specialist company in Massachusets) with genuine security ink based on a secret chemical make up and reserved exclusively for the printing of dollars. ´It is unimaginable that anyone else (than the Americans themselves) could come by these materials.´ He stressed that the machines bought by North Korea in the seventies are outdated and not able to produce the USD supernote, a high tech product. In addition, Bender explained that the ´supernotes´ have two or three designed defects that would ensure that they will be immediately detected by the American checking systems. ´The supernotes have therefore no chance of circulating within the USA´, he points out. He says that the USA´s allegation that (North Korean) counterfeiters are waging an economic warfare is baseless but points to the fact that the US CIA itself runs a secret printing facility equipped with the sophisticated technology which is required for the production of the notes.
Moneymakers The Secret World of Banknote Printing
by Klaus W. Bender This book is about the most precious piece of paper we know, about bank-notes. Modern life would be unthinkable without them. Yet, the general public is kept very much in the dark about how they are made or who makes them. It is rarely known, for example, that despite America's technical Prowess all dollar bills are printed exclusively on German high-security printing presses using secret Swiss special inks, or that the phony 100 dollar bills, the so-called supernotes may well be printed in a top-secret printing works located just north of the white House and run by the CIA - although the US government is blaming the rogue government of North Korea for counterfeiting these bills. This book is finally lifting the veil on an industry used to absolute secrecy. It recounts the stories of a British banknote printer who, fearing the loss of his customer, informed the Egyptian secret service that the securities printing machinery the Egyptians were about to buy was of Jewish origin; of a private printer who convinced the Polish central bank that it should destroy a complete series of new, perfect banknotes which had been printed by a competitor, or of an Argentinean high-security printer who came to print genuine fake bank-notes for Zaire and Bahrain as a result of two sting operations, which smell of the Belgian and French secret service.
Amazon blurb
Publisher's blurb
"An der 'supernote' stimmt fast alles"
Seit 1989 tauchen weltweit Hundert-Dollar-Blüten von beispielloser Qualität auf - Experte beleuchtet Rolle der USA
AP 19.04.2006 12:32
Berlin - Seit 1989 tauchen in aller Welt gefälschte 100-Dollar-Scheine von beispielloser Qualität auf. Die USA beschuldigen Nordkorea, diese "supernotes" herzustellen und damit "ökonomische Kriegsführung" gegen die Vereinigten Staaten zu betreiben.
Der Autor Klaus Bender, der als Kenner des internationalen Gelddruckergewerbes gilt, zieht diesen Vorwurf in Zweifel. In seinem Buch "Moneymakers - The Secret World of Banknote Printing", das in diesen Tagen erscheint, legt er dar, dass im Grunde genommen niemand außer den USA selbst in der Lage sei, falsche Dollar-Noten dieser Spitzenqualität zu drucken. Die AP sprach mit Bender:
US Financial Allegations - What They Mean
by Nigel Cowie
May 4th, 2006
Nigel Cowie, General Manager of Daedong Credit Bank, writes, "the result of these actions against banks doing business with the DPRK being that criminal activities go underground and harder to trace, and legitimate businesses either give up, or end up appearing suspicious by being forced to use clandestine methods." [Camouflage] [Counterfeiting]
FM Spokesman on U.S. "Report on National Security"
PYONGYANG, March 22 (KCNA)- A preemptive attack is not the monopoly of the United States, warns a spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry in an answer given to a question put by KCNA on March 22 in connection with the fact that the U.S. in a recent "report on national security strategy" designated the DPRK as an "outpost of tyranny" and a "target of preemptive attack" once again. The Bush administration singled out those countries which are not meekly following it from an independent stand, including the DPRK, as "outposts of tyranny," revealing its undisguised attempt to realize its wild ambition to realize "regime change" through a "preemptive attack" he said, and went on: [Threat]
DPRK, U.S. Hold Contact on Financial Dispute
Pyongyang Urges Washington to Lift Sanction
Officials of the DPRK and the U.S. met in New York on March 7 to discuss issues related to Washington's financial sanctions against Pyongyang. The delegation of the DPRK was led by Ri Gun, deputy chief envoy to the six-party talks, and the U.S. delegation consisted of officials of the Department of Treasury and the State. Pyongyang said that it would not return to the six-party talks until Washington ends its financial sanctions. [Camouflage]
Approach to North Korea debated
May 03, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? Seoul is not making human rights for North Korea an important issue, an official at a U.S.-based civic group charged at a forum here. "The North Korean nuclear issue is a current issue, but to use an approach with the North that neglects human rights is the wrong idea," said Jennifer L. Windsor, of Freedom House, at a forum Monday about outstanding issues between Seoul and Washington. Moon Jeong-in, a professor at Yonsei University who represented Seoul's side, warned that if Seoul chooses to pressure the North on human rights, the North would stop inter-Korean cooperation and could refuse food aid from the South, which would leave the North's citizens at the short end. Mr. Moon said that if Washington continued to question the North's human rights conditions without dropping the idea of a regime change, it would be hard for the North to listen to demands about human rights. [Manipulation] [Friction]
The corporate scams that aid terrorist money launderers
Western governments have failed to shut down the tax havens and fiddle factories used by legal and underground groups
Prem Sikka Thursday February 23, 2006 The Guardian An important part of the fight against terrorism, we have been told ever since September 11, is closing off its sources of finance. Just last week Gordon Brown borrowed imagery from the second world war against fascism by calling for a modern-day Bletchley Park to unravel terrorist finance networks and "ensure that there is no hiding place for those who finance terrorism". While initiatives such as Brown's are laudable, they are too often undermined from within. The underground networks of terrorists and their supporters are dwarfed by the everyday culture of secrecy and profit-seeking global "fiddle factories" provided by banks, trusts and corporations, and fronted by accountants, lawyers and financiers.
With the advance of electronic money transfers, easy formation of companies and deregulation, money laundering has escalated to an estimated $2,500bn each year. The laissez-faire US washes about half of this laundry and Britain probably accounts for over $300bn. Secrecy is the key ingredient for this trade. [Counterfeiting] [Camouflage]
Spokesperson's Commentary on U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Jay Lefkowitz's Contribution to the WSJ dated April 28, 2006
U.S. special envoy for human rights in North Korea Jay Lefkowitz, through his contribution to the Wall Street Journal under the title of "Freedom for All Koreans," took issue with North Korean human rights, defectors and transparency in humanitarian assistance toward North Korea.
However, it is highly regrettable that he, without accurate understanding of the objectives and realities of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex(GIC) project, gave a distorted view of the project by inappropriately linking wages paid to North Korean workers in Gaeseong and the labor environment with human rights issue, and made remarks that could damage reputations of South Korean enterprises doing businesses in the industrial park.
The GIC project is being carried out not as compensation for Pyongyang's illegal behavior; it is a market-economy-based project pursued by the South Korean enterprises which have moved in the GIC, hire North Korean workers and pay wages to them in consideration of profits created, and at the same time, a project providing an opportunity for the North to learn how to earn money in a fair way through working. Facilities and assets provided by the South Korean enterprises are all in possession of them in accordance with the Inter-Korean Agreement on Investment Guarantee. [Manipulation] [Kaesong] [Sanctions]
KPA Hits U.S.-S. Korea Joint Military Exercises
PYONGYANG, March 14 (KCNA)- The Korean People's Army side makes it clear once again that it will never remain a passive onlooker to the U.S. preemptive attack on the DPRK. A spokesman for the KPA Panmunjom Mission warned this in a statement issued on March 14 to denounce the U.S. plan to stage large-scale RSOI and "Foal Eagle" joint military exercises involving huge U.S. and South Korean troops throughout South Korea from March 25. [Joint US military]
DPRK FM Urges U.S. to Lift Financial Sanctions
PYONGYANG, February 28 (KCNA)- A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK on February 28 gave the following answer to the question raised by KCNA blasting the U.S. for persistently floating far-fetched assertion that the DPRK counterfeited U.S. dollars without producing any evidence: Of late officials of the U.S. administration claimed as regards the U.S. financial sanctions against the DPRK that it should halt all its "illegal activities" in practice, it should "produce the copperplate used for counterfeiting notes" and sanctions are part of the measures for "frustrating" the nuke development.
Pyongyang Demands dismantlement of "UN Forces Command"
A DPRK delegate, addressing a meeting of the Special Committee on UN Peace-keeping Operations on February 28, said that if the UN peace-keeping operations were to contribute to ensuring world peace and security in conformity with their mission and purpose it would be necessary for them to strictly observe the principle of respecting sovereignty in all their activities. He was referring to the human rights abuses including sexual abuses of civilians by members of the peace-keeping forces.
More Than 170 Cases of U.S. Aerial Espionage Committed in February
The U.S. committed more than 170 cases of aerial espionage against the DPRK by mobilizing strategic and tactical reconnaissance planes with various missions in February, the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on February 28 quoted a military source as saying.
DPRK's "Drug Trafficking Case" Found Innocent
Pyongyang Dismisses U.S. "False Propaganda" against DPRK
Crew of the "Pong Su," a trading cargo ship of the DPRK, were found innocent and acquitted of "drug trafficking" happened in April 2003 off the southeastern coast of Australia.
The High Court of Australia on March 5 declared four crewmen including Song Man Son, captain of the ship, were not guilty. They had been charged for being involved in transporting the drugs from the ship to the shore. [Drugs] [Camouflage]
DPRK Urges HRC to Contribute to Improving Human Rights Performances
PYONGYANG, March 22 (KCNA)- The results of the votes for the resolution on the establishment of the new Human Rights Council clearly prove that the U.S. arbitrary and high-handed diplomacy is going bankrupt and the UN is no longer a plaything of the U.S. unilateral high-handed diplomacy, said Rodong Sinmun on March 22 in a signed commentary. Recalling that the U.S. could not achieve its objective when voting was done on the resolution on the creation of the above-said council at the plenary session of the UN General Assembly, the commentary continued as follows: The U.S. worked craftily to convert the new body into a platform where politicization, the application of double standards and high-handed and arbitrary practices prevail in handling human rights issues from the very day the issue of creating the body was put high on the agenda. One may draw a conclusion from the voting outcome that gone are the days when the U.S. could lord it over the international arena, dictating this or that, and it is finding itself in the mire of international isolation. Today things are not going on as the U.S. wishes and desires and its high-handed and arbitrary practices get it nowhere. [Manipulation]
CPRF Spokesman on S. Korea-U.S. Joint War Drill
PYONGYANG, March 13 (KCNA)- The South Korea-U.S. "Combined Forces Command" officially announced on March 10 that it would stage "RSOI" and "Foal Eagle" in South Korea under the simulated conditions of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula from March 25 to 31. A spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland issued a statement on March 13 assailing its plan. {Joint Military}
Pyongyang Dismisses Bush's "Axis of Evil" Remarks
PYONGYANG, March 20 (KCNA)- Recently, Bush again slandered the DPRK as part of an "axis of evil" stunning the world public. The Korean people are expressing towering indignation at those outcries, terming them frenzy of a guy bereft of reason and spasm of a lunatic. Rodong Sinmun on March 20 said this in a signed commentary.
Pan-national Youth Group Calls for Nation-wide Anti-U.S. Campaign U.S.
Resolution Issued on Occasion of 30th Anniversary of Joint Military Exercises Regional headquarters in North and South Korea and overseas of the National Alliance of Youth and Students for the Country's Reunification (Pomchonghakryun) issued a joint resolution on March 19 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises "Team Spirit" and "Foal Eagle." The joint resolution recalls that the United States has staged the RSOI and "Foal Eagle" joint war drills under the changed code names for the last 30 years since it launched the "Team Spirit" joint military exercises on the Korean Peninsula in 1976.
U.S. in a Bind Over Korean Ire at Lefkowitz Slur
Korea's War of Words With Washington's Rights Envoy
The U.S. State Department on Monday attempted to smooth Korean feathers ruffled by disparaging remarks about the joint-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex from Washington's North Korea human rights envoy. But the department said, "The world knows little about what actually goes on at Kaesong," -- the same words Special Envoy Jay Lefkowitz used in a Wall Street Journal article on Friday that incensed officials in Seoul, not least by its insinuation that South Korean firms there exploit their North Korean workers.
A State Department official said President George W. Bush was in favor of President Roh Moo-hyun's overall strategy to bring North and South towards reconciliation, adding he understood Kaesong to be a manifestation of this strategy.
Another U.S. government insider also said the controversial piece by Lefkowitz had not gone through normal advance review procedures. That implies that Lefkowitz's harsh critique of South Korea's little-monitored aid to the North and suggestion that North Korean workers at the complex are exploited would not have gone into the paper unchanged.
The damage being done, however, the department chose to use the same phrase as the envoy: "The world knows little about what actually goes on at Kaesong." [Friction] [Manipulation]
Seoul envoy to attend rights event
May 02, 2006 ? A South Korean delegation led by the country's envoy for human rights, Park Kyung-seo, is expected to attend an international conference on human rights in Bergen, Norway from May 9 to 11, an official at the Korean Foreign Ministry said yesterday. It will be the first time an official delegation from Seoul would participate in an event largely sponsored by international non-governmental organizations and civic groups. [Manipulation]
NK Defector Granted US Asylum
By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter
The U.S. immigration court has granted asylum status to a North Korean defector, and is expecting similar cases to follow. The ruling is the first case since the North Korea Human Rights Act, passed in 2004, calling on the U.S. government to allow North Korean refugees into U.S. territory. Seo Jae-sok, 39, a North Korean defector, was given political asylum status by the Los Angeles Immigration Court last Friday, after waiting for the decision in the U.S. for the past 20 months. "I am happy and feel incredible that I can receive a U.S. passport. I hope my case will become a hope for other North Korean refugees seeking asylum in the United States," he said in an interview with The Los Angeles Korea Times. His case is unusual because he and his family had already settled in South Korea and obtained South Korean citizenship, but decided to seek asylum in the United States.
However, when he came to South Korea in 1998 after a series of short stays in other countries, it was not easy for him to settle with his family in the South due to bias against North Korean defectors. He said that although he met his wife, a North Korean defector, in the South and has a sweet daughter now, he was not happy in South Korea. "I decided to request asylum in the United States as my son was suffering from discrimination at a South Korean school just because he is a child of North Korean defectors," he said. If the U.S. Immigration office does not appeal to a higher court later, his asylum status will be finalized. Currently, some 10 North Korean refugees are seeking asylum in the United States.[Refugee reception] [Manipulation]
US Has No Plan to Invade N. Korea : US Expert
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter Washington has no plan to attack Pyongyang at the moment, even if the multilateral diplomatic efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear ambition prove to be unsuccessful, a former White House official said Monday. ``There is no evidence at all that the Bush administration has plans to attack North Korea,'' Michael Green, former Asia director at the National Security Council, said during the Seoul-Washington Forum, co-hosted by Washington's Brookings Institution and the Sejong Institute in Seoul.
James Kelly, the former chief U.S. delegate to multilateral nuclear negotiations with North Korea, urged the Bush administration to talk directly with Pyongyang, saying the results would be helpful, or at least ``neutral.'' Speaking to a luncheon crowd during the inaugural forum, the former State Department official said the United States should also learn to be patient and tenacious when dealing with Pyongyang. ``There is a false notion in this town that America loses in any such discussion,'' he said, pointing to an ``unjustified fear'' in Washington about direct contact with Pyongyang. As former assistant secretary of state, Kelly led the U.S. team to the so-called six-party talks in Beijing, a process involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan. [military option]
Unification Minister Rebuffs NK Human Rights Criticism
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok Tuesday hit back at outside criticism against Seoul's approach to the human rights situation in North Korea. ``There are some countries which just keep talking about human rights in North Korea even if they are neither accepting any defectors from the North nor giving aid of even a grain of rice,'' the minister said in a speech during a meeting of more than 500 overseas Korean members of an advisory board on unification. The meeting was held at Sheraton Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul. Lee called on members of the National Unification Advisory Council, who are mainly representatives of Korean residents in North America, not to feel that Seoul is being too lukewarm on the North Korean human rights issue. ``We do have serious concerns on the human rights problem in the North, and we do make efforts to improve the situation. I can guarantee that,'' he said. ``But we basically think there are the most basic rights of survival, while there are also basic rights as a citizen. As for North Korean residents now, it is their basic rights for survival that is being threatened,'' the minister said, countering criticism on the South's food and fertilizer aid to the North.
Another issue that reflects how complicated the political situation around the Korean Peninsula has got is deepening economic ties between North Korea and China, he said. ``While the Sino-North Korean economic cooperation is said to be positive for triggering more door-opening policies in the North, it also provides a challenge for us regarding the long-term perspective of a unified Korean community,'' Lee said. [Friction] [Camouflage] [Manipulation]
Korea's War of Words With Washington's Rights Envoy
A government official on Sunday denounced the U.S. special envoy for human rights in North Korea, Jay Lefkowitz, accusing him of being "biased and interfering in our internal affairs." The attack came over an op-ed piece Lefkowitz wrote for the Wall Street Journal last Friday, in which he asserts that by channeling large amounts of unmonitored aid to North Korea, some governments are in fact propping up the North Korean regime, and that there is no guarantee that the less than US$2 South Korean firms pay their North Korean workers a day in the Kaesong Industrial Complex is delivered to the workers. In a separate statement, the Unification Ministry said, "To deny North Korea humanitarian aid is to turn a blind eye to the difficult situation the North Korean people face. It goes against humanitarian principle and human rights and represents a unilateral and single-track attitude." Lefkowitz, thinking perhaps of the U.S. minimum daily wage of $40 for eight hours of work, regards the daily minimum of less than $2 North Koreans can earn in Kaesong as in itself inhumane. But the W4,500 those workers get at North Korea's official exchange rate far exceeds workers' average monthly wage of W3,000 elsewhere in the country. [Friction] [Camouflage] [Manipulation]
Bush Denounces NK for 'Heartless' Behaviors
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Describing North Korea as brutal, heartless and tyrannical, U.S. President George W. Bush said on Friday it is hard to believe a leader of any country would encourage abduction of a young child.
Seoul Shifts Concern From NK to al-Qaida
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The U.S. State Department said Friday that South Korea is ``slowly'' shifting its attention to possible acts of terror from al-Qaida and other groups that oppose Seoul's military presence in Iraq. South Korea traditionally focused on potential terrorism from North Korea, the department said in its annual Country Report on Terrorism 2005. The report said the murder of Kim Sun-il by al-Qaida connected Iraqi insurgents in June 2004 was a critical ``wake-up call'' because it was the first time that a South Korea citizen had been targeted by an entity other than North Korea. ``The incident galvanized both the government and National Assembly to push for comprehensive counter-terrorism legislation,'' it said. Seoul has supported U.S. goals in both Afghanistan and Iraq since 2003. South Korea maintains 3,200 troops in Iraq, making it the third-largest foreign troop contingent in Iraq.

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APRIL 2006

Transforming an Asymmetric Cold War Alliance: Psychological and Strategic Challenges for South Korea and the U.S.
by Wonhyuk Lim April 18th, 2006
This is based on a talk given at the Korea Society on April 12, 2006. An earlier version of this talk was presented at the at the conference on The Changing Korean Peninsula and the Future of East Asia, co-hosted by Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution, Seoul Forum for International Affairs, and JoongAng Ilbo, December 1, 2005, Seoul.
The complete transcript of the conference is available at: http://www.brookings.edu/fp/cnaps/events/20051201.htm
Since the end of the Korean War, an asymmetric alliance in which the client sacrifices part of its autonomy in exchange for the security provided by the patron has defined the relationship between South Korea (or Republic of Korea (ROK)) and the United States. (1) In my talk, I would like to analyze psychological and strategic challenges South Korea and the United States face as they attempt to transform this asymmetric Cold War alliance into a more equal partnership better designed to promote peace in Northeast Asia and around the world.
South Korea-U.S. Alliance Under the Roh Government
Selig S. Harrison
April 11, 2006
Selig S. Harrison, who has visited North Korea nine times, most recently in April, and is the author of "Korean Endgame", writes "during his remaining two years in office, President Roh could seek to make the alliance more compatible with his North Korea policies in three ways. First, he could pursue mutual North-South force reductions in bilateral discussions with Pyongyang, resisting pressures from the Pentagon and his own military-industrial complex. Second, he could press for the more 'open and equal' alliance discussed by Ruediger Frank in the January Korea Policy Review...Finally, he could step up efforts to promote a trilateral peace treaty ending the Korean War."
U.S. Sanctions Get It Nowhere
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- The U.S. was reported to have asked Japan and its allies for cooperation in the efforts to make its sanctions against the DPRK more effective, while working hard to escalate them. Minju Joson Thursday observes in a signed commentary in this regard: This indicates that the U.S. is clinging to the policy of confrontation and pressure based on the theory of strength, far from trying to settle the issues related to the DPRK through the building of mutual confidence. It is the calculation of the U.S. that the DPRK will cave in and comply with its brigandish demand if it puts sustained strong sanctions and pressure on it in various aspects. This is, however, nothing but a foolish thinking disclosing its ignorance of the dialogue partner. The U.S. loud-mouthed financial sanctions and sanctions against north Korean ships only go to clearly prove that it is so preoccupied with the theory of strength that it is utterly insensitive to the reality and not yet awake from its sleep. The U.S. is pressurizing the DPRK to dismantle its nuclear weapons first and committing all sorts of provocations including military pressure and economic sanctions in a bid to achieve its unilateral designs. It has now gone so crafty as to use financial sanctions against the DPRK as leverage for pressurizing China to change its financial policy in its favor. In other words, it seeks to attack China's financial institutions under the pretext of the DPRK's "illegal transactions" with China's banks in a bid to urge the Chinese government to agree to appreciating Renminbi and thus cover the deficit in its trade with China. Sanctions are not a cure-all and there would be no more serious political mistake in its relations with the DPRK than this, the commentary notes, and stresses: The more tightened sanctions of the U.S. would only reinforce the DPRK's tough stand against the U.S. and encourage it to more dynamically advance along the path chosen by it. [China confrontation]
Bush Meets N.Korean Defectors, Activists
U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday morning met with North Korean refugees including seven-year-old Kim Han-mi and his family, who defected from North Korea in 2002, and Chung Seong-san, the artistic director of the hit musical "Yoduk Story" about a North Korean concentration camp. The hour-long meeting at the Oval Office also brought together Free North Korea director Kim Sueng-min and Sakie Yokota, the mother of the famous Japanese abduction victim Megumi Yokota snatched when she was only 13 in 1977.
First Group of N.Korean Refugees 'Headed for U.S.'
Some five or six North Korean defectors are reportedly preparing to enter the U.S. under the protection of its embassy in a Southeast Asian country as Washington prepares to make good on a pledge to grant asylum to more refugees from the Stalinist country. Sources in the U.S. government and Congress said Thursday as soon as procedural matters with the Asian country are resolved, the North Koreans will make their way to the U.S. Another official said the defectors are staying at a safe house in the U.S. legation in a Southeast Asian country but did not specify the country or the defectors' identities for reasons of their safety. Jay Lefkowitz, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, on Thursday told a House of Representatives hearing on North Korean human rights issues, "We will be in a position relatively soon to welcome North Korean refugees in the United States." Lefkowitz said that there were anywhere between 20,000 and 50,000 North Koreans in northeastern China and the U.S. would make sure that friendly nations and allies in the region are clearly aware that the U.S. is ready to admit them and help them resettle in America. [Refugee reception]
U.S. vows to focus on North's refugees
April 28, 2006 ? The Bush Administration will continue to call the world's attention to the plight of North Korean refugees and help them, the White House said Wednesday. White House spokesman Scott McClellan at a daily briefing said the issue is a "very high priority" for President George W. Bush. "[It is] something he brings attention to every time he sits down and meets with a world leader," he said. [Camouflage]
Bush raises N.K. refugee issue with world leaders
From news reports WASHINGTON - The Bush administration will continue to call the world's attention to the plight of North Korean refugees and help them, the White House said Wednesday. White House spokesman Scott McClellan at a daily briefing said the issue is a "very high priority" for President George W. Bush. "(It is) something he brings attention to every time he sits down and meets with a world leader," he said. [Pressure] [Camouflage] [Refugee encouragement]
The time is right to take over the defense
Scott Snyder
[OVERSEAS VIEW] America's two alliances in Northeast Asia with Japan and South Korea, are undergoing major changes as outmoded Cold War command structures are revised in favor of new arrangements. How these new arrangements are structured will have important implications for the countries' respective dealings with the United States. In line with calls for a more "equal" relationship with the United States, President Roh Moo-hyun has called for the recovery of wartime operational control that President Syngman Rhee gave to U.S.-led United Nations forces in desperation at the start of the Korean War. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld welcomed the South Korean initiative to recover operational control at last fall's annual Security Consultative Meetings, or SCM. The task of transferring operational control is being negotiated at security talks, with the goal of submitting recommendations to the next SCM in October. Although combined deterrence was a key to creating a stable security environment for South Korea's economic growth in an era of high tensions with North Korea, the North's conventional threat has weakened despite the current nuclear crisis. Given South Korea's dramatic economic gains, it is understandable why South Koreans might see the Combined Forces Command relationship that fuses American and South Korean force structures together under an American commander in wartime as anachronistic. The U.S. presence is politically contested within South Korea and is viewed by progressive critics as an obstacle, rather than a facilitator, to peace on the Korean Peninsula. The American public, in need of a foreign policy "victory" given the protracted engagement in Iraq, would easily accept further reductions or a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces in Korea, based on Korea's perceived ability to both defend itself and pay for its own defense. Thus, the time is ripe for revamping the combined command relationship, but the alternative arrangements are hard to define
It would serve no one's interest ? and would in fact be a disservice to South Korea's national interest ? to prematurely regain wartime operational control without giving the military the technological capacities necessary to effectively execute such authority. [Sovereignty] [US military dominance]
Despicable Act of Stupid under Fire
Pyongyang, April 25 (KCNA) -- The south Korea-U.S. "Alliance Friendship Society" named U.S. Ambassador in Seoul Vershbow "Pak Po U", the former U.S. 8th army commander in south Korea "Kim Han Su", the U.S. 7th air force commander "Kim Ung Bi" and Laporte, U.S. forces commander in south Korea, "Ra Po Thae". Minju Joson today observes in a signed commentary as regards such humiliating act of treachery: This is nothing but a despicable act of the stupid who are too keen on serving the U.S. that they go reckless bereft of any reason and an unpardonable traitorous act that touches off the bitter resentment of the Korean nation. [Pro-Americanism]
NK Reliant on Fake Cigarettes for Funds
Also discussed in the Supernotes Hearing was North Korea's reliance on counterfeit cigarettes, which it relies on for a significant income. During the hearing, it was estimated that North Korea smuggles at least one 40-foot container filled with counterfeit cigarettes into the United States every month. Peter Prahar, a director with the U.S. State Department's international narcotics and law enforcement affairs section, said the communist nation now counts on production of fake American cigarettes. ``A major source of income to the regime and its leadership, we believe, is the counterfeiting of cigarettes,'' he said. ``From 2002 through September 2005, DPRK-sourced counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes were identified in 1,300 incidents in the United States,'' he said. ``Recently filed federal indictments allege that for several years criminal gangs have arranged for one 40-foot container of DPRK-sourced counterfeit cigarettes per month to enter the United States for illicit sale over several years,'' Prahar said. [Bizarre] [Evidence] [Camouflage][Spin]
NK Fakes $2.8 Million Annually, US Says
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
A U.S. secret service official claimed Tuesday his agency has made ``definitive'' connections between North Korea and its counterfeiting of U.S. currencies, saying Washington has confiscated ``supernotes'' worth $2.8 million on a yearly basis.
``The Secret Service has seized approximately 50 million (dollars) of the supernote globally, which equates to seizures of approximately 2.8 million (dollars) annually,'' Michael Merritt, a deputy assistant director of the U.S. office, which investigates counterfeiting offenses, said during a Senate hearing in Washington, D.C.
Providing a frame of reference, he said the Secret Service seized over $113 million in counterfeit U.S. currency during the 2005 fiscal year. High-quality, counterfeit $100 U.S. bills allegedly produced by North Korea are collectively referred to as supernotes.
``Our investigation has revealed that supernotes continue to be produced and distributed from sources operating out of North Korea,'' Merritt said.
Merritt said the supernote investigation, which has spanned more than 130 countries and resulted in more than 170 arrests since 1989 when it was first discovered at a bank in the Philippines, is an ongoing strategic case with national security implications. [Counterfeiting] [Evidence] [Camouflage]
KCNA Terms U.S. Assertion about Financial Sanctions Self- Contradictory
Pyongyang, April 24 (KCNA) -- The U.S. is now standing more strongly censured by the world public than ever before as the U.S. assertion about financial sanctions against the DPRK proved hypocritical. Hill, assistant secretary of State who is head of the U.S. delegation to the six-way talks, addressing the recent Tokyo international seminar on Northeast Asian Security, repeated the assertion that financial sanctions against north Korea are a separate issue from the six-way talks. But, after flying into Seoul right after the seminar, he blustered that the U.S. would closely monitor north Korea's financial transaction unless the latter dismantles its nuclear weapons. The hypocritical nature of the U.S. oft-repeated assertion has thus been fully revealed by its self-contradictory statements. The world community is deeply concerned about the six-way talks that remain stalled due to the U.S. pressure and sanctions against its dialogue partner and some people even assert that the talks are useless. It is against this backdrop that the U.S. seeks to calm down the worldwide criticism of the deadlocked talks and shift the blame for it on to the DPRK by floating groundless misinformation.
Soldiers to Be Sent to Secure US Base Site
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The government will take stronger measures to seize control of lands for a new U.S. military base in Pyongtaek, Kyonggi Province, and evict protesters from the area as early as later this week, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday. The ministry said soldiers will be deployed in the area with riot police and contract workers to wrest it from resisters illegally blocking the government plan for the U.S. base relocation by planting a new spring crop in the contested lands. The soldiers deployed in the move will include some from an engineering unit and others from regular security forces. The ministry has been reluctant to dispatch troops there as such a move could trigger public backlash from South Korean people. [Anti-Americanism] [Sovereignty]
NK Would Need Months to Restock Fuel in Case of Combat
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) _ It would take at least four months for North Korea to be able to restock its military fuels in case of full-time combat, according to a recent study on the country's energy capabilities. According to an analysis by Peter Hayes, professor at Nautilus Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, North Korea would need to double its imports and production to sustain combat. The study, completed last month, is based on estimates of how much fuel North Korea uses during military exercises, such as jet hours, the number of energy-using vehicles and their fuel use rate. It applies Pyongyang's fuel import and production rates of the year 2000. ``Based on our estimates of fuel use during exercises, fuel use by DPRK military for 30 days of full-time combat would be up to 200,000 tons,'' the study said.
Bell Urges Seoul to Pay More for US Troop Presence
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
The top U.S. military officer here urged South Korea to pay more for the presence of U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula in accordance with Seoul's growing economy and military capability, a U.S. military paper published here reported on Monday.
Gen. B. B. Bell, commander of the United States Forces Korea (USFK), also called for an early conclusion of the stalled talks on environmental issues regarding U.S. bases to be returned to South Korea, it said. Bell is also chief of the Combined Forces Command and the United Nations Command. [Tribute] [Sovereignty]
Prominent advisor denied U.S. visa
April 24, 2006 ? A prominent South Korean politician who was convicted and later pardoned on bribery charges said yesterday that the U.S. Embassy in Seoul had denied him an entry visa. Chyung Dai-chul, an advisor to the Uri Party, said yesterday he had been planning to take a one-year position as an honorary researcher at Stanford University in California. Mr. Chyung was the chief election campaign manager in 2002 for incumbent President Roh Moo-hyun. Mr. Chyung was sentenced to five years in prison in 2004 for taking bribes, but was pardoned and reinstated by Mr. Roh last year. "I was upset because I thought there might be some political intentions behind it," Mr. Chyung said. He added, "I learned that the U.S. Embassy did not issue an entry visa to Park Ji-man, the only son of the late former President Park Chung Hee, Kim Hyun-chul, the son of former President Kim Young-sam, and Kim Hong-up, the second son of former President Kim Dae-jung." The junior Kims were convicted on bribery charges, but later pardoned and reinstated. Park Ji-man was convicted for narcotics use. Mr. Chyung said he will reapply. U.S. embassy officials were not available yesterday to comment.
Rally kicks off a week's campaign in U.S. for human rights in North
April 24, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? Human rights groups from South Korea, the United States and Japan rallied in Washington over the weekend in a bid to increase international awareness of kidnappings by North Korea and urge government action to bring back South Koreans held there.
'Focus on N. Korea Broadens'
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) ? The focus on North Korean human rights violations is broadening to highlight Pyongyang's abuse of foreigners and the regime's criminal nature, Suzanne Scholte, president of the Defense Forum Foundation, said Saturday. The Virginia-based foundation is one of the main organizers of ``North Korea Freedom Week'' that begins this weekend. U.S. envoy to the United Nations John Bolton, special presidential envoy for North Korean human rights Jay Lefkowitz, senior congressmen and North Korean defectors will be gathering in Washington for the week-long event. ``We were successful in focusing on two issues that have been neglected,'' Scholte told Yonhap News Agency. One is that the Pyongyang regime is inherently corrupt and criminal, she said. ``Kim Jong-il uses his people as slave laborers, uses diplomats to circulate counterfeit money,'' Scholte said about the North Korean leader. The other is North Korea's abuse, not only of its own people, but of people of other countries, she said, referring to Pyongyang's admitted abduction of Japanese nationals. [Spin] [Camouflage]
State Department Chooses Korea Affairs Desk Director
The American State Department will have a new director for the Korea Affairs Desk beginning in June. Gerald Anderson, currently head of the State Department's peacekeeping, sanctions and counter-terrorism office, will replace the desk director, Jim Foster, who will leave the department to work in Japan. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Anderson speaks Korean, French, German and Hebrew.
Ted Osius, deputy director of the Korea Desk, is leaving for a post in India and will be succeeded by Sung Kim of Korean descent. Sue Bremner, in charge of North Korean affairs, will take up another position within the East Asia and Pacific Affairs Bureau and will be replaced by Yuri Kim, also of Korean descent.
Swiss Say Firm Had No Banned North Korean Ties
By REUTERS, ZURICH
Switzerland denied on March 31 that Kohas AG, a firm accused by the U.S. Treasury Department of supporting weapons proliferation to North Korea, had violated any export laws in its dealings with the country. "We don't believe the company has shipped goods to North Korea without approval or that these goods have been used for the production of weapons of mass destruction," said Othmar Wyss, at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
The Treasury designated Kohas AG and its head, Jakob Steiger, on March 30 under a presidential executive order as supporters of weapons proliferation because of the company's ties to North Korea. It ordered that the company's U.S assets should be frozen.
The Treasury said Kohas acted as a technology broker in Europe for the North Korean military and had procured goods with weapons-related applications. Steiger, the president of Kohas, said his company did not own any U.S. assets. It bought aluminum brackets used for the construction of bookshelves or other frames in North Korea but did not export any goods to the country.
"A third of these brackets has been coming out of North Korea ever since 1987, two thirds are coming out of China. But we don't deliver anything to North Korea. We're only buying there," Steiger told Reuters in a telephone interview. Steiger also said his company, which employs five people, had an annual turnover of some 4 million Swiss francs ($3.07 million). It sold the imported brackets on to do-it-yourself and construction stores across Europe.
Steiger said he owned the majority of Kohas. Other individuals held a minority in the shares, but there were no North Korean companies involved in the group. [Camouflage] [Proliferation] [Evidence] [Sanctions]
U.S. Punishes Swiss Firm for N.Korea Connection
The U.S. has frozen the assets of a Swiss company it accuses of aiding North Korea in alleged "proliferation" of nuclear weapons technology. Washington on Thursday froze the accounts of Kohas AG and its president Jakob Striger. The measure, taken by executive decree, is based on a charge that Kohas had dealings with a North Korean company whose assets were frozen last year, Korea Ryonbong General Corp. This is the second time Washington has made good a threat to punish companies from third countries for their alleged involvement in a range of crimes the North is accused of. Last September, it banned all U.S. firms from transacting with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia in an effort to strangle the North's cash flow. [Sanctions] [Camouflage] [Friction] [Double standards]
Seoul Fears U.S. Could Brand N.Korea a Financial Pariah
Seoul is urgently studying its options in case Washington designates North Korea a "primary money-laundering concern" under its Patriot Act, a move that would create enormous difficulties for anyone doing business with the country and could deal a blow to growing inter-Korean trade.
Government sources on Tuesday said Seoul is focused on the possibility that following the designation in December, 2002 of the Ukraine and the small Pacific island of Nauru as areas of "primary money-laundering concern," North Korea could be next in line for such a designation. (The designation of the Ukrainian government was later revoked in April of 2003). A source said there was a real threat that North Korea could find itself branded since it continues to delay implementation of its commitment to dismantle its nuclear program under an agreement reached in six-party talks in Beijing last September. Seoul fears growing calls for fundamental change in North Korea could lead to the designation, which would effectively block all the country's financial transactions with the outside world, according to the source. Under the Patriot Act enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., entire countries as well as financial institutions can be designated money-laundering concerns. The U.S. already nailed down the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia as a primary money-laundering concern for North Korea in September. According to the latest Newsweek magazine, 40 percent of the bank's accounts had been withdrawn just one week after the announcement. By the same token, the designation of North Korea as a whole would likely paralyze its transactions with any international financial institutions, which must maintain a place of business in the U.S. if they are to conduct dollar transactions. "It would mean North Korea is in effect kicked out of the international financial world, where the U.S. exercises the greatest influence," a government official said. (englishnews@chosun.com ) [Camouflage] [Sanctions] [Friction] [Sovereignty]
U.S. Hits North Korea with Shipping Sanctions
The U.S. has announced new measures to stop North Korea's flow of money from alleged illicit activities by banning U.S. citizens and companies from using North Korean vessels. It goes into effect on May 8. The U.S. Treasury Department in a bulletin on revised Foreign Assets Control Regulations published in the Federal Register said U.S. individuals and companies will be prohibited "from owning, leasing, operating or insuring any vessel flagged by North Korea." The legislation applies to all U.S. citizens and permanent residents anywhere in the world, as well as all companies and organizations based in the U.S. including their subsidiaries. Penalties for breaking the new law are stiff: up to 10 years in prison, and fines of up to US$250,000 for an individual or up to $1 million for a company. The Foreign Assets Control Regulations were authorized under 1950s Trading with the Enemy Act. Under the Clinton administration's 1994 Geneva Accords with the North, economic sanctions were loosened in 2000 but have now been tightened again. Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted a U.S. source as saying very few North Korean vessels dock in the United States and the new sanctions are expected to have an economic impact of less than US$1 million a year. However, the action is seen as a symbolic gesture by the U.S. showing it is determined to keep up economic pressure on the North that started last September. Washington has blacklisted the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia as Pyongyang's primary money laundering concern and frozen the assets of 12 North Korean firms to stop the Stalinist country's alleged criminal activities including currency forgery and arms proliferation. (englishnews@chosun.com ) [Sanctions] [Camouflage] [Evidence] [Counterfeiting]
US Financial Allegations - What They Mean
European Business Association, Pyongyang
Information Event
Presentation by Nigel Cowie. General Manager, Daedong Credit Bank
11 April 2006
Introduction - thank you for coming to this presentation sponsored by EBA. My name is Nigel Cowie, I'm GM of DCB, and I'd like to take this opportunity to address with you the recent financial allegations and actions against the DPRK by the US Treasury. Where they have acted against specific companies, I can't make any comment, except perhaps that we have not seen any evidence of any wrongdoing by them, because I don't know anything about those cases, but I can tell you what they mean in the case of our bank and the budding legitimate foreign business community in the DPRK which we serve.
Which brings me to the point that there is a danger of legitimate businesses being squeezed into routes that are more normally used by real criminals, and the result of these actions against banks doing business with the DPRK being that criminal activities go underground and harder to trace, and legitimate businesses either give up, or end up appearing suspicious by being forced to use clandestine methods. [Camouflage] [Sanctions] [Counterfeiting] [Evidence]
Counterfeit Note Accusation Proven False
The Daedong Credit Bank (DCB) wishes to issue an urgent correction to the false stories that have recently been published by some sections of the media, concerning a deposit for cash made with its correspondent bank the Golomt Bank of Mongolia.
White House Puts Face on North Korean Human Rights
By Peter Baker Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 19, 2006; Page A01 She showed up at a school in a coastal city in China nearly five months ago and begged for help. Instead, she was deported to her native North Korea and never seen again. Now the case of Kim Chun Hee has made its way to the desk of President Bush, threatening to complicate the first White House visit of China's leader tomorrow and further irritate an irritable relationship. [Camouflage][Human rights]
Seoul conveys concerns to Pyongyang on counterfeits
Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan yesterday said the government sent a message of concern to North Korea over the controversy surrounding the communist state's alleged counterfeiting of U.S. dollars. "As there are several concerns regarding the counterfeiting problem of North Korea, we expressed such concerns to the North," Lee said in a parliamentary question and answer session at the National Assembly. He did not specify the date or Pyongyang's response. Despite the counterfeit issue, member countries to the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program are suggesting signs of progress being made in the stalled negotiations that have been on hold since November last year.
N.K. to hold talks with U.S. on counterfeits
North Korea and the United States have agreed to meet next month to discuss U.S. financial sanctions imposed because of Pyongyang's alleged counterfeiting activities, the main issue that led to the North boycotting the nuclear disarmament talks. The U.S. State Department announced Thursday, Washington time, that North Korean officials are expected to attend the March 7 briefing by U.S. officials in New York on the financial sanctions imposed by Washington. "We have had an offer on the table for some time for the North Koreans to come to a briefing on actions that we have taken in response to illicit financial activities. They have agreed to do that," deputy department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters. Although Ereli did not name the North Koreans who will attend, Ri Gun, director general of the American Affairs Bureau at the North's Foreign Ministry, is likely to head the North Korean delegation.
US to Brief NK Official on Counterfeiting March 7
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter North Korea will dispatch a delegation to New York on March 7 for a ``technical experts meeting,'' in which they will get a ``briefing'' about what steps Washington has taken against Pyongyang's counterfeiting of U.S. dollars, a U.S. State Department spokesman said on Thursday. Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli said he thinks North Korea's Ri Gun will come to New York. ``That's my understanding, but obviously, it's up to the North Koreans to sort of confirm,'' he said. [Evidence]
DJ Asked to Deliver US Message to NK
SEOUL (Yonhap) _ Former South Korean President and Nobel laureate Kim Dae-jung has a U.S. "message" to be delivered to North Korea when he visits the communist state in June, a diplomatic source said Friday. U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow discussed inter-Korean and Seoul-Washington relations when he had a luncheon meeting with Kim in Seoul in early February, the source said. Kim's office confirmed the meeting took place and that there was a message the United States wanted to be delivered to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
US Mulls Criteria on Accepting NK Refugees
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) _ The United States is discussing criteria for accepting North Korean refugees but cannot say for sure when concrete action will follow, the State Department said Thursday. "We are working both internally and with other organizations and governments to establish the necessary modalities for doing that kind of process," department spokesman Adam Ereli said at a daily briefing. "I don't know how far along we are in that process," he said. Under the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, the U.S. government must facilitate acceptance of North Koreans fleeing persecution and oppression at home. Washington has yet to accept any, and members of Congress have expressed discontent with the lack of progress. [Refugee reception] [Camouflage]
NK Produces Fake US Bills in Pyongyang: Lawmaker
By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter
Lawmakers of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) Thursday urged the government to take steps to prevent the increasing circulation of fake U.S. bills allegedly counterfeited by North Korea.
At left are what Rep. Kim Jae-won of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) claims are fake U.S. $100 bills produced in Pyongyang, North Korea. At right, Kim Moonsoo, another GNP lawmaker, questions Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan on the government's stance on the issue of alleged North Korean counterfeiting at the National Assembly, Thursday. Kim is holding what he claims is a U.S. $100 note faked by North Korea. /Yonhap-Korea Times
On the second day of a five-day interpellation at the National Assembly, Rep. Kim Jae-won of the conservative GNP claimed that North Korea has produced counterfeit American banknotes at a factory located in Pyongyang, showing photos taken by satellites [Bizarre][Collusion] [Evidence] [Counterfeiting]
48% of Youth Would Side With North Korea in Case of US Attack
Survey Shows Half of Young Generation Are Liberal
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Almost half of juniors surveyed, who will get their first voting rights in the 2007 presidential election, said in a recent poll that South Korea should side with North Korea if Washington attacks nuclear facilities in the North without Seoul's consent. [Friction] [SK attitude NK][Realignment]
North's Counterfeiting
Kim Jong-il's Eldest Son Seen as Main Culprit
The dispute between Pyongyang and Washington over the North's alleged counterfeiting of U.S. banknotes has developed a new twist with a report that Kim Jong-il's eldest son was responsible for distributing fake American bills in Macau. The revelation, made by an official at the nation's spy agency on Sunday on condition of anonymity, is expected to further drive North Korea into a corner in its confrontation with the United States over its counterfeiting of mostly $100 U.S. notes and money laundering, as claimed by the Bush administration. [Evidence] [Collusion] [Counterfeiting]
Leaked data perplexes army
Document says Korea, U.S. agreed to Seoul led reunification of two Koreas South Korea and the United States agreed in 2002 that Seoul should take the lead in the development of inter Korean relations for the reunification of the divided nation, a military source said yesterday. After two years of negotiations regarding the future of the alliance, the two sides adopted a draft defense report that assumed three stages for the reunification of South and North Korea - reconciliation and cooperation, peaceful coexistence, and unification - and stipulated the Seoul government should take the initiative to lead the process, the source said. In the document, the two sides agreed on containing North Korea's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as their common goal. They also agreed that preventing drug trafficking and currency counterfeiting were shared concerns during the first stage of the reunification process. During this stage, South and North Koreas are also to expand bilateral exchanges and enlarge basic military confidence building. During the period of peaceful coexistence, the allies are to maintain joint alertness against possible threats from North Korea's spread of WMDs, military aggression and terrorist attacks. They are also to prepare for South Korea taking a greater role in its defense and transforming the armistice accord with North Korea that ended the 1950 53 war into a peace treaty. The document also said the Seoul government would exert leadership for security on the Korean Peninsula with the continuing presence of U.S. forces until the point of eventual unification. According to the document, the two sides pre supposed the North Korean regime may collapse at this stage and expressed concern that resistance by the communist regime and an influx of refugees to the South may cause social chaos across the country. However, military officials said the draft report doesn't imply the allies were seeking to absorb the North following any regime collapse in Pyongyang. Some civic groups, however, say the document runs counter to the basic principle of the joint declaration made in June 2000 during the summit meeting between then South Korean President Kim Dae jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong il. The June 15 joint declaration ruled out the absorption by either side of the other following any regime collapse. The 2002 document also said Washington will maintain its troop presence on the Korean Peninsula after the two Koreas are reunified under a South Korean initiative. The draft report was aimed at mapping out the alliance's talks to reshape their 50 year old alliance to cope with the changing security environment worldwide. The Defense Ministry said the document is confidential and was not presented to the annual defense ministers Security Consultative Meeting in 2002. "It was a draft written by working level officials of both countries as part of studies on restructuring the alliance," a Defense Ministry spokesman said, adding, "It played no part or had any influence on talks to reshape the alliance that began later." The spokesman declined any further comment, citing confidentiality. Since 2003 Seoul and Washington have been discussing ways to restructure the alliance in order for Seoul to take greater responsibility for its national defense and allow Washington more flexibility in operating its forces on the Korean Peninsula. (davidpooh@heraldm.com) By Jin Dae woong 2006.02.16 [Collapse] [Collusion]
N.K. may have over six nukes: LaPorte
Leon J. LaPorte, former commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, said yesterday that he thinks North Korea has more than six nuclear weapons and possessed between three and six before 1994. The weapons were manufactured before a 1994 agreement framework reached in Geneva between the North and the United States, LaPorte said in an interview with a domestic daily correspondent in Washington. Under the agreement, Pyongyang agreed to stop its suspected nuclear development program. In return, the U.S., South Korea and Japan promised to build light water reactors, with the majority funding coming from Seoul. Dismissing opinion from inside South Korea that any threat from North Korea has been removed, LaPorte stressed the Korea-U.S. alliance is necessary for deterring danger from the North. The retired general also warned that the Korea-U.S. alliance will be "tested" in the future as opponents of it may exploit it as an issue for political ends. LaPorte added the alliance will be a crucial issue in South Korea until next year's presidential election. Regarding Korea's recovering wartime operational control of its forces from the United States, LaPorte said it may be a time-consuming issue. He said both sides have agreed to take sufficient time towards achieving the command transfer once a roadmap is established. (davidpooh@heraldm.com) By Jin Dae-woong [Threat] [Agreed Framework] [HEU] [Sovereignty]
U.S. Punishes Swiss Firm for N.Korea Connection
The U.S. has frozen the assets of a Swiss company it accuses of aiding North Korea in alleged "proliferation" of nuclear weapons technology. Washington on Thursday froze the accounts of Kohas AG and its president Jakob Striger. The measure, taken by executive decree, is based on a charge that Kohas had dealings with a North Korean company whose assets were frozen last year, Korea Ryonbong General Corp. This is the second time Washington has made good a threat to punish companies from third countries for their alleged involvement in a range of crimes the North is accused of. Last September, it banned all U.S. firms from transacting with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia in an effort to strangle the North's cash flow. Meanwhile, the U.S. has slammed China for repatriating a North Korean refugee using the pseudonym Kim Chun-hee. In an unusual move, the statement issued Thursday by President George W. Bush's staff from Cancun, Mexico reminded China of its obligation under international treaties not to return North Korean asylum-seekers without allowing them access to the U.N. High Commission for Refugees. Washington's special envoy on human rights in North Korea, Jay Lefkowitz, earlier promised this year would be a "turning point" in the U.S.'s own failure to grant asylum to a single North Korean refugee, saying "discussions are underway" to see if any can be admitted. [Refugee reception] [Double standards] [Sanctions] [Camouflage]
N-Powered U.S. Aircraft Carrier Arrives in Korea
Some 220 km northeast of Pohang port, North Gyeongsang Province, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln appeared on the horizon this week, an hour and a half after a C-2 Greyhound transport plane took off from the Osan Air Base. With a deck length equal to three football fields, the ship held steady even in 3 m high waves. Along the deck some 20 F/A-18 Hornets sat alongside the upgraded F/A-18 Super Hornets, E-2C Hawkeye spy planes, SH-60F and HH-60H helicopters, and EA-6B electronic warfare Prowlers. The E-2C acts as the eyes and ears of the aircraft carrier and is said to be capable of detecting the slightest movements of vessels within a range of 300 km. The Abraham Lincoln had carried 85 aircraft, but with the recent retirement of the F-14 fighter and others, there are now only 70 planes on the deck.
The four hydraulic catapults on deck never allow the Hornets and Super Hornets a moment's rest, shooting them off into the sky at a frenzied pace. Catapults reduce the take-off distance so planes can be airborne off the ship's relatively short runway: without them they would drop into the sea. The 'Abe' can launch two planes every 37 seconds in daylight and two per minute at night. It is the first visit to Korea from one of the world's biggest aircraft carrier, though its smaller cousin Kitty Hawk is a familiar sight. The behemoth is here to take part in the joint Korean-U.S. military exercises called the Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration (RSOI) and "Foal Eagle" drills that started on Saturday. Commissioned in November 1989, is the fifth ship in the NIMITZ-class of 97,000-ton carriers. It came to fame after U.S. President George W. Bush chose it to deliver his end-of-major-combat speech in the Iraq War under a banner that read "Mission Accomplished" in May 2003. The U.S. fleet taking part in the exercises includes Aegis cruiser Mobile Bay, two Aegis destroyers, a supply ship, frigates and two Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered submarines. [Joint US military] [Denuclearisation]
Seoul Has Lost It Say in N.Korea Strategy
The U.S. Finance Department on Thursday froze the U.S. assets of a Swiss company for its alleged assistance to North Korea in the "proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," while White House spokesmen condemned China's repatriation of a refugee to North Korea. Washington's special envoy on North Korean human rights has promised this year "will mark a turning point" in the U.S.' failure to grant asylum to any North Koreans, and he warned of an investigation into conditions at the joint South- North Kaesong Industrial Complex. On Wednesday the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill that allows visa to be given on special conditions to people who offer "critical information" on illegalities by so-called "rogue states" such as North Korea. In only two days, a salvo of measures from Washington has been aimed at disconnecting North Korea's network for the export of counterfeit currency and weapons, a major source of funding that maintains the ailing regime. The U.S. has previously said North Korea's human rights violations and financial crimes should be addressed alongside its nuclear ambitions. Now it is pushing Pyongyang on the first two issues only, with no mention of the nuclear problem. Is that a sign that Washington has at last decided to go for regime change in the North? Earlier, the former South Korean Unification Minister said there are "slight changes" in the situation on the Korean Peninsula, with the U.S. trying to address the North Korean nuclear issue "in connection with its mid and long-term strategy for the peninsula. The changes may seem slight to him: to the rest of us they are a major shock. Where does that leave the South Korean government, which has been focusing on the nuclear issue while downplaying the crime and human rights matters for fear that they will endanger the six-party talks? Until recently, the two countries at least made an outward show of pulling on the same string. But the U.S. seems to be making it clear that it will no longer concern itself with South Korea's opinion and approach. [Friction]
Seoul Dismisses U.S. Claims About Kaesong Complex
The South Korean government on Friday protested against remarks from a U.S. official criticizing conditions at the joint-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex. The Unification Ministry condemned remarks by the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, Jay Lefkowitz, that North Korean laborers at the complex are paid less than US$2 a day and conditions there should be inspected by the International Labor Organization. Lefkowitz told a forum at the conservative Enterprise Institute in Washington that North Korean workers at the complex do not enjoy guaranteed labor rights and an international organization like the ILO should inspect the complex and report its findings to the UN. Ministry spokesman Lee Gwan-se said the official's remarks were made without verifying actual conditions and "provide misleading information that not only distorts the situation but damages the image of South Korean enterprises working there." Lee said though it was true that the minimum daily wage at the Kaesong complex is around $2, that was still far higher than the average wage of North Koreans elsewhere. "Even compared to the average wage in other socialist economies in Asia, the figure is not low at all," he said. He added conditions such as a 48-hour working week, maternity leave for workers and criteria for industrial safety meet ILO standards. (englishnews@chosun.com ) [Chutzpah] [Double standards]
Troops, demonstrators both can 'hit the beach'
April 01, 2006 ? The appearance of anti-war demonstrators as the beachfront site of a joint U.S.-Korea military drill on Thursday showed an apparent lack of interest by authorities in keeping exercise sites free of demonstrators and other civilians. Authorities said yesterday that the police in the vicinity of Manripo Beach, in Taean, South Chungcheong province, had been alerted to the exercise and told to prepare for the possibility of protests. But, officials said, only two policemen were dispatched to the beach; they failed to spot the protesters in time to block them. The demonstrators waved placards calling for an end to military exercises and blocked the paths of armored personnel carriers and amphibious vehicles participating in the drill, which began on Saturday. [Joint US military]
U.S. Targets Swiss Firm for N. Korea Ties
By JEANNINE AVERSA The Associated Press Thursday, March 30, 2006; 12:38 PM
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration acted Thursday to financially incapacitate a Swiss company and its president for their alleged role in helping North Korea proliferate weapons of mass destruction. The Treasury Department's action is against Kohas AG, an industrial supply wholesale company located in Switzerland, and Swiss national Jakob Steiger, the company's president.
The action _ the latest effort by the government to intensify pressure on North Korea _ means that any assets belonging to this company and to Steiger found in the United States must be frozen and Americans are forbidden from doing business with them. "North Korea's efforts to build and sell weapons of mass destruction depend on a vast network, the reach of which extends beyond Asia," said Stuart Levey, Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. The department alleged that Kohas AG has financial ties to a North Korean company, Korea Ryonbong General Corp., that the U.S. government believes has engaged in transactions to spread weapons of mass destruction. The government ordered that company's assets frozen last year. [Sanctions] [Pressure]
US Pressures on N. Korea Diversified
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter With a multiparty forum to denuclearize North Korea stalled for months, the United States is increasing its pressure on the isolated Stalinist state, aside from the nuclear issue, by diversifying into such areas as financial and human rights problems. In its latest action involving of a series of punitive steps targeting illicit activities by the Kim Jong-il regime, Washington designated a Swiss company on Thursday as supporting North Korea's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). As a punitive measure, the U.S. Treasury Department announced a freeze in U.S. territory of the assets of Kohas AG and its company president, Jakob Steiger, pursuant to an executive order issued June last year to combat the spread of WMDs. An industrial wholesaler headquartered in Switzerland, Kohas AG was tied to (North) Korea Ryonbong General Corp., which is designated a WMD proliferator under the executive order, according to the U.S. department. [Sanctions] [Pressure]
Protest against amphibious military exercises
[Photo]Placard power March 31, 2006 ? Anti-war civic groups rallying yesterday in front of amphibious landing vehicles taking part in a South Korea-U.S. joint military drill at Manripo Beach in Taean, South Chungcheong province. [YONHAP]
U.S.- S. Korea Joint Military Exercises Slammed
Rodong Sinmun today observes this in a signed commentary. It goes on: These war maneuvers are a preliminary war and a test nuclear war designed to finally examine and round off the preparations for a war against the north and mount a preemptive nuclear attack on it. This large-scale saber-rattling cannot but be a very dangerous development as it is timed to coincide with the U.S. ever-increasing pressure and escalating conspiratorial plots against the DPRK. The U.S. has not only tightened its financial sanctions against the DPRK and intensified the "human rights" offensive against it but escalated its smear campaign against Pyongyang. As if it were not enough with these moves, it is crying out for a preemptive attack on the DPRK
USFK's Strategic Flexibility Mentioned in '75
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul declassified around 1.17 billion pages of diplomatic documents on Thurday. It is the 13th declassification of diplomatic dossier. Most of the documents were produced in 1975. They can be retrieved at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security in southern Seoul from Friday. _ ED. By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Washington was not satisfied with the conditions of its South Korea-based forces 31 years ago as they were considered physically tied up at the Korean Peninsula, according to diplomatic documents declassified in Seoul on Thursday. In a report to the Senate on Feb. 22, 1975, Senators Strom Thurmond and William Scott recommended the U.S. Forces Korea's (USFK) 2nd Infantry Division, located at several camp sites north of Seoul, be designated a ``contingency division.''
Washington Considered Sacrificing USFK for Closer Ties With China
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter A U.S. Senator's report in 1975 emphasized the necessity of reducing the U.S. forces stationed in South Korea in a way to get closer to China, according to diplomatic documents declassified in Seoul on Thursday. The report written by Senator Mike Mansfield, then floor leader of the Democratic Party, came four years after the two Cold War archrivals conducted the ``ping-pong diplomacy'' that showed the first public hints of improved Sino-U.S. relations. Numerous pages of diplomatic documents showed that Seoul feared the Senate report could bring about significant reduction of U.S. military assistance to South Korea in the following years. President Jimmy Carter actually declared right after his inauguration in 1977 that he would withdraw all U.S. troops in South Korea. But for some unknown reasons Carter ate his words two years later.
Korea Tried to Bundle Its UN Bid With Vietnam's
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter South Korea lobbied the United States in 1975 to join the United Nations and even asked Washington to veto the two Vietnams' bids to get U.N. membership if Seoul's effort was declined by the Security Council, according to diplomatic documents declassified in Seoul on Thursday. In a letter to U.S. President Gerald R. Ford on July 22, 1975, South Korean President Park Chung-hee asked Washington to make its ``firm intention'' known to the other permanent members of the Security Council ``to oppose the admission of two Vietnams unless South Korea is also admitted to membership.'' Park also tried to discredit the bids from South and North Vietnam by saying that a ``legitimate government'' had never been established in South Vietnam and that North Vietnam overthrew the lawful government in Saigon by force.
Meeting Reports Prompt Speculation
A reported meeting this week in Beijing among top U.S. diplomats to Northeast Asia is sparking speculation that the envoys are seeking ways to restart the stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

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MARCH 2006

N.Korea Sanctions: What the U.S. Could Do Next
U.S. Punishes Swiss Firm for N.Korea Connection U.S. Strategy Paper Deems N.Korea a 'Despotic System' Seoul Has Lost It Say in N.Korea Strategy The U.S. looks likely to impose additional sanctions against North Korea after strangling transactions with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia, which it accuses of being Pyongyang's primary money laundering concern. White House spokesman Scott McClellan last week said the U.S. will "continue to take measures" to stop the North from engaging in illegal activities. South Korean officials, meanwhile, are not denying a New York Times article that said the Bush administration is pleased with the effect of the financial sanctions and efforts to promote its Proliferation Security Initiative and is thinking of more measures along the same lines.
Another researcher said the U.S. may insist on imposing stronger controls on goods from the joint-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North. Other strategies could include making things more difficult for North Korea-related projects in international organizations. What effect that would have on efforts to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear program and bring the reclusive country back to the six-nation negotiating table remains to be seen. [Sanctions] [Camouflage]
US/ROK Amphibious landing
[Photo]Eagles and tigers
March 30, 2006
A South Korean soldier and an American GI taking a breather yesterday after an amphibious landing at Manripo Beach in Taean, South Chungcheong province. The joint South Korean-U.S. exercises, called RSOI and Foal Eagle, started Saturday and will continue for a week. North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper complained yesterday, "The dangerous war exercise, which destroys the negotiating framework to resolve the nuclear issues between North Korea and the United States, seriously threatens the security of our nation as well as the nation's work toward national unification." [YONHAP] [Joint US military]
3 U.S. envoys to talk about North in China
March 30, 2006 ? Three U.S. ambassadors in the region will convene in Beijing in the next few days, diplomatic sources here said yesterday. The American ambassador to Seoul, Alexander Vershbow, left Korea Monday for Beijing for meetings with Clark T. Randt, the U.S. envoy there. They are expected to be joined today by Thomas Schieffer, their counterpart in Tokyo, the sources said. Robert Ogburn, the embassy's spokesman, said Mr. Vershbow was in China for "vacation and consultations." He said he had no other details.
U.S.-S. Korea Joint Military Exercises Denounced
Pyongyang, March 29 (KCNA) -- The RSOI and Foal Eagle joint military exercises against the DPRK launched by the U.S. imperialists together with the south Korean military bellicose forces on Mar. 25 are a grave challenge to the desire of the people at home and abroad for peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula, and they are driving the situation in the region to the brink of confrontation and war. Rodong Sinmun Wednesday says this in a signed commentary. Denouncing them as very reckless and dangerous war drills which destroy the process of dialogue for settlement of the nuclear issue between the DPRK and the U.S. and pose a grave threat to the security of the Korean nation and the cause of Korea's reunification, the commentary says:
ROK, US to Form Joint Panel on Command Transfer
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea and the United States on Wednesday signed an accord to form a joint panel to study a roadmap for South Korea regaining operational control of its armed forces during wartime. [Sovereignty]
Korean-Americans Speak Up on Visa Waivers
South Koreans will have some help soon in their quest to be included in the U.S. visa waiver program. Korean-American organizations will formally launch a coalition next week to bring the change about. The U.S.-Korea Visa Waiver Program Coalition is comprised of 14 groups representing business, student and professional communities and will launch a Web site (www.welcome-korea.org) on April 3. South Korea hopes to join the program that would allow its nationals to visit and stay in the U.S. up to 90 days without visas. Twenty-seven nations currently have this status, mostly European nations and Japan, Brunei and Singapore from Asia. [Friction]
Counterfeit Note Accusation Proven False
Pyongyang DPRK, March 16th 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The Daedong Credit Bank (DCB) wishes to issue an urgent correction to the false stories that have recently been published by some sections of the media, concerning a deposit for cash made with its correspondent bank the Golomt Bank of Mongolia.
On the 21st of February 2006, DCB's designated couriers transported a cash deposit to Mongolia. This consisted of USD1 million and JPY20 million; the couriers were met, as previously agreed, by Golomt Bank officials together with local police at Ulaanbaatar International Airport. The couriers were then detained by Mongolian intelligence agents who took them, and the cash, to the Bank of Mongolia (central bank); the couriers were accused of importing counterfeit currency.
DCB's couriers were detained outside the Bank of Mongolia overnight, whilst the Mongolian intelligence agents claimed to be checking the authenticity of the cash. The next day the Mongolian intelligence agents alleged that approximately USD70,000 was suspected to be counterfeit; the alleged fakes were sent, together with two additional notes randomly taken from each remaining USD10,000 bundle of cash, for further examination at an unspecified location. On the 22nd of February the Mongolian press carried false reports, based on a leak, that "North Korean diplomats had been intercepted smuggling USD1 million and JPY200 million (not JPY20 million) into Mongolia". These reports were subsequently carried by international news agencies.
DCB dispatched its Treasurer, and subsequently General Manager (Nigel Cowie - who is also a director of Phoenix Commercial Ventures Ltd www.pcvltd.com), to Mongolia to protest this action and demand the return of its funds. On the 6th of March, after holding the cash for 13 days claiming they were still checking it, Mongolian intelligence officials in a meeting with DCB representatives finally conceded that all the notes were genuine; the cash was released. The money was deposited with the Golomt Bank of Mongolia on the 10th of March, as had originally been intended. ..
Daedong Credit Bank is a joint venture retail bank based in Pyongyang. It was established in 1995 as "Peregrine Daesong Development Bank". The Bank underwent a change of name and foreign ownership in 2000.
Daedong Credit Bank is the first, by ten years, foreign majority held bank in the DPRK. DCB considers itself a flagship successful joint venture in the DPRK, and a key part of the infrastructure needed to assist the foreign-invested ventures, which drive the country's economic reforms.
The bank's principal function is to offer normal "high street" banking facilities in hard currency to; foreign companies, joint ventures, international relief agencies and individuals doing legitimate business in the DPRK. Daedong Credit Bank was the first bank in the DPRK to introduce, and vigorously implement, a comprehensive set of anti-money laundering procedures. DCB's anti-money laundering procedure manual was introduced three years ago, and subsequently updated based on anti-money laundering guidelines provided by the Asian Development Bank. The manual has been sent to, and accepted by, DCB's international correspondent banks.
Daedong Credit Bank also maintains strict procedures for the detection and rejection of counterfeit bank notes; it uses regularly updated note checking machines, and has personnel with over 10 years' of experience of handling notes. DCB have encountered and impounded the so-called 'superdollar' notes, proving that these notes (despite media misconceptions) are not undetectable. [Counterfeiting] [Disinformation] [Pressure] [Sanctions]
North lambasts joint exercises
March 29, 2006 ? North Korea yesterday warned that inter-Korean relations will worsen, or even come to a complete stop, unless the South Korean government immediately stops its joint military exercises with U.S. forces stationed in the country, RSOI and Foal Eagle. "To stage joint military exercises with foreign forces is a treacherous act of hampering national reconciliation and unity and bedeviling the North-South relations," Rodong Sinmun, an official organ of the North's Workers' Party, said in a commentary carried by the state-run North Korea Central News Agency.
U.S. Blasted for Its Slander against DPRK
Pyongyang, March 28 (KCNA) -- The United States on March 16 in a "national security strategy report" designated again the DPRK as an "outpost of tyranny". This is an unpardonable insult, sinister slander and provocation to the dignified DPRK. Minju Joson today observes this in a signed commentary. It says: As soon as it took office, the Bush administration newly adopted its nuclear strategy focused on the DPRK and started posing undisguised threat of nuclear attack against the DPRK. Under such situation where the U.S.-threatened preemptive nuclear attack was impending in actuality, the DPRK had no other option but to make a bold decision to build nuclear armed forces for self-defence.
Rodong Sinmun on S. Korean Authorities' Collusion with Foreign Forces
Pyongyang, March 28 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun Tuesday runs a signed article on the beginning of the large-scale RSOI and "Foal Eagle" joint military exercises under the simulated conditions to invade the north in south Korea on March 25. The Korean nation cannot pardon the south Korean warhawks to play with fire for a war of aggression in collusion with foreign forces, going against the trend of the June 15 era of reunification, the article says, and goes on: To stage joint military exercises with foreign forces is a treacherous act of hampering national reconciliation and unity and bedeviling the north-south relations. The south Korean authorities are staging the military drills with the United States despite our strong opposition and warning. This shows that they are seeking cooperation with outside forces, not national cooperation. [Joint US military]
U.S. Urged to Accept DPRK's Proposal
Pyongyang, March 28 (KCNA) -- The Education and Information Department of the Federation of Koreans in the U.S. issued a commentary on Mar. 10 as regards the offer for settling the "issue of counterfeit notes" made by the DPRK to the Bush administration at the DPRK-U.S. New York contacts. The commentary said: At the contacts the Bush administration urged the DPRK to produce evidence making assurances that it would not issue any more counterfeit notes though the former failed to present any evidence proving the charge. In this connection Pyongyang suggested Washington to let the former open an account in an American bank with a view to fully settling the "issue of counterfeit notes" and set up a non-permanent consultative mechanism between the two countries to specialize in handling the problem that may surface in the future, too. The Bush administration, however, was reluctant to give a clear answer to it and made a negative approach. The DPRK has so far approached all talks on its own initiative from an independent and positive stand. It would be more convenient for the Bush administration to look into an account of the DPRK in a bank operating in the U.S. than probing the DPRK's alleged use of "counterfeit notes" by taking so much trouble of traveling as far as Macao and some countries. The DPRK made the above-said offer to relieve the Bush administration of such trouble and settle the "issue of counterfeit notes" in a transparent manner. There is no reason for the administration to refuse to accept the proposal, while uttering words of welcome to it. The Bush administration should make a landmark option to accept the above-mentioned offer. [Camouflage]
Roh Stresses Friendly Ties With US
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter President Roh Moo-hyun said Tuesday that he would continue to pursue friendly relations with the country's ally, the United States, particularly for the sake of its economy and security. While recalling his early days in office, Roh said his administration had been wrongly characterized as advocating ``anti-U.S.'' and ``pro-North Korean'' policies. `` Were I not a president, I would have opposed the country's troop deployment in Iraq,'' he said in a special speech to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Seoul. ``As president, however, I agreed to the dispatch, though we cut the number of troops from 10,000, which the United States originally asked for, to 3,000.'' [Friction] [Media] [Spin]
Strong Objection to the Extension of the U.S. Base in Pyeongtaek!
This is Sekyun Kim, a permanent co-chair of National Association of Professors for Democratic Society in South Korea. Please see attached statement that demonstrates strong objection to the U.S base in Pyeongtaek in South Korea.
KCNA Blasts U.S. Insidious Move for Supremacy in Asia-Pacific
Pyongyang, March 27 (KCNA) -- The "trilateral security dialogue" of the United States, Japan and Australia took place in Sydney some days ago. The "dialogue", the first of its kind on the foreign minister-level, drew attention of the world public as it was an assembly of the U.S. and its allies. The choice of Sydney as the venue of the "dialogue" can be explained by the on-going scramble of big powers to hold supremacy in Asia-Pacific and the geographical and military strategic importance of Australia. In order to gain an unchallenged military edge in the region, the U.S. has pursued the strategy to contain China by laying a siege to it whereby to link the "triangular military alliance" of the U.S., Japan and south Korea, the "triangular relations" of the U.S., Japan and India and the "triangular alliance" of the U.S., Japan and Australia. As public opinions view, the "trilateral security dialogue" is a link in the chains of the strategy to contain China. [China confrontation]
'Korean War Was Start of Cold War'
The Korean War was the start of the Cold War, in the same way that the military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq are the beginning of another long war, a senior official of the U.S. Defense Department said Monday. Gordon England, deputy secretary of defense, said people at the time had not realized what the three-year Korean war meant. The 1950-1953 conflict left South and North Korea divided, and the two countries are technically still at war since they never signed a peace treaty. [Bizarre]
Stop to Joint Military Exercises Demanded
Pyongyang, March 26 (KCNA) -- The Federation of Koreans in the United States and Kim Su Sik, chairman of the Association of Koreans in Japan for Peaceful Reunification, made public statements separately on March 21 and 25 to demand a stop to the large-scale joint military exercises to be staged by the U.S. and the south Korean military authorities, according to a news report. The federation in the statement said that the war exercises may go over to a war as they are a drill for a preemptive nuclear attack. The anti-national, anti-human forces harassing peace will be sternly judged by history, it stressed. [Joint US military].
Dangerous War Gamble Blasted
Pyongyang, March 25 (KCNA) -- RSOI and Foal Eagle joint military exercises are to be staged in south Korea from March 25 to 31, involving the U.S. forces present in south Korea and south Korean troops and over 3,000 U.S. troops from its mainland and overseas bases. Minju Joson today says in a commentary in this regard: The above-said war exercises are a dangerous war gamble to invade the DPRK as they may go over to an actual war any moment. The war maneuvers will involve Abraham Lincoln, one of the leading nuclear-powered carriers of the U.S. Navy, in particular. This indicates that they are neither an "annual defensive drill" nor a demonstration of force, but a test nuclear war, a preliminary war, to make a preemptive attack on the DPRK. The exercises fully reveal the U.S. dark intention to totally scrap the joint statement adopted at the six-way talks. [Joint US military] [Camouflage]
KCNA Urges U.S. to Lift Financial Sanctions
Pyongyang, March 25 (KCNA) -- It is shame on the United States to let loose malarkey intended to give impression that it is making a sort of big concession to make the six-party talks roll again. Shortly ago, the U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Vershbow asserted the need to discuss north Korea's proposal to set up a non-permanent consultative body aimed to handle the issue of "counterfeit notes" within the framework of the six-party talks, saying that the talks are tasked to discuss the issue of normalizing relations between the DPRK and the U.S. as well as the nuclear issue. This assertion is nothing but a sleight of hand to cover up Washington's true colors and do harm to the dialogue partner. [Sanctions] [Camouflage]
Seoul Urges Christian Group Not to March in Afghanistan
SEOUL (Yonhap) _ The South Korean foreign ministry has again asked a local Protestant group to cancel a planned peace march in war-torn Afghanistan amid escalating fears of terrorist bombings of non-Islamic targets there, ministry officials said on Sunday.
Kim Jong-il May Face US Criminal Charge: Report
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) _ The United States may seek criminal charges against North Korea's top leader Kim Jong-il, which may explain why U.S. officials have become more sensitive about supporting allegations against Pyongyang with legal evidence, senior congressional researchers said in a report Friday. The report also questions the credibility of information South Korea provides to the U.S. about North Korea's illicit financial activities, saying Seoul may be influenced by its conciliatory policy toward Pyongyang. The authors of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, Raphael Perl and Dick Nanto, estimated at least $45 million of fake American money, mostly $100 bills called "supernotes" for their near-authenticity, are in circulation around the world today. As of December 2004, 72 percent of the value of currency in circulation consisted of $100 notes, Federal Reserve Board statistics show. The Pyongyang regime is believed to earn between $15 million and $25 million a year from counterfeiting alone, against its estimated $1 billion-a-year trade deficit, according to the report.
North Korea denies charges of state involvement, but says some individuals may be responsible for some of the reported crimes. Several cases are pending in U.S. courts linking North Korea to confiscated supernotes and contraband; Irish national Sean Garland is accused of circulating counterfeit U.S. currency, and members of China's Triad criminal syndicates were caught in a sting operation last summer. [Camouflage]
U.S. May Seek Criminal Charges Against Kim Jong-il
Two U.S. senior congressional researchers say Washington could bring criminal charges against North Korean leader Kim Jong-il over his country's alleged counterfeiting of U.S. dollars. The two authors of a Congressional Research Service report say the U.S.'s increasing keenness to back up its allegations with legal evidence is fueling speculation that it is considering going after Kim. According to the report, the impoverished communist state may earn as much as US$15 million to 25 million each year from counterfeiting.
N.Korea 'Hibernating Till Bush Goes'
Experts say there are signs that Pyongyang is determined to sit out U.S. President George W. Bush's tenure by maintaining the status quo rather than hurry to improve its relations with Washington. But some warn the strategy could prove fatal. The policy could be one reason, experts say, why North Korea is again boycotting six-party talks on its nuclear program citing U.S. financial sanctions. Prof. Kim Geun-sik of Kyungnam University said it appears the North has decided to dig in and hibernate, preparing for a long winter in its relations with Washington. "They seem convinced that the U.S. is trying to overthrow the regime by pressuring them with issues including financial sanctions, which have nothing to do with their nuclear program," Kim said. The speculation is given some substance by the fact that Pyongyang has just announced a new three-year plan for its key engineering and agricultural industries, 10 years after designating the three years after 1994 as a "bumper period for building the socialist economy." President Bush has nearly three years left in office. Prof. Ko Yu-hwan of Dongguk University said the North was earlier actively trying to improve relations with the U.S., which it regarded as central. "But now it thinks the bilateral relationship is unlikely to improve while Bush is in office and doesn't regard the matter as all that important any more," Ko said. But he added the North is likely to continue negotiating with the U.S.
ROK-US Joint Military Exercises Begin
By Christopher Carpenter Staff Reporter South Korea and the United States will launch two large-scale joint military exercises this weekend, South Korean officials said Friday. The annual exercises _ Foal Eagle and RSOI (Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration) _ will be held simultaneously for one week starting Saturday inside and near the Korean Peninsula. North Korea claims inclusion of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in this year's exercises proves the United States intends to provoke a nuclear war here. It is the first time for a nuclear-powered carrier to participate in the exercises. Kim Yong-kyu, a USFK spokesperson, said that although the Abraham Lincoln is nuclear powered, that does not make its role different from carriers used in previous years. ``There is no significance (to its being nuclear powered),'' he said. Kim said the purpose of the exercises is purely defensive. Last year, the non-nuclear powered USS Kitty Hawk, based in Yokusuka, Japan, participated in the exercises. The exercises involve 17,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea and 3,000 U.S. soldiers from the Pacific region as well as an unspecified number of South Korean soldiers. Some 5,000 troops will take part in off-peninsula locations. RSOI seeks to improve South Korean and U.S. forces' ability to receive and integrate forces from outside the country. Foal Eagle focuses on rear-area security and stability operations, onward movement of critical assets and select war training events. South Korea and the United States have conducted Foal Eagle since 1964 and RSOI since 1994. The two exercises have been held jointly since 2002. North Korea is sensitive to all joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises. The communist country claims it has nuclear weapons and can deter any outside invasion. The North has long claimed the United States is working to invade the country, describing the annual joint military exercises as a ``rehearsal'' for a U.S. attack similar to that on Iraq. [Joint US military] [Denuclearisation]
US Sanctions on NK Produce 'Encouraging' Results
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The United States' financial restrictions on North Korea produced ``encouraging'' results, U.S. Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser said at a conference in Cairo on Wednesday. His comments came amid continuing tension between Washington and Pyongyang over the U.S. punitive actions against a bank in Macau that allegedly provided suspicious financial services to North Korea over the past 20 years. The transcript of Glaser's speech was available at the Treasury Department's Web site on Thursday. [Camouflage]
The Importance of AML/CFT Controls in Financial Institutions
March 22, 2006 JS-4132 Prepared Remarks by Daniel Glaser, Deputy Assistant Secretary
--The Importance of AML/CFT Controls in Financial Institutions-- Before the International AML/CFT Inaugural Conference of the U.S./MENA Private Sector Dialogue
Cairo, EGYPT - Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today and help launch this important initiative. The fact that you are all here underscores a growing trend across the globe: the importance of the international financial community in combating a range of international threats. The international community is looking to finance ministries and financial institutions to take a leading role in protecting our financial system from those who abuse it to support a range of illicit conduct, including money laundering, terrorist financing, weapons proliferation, narcotics trafficking and other criminal behavior. We are uniquely positioned to hinder and over time eliminate these illicit activities from finding safe haven in our financial systems. This can be achieved only through vigilance, acuity and cooperation. Today's conference is the first of its type between our regions. We have, sitting in the same room, a collection of experts and practitioners from the U.S. and MENA financial systems asking the difficult questions about building anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regimes, and sharing expertise. Through conferences like this, I hope that we not only share our current experiences but also ultimately devise new solutions to the challenges that we all face in our roles as custodians of the international financial system.
To date, we have utilized Section 311 to designate a total of three jurisdictions and nine financial institutions, including entities in Macau, Latvia, Burma, Syria, and the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus." A recent case worth noting was the September 2005 designation of Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macau for facilitating a variety of illicit activities, including on behalf of North Korea. BDA financially facilitated North Korean front companies and government agencies engaged in narcotics trafficking, currency counterfeiting, production and distribution of counterfeit cigarettes and pharmaceuticals, and the laundering of proceeds therefrom. Our designation of BDA has produced encouraging results. Jurisdictions in the region have begun conducting investigations and taking necessary steps to identify and cut off illicit North Korean business. Responsible financial institutions are also taking a closer look at their own operations, terminating or declining to take on such business. These are welcome steps - but our continued and constant vigilance will be needed to ensure these results do not wane. We also recently finalized our Section 311 rule regarding the Commercial Bank of Syria along with its subsidiary, the Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank.
DPRK Denounces U.S. Quadrennial Defense Review
The "Quadrennial Defense Review" (QDR) recently made public by the U.S. Defense Department is an extremely dangerous war scenario driving the situation in and around the Korean Peninsula to the point of explosion. Rodong Sinmun on February 21 observed this in a signed commentary. Recalling the fact that the U.S. decided to shift the strategic focus of the "CONPLAN-8022," a new operation plan, from the Middle East to the Korean Peninsula, the commentary continued as follows. "CONPLAN-8022" is a military strategy targeted against the DPRK from A to Z in view of the background against which it was worked out and its criminal purpose. The U.S. armed forces are being beefed up in and around the Korean Peninsula and moves intensified to tighten the "international blockade" against the DPRK, pursuant to such military strategy. This is a product of the Bush administration's sinister aim to step up the war policy against the DPRK. East Asia including the Korean Peninsula is the region where the military strategic interests of big powers are intertwined in so complicated manner that an arms race can flare up and the situation fester easily. The U.S. is contemplating amassing its armed forces and throwing a cordon of an "international blockade" in this region in a bid to contain other big powers and increase its political and economic influence and establish a military edge and thus dominate the region. [China confrontation]
Pyongyang Criticized "Strategic Flexibility" for Bringing War to Korea
Newspapers of the DPRK come out with commentaries on "strategic flexibility" of the U.S. forces in South Korea (USFK), assailing South Korea's "full understanding" of the "strategic flexibility" "reckless behavior." The U.S. and South Korea agreed on "strategic flexibility" of the USFK at the "strategic dialogue for partnership" held in Washington. Rodong Sinmun in a signed commentary termed this submission to the U.S. and a treacherous crime as they praised its brigandish strategy for a war of aggression and blindly supported the outside forces in their moves to bring war disasters to the Korean nation.
Pyongyang Demands Dismantlement of "UN Command"
PYONGYANG, February 4 (KCNA)- The U.S. is keen to justify its forces' presence in South Korea and increase its influence in Northeast Asia by ceaselessly putting up the worn-out signboard of the "UN Command." But no matter how desperately the U.S. may project the existence of the "UN Command" in South Korea it can never cover up its injustice and illegality. Rodong Sinmun Saturday says this in a signed commentary. The "UN forces" what the U.S. called were neither based on any UN resolution nor organized by the UN, the commentary said, and continued:
DPRK Denounces U.S. Plan to Deploy New-Type Nuke Carrier
A spokesman for the Korean Jurists Committee made public a statement on January 30 strongly demanding the U.S. repeal its recent decision to permanently deploy its latest type nuclear carrier George Washington at its naval base in Yokosuka, Japan, so as to replace its aging carrier Kittyhawk. "This is a grave threat to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peace and security in Northeast Asia," the statement said, and continued as follows:
U.S. Commits Over 190 Cases of Aerial Espionage against DPRK in January
The U.S. committed more than 190 cases of aerial espionage against the DPRK in January by mobilizing strategic and tactical reconnaissance planes with diverse missions, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on January 31 quoted military sources as saying. U-2s from the U.S. airforce base in South Korea made shuttle flights almost everyday in the sky above the areas of Tokjok Islet, Phochon and Sokcho to conduct an electronic reconnaissance of the depths of the DPRK. On January 9, 16 and 27, overseas based RC-135s made shuttle flights in the sky above Taebu Islet, Yangphyong and the area 40km east of Kangrung to spy on important targets in the DPRK.
DPRK FM Spokesman Assails Projected U.S.-S. Korea Joint War Exercises
Pyongyang, March 23 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry issued a statement Thursday to denounce the U.S. bellicose group and the south Korean authorities for planning to stage large-scale RSOI and "Foal Eagle" joint military exercises across south Korea from Mar. 25 to 31. The war maneuvers will involve the U.S. troops in its mainland, in south Korea and overseas, more than 20,000 in all, as well as huge south Korean forces. Dismissing the exercises as aggressive and adventurous saber-rattling for a preemptive nuclear attack on the DPRK from A to Z, the statement goes on: Latest war means including Stealth fighter bombers and a nuclear-powered carrier and huge field troops of the U.S. are being hurled into south Korea and waters around it, something unprecedented in recent years, to stage madcap offensive exercises of various forms simulating an actual war such as landing, river-crossing, aerial attack and advance deep into the north. The U.S. decision to let carrier Abraham Lincoln and its task flotilla participate in the exercises goes to clearly indicate what reckless and dangerous phase the U.S. moves for a preemptive attack have reached as it is a sort of demonstration of its military muscle before the DPRK. The Bush administration pressurized the south Korean authorities to agree on the "strategic flexibility" of the U.S. forces present in south Korea. And it readopted the "theory of a preemptive attack" as the doctrine of the national security policy in its wake. It is quite obvious that the saber-rattling the Bush administration is going to launch against this backdrop will threaten regional peace and security and adversely affect the favorably developing north-south relations as it envisages wartime operations in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. The U.S. is gravely mistaken if it calculates that to procrastinate, while tightening sanctions against the DPRK and escalating the tension, would help induce the DPRK to make a sort of switchover in its stand but it is not only the Bush warlike group that will benefit from this delay. Now that the U.S. intention to stifle the DPRK has become very clear, the DPRK will react to it with a strong measure for self-defence.
East Sea' Losing Out to 'Sea of Japan' in Reference Guides
By Kim Se -jeong Korea Times Global Student Reporter Washington -- Is ``East Sea'' losing out to ``Sea of Japan'' in news publications in the United States? Most print news publications choose to use ``Sea of Japan.'' The Associated Press, the most prominent news service agency for daily newspapers, uses ``Sea of Japan.'' Norman Goldstein, the AP Stylebook editor said since the dispute is ongoing, and ``there really isn't one name that's totally official and internationally recognized by bodies like the U.N.'' The New York Times, USA Today and The Washington Post run the AP stories, and staff writers of those publications are following the AP Stylebook that uses ``Sea of Japan.'' Jim Brooke, an East Asia correspondent for The New York Times, also said The Times uses Sea of Japan for style, even though he personally tries to avoid using it. More fundamental a problem with their selection lies in the CIA World Factbook.
North Korea Might Be Exporting Fake $100 Bills
By Gordon Fairclough The Wall Street Journal Friday, March 24, 2006; Page D05
SHANGHAI -- China's central bank warned its lenders about an influx of high-quality counterfeit American $100 bills -- which the United States alleges are made by North Korea -- as the spread of the forgeries moves toward the center of a standoff between Washington and Pyongyang. Governments around Asia are stepping up surveillance for the bogus currency, which law-enforcement officials have dubbed supernotes because they are so difficult to distinguish from genuine money.
The fake $100 bills have turned up in the United States, Philippines, Taiwan and elsewhere over the past two years. In January, supernotes were seized from a Chinese American in Hong Kong, according to U.S. officials. The People's Bank of China said the supernotes "have flowed into our country from overseas" and urged lenders to be on the lookout for efforts to place counterfeit bills into circulation. The letter was sent this month to all commercial banks as well as its own branches. North Korea, which shares a long border with China, may earn as much as $15 million to $25 million a year from counterfeiting, according to an advance copy of a report to be released Friday by the U.S. Congressional Research Service, which also says at least $45 million in supernotes has have been detected in circulation. That figure would represent a small proportion of the total amount of U.S. currency circulating in the world. But, U.S. officials say, any amount of counterfeiting can undermine confidence in the dollar.
Frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiations aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons and faced with a lack of international support for economic sanctions against the country, Washington increasingly is turning to law-enforcement actions to deal with Pyongyang. [Camouflage] [Evidence]
U.S. Retaining Wartime Command on S. Korea
By WILLIAM C. MANN The Associated Press Thursday, March 23, 2006; 5:59 PM
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday the United States must retain wartime command of South Korea's military until that country's forces are strong enough to maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea's president has said he hopes an agreement to turn over wartime command can be negotiated this year. The effect of any change would be felt only if war should return to the peninsula.
In a Pentagon news briefing, Rumsfeld said South Korea has brought up the idea, and "everyone agrees that 55 years after the war, it's reasonable that the South Korean forces would increasingly take on more and more responsibility." Asked whether he thought the change in command structure could start this year, Rumsfeld replied: "No, no, I don't at all." [Sovereignty] [In denial] [US military dominance]
Golf Scandal Shows Asian Weakness
WASHINGTON, March 21 (Yonhap) _ Weaknesses are cropping up in Asia's young democracies like South Korea and Thailand, often with civil demonstrations and political parties failing to focus on policies and governance, a national U.S. daily reported on Tuesday. ``Across East Asia, young democracies are struggling with street demonstrations, impeachment drives, autocratic and erratic elected leaders and political battles that have nothing to do with the challenges of governing complex, changing societies,'' USA Today wrote. For South Korea, the resignation of Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan is an example of democracy's fragility there, the paper said. Lee resigned last week, bowing to criticism after he played golf as the nation was embroiled in a railway strike. ``The episode blew up into a scandal when it was revealed that Lee's golf partners included a man with a criminal record,'' the paper said. ``The incident was typical for the region, where weak and immature political parties focus on exposing opponents' supposed ethical lapses instead of on policy,'' it said. [Media] [Clinton]
North Korea Bristles at U.S.-South Drills
By KWANG-TAE KIM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea warned Thursday it will react to upcoming joint U.S-South Korean joint military exercises with an unspecified ``strong measure of self-defense,'' condemning the drill as saber-rattling for a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the North. ``Now that the U.S. intention to stifle the DPRK has become very clear, the DPRK will react to it with a strong measure for self-defense,'' a spokesman for the North's Foreign Ministry said in statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. DPRK is a commonly used acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The weeklong exercises - dubbed RSOI and Foal Eagle - are scheduled to begin Saturday with 20,000 American troops, along with the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, and an undisclosed number of South Korean soldiers. The communist state has long claimed the U.S. is bent on invading the country, condemning the annual military drill as a ``rehearsal'' for an attack. The U.S. and South Korea characterize them as purely defensive. [Media] [Joint US military]
Spokesman for Foreign Ministry Assails U.S. Cry for Preemptive Attack
Pyongyang, March 22 (KCNA) -- A preemptive attack is not the monopoly of the United States, warns a spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry in an answer given to a question put by KCNA Tuesday in connection with the fact that the U.S. in a recent "report on national security strategy" designated the DPRK as an "outpost of tyranny " and a "target of preemptive attack" once again. The Bush administration singled out those countries which are not meekly following it from an independent stand, including the DPRK, as "outposts of tyranny," revealing its undisguised attempt to realize its wild ambition to realize "regime change" through a "preemptive attack", he said, and went on: The above-said "report" reveals the U.S. intention to start a war to prevent nuclear proliferation, "combat terrorism" and "spread democracy." It is, therefore, nothing but a brigandish document declaring a war as it is an indication that the Bush regime will not rule out even a war to bring down those countries which refuse to follow its ideology and view on value by branding them as enemies without exception. Today the Bush regime is to blame for unhesitatingly committing war and military intervention, stepping up the modernization of nuclear weapons and encouraging the spread of weapons of mass destruction, defying all the principles of international law and unbiased public opinion to meet its narrow-minded partisan purpose. It is the root cause of aggression, war and arms race.
Document leaker gets 3-month suspension
March 23, 2006 ? A Foreign Ministry official who gave a politician documents on sensitive diplomatic negotiations with the United States has been suspended from his job. Yesterday, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said a disciplinary committee at the ministry had recommended a three-month suspension for Lee Jong-heon, who at the time he leaked the documents was assigned to the National Security Council at the Blue House. He added that he would approve the committee's recommendation, and the suspension was announced shortly thereafter, effective yesterday. The Blue House had asked the ministry for a heavy penalty in light of what it said was the serious nature of the leaks, which centered on negotiations between the United States and Korea to allow U.S. troops stationed here to be used elsewhere in the region. [Strategic flexibility] [US military dominance]
Spokesman for Foreign Ministry Assails U.S. Cry for Preemptive Attack
Pyongyang, March 22 (KCNA) -- A preemptive attack is not the monopoly of the United States, warns a spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry in an answer given to a question put by KCNA Tuesday in connection with the fact that the U.S. in a recent "report on national security strategy" designated the DPRK as an "outpost of tyranny " and a "target of preemptive attack" once again. The Bush administration singled out those countries which are not meekly following it from an independent stand, including the DPRK, as "outposts of tyranny," revealing its undisguised attempt to realize its wild ambition to realize "regime change" through a "preemptive attack", he said, and went on: The above-said "report" reveals the U.S. intention to start a war to prevent nuclear proliferation, "combat terrorism" and "spread democracy." It is, therefore, nothing but a brigandish document declaring a war as it is an indication that the Bush regime will not rule out even a war to bring down those countries which refuse to follow its ideology and view on value by branding them as enemies without exception.
U.S. Anti-DPRK "Human Rights" Racket Blasted
Pyongyang, March 21 (KCNA) -- Some time ago, high-ranking officials of the U.S. administration including Bush and Rice vied with each other to raise a hue and cry over the "human rights situation" in the DPRK as part of its smear campaign against it. This is nothing but a ridiculous "human rights" racket kicked off by the worst human rights abuser, a base mudslinging and a sinister political provocation against the DPRK. Rodong Sinmun Tuesday observes this in a signed commentary. It goes on: The U.S. has neither right nor face to talk about human rights. It is a typical inhuman society where people are denied elementary right to existence and human rights are wantonly violated. [Camouflage]
North Korea Should Stop `Inflammatory' Comments, U.S. Says
March 22 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea should stop making ``inflammatory'' comments and return to six-nation talks on dismantling its nuclear weapons program as soon as possible, the U.S. State Department said. North Korea's government said yesterday it has the ability to carry out a pre-emptive strike, according to the official Korea Central News Agency. The Korean People's Army said in a statement a week ago a preemptive strike capability ``is not the monopoly of the U.S.,'' KCNA reported at the time. ``The president, secretary of state and others have made it very clear that the United States has no plans to invade or attack North Korea,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday in Washington. The U.S. wants North Korea to ``engage in serious discussions, as opposed to making these kinds of inflammatory statements.''
Military exercises carried out by the U.S. and South Korea on the Korean peninsula have compelled North Korea to strengthen its self-defense capability, KCNA said yesterday. North Korea ``has the right to preempt an attack as the most effective and positive act for self-defense,'' the army said in its statement. [Joint US military] [Media] [Spin]
U.S.: Hands Off the DPRK!
Dear Friends, March 20, 2006--This email is going out to thousands around the country to oppose an international campaign of vilification by the U.S. government to brand the the DPRK (north Korea) as a violator of human rights. We hope you will join us in opposing this campaign. The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and Freedom House are spearheading this U.S. government sponsored and funded campaign. NED is organizing a so-called informational event about "human rights" in north Korea next Wednesday, March 22nd, in Washington, DC. This event is part of an international campaign to vilify north Korea, and bring about the overthrow of its government, replacing it with a U.S. client state. A "private" hearing on North Korean refugees will be held at the Council of the European Union, and the Third International Human Rights Conference on North Korea will be held at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Brussels. The conference is being sponsored by the U.S.-based Freedom House, which received $2 million in funding from the U.S. State Department. Freedom House and NED work closely together.
N. Korea Suggests It Can Strike U.S. First
North Korea Suggests It Has Ability to Launch a Pre-Emptive Strike on the United States
By JAE-SOON CHANG SEOUL, South Korea Mar 21, 2006 (AP)- North Korea suggested Tuesday it had the ability to launch a pre-emptive attack on the United States, according to the North's official news agency. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the North had built atomic weapons to counter the U.S. nuclear threat. "As we declared, our strong revolutionary might put in place all measures to counter possible U.S. pre-emptive strike," the spokesman said, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "Pre-emptive strike is not the monopoly of the United States." [Media]
Spokesman for DPRK Foreign Ministry Dismisses U.S. Row about "Drug Trafficking
Pyongyang, March 7 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK Tuesday gave the following answer to the question raised by KCNA in connection with the fact that the U.S. again slandered the DPRK as a "drug dealer" recently: The U.S. Department of State asserted in its recent "International Narcotics Control and Strategy Report" that the DPRK is involved in "illegal deal in drug" and others. In the annual report the United States admitted that there was no "drug dealing case" linked with the DPRK in 2005 but fabricated misinformation to pull up it again. This clearly shows to what base moves the U.S. resorts in its bid to pressurize and do harm to the DPRK. [Camouflage]
U.S. "Defense Review Report" Flailed
Pyongyang, March 10 (KCNA) -- The U.S. Department of Defense on Feb. 1 made public a "defense review report", which contains plans for the reinforcement of special armed forces, the increase of maneuverability of ground and air forces, the maintenance of the navy's capability of simultaneously operating on the sea and the coast and the intensified collection of information in 20 years to cope with "terrorism" and "threat". After all, the "report" is considered to be a long-term plan for aggressive military actions designed to conduct the "war on terrorism" on a worldwide scale, Rodong Sinmun today says in a signed article. [Imperialism]
U.S. Smear Campaign against DPRK Assailed
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Reunification Solidarity of south Korea released a commentary on March 2 in denunciation of the U.S. smear campaign against the DPRK. The commentary recalled that the U.S. State Department asserted in an "international narcotics control and strategy report" on March 1 that there exist the substantial evidences showing the involvement of the DPRK in drug and other illegal dealings. The U.S. labeled the north of Korea as a "criminal state" and has exerted sanctions upon it, the commentary noted, charging that all those acts are prompted by its intention to isolate and stifle the north. The whole world recognizes that the U.S. is the biggest producer and market of drugs and a country where a largest number of counterfeit notes overflow, the commentary said. [Camouflage]
KCNA Dismisses U.S. False Propaganda against DPRK
Pyongyang, March 13 (KCNA) -- The United States, a past master at lies and deception, is now suffering bitter shame before the international community for a series of conspiratorial plots hatched by it recently. This is proved by the recently announced results of the final investigation into the case of the ship "Pongsu", a trading cargo ship of the DPRK.
As already known, the U.S. hard-line conservatives who launched an invasion of Iraq under the pretext of "eliminating weapons of mass destruction (WMD)" in March 2003 kicked off an anti-DPRK smear campaign over the "issue of drug trafficking" in April of the same year. As part of the campaign they instigated some dishonest forces of Australia to commit such a piratical act as impounding the ship "Pongsu" and its crew engaged in normal trade on the groundless charge that they were directly involved in the "drug trafficking".
Even before an investigation into the case began, the U.S. instigated reptile media to build public opinion critical of the DPRK, charging that the north Korean authorities were involved in the case, pursuant to its policy.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of State in an annual "international narcotics control and strategy report" described the case of the ship "Pongsu" as a "state-sponsored drug trafficking case" which drew world attention. It published such a "report" on March 1, too, in a bid to restart the campaign of criticism and pressure against the DPRK, asserting that there was possible state involvement in the drug trafficking and a trial of the master and other senior crewmen would be held soon.
But on March 5, a few days later, the High Court of Australia declared the crewmen of the ship not guilty and set all of them free. This brought to light the deceptive nature of the U.S. and the true picture of its burlesque against the DPRK. As the results of the case of the ship "Pongsu" showed, truth is bound to be discerned from a lie.
No sooner had this case occurred than the DPRK strongly protested against the fabrication of the case, stating that it is not a simple drug matter but a political plot hatched by the U.S. and its allies in a premeditated and deliberate manner to do harm to the DPRK and stifle it over its nuclear issue. The U.S., however, has escalated its smear campaign to label the DPRK a "criminal state". This is evidenced by the U.S. loudmouthed story about the DPRK's "issue of counterfeit notes", "fake cigarette smuggling" and the like. No matter how desperately the U.S. may try to label the DPRK an "illegal state" under this or that charge, it can never deceive the world.
The socialist system in the DPRK which aspires after justice and truth and holds man dearest strictly bans misuse of narcotics and their trafficking and such things as "the issue of counterfeit notes", prompted by its intrinsic nature. The fiction of "the development of weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq and the case of the ship "Pongsu" convinced the international community that all the "criminal cases" much touted by the U.S. were nothing but charades aimed to hoodwink the world. Misuse of narcotics and their trafficking, the issue of counterfeit notes and other crimes are chronic evils that have long plagued the American society. The DPRK remains unfazed at the U.S. base smear campaign as the DPRK's line and policies are very just and it is upright in everything. The DPRK is sure to triumph just as truth is bound to prevail over a lie. The above-said case inflicted not small damage upon the DPRK's ship and its crewmen. The U.S. should make a formal apology and compensation for its piratical act and political swindle. And it should stop at once all its farces intended to mislead the international community.
This is the only right way of getting rid of the deplorable situation where it is censured by the international community
U.S. Anti-DPRK Smear Campaign under Fire
Pyongyang, March 14 (KCNA) -- The U.S. State Department in an "annual report on human rights" on March 8 malignantly slandered the DPRK as a country with poorest human rights record as it shows no improvement. Earlier Bush, Rice and other high-ranking politicians of the U.S. administration raised a hue and cry over the human rights situation in the DPRK. In this regard, a spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry in a statement on March 13 said that the U.S. has no right to say about someone's human rights as it is the worst human rights abuser and the biggest tundra of human rights. Noting that the American society is a typical unpopular society where even elementary right of the people to existence is wantonly abused, the statement continued: The human rights situation in the U.S. has gone from bad to worse since Bush came to power.
U.S. Nuclear-Powered Carrier to Be Involved in Joint Military Exercises
Pyongyang, March 18 (KCNA) -- The U.S. imperialists announced that the nuclear-powered carrier "Abraham Lincoln" would be anchored in the East Sea of Korea during the entire period of the large-scale joint military exercises to be held across south Korea from Mar. 25, according to the south Korean KBS. This development brings to light the danger of the exercises to be launched by the U.S. imperialists soon and their real intention to ignite a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula at any cost.
U.S. Rejects Financial Talks With N. Korea
By GEORGE GEDDA The Associated Press Friday, March 10, 2006; 6:14 PM WASHINGTON -- The United States has rejected a North Korean proposal to open two-way talks on financial issues, at a time when Pyongyang is blaming U.S. accusations of counterfeiting and money laundering for its decision to halt nuclear disarmament talks. North Korea presented the proposal for a "consultative committee of experts" at a March 7 meeting in New York. The meeting was convened to enable U.S. Treasury experts to explain to a North Korean delegation the U.S. laws that triggered economic sanctions against Pyongyang last year.
In turning down the North Korean suggestion, the State Department said Friday that regulations to protect the U.S. financial system are not subject to negotiation. [Bilateral] [Camouflage]
Lawmaker to File Suit Over US Troop Realignment
SEOUL, March 17 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean opposition lawmaker said Friday he will file a lawsuit against President Roh Moo-hyun and his top officials over the government's recognition of the ``strategic flexibility'' of U.S. troops here. In January, the foreign ministers of South Korea and the U.S. agreed that they would ``understand and respect'' Washington's plan to realign its forces in South Korea and expand their role and responsibilities beyond the peninsula. Critics quickly accused the South Korean government of failing to obtain parliamentary ratification for the accord, which could only be made after revising a defense treaty with Washington. The treaty is primarily focused on deterring North Korean aggression. [Camouflage]
US May Link Financial Issue to NK Nuclear Talks: Envoy
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The United States is ready to have more discussions with North Korea on the dispute over the latter's alleged illegal activities in the context of the multilateral talks on Pyongyang's nuclear arms program, Washington's chief envoy in Seoul said on Friday. His remarks were seen as signaling a change from the previous U.S. stance that it would never connect the issue with the North Korean nuclear crisis. The two sides had a rare bilateral meeting in New York last week as part of efforts to address the latest row, which stems from the U.S. Treasury's blacklisting last September of a Macau bank that the U.S. says facilitated the communist state's illicit activities, such as counterfeiting and narcotics trafficking. But the much-anticipated discussions failed to produce any major breakthrough, raising fears of a protracted deadlock in the nuclear negotiations. Some foreign media reported that Washington rejected all the proposals made by Pyongyang, including the establishment of a joint committee to discuss the alleged illegal activities.
"Strategic Flexibility" Aims for Strengthening U.S. Military Presence in Asia: Foreign Ministry
A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry issued a statement on February 21 to accuse the United States of pressurizing the South Korean authorities to agree on "Strategic flexibility." The full text of the statement is as follows. By the "Strategic Flexibility" the U.S. means that its forces in South Korea should take "responsibility for ensuring peace and maintaining stability" in Northeast Asia as a whole including the Korean Peninsula and rapidly intervene in conflicts or disputes in any part of the region. The aim sought by the U.S. through it is to contain big powers in the region with South Korea as well as Japan as military bridgeheads and, furthermore, put the whole of Asia under its military domination. The agreement on the "strategic flexibility" of the U.S. forces in South Korea has paved the way for turning South Korea into an outpost and a logistic base serving the U.S. in realizing its Asia strategy. The U.S. forces present in South Korea have so far claimed their mission is to "exclusively defend the Korean Peninsula." But the above-said agreement projected their aggressive nature by asserting that their mission is "to meet the challenges of the region and the world."
KCNA Refutes "illicit Sale of Fake Cigarettes"
PYONGYANG, February 11 (KCNA)- The United States is now busy spreading fictions about the "smuggling of fake cigarettes" and "smuggling of drugs" in a bid to achieve a sinister purpose, not content with peddling a lie about "counterfeit notes." Shortly ago, a White House spokesman blustered that the U.S. would never tolerate North Korea's involvement in illegal activities, referring to the reports of American newspapers to the effect that "fake cigarettes" made in North Korea are on sale in American markets. Meanwhile, the U.S. Secretary of Defense said that the prospect of the resumption of the six-party talks remained gloomy because the DPRK was acting against the U.S. financial sanctions, uttering that counterfeit notes, drug smuggling and sale of missile technology are North Korea's main source of revenue. Underlying these outbursts is the U.S.'s foolish and mean attempt to tarnish the international image of the DPRK and shift the responsibility for the stalled six-party talks to it at any cost. What the U.S. conservative hard-liners seek is to delay the six-party talks under any pretext, escalate tension on the Korean Peninsula and thus draw water to its mill to meet its own political interests. They fabricated something new and deliberately created an obstacle to the talks prompted by such thinking whenever there was a sign of progress for them. They cooked up the story of "counterfeit notes" and kicked up the row for sanctions against their dialogue partner even before the ink got dry on the joint statement adopted at the fourth round of the six-party talks, spoiling the atmosphere of the talks. The Bush administration held a briefing on the "counterfeit notes" of the DPRK in Washington last December but failed to produce any clear evidence. This proved that it was nothing but a farce. It is a true nature peculiar to the U.S. to spread sheer lies and interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and realize its attempt at aggression on their basis. A clear proof of this was the brigandish armed invasion launched by the Bush administration against Iraq on the basis of false information [Camouflage] [Disinformation] [Evidence]
U.S. puts counterfeit issue on table
The United States is willing to discuss the conflict over North Korea's alleged illegal activities within the six-party nuclear negotiation framework, a top U.S. envoy in Korea said yesterday. The six-party talks have been on an indefinite hold since November last year when Pyongyang took issue with Washington's financial sanction against a Macau-based bank for allegedly helping the North circulate counterfeited U.S. dollars. Washington insisted the move was separate from the nuclear standoff, while Pyongyang contended the U.S. government was trying to rein in the communist state. South Korea hopes the nuclear negotiations comprising the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan would resume at least by April so as not to further lose the momentum achieved last year with the Joint Statement on denuclearization principles, according to government sources here. U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow speaks during a morning seminar hosted by the Grand National Party yesterday at the National Assembly. [The Korea Herald] The United States and North Korea held rare one-on-one talks on the issue last week but the discussion ended without bearing fruit. Washington, according to some foreign reports, refused Pyongyang's suggestion to create a special committee on the issue. [Camouflage] [Bilateral] [Evidence]
'Korea Needs US Forces After Unification'
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter Minister of Unification Lee Jong-seok said Thursday that the presence of U.S. forces stationed in South Korea would not be a subject of discussion during possible inter-Korean talks on sealing a peace treaty. ``We must see the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) as a constant,'' Lee said, indicating that the South hopes the USFK would remain in Korea even after the reunification of the two Koreas. It is one of the two key conditions under which South and North Korea could work toward establishing a peace regime after resolving the North's nuclear issue at the six-party talks, Lee said during a breakfast forum of Seoul National University's political science alumni at a Seoul hotel. North Korean official media outlets have often criticized the presence of the USFK in the South, describing it as a foreign power that threatens peace and reconciliation of the Korean people. But North Korean leader Kim Jong-il once said that he has changed his way of thinking since the end of the Cold War, expressing hope that the U.S. military would serve to maintain stability in the Northeast Asian region, according to some South Koreans who met Kim during the inter-Korean summit in June 2000 in Pyongyang [Collusion] [In denial] [China confrontation]
US Knew in Advance of NK's Missile Launch: Admiral
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The United States knew in advance about North Korea's plans to launch missiles and was also able to confirm very quickly the actual launch, an aerospace defense commander said Tuesday. Testifying at the Senate Armed Services Committee, Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, said this was proof that the U.S. has the right monitoring system in place. "As you probably know in open-source reporting, North Korea launched three surface -- very short-range surface-to-surface missiles about a week ago," he told the hearing. "In this session, I think I am okay to say we were aware of their plans to launch and we were aware in very, very, very...short order after those missiles actually did launch that they had, in fact, launched," he said. [Espionage]
US Aircraft Carrier to Participate in Joint Drill
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
An advanced U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will be mobilized during the annual South Korea-U.S. military drills scheduled for later this month, a military source said Tuesday. During the training exercises on March 25-31 here, the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) will anchor in the East Sea off Pohang, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and U.S. advanced fighter jets, including FA-18 Hornets, on the ship will participate in the joint drills, he said.
Last Saturday, North Korea delayed the planned inter-Korean ministerial talks on March 28-31 to protest the joint drills which it describes as ``hostile war exercises'' impeding the peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The 332.8 meter-long ship, with its 3000-plus crew, is the centerpiece of U.S. Navy's carrier strike group with over 10,000 sailors from the Pacific Northwest and San Diego. It is able to carry about 80 state-of-the-art jet fighters, such as 12 F-14D Tomcats, 24 FA-18C Hornets and FA-18E Super Hornet maritime strike attack aircraft. In May 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush landed on the aircraft carrier, announcing an end to hostilities in Iraq, with a banner emblazoned with the words "Mission Accomplished" proudly [Joint US military] [Denuclearization]
[EDITORIAL]N.K. complains again
As it did in August last year, and almost every time there was a military exercise in South Korea, Pyongyang has lodged a strong protest against the annual Foal Eagle-RSOI drill to be held here later this month. Along with the complaint, the North unilaterally postponed the inter-Korean ministerial talks scheduled for March 28-31. By now, we in the South are accustomed to the North canceling or postponing scheduled events, as it has done this frequently over the decades of inter-Korean dialogue. But Pyongyang's delaying of the next cabinet-level talks is really hard to understand because on their agenda is Seoul's rice and fertilizer aid to the North, which is an urgent matter considering the approach of the rice farming season when food grain and fertilizer is much in need. Only the rigidity of a communist mentality may provide an explanation. The Korean and U.S. military authorities have explained numerous times the defensive nature of their joint exercises, Ulchi Focus Lens in August, which is mainly a computer-simulated war game, and Foal Eagle exercises in the spring. The RSOI or the "Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration" command post exercise which began in 1994 is being conducted simultaneously with Foal Eagle. North Koreans must know that these joint exercises, whose designations have changed over the years, date back to the late 1960s when Pyongyang's campaign of violence against the South peaked with the capture of a U.S. intelligence ship and a commando raid in Seoul. They are held annually at great cost to both the Korean and U.S. governments because of continuing North Korean belligerence. Inter-Korean talks on whatever level are aimed to build mutual trust and reduce tension between the two sides and we believe that South-North ties have considerably matured through ever-expanding official and private-level contacts, and economic cooperation projects. The time has come for the Pyongyang authorities to keep themselves from being unnecessarily allergic to military drills taking place here. 2006.03.14 [Joint US military] [Media] [Spin] [Bizarre]
U.S. advises N.K. to join antimoney laundering organization
From news reports The U.S. government asked North Korea to join a regional antimoney laundering organization to demonstrate its commitment to prevent illicit financial activities, a South Korean government official said yesterday. "As I know, there were talks in which the United States urged the North to enter the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering during their contact in New York," the official said, asking anonymity. Ri Gun, a senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official, met Assistant U.S. Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser in New York on Tuesday for a briefing on the background of financial sanctions Washington has taken against his communist country. The Sydney based APG is a 30 member Asia Pacific autonomous body which was launched in 1997 to help fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The briefing focused on Banco Delta Asia, a Macau based bank accused by U.S. officials of being a front for North Korean money laundering. North Korea has denied any wrongdoing and vows to boycott six nation talks on its nuclear weapons program in response. Though flatly denying U.S. claims that North Korea was counterfeiting dollars and laundering money, Pyongyang has said it would be ready to join an international campaign against the financial crimes. Ri Gun, the communist North's top delegate to Tuesday's meeting, told the Seoul based Hankyoreh newspaper that the U.S. side presented "no evidence" to back up its allegations against Pyongyang. The North Korean official said he instead had proposed establishing a U.S. North Korean consultative body to dissipate any suspicions. He also proposed that the United States allow North Korea to open a settlement account at a U.S. bank in order to put it under U.S. supervision. The U.S., however, rejected the proposal for bilateral talks, claiming the issue is a matter of law enforcement and not negotiation. [Evidence] [Camouflage]
'Quantum leap' seen in N. Korean missiles
Reuters FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 2006
SEOUL The missiles test-fired by North Korea on Wednesday are "a quantum leap forward" from its previous weapons, with greater reliability and precision, the commander of the U.S. military in South Korea said. Speaking before the House Armed Services Committee in Washington on Thursday, General Burwell Bell said North Korea was also moving ahead with the development of longer-range ballistic missiles that could hit Alaska and targets in the continental United States. North Korea's testing of two short- range missiles Wednesday came during a stalemate in six-nation talks aimed at ending its nuclear weapons programs. Pyongyang says it has nuclear weapons but proliferation experts have questioned its ability to mount them on missiles. The short-range missiles tested this week "are, in fact, a quantum leap forward from the kind of missiles that they have produced in the past," Bell told the hearing. The missiles were boosted by solid fuel, rather than liquid fuel, providing greater reliability, mobility and precision, he said. "They are routinely testing these," Bell said. North Korea test-fired a similar missile last May. A senior Bush administration official said the missiles tested in the past week did not leave North Korean territory. The South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo, citing a government source, said North Korea fired the two missiles from its east coast and they probably dropped into the sea about 100 kilometers, or 60 miles, away. U.S. officials said the missile test proved that the North's nuclear programs posed a threat to the region, but China and South Korea were muted in their reactions. Bell said the North was developing longer-range missiles with ranges "far beyond any requirement that they have for defense." Pyongyang is ready and willing to sell the technology, posing a great concern about proliferation, Bell told the House committee. [Rocketry] [Proliferation] [Double standards] [Spin]
U.S. Squeezes North Korea's Money Flow
By JOEL BRINKLEY March 10, 2006
WASHINGTON, March 9 - Six months after the Bush administration blacklisted a bank in Macao accused of laundering money for the North Korean government, senior administration officials say the action has proved to be far more effective than anyone had dreamed. Banks around the world are limiting their dealings with North Korea, and the nation's leadership is complaining with a vigor unusual even for that government. "It really struck a nerve," a senior administration official said with a smile. It also has given new energy to those in the administration who have argued for years that the six-nation nuclear disarmament talks were a waste of time and that direct action was the only tactic that might force North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. Since the Treasury Department ordered American banks to cut off relations with the Macao bank, Banco Delta Asia, on Sept. 15, the administration has repeatedly insisted that the law enforcement action was unrelated to the nuclear negotiations. Only now are officials saying that further law enforcement actions are planned, and their use has coalesced into a strategy. In interviews, several present and former administration officials said the Bush administration had concluded that the six-nation talks intended to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear arms were unlikely to succeed unless they were accompanied by these direct, punitive actions. The strategy now, said a senior official who watches the issue closely, is, "Squeeze them, but keep the negotiations going." The talks would then serve as little more than a vehicle for accepting North Korea's capitulation, if the pressure from other actions leaves it no choice. Iran's budding nuclear program is capturing most of the government attention here, in Europe and in the Middle East. But senior officials across the government involved with North Korea policy pointedly note that North Korea is already believed to have enough plutonium to make 8 to 12 nuclear weapons, while Iran is probably years away from having the capability to make its first. On Wednesday, North Korea test fired two short-range missiles that could carry a warhead to South Korea. Several senior officials said the administration had grown deeply frustrated with the on-again, off-again talks that have seemed to produce few meaningful results, even after two and a half years. While the United States and other nations have for years pursued occasional law enforcement actions against North Korea - seizing ships carrying contraband, for example - the new policy envisions even more high-profile actions that are likely to anger North Korea. The action against Banco Delta Asia was so effective in causing a ripple effect around the world that North Korean officials held an unusual meeting with American officials on Tuesday in New York, seeking an explanation and "trying to get their money unfrozen," a senior official said. American officials told the North Koreans that the United States had strong evidence that among the cash laundered through the Macao bank was a large amount of counterfeit American currency printed by the North Korean government. Senior officials said the White House has given the Treasury and Justice departments full authority to take additional legal and financial actions against North Korea. This policy is not uniformly popular in the State Department, where officials are managing the six-nations talks that include the United States, Russia, South Korea, China and Japan. One senior official complained that the policy would turn the talks into nothing more than "a surrender mechanism." Several officials said they feared that the new policy would not persuade North Korea to disarm, while also alienating China, North Korea's ally, and South Korea. But another senior official argued, "Not everything was great with the six-party talks before we ratcheted up the defensive measures," as advocates like to call the law enforcement actions. The officials declined to be identified by name because they were discussing internal deliberations and decisions without being authorized to speak for their departments. For years, hard-liners in the White House, particularly in Vice President Dick Cheney's office, and some at the State Department, have argued that direct punitive action against North Korea was the only tactic that might force it to give up its nuclear weapons program. "It seems to me unreal that you could offer the regime enough" in talks "to get them to abandon their program," said Aaron L. Friedberg, an East Asia specialist who was Mr. Cheney's deputy national security adviser until last summer. "There has to be something else happening simultaneously - applying pressure." Despite those arguments, through most of last year the administration worked assiduously to limit critical comments and actions that North Korea could seize on as excuses to boycott the negotiations. At South Korea's urging, Mr. Bush and his aides stopped characterizing North Korea's leader as a "tyrant'" or repeating Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's statement that the country was an "outpost of tyranny." Finally, by late summer, a former senior Bush administration official said, the administration had decided "to move toward more confrontational measures." David L. Asher, who was coordinator of the State Department's working group until last summer, said government officials believed "the beauty of this approach is it is not full-bore sanctions." Last September, North Korea agreed in principle to end its nuclear weapons program but raised objections to the agreement just 24 hours later. "I think they are having trouble getting ready for that moment" when they actually give up their arms, said Christopher R. Hill, assistant secretary of state and chief United States negotiator for the talks. "They are stalling. That makes people wonder about how serious they are." [Sanctions]
US Not Trying to Punish N. Korea
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said in Seoul on Friday that the United States is trying to ``prevent'' North Korea from counterfeiting U.S. bills in the future, rather than trying to ``punish'' Pyongyang for its financial illegalities. ``I personally think that Washington's policies are focused on prevention and interception rather than punishment,'' he told lawmakers at a breakfast meeting at the National Assembly. Lee said that Seoul has ``serious'' concerns over North Korea's alleged involvement in counterfeiting the U.S. bills and laundering them at a bank in Macau, which was blacklisted by the United States in September as a ``primary money-laundering concern.'' ``We delivered our stance to North Korea, underlining that Pyongyang should come up with appropriate measures,'' he said. ``Seoul wants this issue to be resolved through ways that are based on international norms and common sense.'' As for North Korea's recent proposal of launching a non-permanent body with the United States to jointly address the counterfeiting issue, Lee estimated it was a proactive change in policy for Pyongyang. [Evidence] [Friction] [Transfer]
Strategic Flexibility of U.S. Forces in Korea
by Lee Chul-kee March 9th, 2006 Lee Chul-kee, a professor in international relations at the Dongguk University, writes, "We must build a cooperative multilateral security system for Northeast Asia, instead of a bilateral alliance system. Peace and reunification of Korean peninsula will be possible only when Northeast Asian order becomes multilateral, balanced and cooperative."
South Korea Looks for New Role
South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun must choose where to lead his country February 8, 2006 Prepared by: Esther Pan
After fifty years of strong security and economic cooperation, the relationship between the United States and South Korea is starting to fray (LATimes). Tensions have risen over how to deal with North Korea's nuclear ambitions and China's increasing importance in the region. The Bush administration has focused lately on other Asian countries, including Japan and India, and only recently moved to bolster ties with South Korea. In a meeting January 19, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon to emphasize the importance of the alliance. This new CFR Background Q&A examines South Korea's regional relationships. [Friction]
[EDITORIAL]Fate of U.N. Command
The multinational U.N. Command is more fiction than reality, as all but the United States withdrew their troops from the command leaving only liaison officers behind. Gen. Burwell Bell, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, concurrently heads the U.N. Command as well. As Gen. Bell indicated on Tuesday, however, what the future will hold for the multilateral U.N. Command will have serious security implications not only for the Korean Peninsula but for Northeast Asia. That is the reason why South Korea will have to ponder what stance it will take on the issue. In testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Forces Committee, Gen. Bell said: "It is the (U.N.) command's intent to create a truly multinational staff by expanding the roles of the member nations and integrating them more fully into our contingency and operational planning and operations." He was following up on the remarks made by his predecessor, Gen. Leon LaPorte, who demanded a year ago that the U.N. Command expand its role on the Korean Peninsula. The U.N. Command, whose mission has been to put an end to hostilities on the Korean Peninsula, is destined to be dissolved once peace is permanently guaranteed here. The command of troops from 16 nations was created shortly after North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel to invade the South on June 25, 1950. Its creation was made possible because North Korea's ally, the Soviet Union, could not exercise its veto as it absented itself from a U.N. Security Council session held to determine whether or not to dispatch a U.N. force to the peninsula. Had a peace regime ended the Korean War in July 1953, the U.N. Command would have ceased to exist. But it remains because the participants in the war decided to halt hostilities under an armistice agreement. What to do with the U.N. Command in the future would be a matter of debate among the parties concerned if the armistice agreement was replaced by a peace treaty. They could decide to disband it without creating a replacement body, or remold it in a fashion as desired by the United States and wean it from U.N. support. Indeed, making efforts to build a peace regime on the peninsula would be the next logical step in the event that North Korea's nuclear weapons program is scrapped as a result of the current six-party talks. As Pyongyang put it last year: "The building of a peace mechanism is a process which the DPRK and the U.S. should go through without fail in order to attain the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula." It would make sense for the United States to propose changes to the U.N. Command, that is, if the motivating factor had been the ultimate goal of achieving a peace treaty. Instead, Gen. Bell offered a somewhat dubious reason when he said it is necessary to expand the U.N. Command's role because two transportation corridors through the Demilitarized Zone have recently been opened. The U.N. Command, with its authority ignored by North Korea, has been playing only a limited role in policing border crossings. In addition, North Korea has been attempting to make the Korean War Armistice Agreement impotent, refusing to acknowledge the legitimate roles of the Military Armistice Commission and the Neutral Nationals Supervisory Commission. We are not suggesting that the North Korean action can be justified. What we mean to say is the chances are slim that Pyongyang will change its attitude toward the U.N. Command, be it beefed up or not. Where does South Korea stand on the issue? It has given no clear-cut answer to the question yet. Worse still, it does not seem to have any idea why Washington proposes to change the composition of the U.N. Command in the first place. 2006.03.11 [Sovereignty]
North Korea missile threat growing, USFK commander Bell says
The United States is looking for trilateral military cooperation with South Korea and Japan as it seeks to adjust to changing security environments, U.S. military commanders said Tuesday. The United States will also seek to multinationalize the United Nations Command in South Korea by giving other member nations expanded roles, they said. For South Korea, Adm. William Fallon, leader of the U.S. Pacific Command, urged the country to look beyond the peninsula in thinking about security as the two nations modernize their alliance.
"It is the (U.N.) command's intent to create a truly multinational staff by expanding the roles of the member nations and integrating them more fully into our contingency and operational planning and operations," the general said at the hearing. Bell also pressed Seoul to pay more to maintain American forces in the nation, saying any shortfall would compromise their combat readiness. He also demanded better training facilities for his troops, especially shooting ranges. [Sovereignty] [Threat] [China confrontation]
Commander Sees Korean Business Opportunity
By Jung Sung-ki Korea Times Correspondent
IRBIL, Iraq _ Maj. Gen. Jung Seung-jo, commander of the Zaytun Division, said Sunday he hopes his unit stays at least two more years to derive economic benefit from South Korean forces' contributions to this oil-rich city. ``Our troops' two years of effort are now in full bloom. Next step is to make them bear fruit and then harvest them,'' the two-star general said, pointing out that as yet no South Korean companies have made inroads into Irbil despite his division's contributions. Currently, a total 331 foreign firms from 27 countries conduct business there. Turkey has the most contracts with 46, followed by the United States with 33. South Korea's presidential National Security Council (NSC) has banned the country's companies from operating in Iraq because of security concerns.
Roh wants military control deal this year
March 04, 2006 ? President Roh Moo-hyun told graduating cadets at the Korea Military Academy yesterday that the recent agreement with the United States on "strategic flexibility," the possible use of U.S. forces here to counter emergencies elsewhere in the region, was no threat to Korean sovereignty. "It does not infringe on the sovereign decision-making power of the Republic of Korea," he said, "while reflecting the U.S. standpoint as well." He also reiterated to the new military officers his determination to regain for himself and his successors wartime control of the Korean military. Under the terms of the present alliance with the United States, the U.S. forces commander in Korea would direct the operations of the Korean as well as American forces if hostilities broke out. He suggested that he wanted at least an agreement in principle before the end of the year. [Sovereignty]
U.S. forces to boost anti-missile capability
March 04, 2006 ? Careful analysis of a report from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency outlining its fiscal budget for 2007, obtained by the JoongAng Ilbo, points to the overall direction of the U.S. missile defense project in which North Korea is categorized as a potential threat. The report reveals that Washington will increase its missile defense capability in the Pacific starting at the end of the year, with an initial aim to counter possible missile threats from North Korea, and Iran. The report cites North Korea's nuclear capability and notes that the North could test fire its Daepodong 2 missile equipped with a nuclear warhead at any time. [Threat] [Missile Defense] [Bizarre]
US Has Substantial Evidence of NK Money Laundering
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The U.S. State Department said in a report on Wednesday that it has ``substantial'' evidence of the North Korean government's laundering of proceeds from illegal activities such as narcotic trafficking. It is the first time the annual U.S. report, ``International Narcotics Control Strategy Report,'' describes its evidence of Pyongyang's alleged financial illegalities as substantial. The report comes as the United States and North Korea prepare to have a meeting in New York on March 7 over Pyongyang's alleged counterfeiting of U.S. bills and laundering them at a bank in Macau. According to the 2006 edition of the report, substantial evidence exists that North Korean governmental entities and officials have laundered the proceeds of narcotics trafficking, counterfeiting and other illegal activities.
Meanwhile, the State Department document maintained its view of North Korea as a possible sponsor of criminal activities, such as narcotics trafficking. It is ``likely, but not certain'' that the North Korean government sponsors criminal activities, including narcotics production and trafficking, in order to earn foreign currency for the state and its leaders, the report said. Even though there have been no public reports this year of specific incidents of narcotics trafficking with demonstrable links to North Korea, the State Department made that conclusion due to developments in 2005, which linked North Korea to other forms of state-directed criminality, the report said. [Evidence] [Camouflage]
U.S. details alleged N.K. crimes
Washington urges South Korea to pass law against terrorism financing From news reports North Korea is involved in a wide range of criminal activities with proceeds going into the pockets of its leaders through money-laundering, an annual narcotics control report by the U.S. State Department said Wednesday. The Bush administration also urged South Korea to expedite legislation against terrorism financing and to apply an anti-money-laundering regime to all financial institutions. The two-volume report, divided into "Drug and Chemical Control" and "Money Laundering and Financial Crimes," delivered more specifics with more confidence on North Korea's suspected activities than last year. "North Korea has been positively linked to nearly 50 drug seizures in 20 different countries since 1990, a significant number of which involved the arrest or detention of North Korean diplomats or officials," the report added to this year's report. Also added was an assessment that U.S. indictments and investigations by major cigarette and pharmaceutical companies "have provided further compelling evidence of DPRK involvement in a wide range of criminal activities carried out in league with criminal organizations around the world."
The criminal activities include trafficking in counterfeit brand items such as cigarettes and Viagra, and high-quality counterfeit U.S. currency, the report said. "Let me say that common sense and some information we had would suggest that the DPRK... is involved both in narcotics trafficking and organized crime," Assistant Secretary of State Anne Patterson told reporters at a briefing. The 2005 version described how Pyongyang's secrecy and isolation limited available information, that any knowledge about the country's financial system and drug trafficking was "supposition at best." But the department still stopped short of accusing Pyongyang directly of sanctioning criminal activities while saying the assessment is that the government is indeed involved. "This year there were no public reports of specific incidents of narcotics trafficking with clear, demonstrable DPRK links," the report said. "However, given developments during 2005 that linked the DPRK to other forms of state-directed criminality, the Department reaffirms its view that it is likely, but not certain, that the North Korean government sponsors criminal activities, including narcotics production and trafficking, in order to earn foreign currency for the state and its leaders," said the report. Noted was the absence of methamphetamine seizures last year in Japan linked to North Korea, but up to 40 percent of seizures in past years have been traced to Pyongyang, it said. "It is possible that methamphetamine manufactured in the DPRK is now identified as Chinese-source, because of the involvement of ethnic Chinese criminal elements working with the DPRK abroad, as well as within China, in the narcotics production/trafficking business," the report said.
The report raises concern over reports that narcotics are being smuggled through South Korea en route to the U.S. and other countries. [Evidence]
Release of the 2006 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report
Anne W. Patterson, Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs On-the-Record Briefing Washington, DC March 1, 2006
2006 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (2:07 p.m. EST) MR. ERELI: Welcome, everybody, to our annual briefing on the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. We have with us today the new Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Anne Patterson, who is here to present this year's report. She'll begin with a few introductory comments and then be available for your questions.
2006 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report Volume I: Drug and Chemical Control
INCSR (HTML format) -- Table of Contents -- Common Abbreviations -- International Agreements -- Introduction -- Policy and Program Developments -- U.S. Government Assistance -- Chemical Controls -- South America -- Canada, Mexico, and Central America -- The Caribbean -- Southwest Asia -- Southeast Asia -- Europe and Central Asia -- Africa and the Middle East [The State Dept seems to have a strange perception of geography; Korea is included under Southeast Asia TB]
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report -2006: Vol II
Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs March 2006
Major Money Laundering Countries Every year, U.S. officials from agencies with anti-money laundering responsibilities meet to assess the money laundering situations in 200 jurisdictions. The review includes an assessment of the significance of financial transactions in the country? financial institutions that involve proceeds of serious crime, steps taken or not taken to address financial crime and money laundering, each jurisdiction? vulnerability to money laundering, the conformance of its laws and policies to international standards, the effectiveness with which the government has acted, and the government? political will to take needed actions. The 2006 INCSR assigned priorities to jurisdictions using a classification system consisting of three differential categories titled Jurisdictions of Primary Concern, Jurisdictions of Concern, and Other Jurisdictions Monitored.
[NK and SK are classified as countries of concern, along with others including Belgium, Ireland and Malaysia TB]
Strategy for "Spreading American-Style Freedom and Democracy" under Fire
Pyongyang, March 1 (KCNA) -- A movement is now going on in the U.S. and other countries to disclose and condemn the essence and reactionary and deceptive nature of the strategy for "spreading American-style freedom and democracy" much touted by the Bush administration. Rodong Sinmun today observes in a signed article in this regard: The U.S. move for "spreading freedom and democracy" has become the root cause of infringing upon the sovereignty of other countries, disturbing world peace and stability and complicating the international situation as it is nothing but a means of perpetrating aggression and intervention against other countries. The U.S. loudmouthed "freedom" and "democracy" are nothing but a version of its strategy for "peaceful transition". Its real aim is to degenerate the anti-imperialist and independent countries and those countries of military and strategic importance through the "spread of American-style freedom and democracy" and put them under its control.
Ahead of US Meeting, Pyongyang Says It Is Also Victim of Forgery
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter North Korea claimed that it is also a victim of counterfeit currencies, in a move apparently designed to counter U.S. accusations of the communist state's involvement in counterfeiting ahead of a bilateral meeting on the issue next week. ``We are also a victim of production and distribution activities of fake bills,'' a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said in an interview with the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) Tuesday. North Korea wanted normal banking transactions by entering the international banking network, the spokesman claimed. But the United States has ``fundamentally blocked'' the North's remittances and credit settlements through the internationally recognized currency, namely U.S. dollars, and seized the money coming in and out of its bank accounts without restraints, he said. ``Under these circumstances, we could not but go for cash transactions,'' the spokesman said. ``And now the United States is taking issue with this and calls it money laundering when we deposit the money earned through normal trade.'' It is a groundless claim for the United Sates to say that the ``fake dollars that can be mingled in cash transactions'' are produced in and distributed by North Korea, he said.
NK Counterfeiting Feud Deepens
By Reuben Staines Staff Reporter The United States signaled Tuesday it will not be offering concessions to North Korea when officials of the two countries meet next week to discuss sanctions imposed by Washington on the communist regime for alleged counterfeiting activities. U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters that Washington sees the long-delayed diplomatic contact as a briefing to explain its reasons for imposing the financial sanctions and will not be discussing other issues. ``That would be the scope of the meeting. It's not a meeting to discuss denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, which is the purview of the six-party process,'' he said. The comments appeared aimed at dampening North Korea's expectations for a compromise on financial sanctions, which Pyongyang has demanded must be lifted before negotiations resume on dismantling its nuclear programs
In a related development, U.S. National Intelligence director John Negroponte said Tuesday that Washington is uncertain whether it can convince North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions. ``Because of its strong security, nationalistic and economic motivations for possessing nuclear weapons, we are uncertain whether the North Korean government can be persuaded to fully relinquish its program,'' he told the U.S. Senate's Armed Service Committee. At the same time, Negroponte declined to guess at how many nuclear weapons Pyongyang has produced, if any. ``We don't know for a fact that they've got such weapons,'' he said, adding that it was his department's assessment that North Korea ``probably'' has nuclear warheads. [Camouflage]
DPRK Foreign Ministry Spokesman Urges U.S. to Lift Financial Sanctions
Pyongyang, February 28 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK Tuesday gave the following answer to the question raised by KCNA blasting the U.S. for persistently floating far-fetched assertion that the DPRK counterfeited U.S. dollars without producing any evidence: Of late officials of the U.S. administration claimed as regards the U.S. financial sanctions against the DPRK that it should halt all its "illegal activities" in practice, it should "produce the copperplate used for counterfeiting notes" and sanctions are part of the measures for "frustrating" the nuke development. As we have clarified more than once, such illegal dealings as "money laundering" and "counterfeit notes" have nothing in common with the policy of the DPRK and such assertion of the U.S. is nothing but a fabrication solely intended to tarnish the image of the DPRK and do harm to it. It is the height of folly for them to assert that the above-said sanctions are aimed to "cut off the very source of funds for the development of nukes". We manufactured nuclear weapons with our own technology, funds and raw materials from A to Z. As we are not dependent on the U.S. at all in the economic and financial fields, no U.S. sanctions would work on us. We attach importance to the lift of the financial sanctions against us because this issue serves as a yardstick showing whether the U.S. is willing to drop its hostile policy towards the DPRK as it had committed itself in the joint statement adopted at the six-party talks or not. As far as our dealing in U.S. dollars is concerned, this was forced upon us by the U.S. itself. By nature the DPRK wanted to join the international financial system to have normal banking transactions, but it was prevented from doing so by the U.S. obstructions. The U.S. has completely barred us from having normal financial transactions such as remittance of dollars to banks and settlement by credit cards, universally recognized means of financial transactions, and indiscriminately seized funds coming to and going out from our bank accounts. Under this situation the DPRK had no other choice but to deal in cash. Nevertheless, the U.S. has described paying on account the money the DPRK earned through normal trade as "laundering of money gained by illegal means". And it has talked nonsense that "fake dollars", which may be found in the course of cash transactions, were issued and circulated by the DPRK. Even some of its allies have contended that such argument is incredible as it has no sufficient evidence.
Minister Ban Urges N. Korea to Clear Suspicions Over Financial Illegalities
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Seoul's top diplomat Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that it would be appropriate for Pyongyang to carry out a necessary remedy for its ``negative image,'' especially amid allegations that it is counterfeiting U.S. bills. ``If the North did not commit such things (producing bogus U.S. bills and laundering them at a bank in Macau), it would be better for Pyongyang to come out and clear itself of those suspicions,'' he said. [Evidence] [Collusion]
N.K. Counterfeit Bill Accounts Surface in Hong Kong
Bank accounts linked to trade in North Korean counterfeit U.S. bank notes have surfaced for the first time in Hong Kong. U.S. authorities are planning to seize the funds through legal action. The U.S. is preparing to seize more than US$2.67 million from three frozen bank accounts with Chiyu Banking, a subsidiary of Bank of China Hong Kong. The South China Morning Post reported the funds are believed to be the first known link between a Hong Kong bank and North Korea's underground trade in "supernotes," or high-quality fake US$100 bills. The accounts belong to an unemployed mainland Chinese woman named Kwok Hiu Ha.
N.K. to hold talks with U.S. on counterfeits
Annie I. Bang
North Korea and the United States have agreed to meet next month to discuss U.S. financial sanctions imposed because of Pyongyang's alleged counterfeiting activities, the main issue that led to the North boycotting the nuclear disarmament talks. The U.S. State Department announced Thursday, Washington time, that North Korean officials are expected to attend the March 7 briefing by U.S. officials in New York on the financial sanctions imposed by Washington. "We have had an offer on the table for some time for the North Koreans to come to a briefing on actions that we have taken in response to illicit financial activities. They have agreed to do that," deputy department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters. Although Ereli did not name the North Koreans who will attend, Ri Gun, director general of the American Affairs Bureau at the North's Foreign Ministry, is likely to head the North Korean delegation.
Seoul Firm on US FTA Despite Protests
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter The government plans to finish the negotiation process for a South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) by June next year, Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan said Monday. Lee's statement is another display of the government's firm determination to push ahead with the FTA despite some groups' protests.
Seoul conveys concerns to Pyongyang on counterfeits
Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan yesterday said the government sent a message of concern to North Korea over the controversy surrounding the communist state's alleged counterfeiting of U.S. dollars. "As there are several concerns regarding the counterfeiting problem of North Korea, we expressed such concerns to the North," Lee said in a parliamentary question and answer session at the National Assembly. He did not specify the date or Pyongyang's response. Despite the counterfeit issue, member countries to the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program are suggesting signs of progress being made in the stalled negotiations that have been on hold since November last year.
N.K. to hold talks with U.S. on counterfeits
North Korea and the United States have agreed to meet next month to discuss U.S. financial sanctions imposed because of Pyongyang's alleged counterfeiting activities, the main issue that led to the North boycotting the nuclear disarmament talks. The U.S. State Department announced Thursday, Washington time, that North Korean officials are expected to attend the March 7 briefing by U.S. officials in New York on the financial sanctions imposed by Washington. "We have had an offer on the table for some time for the North Koreans to come to a briefing on actions that we have taken in response to illicit financial activities. They have agreed to do that," deputy department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters. Although Ereli did not name the North Koreans who will attend, Ri Gun, director general of the American Affairs Bureau at the North's Foreign Ministry, is likely to head the North Korean delegation.
US to Brief NK Official on Counterfeiting March 7
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter North Korea will dispatch a delegation to New York on March 7 for a ``technical experts meeting,'' in which they will get a ``briefing'' about what steps Washington has taken against Pyongyang's counterfeiting of U.S. dollars, a U.S. State Department spokesman said on Thursday. Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli said he thinks North Korea's Ri Gun will come to New York. ``That's my understanding, but obviously, it's up to the North Koreans to sort of confirm,'' he said.
US Mulls Criteria on Accepting NK Refugees
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) _ The United States is discussing criteria for accepting North Korean refugees but cannot say for sure when concrete action will follow, the State Department said Thursday. "We are working both internally and with other organizations and governments to establish the necessary modalities for doing that kind of process," department spokesman Adam Ereli said at a daily briefing. "I don't know how far along we are in that process," he said. Under the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, the U.S. government must facilitate acceptance of North Koreans fleeing persecution and oppression at home.
Washington has yet to accept any, and members of Congress have expressed discontent with the lack of progress. [Refugee reception] [Camouflage]
NK Produces Fake US Bills in Pyongyang: Lawmaker
By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter Lawmakers of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) Thursday urged the government to take steps to prevent the increasing circulation of fake U.S. bills allegedly counterfeited by North Korea. At left are what Rep. Kim Jae-won of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) claims are fake U.S. $100 bills produced in Pyongyang, North Korea. At right, Kim Moonsoo, another GNP lawmaker, questions Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan on the government's stance on the issue of alleged North Korean counterfeiting at the National Assembly, Thursday. Kim is holding what he claims is a U.S. $100 note faked by North Korea. /Yonhap-Korea Times On the second day of a five-day interpellation at the National Assembly, Rep. Kim Jae-won of the conservative GNP claimed that North Korea has produced counterfeit American banknotes at a factory located in Pyongyang, showing photos taken by satellites [Bizarre]
48% of Youth Would Side With North Korea in Case of US Attack
Survey Shows Half of Young Generation Are Liberal
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Almost half of juniors surveyed, who will get their first voting rights in the 2007 presidential election, said in a recent poll that South Korea should side with North Korea if Washington attacks nuclear facilities in the North without Seoul's consent. [SK attitude NK] [SK attitude US]
North's Counterfeiting: Kim Jong-il's Eldest Son Seen as Main Culprit
The dispute between Pyongyang and Washington over the North's alleged counterfeiting of U.S. banknotes has developed a new twist with a report that Kim Jong-il's eldest son was responsible for distributing fake American bills in Macau. The revelation, made by an official at the nation's spy agency on Sunday on condition of anonymity, is expected to further drive North Korea into a corner in its confrontation with the United States over its counterfeiting of mostly $100 U.S. notes and money laundering, as claimed by the Bush administration.

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FEBRUARY 2006

Bush gives North scant mention in an address
February 02, 2006 ? U.S. President George W. Bush mentioned North Korea in his State of the Union address yesterday, but people looking for another catchy phrase were disappointed and some political observers in Korea were relieved. Mr. Bush said in his speech, "At the start of 2006, more than half the people of our world live in democratic nations. And we do not forget the other half ? in places like Syria and Burma, Zimbabwe, North Korea and Iran." "I don't think the North will launch accusations toward Washington as in the past about having been singled out," said Yun Duk-min, a researcher at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security. "In regard to the North, the wording of the speech is mild."
Bush is firm on North
EDITORIALS In his State of the Union speech, U.S. President George W. Bush singled out North Korea as one of the countries where freedom does not exist. President Bush said, "More than half the people of our world live in democratic nations," but he then pointed out that "the other half" lived in oppressive places, the worst of which include Syria, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, North Korea and Iran. In his State of the Union speech in 2002, President Bush branded North Korea as one of the three countries that comprised an "axis of evil." In addition, in 2003 he called the North an "outlaw regime" and in 2004 described the North as the world's most dangerous regime. Compared to the past, Bush's remarks regarding North Korea can be seen as having softened. Some interpret the speech as an attempt by Washington not to agitate the North or cause unnecessary friction. Nevertheless, looking at the overall flow of the speech it's hard to see it that way. President Bush reemphasized the "spread of democracy" and rejected the idea of isolating the United States from the world. He clearly made this point, saying, "America rejects the false comfort of isolationism."
Bush Calls for Freedom in NK
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter U.S. President George W. Bush delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress while Vice President Dick Cheney, left, and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, right, look on at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. /Reuters-Newsis U.S. President George W. Bush called North Korea a country where freedom is required, saying that the United States is committed to a historic, long-term goal _ the end of tyranny. During his State of the Union speech in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, Bush, however, did not mention Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs and its alleged financial illegalities, including counterfeiting of U.S. bills. North Korea experts in Seoul said on Wednesday that the United States did not need to pay immediate attention to North Korea as Washington has to deal with more urgent tasks, such as addressing Iran's nuclear programs.
S. Korea, US to Hold Military Drill in March
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter A joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States slated for March will be conducted as planned and will not be affected by the recent thaw in inter-Korean relations, Korea's defense minister said Wednesday. ``The military can improve its capabilities only through exercises. The South Korea-U.S. joint drill will be carried out as scheduled,'' Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said during a press briefing. ``It's like... students can get good marks through constant study.'' The Unification Ministry reportedly asked the Defense Ministry in early January if it can delay the annual joint drills slated for late March so as not to provoke North Korea at a time when the two Koreas will hold ministerial-level talks in Pyongyang. The request came as the Seoul government was seeking to revive the six-party talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear ambitions. The Defense Ministry rejected the request, citing the joint exercise as a key to ensuring peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, ministry sources said. [Joint US military] [Friction] [Sovereignty] [Role SK military]
Fate of Troops in Iraq
Projected Pullout of Japanese Forces to Touch Off Debate
A fresh debate looms over the extension of the stay of the Korean troops in Iraq, fuelled by news that Japan will withdraw its forces from the war-torn country at the end of May. No doubt, the withdrawal of U.S.-allied military contingents from Iraq increases the risk that the Korean soldiers could become a main target of Iraqi insurgents. The 3,200-strong Zaytun unit, stationed in Irbil, northern Iraq, is the third largest force after the U.S. and British troops deployed in the violence-ravaged country. The government plans to reduce the unit's strength by 1,000 by the end of this year.
New USFK Chief Arrives in Seoul
Gen. Burwell B. Bell, who is to serve as the new chief of U.S. troops here, arrived in Seoul over the weekend, an official said Wednesday. Bell, who commanded U.S. ground troops in Europe, flew to South Korea on Saturday to replace Leon J. LaPorte, commander of the U.S.
N.K. Arms Intercept Pact Stays Out of Korea-U.S. Drills
Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung on Wednesday denied reports that Seoul agreed to make training for a U.S.-led initiative aimed at intercepting alleged North Korean shipments of weapons of mass destruction part of regular joint Korea-U.S. military exercises this year. Yoon said there was "no such plan" to include training for the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), which would involve aerial or marine operations to intercept ships suspected of carrying such weapons or weapons parts for export. [Joint US military] [Friction]
Seoul Risks Becoming Shrimp Between U.S. and N.Korea
So this year he was back to listing the North among nations without benefit of democracy, firmly keeping a worldwide end to "tyranny" at the top of the U.S. foreign policy agenda. That is how the U.S. will approach the North's nuclear ambitions, human rights abuses and counterfeiting, and it is unlikely to listen to advice from Seoul on these matters. The U.S. is the only counterpart the North's foreign policy recognizes. Seoul, for Pyongyang, is just a pawn to help it maneuver into a better position vis-à-vis the U.S. The result is that the U.S. no longer listens to Seoul and the North regards it as a mere foil in its dealings with Washington. The moment when the U.S. takes unilateral action to deal with all the problems it has with North Korea, from nuclear arms to counterfeiting, is not far off, chiefly because attempts to persuade the country with kind words has failed dismally. In that event Pyongyang may well try to hold South Korea hostage, and we could find ourselves squeezed between the adversaries. In these circumstances, the government's threat of "friction and disagreement" between Seoul and Washington is an empty show of force. But it could result in the complete sidelining of Seoul in dealing with North Korean matters. Then the Roh Moo-hyun administration's catchphrase, "The destiny of the Korean Peninsula should be determined by the Korean people themselves," will have had exactly the opposite effect. [Friction] [Pro-Americanism]
What Bush Said About N.Korea (and What he Didn't)
President George W. Bush's view of North Korea on the evidence of his state-of-the-union address remains consistent, and so does the wide gap between the U.S. and South Korea in dealing with the North. The two allies face an uphill struggle trying to find a shared approach. Bush listed North Korea among countries without benefit of democracy, saying his government was accepting "a call of history to deliver the oppressed and move this world toward peace and to seek the end of tyranny in our world" - including, presumably, in North Korea. That remark seems precisely what President Roh Moo-hyun had in mind when he said on Jan. 25 his government disagreed "with some opinions in the U.S. that apparently want to take issue with and pressure the North Korean regime, sometimes hoping for its collapse." He warned of "friction and disagreement" between Seoul and Washington if the U.S. attempts to resolve the problem that way. Bush's speech makes it clear that the U.S. will indeed "take issue with and pressure" North Korea, and therefore friction and disagreement cannot be far behind. Government officials, however, seem relieved after Bush's address because it went easy on comments directly denouncing the North or holding it responsible for counterfeiting, as many of them worried.
U.S. Ceaseless Aerial Espionage against DPRK under Fire
Pyongyang, January 31 (KCNA) -- The U.S. imperialists committed more than 190 cases of aerial espionage against the DPRK in January by mobilizing strategic and tactical reconnaissance planes with diverse missions, according to military sources. U-2s from the U.S. airforce base in south Korea made shuttle flights almost everyday in the sky above the areas of Tokjok Islet, Phochon and Sokcho to conduct an electronic reconnaissance of the depth of the DPRK. On Jan. 9, 16 and 27, overseas based RC-135s made shuttle flights in the sky above Taebu Islet, Yangphyong and the area 40km east of Kangrung to spy on the important targets of the DPRK. On Jan. 19, E-3 spied on the military targets of the north in the forefront area, while commanding the flying corps engaged in war exercises such as a ground-target striking drill and a close air support drill in the sky above the areas of Richon, Kongju, Yongdong, Koesan and Umsong. The above-said aerial espionage intensified from the very beginning of the year clearly shows how frantic the U.S. imperialists have become in the moves to stifle the DPRK by force of arms and, at the same time, goes to prove that the U.S. is a criminal state keen to launch a war of aggression against other countries.
U.S. Decision to Deploy Latest Type Nuclear Carrier in Yokosuka Assailed
Pyongyang, January 31 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Korean Jurists Committee made public a statement on Jan. 30 strongly demanding the U.S. repeal its recent decision to permanently deploy its latest type nuclear carrier George Washington at its naval base in Yokosuka, Japan, so as to replace its aging carrier Kittyhawk. This is a grave threat to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peace and security in Northeast Asia, the statement noted, and continued: The decision clearly proves what dangerous phase the U.S. preparations for a preemptive nuclear attack on the DPRK have reached. As the reality shows, the U.S. is chiefly responsible for having strained the situation on the Korean Peninsula and hamstrung the solution to the nuclear issue. It is none other than the U.S. that grossly reneged on its international commitments and obligations under international law. The U.S. said more than once that it has no intention to launch a military attack and invasion against the DPRK.
Roadmap on Wartime Command Transfer to Be Finalized This Year
By Park Song-wu, Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporters
Alexander Vershbow, U.S. ambassador to South Korea, said on Tuesday that it will be ``fine'' for the two allies to work out a roadmap for the transfer of wartime command by the end of this year. The U.S.-led U.N. command took over control of the South Korean forces when the Korean War broke out in 1950. The wartime command did not return to Seoul as the war ended in 1953 with a cease-fire. In an exclusive interview with The Korea Times at his embassy in Seoul, Vershbow, however, said that it would take years for both sides to implement the transfer process. [Sovereignty]
Korean Candidate for UN Chief 'Viable'
This is the 93rd and last of the series of interview with foreign envoys. The series has been published in the Embassy Row section since January 2004 but the interview with U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow is placed here due to its relevance to the current issues between South Korea and the United States. _ ED.
By Reuben Staines, Park Song-wu Staff Reporters U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Alexander Vershbow speaks in an interview with The Korea Times at the American Embassy in Seoul, Tuesday. /Korea Times Alexander Vershbow, U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Tuesday described Seoul fielding a candidate for the post of U.N. secretary general as ``viable,'' but he remained diplomatically aloof on who Washington would back for the important position.
Top US Military Officer to Visit Seoul
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet his South Korean counterpart Gen. Rhee Sang-hee tomorrow to discuss issues of mutual concern, including North Korea's nuclear threat on the Korean Peninsula, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday.
Weapons interdiction teams on tap in the U.S.
January 31, 2006 ? WASHINGTON ? The Quadrennial Defense Review, to be sent by the Defense Department to the White House and the Congress in Washington on Monday, will include a proposal to create a special task force to interdict weapons of mass destruction before they fall into the hands of terror groups, a diplomatic source and the Washington Times said on Saturday. The source told the JoongAng Ilbo that one military arm, the Marine Corps, has already set up a headquarters to manage such operations. "The Army, Navy and Air Force will create similar special forces for that purpose soon," the source said, adding that they would watch North Korea and Iran with special care. Those countries' names will not appear in the document, however. The policy paper, which has been prepared under the direction of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, will call for $1.5 billion over the next five years to set up a medical response system to counter any biochemical attack on U.S. territory. Separately, a report in the Sunday Times in London quoted diplomatic sources in Pyongyang and Beijing, who said the Iranian Embassy in Pyongyang is under intense scrutiny by diplomats and intelligence agencies because of suspicions that the Middle East nation is negotiating to buy plutonium from North Korea. Der Spiegel, a German magazine, quoted a Western intelligence source as saying a senior Iranian official had been in Pyongyang offering to sell gas and oil to the North in exchange for nuclear cooperation and missile technology. by Kang Chan-ho
U.S. Moves for "Spread of Democracy" Flailed
Pyongyang, January 30 (KCNA) -- The United States is getting all the more pronounced in its moves to force other countries to accept American style democracy, while letting loose a string of balderdash that it is a universal and perfect one and a model all the countries of the world should absolutely accept. Rodong Sinmun today says this in a by-lined article. It goes on: The U.S. reactionary ruling quarters are pushing forward their moves for "spreading democracy", considering that their intensified moves may help them easily realize their ambition for world domination. The U.S. is strengthening its offensive for "export of democracy", to begin with. It is scheming to establish American style order of domination in those countries which are situated in geographically and strategically important regions, anti-U.S. independent countries under the pretext of "democracy". It is also escalating the moves for "spreading democracy" through ideological and cultural infiltration. It is using newspapers, magazines and other publications, radio networks and all other leverages as channels for spreading its ideology and culture. It is intensifying economic pressure and blockade against other countries under the pretext of "spreading democracy".
Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung gets briefing about the AEGIS system
Defense chief in Hawaii: Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung, center, listens to a briefing by Joseph A. Horn, the captain of the USS Lake Erie, about the AEGIS system during his visit to Hawaii on Friday. Yoon stressed the importance of maintaining the strong alliance between South Korea and the United States in a meeting with Admiral William Fallon, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, according to the Defense Ministry here on Saturday.
NK Making Rip Off Marlboros: Report
North Korea is the world's leading counterfeiter of brand-name cigarettes, circulating more than 2 billion packs a year, the Wall Street Journal has reported. Cigarette maker Philip Morris uncovered Pyongyang as the source of fake Marlboros circulating internationally following an investigation last year, the paper said. Cigarette companies have hired former intelligence officials to crack down on the operation and sent agents into North Korea, it said. According to the agents, at least one of the knock-off cigarette factories is controlled by North Korea's security service. [Counterfeiting] [Black] [Camouflage]
A Blind Alley in the Korea-U.S. Relationship
U.S. President George W. Bush made it clear in a New Year's press conference that Washington has no intention to compromise on North Korea's alleged counterfeiting. Bush will reinforce a ban on transactions with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia, which the U.S. says is Pyongyang's primary money laundering channel; a U.S. congressional researcher in charge of tracking Pyongyang's drug deals and counterfeiting said this is meant to squeeze North Korea so it gives up its illegal activities. President Roh Moo-hyun, in his own earlier New Year press conference, sent a message to the U.S. to ease pressure on the North Korean regime if it wants to avoid friction with Seoul. Whenever so far concerns about the Korea-U.S. alliance have surfaced, Bush said it was an "important" relationship and Roh that it was "healthy." Seeing one president evade questions and another gloss over problems, some people believed them and some did not. But now that both presidents have made their differences over the counterfeiting question explicit, nobody can keep claiming that the relationship is in the best shape. [Friction] [Pro-Americanism]

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JANUARY 2006

KCNA Blasts Sheer Sophism of U.S. Hard-line Conservatives
Pyongyang, January 28 (KCNA) -- Remarks about an "illegal state" and demand that "north Korea abandon its nuclear program first" are heard again from the U.S. hard-line conservatives from the beginning of the year. The U.S. ambassador in Seoul said that north Korea threatens its own people so badly and wastes its scarce resources on nuclear weapons while being engaged in such illegal activities as the issue of counterfeit notes, drug smuggling and money laundering. A spokesman for the White House also blustered that north Korea must make a strategic decision to dismantle its nuclear deterrent to begin with. This suggests that this year, too, the United States intends to persistently pursue its aim to tarnish the DPRK's image in a bid to put spurs to the preparations to destroy its system with nukes. The U.S. slandered the DPRK as an "outpost of tyranny", an "illegal state" and a "rogue state" in the past, while asserting that the state is little short of a business engaged in criminal acts. It is well-known that the scenarios for smear campaigns worked out by U.S. political tricksters at back rooms have been derided and condemned by the international community as they are full of lies and fabrications. However, the U.S. is again peddling the bankrupt fiction of an "illegal state" and the unreasonable demand that "north Korea abandon its nuclear program first." This is aimed at forcing the DPRK to disarm itself at any cost.
Seoul Maneuvers Itself to the Sidelines on N. Korea

The U.S. Embassy in Korea on Tuesday issued a statement saying the Treasury Department's deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, Daniel Glaser, during a visit the previous day focused on global efforts to crack down on illegal financial activities "led by the North Korean regime" and urged Seoul to match sanctions Washington has slapped on North Korean firms. Glaser thus made it clear that the U.S. will not pretend the country's financial crimes were the work of individual firms or organization to lure Pyongyang back to six-nation talks on its nuclear program. Washington also insists that steps it has taken against the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia, which it has fingered as the North's main money-laundering channel, do not constitute sanctions but are a self-protective measure. The Korean government has put priority on the resumption of the six-party talks and has tried to gloss over the dollar-counterfeiting issue by saying it was North Korean organizations rather than the Kim Jong-il regime that made the fakes. North Korea insists the accusations are a ploy and has warned it will stay away from the talks until the sanctions are lifted. But now the U.S. has redefined the sanctions as defensive, the issue is bound to rear its ugly head even if efforts to reconvene the talks bear fruit - with the result that participating nations must address the whole package, nuclear and criminal, if any progress is to be made. A South Korean government official denied Glaser asked anything of the government the previous day, in blunt contradiction to the embassy press release, which twice says the U.S. asked Seoul to join in efforts to combat the North's illegal activities. The fact that the embassy took the rare step of distributing its own statement and bypassing the host government smacks of fears in Washington that the South Korean government would present a substantially different version from the U.S.' own. Seoul will need to take a cold look at the situation that may well shatter its perception that it plays a key role in resolving the North Korea issue. [Counterfeiting] [Friction] [Pro-Americanism]
U.S. Investigators Smash Hopes of N.Korea Compromise
A U.S. investigation team headed by the Treasury Department's deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, Daniel Glaser, on Monday presented Korean officials with its evidence that North Korea is engaged in counterfeiting U.S. dollars. The team was met by Kim Sook, the director-general of the North American affairs bureau in the Foreign Ministry. South Korean officials said the evidence offered by the U.S. team was "pretty convincing." The team sought to back up Washington's belief that the North Korean regime itself is behind the forgeries, participants said. Details were kept under tight wraps.
"Both U.S. and Macau authorities are still investigating the issue, and it seems no significant results will be out for several days," a government official said. "Seoul has already stopped raising questions about accusations that the North is involved in illegal financial activities. To our knowledge, the Chinese investigation has confirmed that the North is engaged in wrongdoings." [Evidence]
South Korea Should Heed U.S. Strategy on North
The U.S. Embassy on Tuesday announced that a Treasury team was here to persuade Seoul to join U.S. efforts to strangle financial institutions like the Banco Delta Asia, which Washington has identified as North Korea's main money laundering channel, and take practical steps against "illegal financial activities led by the North Korean government." That phrase makes it clear the U.S. has no intention of covering up the counterfeit issue by blaming individual officials or organizations for the sake of creating an atmosphere where the North feels it can return to the six-party talks on its nuclear arms program. Seoul did agree to participate up to a point in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative to intercept suspicious arms shipments, a step it had been reluctant to take for fear of inflaming Pyongyang. Under the initiative, ships, vehicles and aircraft suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems and related materials can be intercepted and seized. The North has denounced the initiative as a scheme aimed at "squeezing us to death." It is a measure of how strong U.S. pressure must have been that a government as timid as our own when it comes to upsetting the North has agreed to join the initiative at least in part. The Korean government has put priority on the resumption of the six-party talks and has tried to gloss over the dollar-counterfeiting issue by saying it was North Korean organizations rather than the Kim Jong-il regime that made the fakes. In doing so, it has also skirted the issue of the PSI. North Korea insists the accusations are a ploy and has warned it will stay away from the talks until the sanctions are lifted. The U.S. is increasingly pursuing a policy of tightening the noose against the North's illegal financial activities and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It is therefore inevitable that issue will come up even if efforts to reconvene the talks are successful. That means participating nations must address all the issues together, the atomic program and North Korea's other crimes, if there is to be any progress. On Monday, our government explained the visiting U.S. Treasury team made no request of it, but an embassy press release the next day emphasized twice that the team had asked Seoul to join the U.S. crackdown. On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry denied this again, saying the press release is inappropriate and exaggerates what was actually discussed. In short, the Korea-U.S. alliance has deteriorated to the point where neither trusts the other to tell the truth and conflicting explanations and rebuttals are the order of the day. The government must free itself from the delusion that the North Korea issue can be resolved under the leadership of South Korea and instead make cool-headed decision what is in the national interest given a U.S. strategy of boxing in North Korea from all sides. [Counterfeiting] [Pro-Americanism]
Washington Glosses Over N.Korea Spat With Seoul
The U.S. on Wednesday downplayed a warning by Korean President Roh Moo-hyun that attempts from Washington to topple the North Korean regime would result in "friction" with Seoul. "Hadn't seen those comments," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters when asked about Roh's remarks in his New Year's press conference. "There was no such word as 'friction' in the translated version that we have and there's no need for further comment," another spokesman later told the Chosun Ilbo on the phone. "What President Roh said was it seems that some in the U.S. -- not the U.S. government itself -- want to pressure the North Korean regime into collapse at some point. President Roh also said there are no disagreements between the two allies," he added. [Friction] [Arrogance]
Outgoing USFK Chief Reflects on Forces Command
Gen. Leon LaPorte, the commander of Combined Forces Command and United Nations Command in his capacity as head of the U.S. Forces Korea said goodbye to the local press on Thursday. He took the opportunity to reflect about the process that could eventually separate the three roles as Korea hopes to take back wartime control of its troops from the U.S. "Wartime operational control can be transferred only once the Korean military has the capacity," he said. LaPorte also pointed out that since the CFC and UN Command positions are jointly held, something will need to be done to address issues related to the 16 countries that sent troops under the UN banner to the Korean War. He said there were complex steps to be taken concerning the legalities under the joint ceasefire that halted the war 50 years ago.
At a briefing for defense reporters at the Yongsan base, LaPorte said a decision should be made only once the allies take a close look at the timeline -- a broad hint not to expect an immediate handover.
But the outgoing commander calmed fears that Korean forces could be deployed to areas of future armed conflict the U.S. is engaged in, saying neither he nor his successor have the authority to order Korean troops abroad. He clarified that by "strategic flexibility" the U.S. only means allowing its own troops to be deployed elsewhere. [Sovereignty] [Iraq] [China confrontation]
U.S. in Sweeping Plan to Strangle North Korea's Cash Flow
January 28, 2006 Chosun Ilbo (Seoul)
The U.S. is readying fresh sanctions against North Korea over the regime's alleged financial crimes that will be significantly more severe than the ones already in place. Raphael Perl, a congressional researcher in charge of tracking Pyongyang's drug dealings and counterfeiting, said Friday authorities completed a rough draft of an executive order that would stop any financial firms involved in transactions with North Korea from conducting business in the U.S. That will mean all banks, brokerage houses and insurance firms and refers not only to illegal transactions but to any financial deals with the North, Perl told the Chosun Ilbo on the phone. Once the regulations are finalized, "the message to financial institutions operating in the U.S. will be that the time has come for them to choose between the U.S. or North Korea," he added. Observers will be watching closely if the draft takes effect since it is far more sweeping than the sanctions already in place. The U.S. in September pinpointed the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia as Pyongyang's primary money laundering channel and induced China to close North Korea's transaction account there, while a presidential decree froze the U.S. assets of 11 North Korean trading firms. In December, Washington issued an advisory warning North Korea would probably seek to take advantage of other foreign banks for its illegal transactions. But under the draft order, almost all finance companies would be effectively prohibited from doing business with North Korea. That would also affect international financial institutions outside the U.S. and thus deal a heavy blow to North Korea's overseas trade. In Perl's reading, financial institutions would have a choice whether they are with or against the U.S., but given the importance of their U.S. interests, it would in effect force most major international firms to stop dealing with the North. Given that Pyongyang is already boycotting six-party talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear program over the earlier measures, the plan could be the death knell for the negotiations. The news comes in a week when President Roh Moo-hyun warned of friction between Seoul and Washington if the U.S. tries to solve the North Korea problem by strangling the regime, and is unlikely to improve strained relations between the two allies. It is not wholly unexpected, however, since the White House has several times warned of possible "additional measures" against the North. [Sanctions] [Counterfeiting] [Drugs]
U.S. Hard-Line Policy Not Workable on DPRK
Pyongyang, January 27 (KCNA) -- The U.S. policy to isolate and stifle the DPRK proved bankrupt in the 20th century. But the Bush administration pursued it with increased zeal last year, blocking the way of improving the DPRK-U.S. relations and rendering the situation extremely tense. Rodong Sinmun today observes this in a signed article. From the very day of its appearance the second-term Bush administration revealed its intention to escalate the policy under the motto of "hard-line," the article notes, and goes on: The U.S. warlike forces said that it is difficult to push forward dialogue without discussing the issue of the DPRK's abandonment of its nuclear program before anything else. Clear is the aims sought by the U.S. through this. It seeks to project the above-mentioned issue as a pending issue related to the DPRK-U.S. relations, complicate the dialogue with the DPRK and indefinitely drag on it, using it as a pretext. Another design sought by it is to keep its forces in south Korea for an indefinite period, aggravate the military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula and weaken the deterrent of the DPRK and thus swallow it up with ease any moment. The U.S. warmongers declared the DPRK an "outpost of tyranny" and a "criminal state".
Bush tells North to stop printing $100 bills
January 28, 2006 ? At his first press conference of the year, U.S. President George W. Bush called on North Korea to stop counterfeiting U.S. currency and return to nuclear disarmament negotiations. "Well, if somebody is cheating on us, we need to stop it," said the president, referring to charges that Pyongyang is behind the high-quality $100 "supernotes." "We are going to uphold the law and protect the currency of the American people," he said. Although Mr. Bush said there could be "no compromise" on the matter, he added, "We think it's very important for the North Koreans to come back to the table. We're more than willing to, and want the six-party talks to continue forward."
The six countries involved in the talks have been trying to find a way to remove the counterfeiting issue as an impediment to the talks, but an incident earlier this week showed that it has tested tempers in Seoul as well. The U.S. Embassy and the Foreign Ministry exchanged dueling statements about what, if anything, Washington had asked Seoul to do to help stop the counterfeiting.
But yesterday, Kim Sook, the director-general of the ministry's North American Affairs Bureau, told a radio audience that the incident did not indicate a rift between the two government concerning counterfeiting. He did repeat complaints, however, that the embassy statement contained some "exaggerated expressions" about the course of the two-day meetings. by Brian Lee [Evidence] [Camouflage]
Koreans May Visit US Visa-Free in 2008
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Friday welcomed a high-ranking U.S. official's remarks that South Koreans may be able to enter the United States without visa as early as 2008. ``It is an expression of the United States' principle view on the visa issue,'' a ministry official said. ``I think it is a positive signal.'' [Friction]
US Briefs Seoul on NK Counterfeiting
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
Daniel Glaser, right, deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes at the U.S. Treasury Department, enters a briefing with Kim Sook, directorgeneral of the North American affairs bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, at the ministry in central Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap
South Korea Monday described a U.S. briefing on North Korean financial illegalities as ``informative,'' but said it will keep a close eye on the developing situation as the U.S. investigation is not over yet. A delegation from the U.S. Treasury Department briefed South Korean officials on their concerns over the North's alleged counterfeiting of U.S. bills during a working-level meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul. A ministry official, who attended the 90-minute briefing session, indicated that the U.S. officials provided new information regarding Pyongyang's currency counterfeiting and laundering of ``supernotes'' through a bank in Macau. The four-member delegation visited Hong Kong and Macau from Tuesday to Friday before arriving in Seoul on Saturday. ``There was some information we can refer to (regarding the counterfeiting),'' the Seoul official told reporters on condition of anonymity. However, the briefing did not seem to fully convince Seoul, which has been unwilling to accept Washington's sanctions due to concerns the issue could prevent the resumption of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. ``We told them that Seoul has serious concerns about the North's financial illegalities and will continue analyzing and assessing related information,'' he said. ``We also said this briefing will be a reference source down the road.'' The official said it is too early to expect Washington to [Evidence]
Screen quota, a trade pact barrier, is cut
January 27, 2006 ? In a bid to remove an obstacle to bilateral investment and free-trade treaties with the United States, the finance minister announced yesterday that Korea would halve the protection it now affords to domestic motion pictures. Han Duck-soo said the screen quota, which forces movie theaters to show domestic films 146 days per year, would be changed to require Korean film screenings on only 73 days. The reaction from the motion picture industry was immediate and overwhelmingly negative. "Since the country's economy is largely dependent on trade with other countries, we cannot survive without going along with global trade liberalization," Mr. Han said. "Because a film quota system is a widely used scheme in the world, we decided to maintain it but reduce the quota." Korean filmmakers call the quota a major factor in the film industry's recent box-office successes, but it has been cited by U.S. officials as an obstacle to concluding a bilateral investment treaty and, by implication, a free-trade agreement. [Hallyu] [Friction] [US dominance]
U.S. general: no timeline for transfer of command
January 27, 2006 ? U.S. General Leon LaPorte, the outgoing commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, said yesterday that a transfer of wartime control of South Korean troops, which currently lies with the U.S. general in charge of U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula, will take place at an appropriate time when South Korean forces have acquired sufficient military capabilities. The general is also the commander of the United Nations Command and the U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command. In a farewell press conference, the general said that the timing of transferring the wartime control should be decided after research and thorough discussion. He also pointed out that the issue was complex because the U.S. commander in Korea is also the head of the United Nations Command. "I don't believe there is any set timeline at this point," said General LaPorte. In his new year's press conference earlier this week, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun vowed to push hard this year for the transfer of the wartime control of South Korean troops. The U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command took over control of the South Korean troops in November of 1978 from the United Nations Command. The peacetime control of South Korean troops was transferred in December of 1994 to Seoul. While Seoul and Washington last week reached an agreement on the "strategic flexibility" of U.S. troops stationed here, which opened the door for U.S. forces to be used for other mission in the region, General LaPorte said yesterday that the main mission of the U.S. forces remains the security of the peninsula. The general is the longest serving commander in U.S. Forces Korea history, having assumed the post on May 1, 2002. General Burwell Bell is scheduled to replace the outgoing general and a transfer of command ceremony will take place on Feb. 3. by Brian Lee [Sovereignty] [US military dominance]
Korea to Halve Screen Quota
By Kim Sung-jin Staff Reporter South Korea on Thursday decided to halve its 40-year-old screen quota, the mandatory period for theaters to show domestic films a year, to 73 days to clear the way for its free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States. ``The government decided to cut the screen quota by half and the decision will go into effect on July 1,'' Finance and Economy Minister Han Duck-soo said in a press conference at the Kwachon government complex, south of Seoul. Han, however, said that the quota is an internationally recognized legitimate tool to protect homegrown movie industries, ruling out the possibility of a complete abolition. Korea has been operating the screen quota system, a measure that has shielded the Korean film industry from the influx of big budget Hollywood blockbuster films since 1966. Under the system, local cinemas are required to show domestic movies for at least 146 days a year. [Hallyu]
Seoul Can Take Wartime Command When Ready: LaPorte
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The outgoing U.S. military commander in South Korea said on Thursday that South Korea will recover wartime operational control of its armed forces when its military capability improves enough to achieve a ``self-reliant'' defense posture. In a farewell press conference at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, Gen. Leon J. LaPorte stressed that the U.S. government fully supports the transfer in responsibility in the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC). As for the timing of the transfer, however, the four-star general said, ``I don't believe there is any set timeline at this point. I think that has to be discussed further.'' [Sovereignty] [US military dominance]
The Editor Who Puts Dictators In Their Places
By Mark Leibovich Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, January 27, 2006; Page C01
How does one quantify evil into a tidy list? We ask because Parade magazine published its annual World's Worst Dictators issue last week. (One imagines that it's hotly awaited in the dictator community, sending scoundrels rifling through their Sunday inserts.) Parade assigned the undertaking to contributing editor David Wallechinsky, author of the "Book of Lists" series and a forthcoming volume about tyrants. He observes the evildoings of evildoers, "like some people follow 'American Idol,' " he says. When making his selections, Wallechinsky says he considers freedom of expression, the right to vote, etc. "And I give extra credit to dictators who torture and kill their own. "I hate to sound overly flippant about this." If you missed last Sunday's Parade: Omar al-Bashir of Sudan wears the winner's laurel again, followed by Kim Jong Il of North Korea, Than Shwe of Burma, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe (up from No. 9 last year) and -- with a bullet -- Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan (up from 15). [Media]
SKorea Warns U.S. Against Pressuring North
By BURT HERMAN The Associated Press Wednesday, January 25, 2006; 1:30 AM
SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea's president on Wednesday warned Washington against pressuring North Korea to force the totalitarian regime's collapse, while the North kept up its demands that Washington lift financial sanctions. The North reiterated its vow to stay away from international nuclear disarmament talks until the U.S. lifts sanctions it recently imposed over allegations of Pyongyang's involvement in counterfeiting of U.S. currency and other illegal activities.
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon speaks to media during a weekly briefing in Seoul, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006. South Korea said Tuesday it will cooperate with a U.S.-led international drive to block trafficking in weapons of mass destruction _ a decision sure to anger the North. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) (Lee Jin-man - AP)
Appearing at his annual New Year's news conference, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun avoided directly answering whether the South believes the North is engaged in counterfeiting, money laundering and drug trafficking, as Washington alleges. [Friction] [Evidence] [Camouflage]
Roh cautions Washington hawks
President rules out immediate tax increase to finance social security President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday warned there will be conflict between Seoul and Washington if the United States tries to pressure or bring down the North Korean regime. "There is no difference in views between Korea and the United States ... but the Korean government does not agree to the opinions of some in Washington who wish for a collapse of the North Korean regime or their attempts to pressure it," Roh said in his New Year news conference at Cheong Wa Dae. "If the U.S. government tries to solve a problem through such a method, there will be differences in views between Korea and the United States." Visible strains have appeared between Seoul and Washington lately over the latter's financial countermeasures against alleged money counterfeiting by the communist regime.
While South Korea remains mute and neutral on the issue, the United States is spurring on its actions against North Korea under the premise of fighting against terrorism and terrorist-sponsoring states. Roh said there must be a scrupulous review on the alleged illicit activities, including the basis of the allegations, perceptions of neighboring countries and the relevance of the issue to the six-party talks as well as whether there is a motive behind the allegation to pressure the North Korean government. [Friction] [Evidence]
Seoul-Washington rift
It is neither new nor surprising to hear that South Korea and the United States have different views on how to deal with North Korea. But it is truly alarming to see the two allies openly criticize each other at a time when they need closer cooperation on the communist country's nuclear disarmament and other bilateral issues such as restructuring the military alliance and negotiating a free trade agreement. What is most worrisome is that distrust between Seoul and Washington seems to have reached a dangerous level. It has come to the point where the South Korean Foreign Ministry publicly finds fault with the U.S. Embassy in Seoul regarding their statements related to the North's illegal financial activities, and President Roh Moo-hyun issues a warning against hardliners in the Bush administration. In his New Year's news conference on Wednesday, Roh said his government "does not agree with the view of some in the United States who take issue with North Korea's regime, putting pressure on and sometimes wishing for its collapse." He went on to say that "if the U.S. government tries to resolve problems that way, there will be friction and disagreement between South Korea and the United States." Roh quickly added that "for now" there is no such disagreement, but one can easily interpret the remarks as a warning to the Bush administration that he does not support U.S. sanctions on Pyongyang's illegal financial activities. It should be noted that Roh's statement came amid a fresh row between Seoul and Washington on the issue, which has left the six-party nuclear talks at an impasse since last November. Most disturbing is that the South Korean Foreign Ministry and the U.S. Embassy in Seoul even appear to have gotten emotional over their different approaches toward North Korea's illicit financial activities. One cannot but wonder whether diplomats from the two sides have cool heads and whether they are willing to cooperate in dealing with North Korea, a country notoriously difficult to negotiate with. By all accounts, the two sides seem to have had significant differences during their talks Monday on the North's illegal financial activities. It is understandable that South Korean officials, wary of angering the North, wanted to play down details about their discussions with the visiting U.S. deputy assistant treasury secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes. Equally understandable is the fact that U.S. officials do not appreciate Seoul's lukewarm position on the issue. Nonetheless, it was unwise for the U.S. Embassy to issue a press release without first consulting with their Korean counterparts. No less imprudent was the South Korean decision to issue a statement rebuking the embassy. That may help the Seoul government earn some points from Pyongyang, but it's wrong to do so at the expense of the all-important collaboration with Washington. As things stand, at the core of the conflict is how to put an end to North Korea's illegal financial activities, while at the same time keeping the country within the framework of the multilateral nuclear talks. Both South Korea and the United States need to contain the damage from the latest friction, restore mutual confidence and redouble efforts to restart the six-party nuclear talks. If not, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon's wish to restart the talks next month will be nothing but a pipe dream. 2006.01.27 [Friction] [Evidence]
GNP leader urges tax cut, raps N.K. counterfeiting
Park Geun-hye, chairwoman of the main opposition Grand National Party, yesterday proposed tax cuts and a slim down of public spending in a counterpunch to President Roh Moo-hyun's initiative of more social programs for the middle and lower classes. In a nationally televised press conference, the opposition leader also urged the government to take a firm stance against North Korea's alleged dollar counterfeiting, while stressing the importance of stronger ties with the United States and Japan. "I wish to make it clear that the Grand National Party opposes the Roh Moo-hyun administration's policies to expand public spending. I promise big tax cuts will arrive when the GNP takes power. It is time for the nation to make a decisive choice between a smaller and bigger government, or tax cuts and hikes," said Park, in an obvious reference to the 2007 presidential election. Grand National Party Chairwoman Park Geun-hye addresses a news conference yesterday. [The Korea Herald] "North Korea's dollar counterfeiting is an internationalized, criminal activity and should be dealt with that way, separately from the six-nation talks (on North Korea's nuclear programs)." [Pro-Americanism]
Court rules U.S. firms pay Agent Orange victims
A Seoul court yesterday ruled that two American chemical manufacturers must pay reparations to Korean veterans who were harmed by exposure to a toxic defoliant while fighting in the Vietnam War. Ten veterans, representing 20,615 victims, had filed a lawsuit against two American companies which had supplied the harmful defoliant - known as Agent Orange - containing dangerous amounts of dioxin. The victims said they suffered various cancers, peripheral nerve paralysis, acne and bone marrow diseases. The symptoms were said to have been passed down to the second generation. The U.S. government had sprayed 72 million liters of the chemical in Vietnam against guerrilla fighters who sought the cover of the dense jungles, official records showed. [cbw]
Roh is steady on U.S. ties but berates Japan
January 26, 2006 ? After stressing that South Korea and the U.S. governments officially have "no differences in opinions" on the North Korean nuclear issue, President Roh Moo-hyun told the press yesterday that he intended to push hard this year to regain wartime control of the Korean military, which under current arrangements would defend against a North Korean invasion under U.S. control. He repeated his determination to "say what we have to say" to the Americans, asserting that the good treatment Korea afforded its ally and a dose of plain talking would increase mutual confidence and strengthen the alliance. He also repeated his pledge to work for a "peace regime" on the peninsula and a peaceful resolution of the problem caused by North Korea's nuclear saber-rattling. He had some pointed comments for the Japanese government, whose prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, has raised hackles here and in Beijing because of his determination to visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, where plaques honor Japan's World War II casualties and several military and government leaders executed by the Allies for war crimes. [Sovereignty] [Friction]
U.S., Seoul, differ publicly on action call
January 26, 2006 ? It did not take long for the Foreign Ministry to object to a statement on Tuesday by the U.S. Embassy saying that a visiting U.S. team had urged Seoul to act to protect itself from North Korean counterfeiting. President Roh Moo-hyun also weighed in on the fray yesterday at his first press conference of the year. Yesterday, the ministry spokesman issued a rebuttal, which took the embassy to task for a statement that "does not reflect accurately the results of the joint consultations." That, the ministry said, was "not appropriate" and complained that Washington was "exaggerating" in its account of the talks. The ministry conceded that the Americans "suggested a need for cooperation in general terms but did not, officially or unofficially, urge our government to take concrete measures." A senior government official said, bluntly but anonymously, that the U.S. press release did not report "adequately and in a balanced way" what had transpired. He said the Foreign Ministry had protested to the embassy and received a response that he said met Seoul's expectations. Citing diplomatic sensitivities, he did not elaborate. Perhaps those expectations were low. Robert Ogburn, the embassy spokesman, said yesterday that the embassy stood by the contents of the press release. Asked if Washington had apologized to Seoul, as some Korean officials had suggested, he said the embassy would "respect the privacy of diplomacy." At yesterday's meeting with the press, President Roh was asked if he believed that North Korea was involved in counterfeiting. In a rambling answer, he began by complaining that "some Americans" were raising issues about North Korea "or pressuring it or sometimes wishing for its collapse." He said firmly, "We do not agree." On the counterfeiting charges specifically, he asked for more time, saying it would be inappropriate for a Korean president to comment now. He called for working-level consultations to reconcile the differences of opinion. A source in Washington described the meetings in Seoul to the JoongAng Ilbo, saying that the U.S. team told its Korean counterparts that in 1996, Pyongyang had imported large quantities of special inks used to print currency notes. They cited that as strong evidence of a link to the counterfeit $100 "supernotes" that soon began appearing. Officials here, he said, pointed out that the North was revising its 500-won note at about that time, but the Americans argued that the move was an attempt to disguise its intentions. Washington has also charged that links between North Korea and the Banco Delta Asia in Macao, which resulted in warnings to the bank by U.S. officials, gave Pyongyang an outlet for its counterfeit currency. Officials here say that an investigation by Chinese officials is still going on. Seoul continues to say publicly that more evidence is needed to prove the link between North Korea and the supernotes. by Brian Lee [Evidence] [Friction]
CIA Secret Report on Its Operation against DPRK under Fire
Pyongyang, January 23 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland issued a statement Monday in connection with the disclosure of the fact that the CIA of the United States had a secret confab and staged "an exercise" under the simulated conditions of a dramatic change in the situation on the Korean Peninsula in January 1998 after making the "collapse of the north" an established fact. The secret report which a press corps of the south Korean KBS claimed to have obtained from the NSA of the U.S. elaborated on the fact that the CIA staged the exercise under the simulated conditions of coping with the above-said situation allegedly created by a coup or a civil war on the premise that the "north's collapse" was imminent in 1997. The report also dealt with the conclusion that the U.S. would take charge of security in Northeast Asia whether the south and the north of Korea stand in confrontation or get reconciled and the U.S. forces' presence in south Korea and the U.S. influence would go on even after the Korean Peninsula is reunified.
U.S. Escalated War Moves against DPRK Assailed
Pyongyang, January 24 (KCNA) -- Minju Joson Tuesday in a signed commentary denounces the U.S. for escalating its moves to start a war against the DPRK. The U.S. transferred its forces to the areas of Osan and Phyongthaek from the areas along the Military Demarcation Line. 10 of the operation duties of the U.S. forces are being devolved upon the south Korean forces in a premeditated manner, the commentary observes, and goes on: For instance, "the duty of commanding and controlling a big fire battle," a vital one, and other operation duties have already been transferred to the south Korean forces. The U.S. is contemplating the handover of reserve war supplies stockpiled in south Korea.
Seoul Seeks Speedy Wartime Command Talks with US
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun said on Wednesday the government will seek to conclude talks on regaining wartime operational control of its armed forces from the United States by the end of this year. ``We will closely consult with the U.S. side to conclude the issue of command transfer this year, along with the bilateral study on the future development of the South Korea-U.S. military alliance,'' Roh said. The president added, ``If not within this year, the two sides will strive to speed up talks on the matter.'' As part of efforts to achieve a ``cooperative but more self-reliant'' defense capability, the Roh administration has sought to take back control of its military during wartime from the U.S. government,. South Korea reclaimed authority to control its military during peacetime in 1994. But wartime control has remained with an American general as chief of the U.S.-led U.N. Command, or the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, since the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. [Friction] [Sovereignty]
Seoul, Washington Clash on NK's Bill Counterfeiting
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Wednesday criticized the U.S. Embassy in Seoul for issuing a press release that it said was ``exaggerating'' what a U.S. delegation recently told South Korean officials about North Korea's financial illegalities. It was considered Seoul's most strongly worded statement targeting its traditional ally to date. The diplomatic conflict began Tuesday when the embassy issued the press release, saying that the U.S. Treasury Department delegation ``urged'' South Korea to take similar steps to Washington's in September by warning its financial sector of illicit financial threats from North Korea. But the ministry said that what it actually heard from the American officials on Monday were plain ``comments,'' underlining the necessity of cooperation to strengthen defenses against money laundering and financial crimes. ``The U.S. statement exaggerated some of the contents that were discussed,'' Choo Kyu-ho, the ministry's spokesman, said in a statement. ``Even though the delegates mentioned the necessity of cooperation to block terrorist financing and financial crimes, they did not urge us either officially or unofficially to take measures in detail.'' Choo also said that it was ``inappropriate'' for the embassy to issue a press release that failed to correctly reflect the results of the South Korea-U.S. consultations. Traditionally the two allies obtained consent of each side before releasing such statements. [Friction] [Evidence]
Justice Minister Asks US Envoy to Adopt Visa Waiver Program
By Kim Cheong-won Staff Reporter Justice Minister Chun Jung-bae, left, talks with U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Alexander Vershbow at a hotel in Seoul Wednesday before they begin a closed meeting. They discussed various cooperation measures between the two countries, including the Visa Waiver Program. / Yonhap Justice Minister Chun Jung-bae Wednesday asked U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Alexander Vershbow to exert every effort to ensure South Koreans benefit from the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) as soon as possible. In a meeting at a Hotel in Seoul, Chun met with the Amb. Vershbow to discuss various cooperation measures between the two countries including the visa-free program. Before the closed-door meeting began, Chun told Vershbow that he hopes the Ambassador has some big achievements during his tenure in South Korea. The minister also added that he hopes the top envoy makes every possible effort to apply the VWP to South Koreans in the near future.
Seoul to Enact Law on Terrorism Financing
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter South Korea will make efforts to legislate a law designed to block the flow of money to terrorist groups, a Seoul official announced on Tuesday. ``We've already signed and ratified the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism in February 2004,'' the official told reporters on condition of anonymity. ``So we are obliged to make a relevant law.'' Another official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade underlined that the announcement was not affected by a briefing on North Korea's illicit financing, which was conducted by a U.S. Treasury Department delegation in Seoul on Monday. But Seoul's effort to enact the law was reportedly notified to the delegates, led by Daniel Glaser, deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes. During the briefing session, Glaser urged South Korea to take steps to warn its financial sector of any illicit finance threat as the U.S. did last September by designating Banco Delta Asia in Macau a ``primary money laundering concern,'' the U.S. Embassy in Seoul said. The bank in the Chinese territory has allegedly provided financial services to multiple North Korean government agencies and front companies that have been engaged in money laundering and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) for over 20 years. ``Glaser urged (South) Korea to further strengthen its regime in the area of WMD proliferation by focusing efforts to financially isolate WMD proliferators and their support network,'' the embassy said in a press release. im@koreatimes.co.kr 01-24-2006 22:09 [Evidence][Camouflage]
Seoul to Observe WMD Interdiction
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter South Korea will dispatch observers to a U.S.-led exercise in interdicting suspicious arms shipments, which will be conducted in Australia on April 5, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul announced on Tuesday. It is the first time for Seoul to attend a training exercise for the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) since Washington launched it in May 2003. The initiative aims to stop trafficking of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their delivery systems and related materials to and from what the U.S. calls ``rogue states,'' such as Iran and North Korea. Minister Ban Ki-moon, however, said that Seoul has not fully departed from its position on the initiative. [PSI] [Friction] [US dominance]
Seoul Worried Over NK Counterfeiting
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
Daniel Glaser, right, U.S. Treasury Department's deputy assistant secretary who deals with terrorist financing and financial crimes, and other American officials arrive at Incheon International Airport, Saturday, for talks with South Korean officials on North Korea's alleged counterfeiting of U.S. dollars. /Yonhap [photo]
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon returned to Seoul on Sunday after a six-day visit to the United States, where he said Seoul had delivered its concerns to Pyongyang over the Communist state's alleged counterfeiting of U.S. dollars. But he expressed hope that the on-going controversy over Pyongyang's money laundering and other illicit activities would not block the resumption of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. ``We have conveyed our concerns to North Korean authorities,'' he said in an interview with CNN's Late Edition, which was aired on Sunday. ``At the same time, we hope that this kind of counterfeiting or illicit activities by North Korea will not stand in the way of six-party talks.'' Upon his arrival in Seoul, Ban said that South Korea will discuss with five other countries _ North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan _ on ways to resume the denuclearization talks in February. North Korea announced its boycott of the talks in November, arguing that Washington's imposition of the financial sanctions was an attempt to ``strangle'' the Pyongyang regime. In a related development, a four-member delegation from the U.S. Treasury Department, which arrived in Seoul on Saturday, will meet Seoul officials on Monday to show evidence of Pyongyang's suspicious financial activities at a bank in Macau. They refused to answer reporters' questions on their arrival in Seoul. On Sept. 20, the U.S. Treasury Department said in the Federal Register, a daily newsletter of the U.S. government, that Banco Delta Asia in Macau provided financial services for over 20 years to multiple North Korean government agencies and front companies that have been engaged in illicit activities. Such evidence allegedly led Washington to designate the bank as the ``primary money laundering concern.'' The bank consequently halted all financial services for North Korea. Daniel Glaser, Treasury Department's deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, and three other American officials visited Hong Kong and Macau before arriving in Seoul. They are scheduled to leave South Korea on Tuesday. Even though Ban shared concerns with Washington over Pyongyang's financial illegalities, the foreign minister, who traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the inaugural ``strategic consultation'' between South Korea and the U.S. on Thursday, expressed regret over Washington's labeling of Pyongyang as a ``criminal regime.'' [Friction] [Evidence] [Arrogance]
US to Give Seoul Digital Map of Korean Peninsula
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
A U.S. intelligence agency will give the South Korean military a digital map of the Korean Peninsula, which has been drawn and updated by using military satellites, an Army official in Seoul said on Sunday. James Clapper, director of the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, promised to deliver the ``digital topography intelligence" to South Korea when he had met Kim Jang-soo, South Korean Army chief of staff, Yonhap news agency quoted the unnamed official in Seoul as saying. Kim visited the United States from Jan. 8 to 15.
What We Stand to Lose from Gaining Operational Control
Editorial The Chosun Ilbo
During a Security Policy Initiative meeting held in September, the Korean government requested that the United States agree to commence negotiations on the handover of wartime operational control of Korea's military forces. In an Armed Forces Day address on October 1, President Roh Moo-hyun stated that by exercising command in case of a war on the peninsula "our military will be reborn as a sovereign and independent armed forces." Currently, operational control of Korea's military forces is maintained by Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff during peacetime and the U.S. Forces Korea in the event of war. Key decisions, such as defending Seoul at all costs or advancing beyond the DMZ, are reached through consultation of the supreme commanders and the presidents of South Korea and the United States. The USFK commander then issues operational orders to carry out relevant missions. Decisions about the composition of troops and the duties of various personnel also fall under the command control, which is headed by the supreme commander. [Sovereignty] [US military dominance] [Pro-Americanism]
Struggle against Imperialists' Psychological Warfare Called for
Pyongyang, January 20 (KCNA) -- The imperialists' bourgeois ideological and cultural poisoning and psychological warfare are aimed at benumbing the people's consciousness of independence and their revolutionary spirit and creating illusion about capitalism among them in a bid to provide conditions for stifling the socialist and progressive countries and realizing their world domination. Rodong Sinmun Friday says this in a signed article. It goes on: The imperialists use the above-said poisoning and warfare as leverage for their aggression and interference. They attribute the collapse of socialism in some countries to their ideological and cultural offensive and psychological warfare conducted for scores of years. Precisely for this they are becoming more desperate in their bourgeois ideological and cultural poisoning and psychological warfare in a bid to intensify aggression and intervention against other countries and nations and establish the imperialist-led order for world domination. The U.S. imperialists are busy massively smuggling literature, video tapes dealing with sex, debauchery and misanthropy and other undesirable propaganda materials of various kinds into socialist and progressive countries. They are, at the same time, working hard to distribute anti-government propaganda materials among disruptive elements and spread false rumors in a bid to create confusion and division.
U.S. delegation to brief Seoul on N.K. financial wrongdoings
From news reports A U.S. Treasury Department delegation will hold meetings with South Korean officials today to explain Washington's decision to impose sanctions on North Korea over alleged illegal financial activities by the communist country, Seoul officials said.
The U.S. delegation led by Daniel Glaser, deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crime, arrived in Seoul on Saturday after visiting Hong Kong and Macau.
South Korean officials were cautious about the team's trip and declined to disclose details, including its itinerary, apparently because of its sensitive mission.
"The U.S. team will stay here until Tuesday before flying to Japan," a Foreign Ministry official said, adding that the Americans will meet officials from the Foreign, Unification and Finance Ministries and the National Intelligence Service.
The team is leading a U.S. investigation into Pyongyang's illicit financial dealings, including counterfeiting of American dollars and cigarettes, drug trafficking and smuggling. [Evidence] [Arrogance]
U.S. to provide geospatial info to Korea
The United States has pledged to provide geospatial data of the Korean Peninsula to the Korean military, Defense Ministry officials here said yesterday. The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency agreed to grant the most recent geospatial information of the peninsula to Korea, which currently has outdated data received from the United States in 1993. The agreement was made when Kim Jang-soo, Korean Army chief of staff, met James R. Clapper, the director of the agency, during Kim's trip to United States on Jan. 8-15, a military official said. Korean military will receive live images and digital maps taken by military spy satellites. The data will assist precision bombing in the case of an emergency as it has precisely photographed the peninsula, including cities, buildings, roadways and military facilities, the ministry said. The U.S. agency is a major combat support group of the U.S. Department of Defense, and it provides imagery intelligence and geospatial information in support of national security objectives. Its information is collected through liaisons and support teams around the world. By Annie I. Bang [US military dominance] [Espionage]
U.S. gets troop flexibility
Korea agrees to allow regional deployments
January 21, 2006 ? South Korea and the United States have reached an agreement on "strategic flexibility" for U.S. forces here. Although details have to be worked out, Seoul has agreed in principle that American troops here can be used in other areas of Northeast Asia if necessary. At the first meeting of the Korea-U.S. "Strategic Consultation for Allied Partnership" on Thursday in Washington, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice broke a half-century's tradition that U.S. troops assigned here were exclusively committed to helping the South defend itself. A joint statement released after the meeting, and using the abbreviation for Republic of Korea, read in part, "The ROK, as an ally, fully understands the rationale for the transformation of the U.S. global military strategy, and respects the necessity for strategic flexibility of the U.S. forces in the ROK. In the implementation of strategic flexibility, the U.S. respects the ROK position that it shall not be involved in a regional conflict in Northeast Asia against the will of the Korean people." Pressing that concept of strategic flexibility, the United States has been transforming its troop presence overseas into units that can quickly react to conflicts in their assigned regions. [US military dominance] [Sovereignty]
Seoul Agrees on US Troop Flexibility
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
Ban Ki-moon, left, minister of foreign affairs and trade, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pose before their meeting at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Thursday. / Yonhap South Korea has agreed to allow the United States to use troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula as a rapid deployment force to deal with possible conflicts around Northeast Asia. The agreement, coming after three years of tough negotiations, is part of Washington's global plan to give its forces greater ``strategic flexibility.'' However, it is expected to raise public concerns in South Korea that the nation could be drawn into military conflicts in other regions against its will. [Sovereignty] [US military dominance]
Korea Takes Step on Road to MS-Free World
Troubles With Global Software Giant Makes Linux More Attractive Alternative
By Kim Tae-gyu Staff Reporter The Korean government starts coming up with various measures to counter Microsoft, which plans to stop providing security patches for the Windows 98 operating system. The nation's six ministries including the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) convened of late to discuss ways of reducing dependence on Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker. ``We agreed to cut down on our heavy reliance on Windows while promoting open-source programs such as Linux as an alternative,'' an MIC official said. As action plans, the six ministries agreed to make Internet banking services and programs dealing with public grievance operable on a Linux-empowered system. Up until now, the programs could be run only through Windows. ``To secure broad-based adoption of non-Windows programs, the government will evaluate ministries regarding how much they brace for open-source programs,'' the official said. Linux is dubbed an open-source program since the code is shared freely by developers across the world. With wide grassroots and government support, it is challenging Microsoft's core business as no rival ever has. He added the new policy was spawned due to Microsoft's scheme to stop offering security patches for Windows 98 beginning this July. The Korean government has asked for Microsoft to delay the policy a year but the software titan refused to do so. This has angered many Windows 98 users. [Friction] [US dominance]
US Strategic Flexibility
National Security Should Not Be Compromised
With the "strategic flexibility" agreement made between Seoul and Washington Thursday, it is inevitable the military alliance between the two countries is to undergo substantial change. What concerns us most is the possibility that the change will seriously compromise national security in light of the geopolitical situation on the Korean Peninsula. In particular, though inter-Korean relations have greatly improved, there still remains Pyongyang's military threat against Seoul, as demonstrated by the three-year nuclear standoff between North Korea and the United States.
Many are apprehensive that Washington might not return them or would reduce their number to the bare minimum due to growing anti-American sentiment in Korean society. Their apprehension, also shared by many others, is connected with vulnerability in national security. Even though it is highly improbable at present, it is hard not to entertain the possibility that U.S. removal or reduction of its troops could induce the North to enhance its aggression on the South. [Bizarre] [Friction] [Threat]
Korea, US Set Strategic Agenda
The following is the full text of the joint statement issued Thursday in Washington on the launch of a strategic consultation for an allied partnership between South Korea and the United States. ROK, or the Republic of Korea, refers to South Korea. DPRK, or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, refers to North Korea. _ ED. [Sovereignty]
Hwang and Bush Have Led the People Astray
[Cartoon] Artist Sean Lee takes issue with U.S. reaction to Korea's stem cell scandal
(c)2006 Sean Lee As the evidence against Dr. Hwang Woo Suk's claims to have cloned human embryos, I was rather taken aback by the U.S. media and American people's tone on this matter. I've read numerous reporting where the U.S. media attributes this whole incident to Korea's Confucian society or Korean people's inherent follow-the-leader mentality. I've heard and read numerous comments by ordinary Americans where they generalize about Koreans as corrupt, blindly following their superiors, etc. I wonder where these same Americans were when the leaders of Enron and Global Crossing were defrauding them.
'Strategic flexibility' new credo for USFK
Transfers to be decided case-by-case
On strategic flexibility, the statement reflects both the needs of the United States and the concerns of Korea. "The ROK, as an ally, fully understands the rationale for the transformation of the U.S. global military strategy, and respects the necessity for the strategic flexibility of U.S. forces in the ROK," the statement read. "In the implementation of strategic flexibility, the U.S. respects the ROK position that it shall not be involved in a regional conflict in Northeast Asia against the will of the Korean people." [Sovereignty] [US military dominance]
President Seeks Korea-US FTA
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun said on Wednesday that South Korea will begin formal negotiations to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States as soon as differing views currently hindering the talks are fine-tuned. In his New Year's special speech, titled ``Let's Prepare for Future With Responsible Attitude,'' he stressed that a free trade pact with the United States, which has been a close ally for more than five decades, is in the interest of South Korea.
Seoul Eyes Nuke Talk Breakthrough
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, who heads Seoul's delegation to the six-party talks, suddenly cancelled his visit to the United States on Wednesday. He was scheduled to attend the first-ever South Korea-U.S. strategic dialogue, which will be held in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. ``I cancelled my trip to the United States because I have to stay (in Seoul) to check the changing situation,'' Song told Yonhap News Agency. He declined to elaborate on what the changing situation was. On the same day, Christopher Hill, U.S. top delegate to the denuclearization talks, unexpectedly returned to China. Hill was in Beijing last week as part of a tour of Asia. A spokeswoman from the U.S. embassy in Beijing told the Associated Press that she did not have any information on whether Hill would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who reportedly came to the Chinese capital on Tuesday after a weeklong tour of southern China. DongA Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, produced a story which went a step further. It reported that Kim Jong-il had already taken his special train to Pyongyang and Hill was scheduled to hold a meeting with his North Korean counterpart Kim Gye-gwan in Beijing. [Friction]
US Hardliners Seek NK Demise Through Counterfeiting Probe
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- Some hardliners in the Bush administration are seeking the demise of North Korea with the information they have on the communist state's illicit activities targeting American dollars and products, the National Press Radio (NPR) reported Wednesday. "An investigation by the Bush administration has found that North Korea's government officially sanctions criminal products such as counterfeit American currency, narcotics and counterfeit cigarette brands," the report said. "The administration is divided over how to use this information, whether to pressure North Korean leaders to give up nuclear weapons, or give up power," it said. Years of U.S. investigations, involving 14 federal agencies, have found that the illicit activities are now generating more than half a billion U.S. dollars for Pyongyang, according to NPR. [Camouflage] [Regime change]
U.S. Dangerous Move to Implement Its Nuclear War Scenario Blasted
Pyongyang, January 17 (KCNA) -- The United States is recently contemplating setting up a combined command at the U.S. Forces Strategic Command with an aim to provide a unified command over the attack by nuclear and conventional weapons on the DPRK and other anti-U.S. independent countries. In this regard Rodong Sinmun today observes in a signed commentary: This is a link in the chain of the moves of the U.S. imperialists to create conditions for working out "CONPLAN 8022", a new operation scenario, and implementing it.
Seoul Should Worry About N. Korean Regime: Vershbow
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
South Koreans should ``worry'' about the North Korean regime, which has ``disturbed'' American leaders by inflicting pains on its own people, Alexander Vershbow, U.S. ambassador to South Korea, said. North Korea is expected to churn out strongly worded statements against the top U.S. envoy, who Pyongyang recently described as a ``governor-general'' of South Korea. His remarks were posted late Monday night on ``Cafe USA'' at a portal Web site in response to a South Korean Internet user's question, regarding the diplomat's labeling of North Korea as a ``criminal regime'' in December. ``I think all South Koreans should be worried about a regime that threatens its own people so badly, that wastes its scarce resources on nuclear weapons, and that engages in counterfeiting, drug trafficking, money laundering and the export of dangerous military technologies in order to survive,'' Vershbow said. Pyongyang declared its boycott of the six-party denuclearization talks since the latest round of talks in November, arguing that the U.S. financial sanctions, imposed on the North in September to stop Pyongyang's alleged counterfeiting of U.S. dollars, violated the spirit of the joint principle statement, adopted at the talks in September.
He did not directly mention Seoul's North Korea policies. But U.S. conservatives have criticized South Korea's low profiling on North Korea's human rights situation and ``excessive'' efforts to engage and economically cooperate with North Korea under the name of the``sunshine'' policy. Vershbow said the United States supports South Korean efforts to improve the lives of North Koreans through inter-Korean engagement projects. But he said that Washington hopes to see these contacts be carried out in a way that encourages North Korean leaders to open up their closed society and to respect the human rights of its people. ``Together with the abandonment of North Korea's nuclear programs, such reforms will help bring North Korea out of its self-imposed isolation and make unification of the Korean nation more likely,'' he said. [Friction] [Victim]
Top US Navy Officer Meets Military Officers
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael G. Mullen met his South Korean counterpart Adm. Nam Hae-il at the Keryong military compound in South Chungchong Province Wednesday to discuss ways of strengthening naval cooperation between the two countries, the Navy said. [US military dominance]
US to Replace Top Military Officer Feb. 3
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Yonhap) -- A change-of-command ceremony to replace the top U.S. military commander in South Korea will be held on Feb. 3, two days behind the original schedule, an official said Wednesday. ``There is no particular reason for the change of date,'' said Kim Yong-kyu, a spokesman at the U.S. command in Seoul. Gen. Burwell B. Bell, the commander of U.S. ground troops in Europe, is to replace Gen. Leon J. LaPorte, head of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) in a ceremony to be held at Collier Field House at the U.S. Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, he said.
CIA Official Candidate for NSC Asia Director
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- An intelligence official is a leading nominee to replace the White House National Security Council director for Asia, sources here said Tuesday. James Shinn, in charge of Asia at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is a leading candidate for the position, according to the sources. U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen is also a leading candidate, but sources said Shinn is more likely to get the position. Michael Green, the predecessor, left last month and is now teaching at Georgetown University.
Korean Embassy Hires US Lobby Firm
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The South Korean Embassy has formally hired a lobbying firm to build U.S. support on Seoul-Washington relations and for a visa waiver program, embassy officials said Tuesday
'Washington will continue to suppress North Korea'
By Annie I. Bang
The United States will continue to suppress North Korea, by taking a hard-line policy against various issues including the North's alleged counterfeiting of U.S. currency and its nuclear program standoff, a Korean public institute said in a report released yesterday. "The Bush administration has recently raised concerns of North Korea's counterfeiting and circulation of the false currency separate from the nuclear issues. And those various pressures against North Korea are not one-off actions but will continue throughout this year," the government-funded Korea Institute for Defense Analyses said in a report. The report was written by Kim Chang-su, researcher for the ROK-U.S. Alliance, U.S. security policies at the institute. "At first, there is a greater possibility for the Bush administration's high-ranking officials not to give up their strong attitudes towards North Korea although Washington has insisted that it would adopt the 'conditional engagement' instead of a hard-line policy," Kim wrote. Since the Bush administration has concerns about North Korea's human rights issues, in relation to both South Korean defectors and the population living in the North, Kim said it will "confidentially" review various ways to reduce the threat from weapons of mass destruction. To scrap North Korea's nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction and promote transparency, the actions of Robert Joseph, senior adviser to U.S. President George W. Bush, are important, Kim said. Joseph is also Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament. U.S. Ambassador to Korea Alexander Vershbow also alerted South Koreans yesterday that people should be worried over the North's regime, which "is wasting its resources developing nuclear weapons and counterfeit bills, drug-dealing and money-laundering to survive." [US NK policy] [Camouflage] [Spin]
US-NK Trade Dwindles to Early 1990s Level
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- Trade activities between the United States and North Korea were reduced to the level of a decade ago after a remarkable surge following a bilateral nuclear agreement, the latest statistics indicated Sunday. Foreign trade statistics obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau showed U.S. exports to the communist country grew from $200,000 in 1994 to $11.3 million in 1999. However, the figure plunged to $2.7 million in 2000 and $700,000 in 2001. As of last November, U.S. exports to the North were tallied at $5.8 million. [Sanctions]
Ban heads to Washington for alliance talks
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon will leave for the United States today to attend the first round of regular strategic alliance talks with his American counterparts. Ban's U.S. visit comes at a crucial time for the two countries' alliance due to recent moves by members of the six-party talks to resume the nuclear negotiations, and several pending bilateral issues between Seoul and Washington such as a free trade agreement. During the five day visit, Ban will first visit New York to meet with Secretary General Kofi Annan at hte United Nations. On Wednesday, he will fly to Washington and hold the first Strategic Consultation on Allied Partnership the following day with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. After about an hour-long discussion Ban and Rice will hold a joint news conference after which Ban will be interviewed by CNN. Ban and Rice showed their close partnership during a previous stalemate over North Korea's nuclear negotiations by exchanging a total of seven phone calls in one day, which Korean government officials say played a large part in sealing the Joint Statement of Principles for Denuclearization in September.
N. Korea to Use Nukes If US Invades: General
SEOUL (Yonhap) _ A top North Korean military officer told a visiting American correspondent that his country will use nuclear weapons if the U.S. invades the communist country, the CBS television network reported Sunday. In an article posted on its Web site, CBS said Ri Chan-bok, a three-star North Korean general, made the threat to journalist Dan Rather, who recently visited the reclusive nation. Ri is North Korea's point man on talks with the American-led U.N. Command in Seoul. ``Tell the American people that you met the general. If the United States invades our country and starts a war, the People's Army will fight to the death and defend ourselves, taking appropriate revenge,'' CBS quoted Ri as saying. ``We firmly believe that the United States will carry out its policies on our country, even if they have to use military means,'' Ri said. ``What we can say to you definitely right now is that we currently have nuclear weapons.'' Ri didn't show any of North Korea's missiles but did show his troops deployed near the border with South Korea, the CBS report said. ``(Neo-conservatives) are people who want to dominate the world, just like the Nazis of Germany. After striking Iraq they want North Korea,'' Ri was quoted as saying.
North Korea has openly expressed concerns it might be the next target of U.S. military action, despite Washington's repeated denials. About 30,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a deterrence against North Korea. CBS said it planned to air its program on its correspondent's visit to North Korea during its 60 Minutes report later in the day. The U.S. State Department refused to discuss North Korea with 60 Minutes, the report said. [Media] (see Tourism/eye witness accounts)
Top Diplomat and Unions
Both Sides Need to Refine Methods of Expression
Upon arrival here in mid-October, U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow said he would get closer to the people of his host country. Three months have passed since then, but some Koreans do not appear to want this hard-working - and hard-talking - American envoy around anymore. On Thursday, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) blocked the Ambassador's entry into its office building where he was to meet some Internet journalists also housed there. What caused this crude, childish event?
Vershbow's labeling of North Korea as a "criminal regime" may be right if backed up by hard evidence. His harsh criticism of the North Korean human rights situation at a U.S.-financed gathering could also be justified given his post. After all, the envoy might just be delivering Washington's return to hardball tactics on Pyongyang, as U.S. President Bush struggles to get out of his crisis by uniting conservatives. But a balanced diplomat could have considered his host government's position at least a little.
The U.S. diplomat went further by calling for Seoul to control its economic aid to the North to help progress in denuclearization talks. He even demanded Korean officials "objectively" evaluate U.S. bidders in an arms procurement process, stressing the interoperability of weapons. So, what's wrong? Nothing except the U.S. model for the AWACS is twice as expensive as that of the Israelis. A ruling party lawmaker has threatened to move to recall "Viceroy Vershbow," as some people call him here. [Friction] [Tribute] [Camouflage]
DeTrani Named Mission Manager on NK at ODNI
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) _ The former U.S. special envoy on North Korea has been named "mission manager" for the communist country at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the office said Thursday. Joseph DeTrani will be "responsible for integrating collection and analysis on North Korea across the intelligence community, identifying and filling gaps in intelligence, and planning and ensuring the implementation of strategies, among other duties," the ODNI said. DeTrani had been at the State Department's East Asia and Pacific bureau until last month. He has been a member of the U.S. negotiating team to the six-party talks, a multilateral negotiation aimed at denuclearizing North Korea. He served long in the Central Intelligence Agency as an economic analyst, executive assistant to the director, director of public affairs and director of East Asia operations. 01-13-2006 16:52
U.S. Persistent Sanctions and Blockade against DPRK Accused
Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- It is foolish of the U.S. imperialists to calculate that they can frighten and suffocate the DPRK and bring it to its knees through sanctions and blockade and their illegal sanctions and blockade would get them nowhere. Rodong Sinmun today says this in a by-lined article. It cites facts to prove that the above-said dastardly sanctions and blockade had long been in the making and have been systematically imposed upon the DPRK in all fields and they are fraught with increasing danger in the new century. The United States has escalated international pressure upon the DPRK so far under the pretext of the nuclear issue between the DPRK and the U.S. But it dared not form a united front with its allies and followers in order to tighten collective sanctions and blockade against the DPRK. It is now set to put them into practice in real earnest. These moves of the U.S. imperialists are based on their foolish calculation that the DPRK is not in a position to stand up against the U.S., the world's "only superpower", and its economic and diplomatic offensives will bring Pyongyang to its knees. They are blocking the DPRK's trade channels, etc. in a bid to isolate and suffocate it at any cost. Their immediate aim is to force the DPRK to accept their unjust demand that it scrap its nuclear program first at the six-party talks. What merits a more serious attention is that their sanctions and blockade against the DPRK may lead to a war against it. This can be proved by the fact that they launched armed invasion against Iraq while imposing economic sanctions upon it for years.
US to Present Proof of NK Counterfeiting
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
U.S. Treasury Department officials will soon visit Seoul to discuss North Korea's alleged counterfeiting of U.S. dollars, Alexander Vershbow, American ambassador to South Korea, said in Seoul on Thursday.
``It is not 100 percent firm, but it's going to be probably on Jan. 22,'' he said at a forum hosted by the Korea Human Development Institute. The U.S. top envoy said that the American officials will also visit Macau, where the controversial bank, which Washington accused of ``facilitating'' Pyongyang's money laundering, is located.
The American team is expected to show Seoul the evidence, which allegedly led Washington to designate Banco Delta Asia, the bank in Macau, as the ``primary money laundering concern.''
On Sept. 20, the U.S. Treasury Department said in the Federal Register, a daily newsletter of the U.S. government, that the bank in the Chinese territory provided financial services for over 20 years to multiple North Korean government agencies and front companies that have been engaged in illicit activities.
U.S. officials blacklisted eight North Korean companies the next month in connection with the bank and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. As for the rising concern that U.S. financial sanctions against North Korea are blocking the resumption of the stalled talks on the regime's nuclear ambitions, Christopher Hill, Washington's top envoy to the talks, said in Seoul that it is ``not a six-party-talks matter.'' [Evidence] [Camouflage]
ROK-US Strategic Talks to Open on Jan. 19
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
South Korea's top diplomat will travel to the United States Jan. 17-21 to attend the first-ever minister-level strategic dialogue between the two allies, the government said on Wednesday. The Republic of Korea-U.S. Strategic Consultations for Allied Partnership, the official name of the dialogue, will be held in the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 19. The U.S. currently holds such consultations with Australia, Japan and Saudi Arabia. ``I firmly believe that this dialogue will function as another important momentum for a further development of our comprehensive, dynamic and reciprocal relationship,'' Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon told reporters at a weekly briefing in Seoul.
NK Denies Forging American Dollars
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry on Monday dismissed Washington's allegation that North Korea has forged U.S. dollars. It was the first time for Pyongyang to express its position over Washington's financial sanctions through an official channel, and the strongest denial North Korea has ever made since the controversy came to the fore in November. ``Even though we've examined the data, which the United States gave us (as evidence of our financial illegalities), we couldn't find anything that is based on truth,'' the North's Korean Central News Agency quoted an unnamed ministry spokesman as saying.
'US Will Maintain Hardline Stance on NK'
NK Leader Wants Washington to Play Balancer Role in Northeast Asia: Experts
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter Tong Kim, left, former senior Korean interpreter at the U.S. State Department and now a research professor at Korea University in Seoul, speaks at a forum organized by Kyungnam University's Graduate School of North Korean Studies at Westin Chosun Hotel in central Seoul, Monday. On his right are Park Jae-kyu, former unification minister and currently president of Kyungnam University, and Sun Joun-yung, former ambassador to the United Nations. Sun is a professor at the graduate school. / Yonhap As the gridlock continues over the resumption of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs, experts in Seoul appear worried over U.S. policy toward North Korea. Jeong Se-hyun, who served as South Korea's unification minister from 2002 to 2004, said it might be wrong to expect an early resumption of the nuclear talks, considering the recent harsh remarks made by U.S. administration officials toward North Korea. ``Such wars of words have typically caused a delay in the talks,'' Jeong said during a forum hosted by Kyungnam University's Graduate School of North Korean Studies in a Seoul hotel Monday. ``We cannot but question whether the United States has a `real intention' that is quite different from its `proclaimed policy' of resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.'' Jeong added that if the incumbent U.S. government maintains a hard-line stance on North Korea, further progress in the nuclear talks cannot be expected at least until the U.S. elections for the House of Representatives and Senate scheduled for November. ``Washington seems to want to keep North Korea as its `necessary enemy' to maintain its control and interests in the Northeast Asian region,'' Jeong said
NK Denies Forging American Dollars
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry on Monday dismissed Washington's allegation that North Korea has forged U.S. dollars. It was the first time for Pyongyang to express its position over Washington's financial sanctions through an official channel, and the strongest denial North Korea has ever made since the controversy came to the fore in November. ``Even though we've examined the data, which the United States gave us (as evidence of our financial illegalities), we couldn't find anything that is based on truth,'' the North's Korean Central News Agency quoted an unnamed ministry spokesman as saying. Pyongyang also urged Washington to lift financial sanctions if the United States wants progress in the six-party denuclearization talks, which have been in limbo since the latest round in November.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in Federal Register, a daily government newsletter, on Sept. 20 that North Korea's earnings from criminal activities such as drug trafficking and counterfeiting of currency could amount to $500 million annually. As for Banco Delta Asia in Macao, the department said it has reasonable grounds to conclude that the bank is a ``financial institution of primary money laundering concern.'' ``Banco Delta Asia has provided financial services for over 20 years to multiple North Korean government agencies and front companies that are engaged in illicit activities, and continues to develop these relationships,'' the department said. [Evidence]
US Denies Envoy's Planned Gesture to NK
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- U.S. officials in Seoul denied a report Monday that their top envoy in South Korea is likely to express regret about labeling North Korea as a "criminal regime." Citing an unnamed diplomatic source in Seoul, the Hankyoreh Shinmun, a Seoul-based newspaper, said in its Monday edition that U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow plans to make the gesture this week to create a good atmosphere for stalled six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program. In December, Vershbow branded North Korea as a criminal regime, alleging that the communist country has been engaged in various illegal activities such as counterfeiting of U.S. dollar, narcotics trafficking and trade of weapons of massive destruction. [Vituperation][Friction]
Seoul Paid 40% of USFK Cost in 2002
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) _ South Korea contributed $843.11 million toward the cost of having United States military forces stationed on the peninsula in 2002, about 40 percent of the total expense, according to a recent Defense Ministry report. Japan paid $4.41 billion toward the stationing of U.S. troops on its soil, the largest among nations hosting U.S. military forces at 74.5 percent of the total. Japan's contribution amounts to over 50 percent of the total defense contributions paid by 26 allies covered in the report. South Korea's payment is about 9 percent of total contributions. [Tribute] [Imperialism]
DPRK Foreign Ministry's Spokesman Urges U.S. to Lift Financial Sanctions against DPRK
Pyongyang, January 9 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry today gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA as regards the U.S. claim that its financial sanctions against the DPRK have nothing to do with the six-party talks: Recently officials of the U.S. administration vied with each other to make remarks intended to mislead public opinion concerning its financial sanctions against the DPRK. They asserted that these sanctions are a separate issue from the six-party talks, that north Korea's stand toward the issue is a pretext for delaying the talks and that the issue is not a subject of negotiation and it would be all right if the party who conducted illegal acts stop such doing for itself. The financial sanctions against the DPRK are an issue directly related to the six-party talks. This is quite understandable to anyone, if he has elementary thinking ability. It is only the United States that pretends not to know about this.
It is an utterly brigandish logic for the U.S. to claim that the financial sanctions are not a subject of negotiation and it would be all right if the party who conducted illegal acts stops such doing for itself. We examined the information the U.S. side provided to us, claiming that it was the motive of its application of sanctions. Such things cited by it, however, have never happened in our country. Various countries and media, too, commented that the information cited by the U.S. at a "press briefing" lacked credibility. [Evidence] [Camouflage]
N.K. calls counterfeiting claim baseless
North Korea's Foreign Ministry said Monday that evidence supplied by the United States to justify financial sanctions imposed on the Stalinist state had turned out to be "baseless" fiction. The ministry said Pyongyang had scrutinized U.S. evidence to justify the sanctions imposed in retaliation for North Korea's alleged illicit financial activities, including counterfeiting, money-laundering and drug-running. "We examined the information the U.S. side provided to us, claiming that it was the motive for its application of sanctions," a foreign ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "The things cited in it, however, have never happened in our country." Statements from its Foreign Ministry are generally considered one of the most authoritative forms of communication with the outside world. Washington has rejected a North Korean request for direct talks on the issue, saying the sanctions are not negotiable. "The U.S. has persistently refused to negotiate with the DPRK while floating baseless fictions which nobody believes," the spokesman said. [Evidence]
Pyongyang Beefs Up Offensive
Return to Six-Party Talks to Find Solution to Sanctions
In the midst of the mounting tension between Washington and Pyongyang over the Bush administration's financial sanctions against the Kim Jong-il regime, North Korea is stepping up its attack on the United States, further threatening the six-party nuclear negotiations. The North came up with its strongest invective against Washington on Saturday, singling out the U.S. as its main enemy in its struggle to achieve its national independence and reunification of the Korean Peninsula. In a commentary by its official paper Rodong Sinmun, Pyongyang insisted that the entire Korea stage a vigorous struggle to smash the U.S. imperialist' move to strengthen global domination and block the reunification of the peninsula. The North's bitterest attack on the U.S. is its reaction to Washington's refusal to its call for the lift of the financial strictures in exchange for its return to the six-party negotiations which have been suspended since last November. Upon the order of President George W. Bush, Washington imposed the punitive financial action against Pyongyang in October in its belief that the communist country was engaged in counterfeiting American banknotes and laundering money. However, the sanctions have been even contested by Seoul, visibly straining relations between South Korea and the U.S, with its lowtone complaints that there is no evidence of the North's manufacture of bogus American banknotes. [Evidence] [Collusion] [Friction]
North Korea intensifies military training
North Korea substantially increased military exercises of mechanized infantry and night flight operations last year as a counter measure to its deteriorating security situation, a Seoul government source said yesterday.
"South Korea-U.S. military intelligence agencies jointly assessed the North last year augmented the number and size of exercises for its ground and aerial forces by 20 or 30 percent compared to 2004," the source said, based on the allies' annual joint evaluation on the North Korean military posture. "Especially, night-time training of mechanized troops and fighter wings has been intensified."
The increase in activity reflects Pyongyang's bid to cope with its aggravated security status since last February when it confessed to possessing nuclear weapons. The exercises were also aimed at countering military drills conducted on the peninsula by the Seoul-Washington alliance, according to the official.
South Korea and the United States conduct an annual joint military exercise named "Ulchi Focus Lens" during the summer to maintain their deterrent leverage against North Korea.
The North describes the joint exercise as preparations by the alliance to invade its territory. [Military balance] [US joint military] [Spin] [Media] [Military option]
US Takes Tough Stance Over NK Counterfeiting
By Reuben Staines Staff Reporter
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday labeled North Korea a "dangerous regime" and said Washington will not back down on financial sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for alleged counterfeiting. "Their illegal activities have drawn sanctions from us because the president (George W. Bush) is not going to let North Korea counterfeit American money without action," she told reporters in Washington. International r e l a t i o n s experts in Seoul said Rice's comments underlined a stiffening in the Bush administration's approach to c o m m u n i s t North Korea. U.S. diplomats have adopted a more critical line toward the North since September, when the Treasury Department ordered American financial institutions to cut all ties with the Macao-based bank Banco Delta Asia, accusing it of being a front for a North Korean counterfeiting operation.
The secretary of state also stressed that the U.S. will not be intimidated by North Korea's nuclear posturing.
The comments came amid reports that the U.S. Secret Service will dispatch a delegation to South Korea to discuss the alleged North Korean counterfeiting. The delegation will visit Seoul around Jan. 22, Yonhap news agency reported, quoting unidentified sources. Gregory Marchio, a secret service official in Las Vegas, also told Yonhap that counterfeit $100 bills found in casinos there over the past six month were most likely produced by North Korea. "The characteristics are similar to those that are being manufactured in North Korea," he said. Dubbed "supernotes" for their g e n u i n e appearance, two or three of the bills have been detected in the casinos each month, according to the official. [Camouflage] [Evidence]
An open letter to Amb. Vershbow
The news of your appointment as the U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Korea was received with enthusiasm and great expectations by many Korean Americans, which now number over 1.2 million. They felt that given your highly distinguished service record as the NATO ambassador, you would be an ideal diplomat to usher in a new age of improved US-North Korea relations, leading to a peaceful and denuclearized Korean peninsula. Contrary to these expectations however, your blunt comments about North Korea and unwarranted criticism of South Korea's inter-Korean policies have become a cause of great concern.
Mr. Vershbow, we beseech you to refrain from needlessly provocative rhetoric and heed to the yearning of the Korean people for a peaceful resolution to problems on the Korean peninsula.
by Moon J. Pak
[Letter to the editor, JoongAng Ilbo]
U.S. Hit for Inciting Confrontation with DPRK
Pyongyang, December 31 (KCNA) -- The United States is chiefly to blame for inciting confrontation with the DPRK and blocking the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Rodong Sinmun today says this in a signed article dealing with the six-party talks for the settlement of the nuclear issue in the peninsula which has attracted the attention of the international community this year. A dark shadow cast on the six-party talks is entirely attributable to the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK, the article says, and goes on: If the U.S. had stopped putting pressure on the DPRK and honestly approached the dialogue with it as unanimously demanded by public opinion at home and abroad, an epochal occasion could have been marked in realizing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. has driven the situation to the brink of war while intensifying military moves seriously getting on the nerves of the DPRK in and around south Korea all the year round. This year, in particular, the U.S. has resorted to ill-boding military moves to modify its military strategy in the direction of depending on latest weapons under the pretext of coping with the "possibility of military conflicts with north Korea". It persisted in forcing the DPRK to "abandon its nuclear program first" while putting aside its principled stand and demand. At the first round of the fourth six-party talks the U.S. demanded the DPRK totally abandon nuclear weapons as well as all the nuclear activities including the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
U.S. New Military Strategy for Expansion of "Anti-terrorist War" under Fire
Pyongyang, January 5 (KCNA) -- The "report on four-year defense strategy" called "1421" which was approved by U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld is an extremely dangerous war scenario aimed at making effective use of the experience gained by the United States in its aggressive military actions after the end of the Cold War to launch a more active and offensive "anti-terrorist war" in different areas of the world. Rodong Sinmun today says this in a signed article. It goes on: What merits a special attention in the "report" is that the U.S. is seeking its military intervention in various areas of the world and win-win strategy and "complete occupation" of a "hostile state". As shown in its content, the U.S. new military strategy is a very dangerous war strategy to realize its world supremacy by the method of further intensifying its military intervention and war of aggression in the future under the pretext of "anti-terrorist war". In realizing its military strategy the Bush administration designated the DPRK and other countries as the main targets of "anti-terrorist war". The main targets of the U.S attack at present are the DPRK, Iran, Cuba, etc. which it singled out as "part of an axis of evil" and "outposts of tyranny". The U.S. belligerent forces are planning to contain these countries by force of arms. Particularly, the U.S. imperialists are considering the DPRK as the main target of their attack. The U.S. neo-conservatives are letting loose a string of balderdash that a war may break out in the Korean Peninsula if the six-party talks are futile. Such open outbursts were prompted by their real intention to swallow up the DPRK by force of arms, not to peacefully settle the nuclear issue. The U.S. strategic attempt is to pursue its new military strategy first in the Korean Peninsula.
U.S. Secret Service to visit Seoul, Rice calls N.K. 'dangerous' regime
A U.S. Secret Service delegation is planning to visit South Korea as part of an Asian tour to discuss the North Korea counterfeiting issue, sources said yesterday. No specific date has been set, but reports here said the visit will likely take place in the middle of this month. The delegation will also visit Macau and Hong Kong. The issue of North Korea's alleged counterfeiting activity and Washington's financial countermeasures has become a major stumbling block threatening the resumption of six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. In September last year the U.S. Treasury banned American financial institutions from dealing with a Macau-based bank, accused of allegedly laundering money for Pyongyang and helping circulate counterfeit dollars.
The ban was part of Washington's fortified actions against "illicit activities" by the Stalinist state which is also accused of drug trafficking and smuggling fake goods.
The Seoul government has requested Washington to pass on details of its information on North Korea's alleged counterfeiting activities. In related news, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday North Korea may be a "dangerous" regime, but that the United States had a deterrent capability against it. "In terms of danger, of course you know they are a dangerous regime," she told reporters in Washington. "But we should also not misinterpret the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, where there is a significant deterrent toward North Korean activity there." [Evidence] [Threat] [Spin] [Camouflage]
Tit-for-Tat Bickering Must Stop
Six-Party Negotiations Ought to Resume Soon
From the start of the New Year, North Korea and the United States have been engaged in round of useless argument, further compounding progress of the six-party nuclear negotiations. On Tuesday, the White House flatly turned down Pyongyang's call for the lift of financial sanctions against the North as a condition for its return to the six-party talks suspended since last November. The Bush administration criticized Pyongyang for using the financial strictures as an excuse for staying out of the negotiations. Washington's denunciation is a reaction to Pyongyang's threat placed in its official paper Rodong Sinmun a day earlier (Tuesday, Korean time) that it will not return to the negotiating table until the U.S. lifts the punitive financial measures.
To make matters worse, the Bush administration's claim that the North counterfeited U.S. banknotes has somewhat strained relations between Seoul and Washington because Seoul has maintained that there is no evidence of the North's illegal activities. It is hard to expect that the Bush administration will compromise its stance on the financial sanctions against the Kim Jong-il regime in light of its insistence that the matter is different from the nuclear issue. Even though the U.S. position is understandable, Washington needs to make some concessions to Pyongyang's demand for the sake of the six-party negotiations. [Evidence] [Camouflage] [Friction]
US Warned NK of Military Attack Last April: Report
TOKYO (Yonhap) -- The United States delivered a warning to North Korea in April last year about the possible use of force unless the communist country returns to multilateral talks on its nuclear weapons programs, a conservative Japanese daily reported Thursday. But the North's return to six-party talks which also involve South Korea, Japan, China and Russia forestalled the U.S. action, the Sankei Shimbun said, raising the possibility that should the current stalemate continue, calls for such action might gain force in the U.S. administration. [military option]
U.S. officials to brief Seoul on bogus supernotes
January 06, 2006 ? WASHINGTON/SEOUL ? A team from the U.S. Treasury Department will make a two-day visit to Seoul from Jan. 18 to provide more evidence on North Korean counterfeiting activities, a source in Washington said yesterday. The source said the evidence will be more detailed than that provided to foreign diplomats at a briefing last month by the U.S. state and treasury departments. Before coming to Seoul, the team of four to five officials will visit Macao to discuss with China suspicions that the Bank of China's Macao branch might have dealt with the counterfeit money. Another source said the officials will also stop by Hong Kong to talk with its authorities about measures to be taken on North Korean money thought to be dealt with by banks there. A South Korean government official reiterated Seoul's stance saying that if evidence provided by the U.S. officials left no doubt as to North Korea's illicit activities, Seoul would abide by international norms. "Obviously, we will condemn those activities and ask for correctional steps to be taken by the North but, as it is, we still have to see more," said the official. Meanwhile, citing a United States Secret Service agent who is conducting counterfeit investigations in Las Vegas, Radio Free Asia reported that North Korean-forged $100 bills, dubbed "supernotes," are discovered at casinos in Las Vegas two to three times every month. by Kang Chan-ho, Brian Lee [Evidence]
US Envoy Stumbles Over Dokdo
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Alexander Vershbow, the U.S. top diplomat to South Korea, might not have fully understood how sensitive it could be when he spoke about the ``legal validity'' of the existing situation over Dokdo, South Korea's easternmost islets. Dokdo is a part of the Korean Peninsula, legally and historically. So it has always been irritating to the nation whenever Japan argues that the islets are part of its territory. Japan's Shimane Prefectural Assembly even enraged Koreans last year by designating Feb. 22 as ``Takeshima Day,'' after its own name for Dokdo. Upon this sensitive issue, Vershbow said during a question-and-answer session in Seoul on Wednesday that the U.S. accepts ``the existing situation as one that is legally valid.'' ``Legally valid, what does that mean?'' This was the question reporters raised right after he gave his answer. It could mean that the U.S. accepts the status quo of South Korea's administrative control of the islets through its police force. Or it could also mean that the U.S. recognizes Japan's arguments on its ``legally valid'' sovereignty on the islets. Hours later, the embassy released a clarification, even though it also was confusing. [Friction]
The Mansfield Asian Opinion Poll Database
Welcome to the Mansfield Asian Opinion Poll Database, a reference for researchers and others to help monitor key public opinion trends in Northeast Asia. We've collected and translated top-of-the line opinion polls on key policy-related issues from major media organizations and other agencies in Japan and South Korea. These polls were previously not available in English or on a central site on the Internet. Although the content of polls may vary, we will focus on issues of salient importance to policymaking and regional diplomacy, such as:
Attitudes toward the United States and other nations in Northeast Asia
Perceptions of China's rising power and potential North Korean threat
Perceptions of the U.S.-Japan and U.S.-South Korea alliances
Regional economic competition
Domestic political trends; support for governments and administrations
Monthly JoongAng Survey Research on US-Korea Alliance
Date Conducted June 30 - July 8, 2005
Resurfacing hardliners chill U.S.-N.K. relations
By Lee Dong-min WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- Christopher Hill, chief U.S. delegate to the six-party talks on Korean denuclearization, has been unusually quiet since his return from the latest round of negotiations, fueling speculation that U.S.-North Korean ties have been seriously eroded. Inside sources say Hill currently has no planned public speaking engagements, despite having actively accepted invitations within days of his return from previous six-party talks. Meanwhile, North Korea on Wednesday snubbed a U.S. offer to have its officials travel to New York to be "briefed" on what prompted Washington's legal actions against Pyongyang's alleged illicit activities. Officials at the State Department, where Hill is assistant secretary for East Asia and the Pacific, are reluctant to talk about the situation, but various sources say the clash between hardliners and engagers has rekindled. It was this kind of friction that heavily limited the role of James Kelly, Hill's predecessor, at the earlier six-party talks. And sources say the renewed clash is already limiting Hill, who until now had the full backing of the Bush administration. Ironically, it was North Korea that allowed hardliners to relight their torch. After private talks with Hill during the six-party talks in Beijing, North Korean chief delegate Kim Kye-gwan announced that the U.S. had agreed to "bilateral negotiations" to discuss "sanctions" imposed by Washington. Since June, the Bush administration has frozen the assets of North Korea-linked entities it claims are abetting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, introduced sanctions for a Macau-based bank suspected of laundering money for Pyongyang, and indicted an Irish man for circulating allegedly North Korean-made counterfeit U.S. dollars. The briefing in New York was meant to address Pyongyang's complaints about these actions. Hardliners in Washington, notably Vice President Dick Cheney, did not like Kim's choice of words, notably "bilateral" and "sanctions," and made sure the briefing would be strictly limited to law enforcement action by the Treasury Department, sans any meaningful presence by the State Department. [Cheney] [Camouflage] [[Bilateral] [Media]
Seoul Seeks Partial Purchase of US War Reserve Stocks
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The Defense Ministry will seek to buy war reserve ammunition stockpiled by the United States here on a selective basis as Washington has passed a law to sell the pre-positioned military supplies to Seoul, a ministry spokesman said Tuesday.
An Open Letter to Ambassador Vershbow
From the Korean American Perspective
December, 2005
The news of your appointment as the US ambassador to the Republic of Korea was received with enthusiasm and great expectations by many Korean Americans, which now number over 1.2 million. They felt that given your highly distinguished service record as the NATO ambassador, you would be an ideal diplomat who could usher in a new age of improved US-North Korea relationships leading to a peaceful and denuclearized Korean peninsula. Contrary to these expectations however, your blunt comments about North Korea and unwarranted criticism on South Korea's policy on inter-Korean matters in the past two months since your arrival to Seoul have become a cause of great concern. In fact, your appointment has come to be viewed as a disappointment by many leaders of the Korean American community.
*Moon J. Pak, M.D., Ph.D.
Chairman US-DPRK Medical Science Exchange Committee (UDMEDEX) Member Board of Directors Korean American National Coordinating Council (KANCC)
by email 2 January 2006 [Vituperation] [Double standards]
Kim Jong-il Awaits Bush's State of Union Message
The Korea Times starts a bi-weekly column on Monday, "What's Your Take," by Tong Kim, former senior interpreter at the U.S. State Department and now research professor at Korea University. _ E.D.
As a new January begins, the Bush administration has had five years to tackle the North Korean nuclear issue, but it is nowhere near resolution. In fact the issue is now more complicated by the hardening positions of Washington and Pyongyang and the widening divide between Seoul and Washington. In a way we are further away from resolution than five years ago, given a nuclear North Korea with two to six bombs and the level of mutual distrust as deep as ever between the United States and North Korea. Pyongyang seems to believe time is on their side.
Did Vershbow speak Bush's mind, when he called the DPRK "a criminal regime," as he in his job represents the President of the United States? If he did, his primary audience should have been W. Bush and his hardliner advisers rather than Kim Jong-il or Roh Moohyun, as the ambassador must have known darn well the negative impact of such characterization on the prospects of reconvening the six-party talks this month. The resumption of the nuclear talks last summer was largely attributed to the circumlocutory statements from Washington that made up for the harshness of its earlier rhetoric. It should not be a surprise if Pyongyang waits until after the State of the Union message is delivered later this month to decide whether or when to return to the talks. The situation is back to where we were a year ago in January. [Vituperation] [Camouflage]
"Resolution on Human Rights" against DPRK Rejected
Pyongyang, December 27 (KCNA) -- The permanent mission of the DPRK in the UN Secretariat and international organizations in Geneva called a press conference on Dec. 15 in connection with the more frantic U.S.-led anti-DPRK "human rights racket". An official of the mission in his speech said that the growing tendency of politicizing human rights at the UN gives rise to serious concern among the international community, whose typical example is the adoption of a "resolution on human rights" against the DPRK at the 3rd Committee of the 60th UN General Assembly. He strongly rejected the "resolution", asserting that it is consistent with false materials faked up by the hostile forces from long ago and, in essence, it is aimed at slandering the DPRK and "overthrowing its system". The U.S. and the EU countries are chiefly to blame for the adoption of the "resolution", he stressed, holding that the grave human rights abuses by the U.S. and its following countries should be called in question if they are to really debate on the human rights issue. [Camouflage]
Rodong Sinmun on U.S. Smear Campaign against DPRK
Pyongyang, December 27 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary denounces the U.S. political, economic and military pressure on the DPRK as a shameless campaign which can be made only by those who dream of stifling its system, quite indifferent to the settlement of the nuclear issue. The DPRK regards the U.S. unreasonable smear campaign against it as an unpardonable insult to the Korean people, the commentary says, and goes on: The U.S. vicious human rights abuses committed in Afghanistan and Iraq go to prove that the U.S. is an international group of criminals most heinously violating human rights in the world. It is nonsense and the height of shamelessness and plot that such a criminal group isolated and rejected by the international community dares insult the dignified DPRK as a "criminal state". It is none other than the United States that blocks the settlement of the nuclear issue and the progress of the six-party talks. [Camouflage] [Double standards]
Rodong Sinmun on Bankruptcy of U.S. Policy of Hegemony and "Anti-Terrorist Strategy"
Pyongyang, December 29 (KCNA) -- This year the United States identified its policy for supremacy and "anti-terrorist strategy" with its foreign policy and has worked hard to carry them out but they have gone totally bankrupt. Rodong Sinmun today says this in a signed article. The U.S. has pursued its foreign policy this year as a lever for modern-type aggression and domination, a combination of carrot and stick for putting the world under its domination and control, holding olive branches in the one hand and a whip in the other, the article notes. Citing facts to prove this, the article goes on: This year, in particular, the U.S. imperialists have resorted to the desperate moves to stifle the DPRK by force of arms. Neo-conservative forces busied themselves to expand the "anti-terrorist war" while vociferating about "the spread of democracy" with the appearance of the second-term Bush administration as a momentum, but they could not hold in check the onward movement of history. The U.S. call for an "end to tyranny" was unanimously denounced and rejected by the world for its reactionary nature and aggressive nature, rendering it further isolated worldwide. This year various countries tended to shun military assistance to the U.S., standing against its policies of supremacy and high-handed practices. This threw Washington into a tighter corner.
Lawmakers pass bill for extension of Zaytun unit
Last-minute deals shore up Uri votes December 31, 2005 ? The one-year extension of South Korean troops dispatched to Iraq was barely approved by the National Assembly yesterday, and the troop strength reduced by a third, only one day before the troops' legal deployment would have ended. Only 158 of 299 Assembly lawmakers participated in the vote, the bill being passed 110 for and 31 against, with 17 abstentions.
In addition to the extension of the Zaytun unit, a bill extending the stay of South Korean medical forces and engineering units deployed to Afghanistan for another year was also passed. According to the Defense Ministry, apart from the Zaytun unit, about 3,500 Korean military personnel are deployed in 13 regions around the world in different types of missions. [Collusion] [Friction]

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