Year 2004 Is Epochally Significant for DPRK-China Friendship: KCNA
Pyongyang reviewed this year as a significant year of mutual friendship between
the DPRK and China.
The DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency reported on December 6 that the
year 2004 was "a historic year in which the DPRK-China friendship has
strengthened still further
Coalition Urges China to Show Leniency for NK
Defectors
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) - An international coalition
of civic groups called for China to show
leniency toward North Korean defectors in a
protest held in front of the Chinese embassy
here Wednesday.
The coalition also stressed that Beijing is
partly to blame for the kidnapping of South
Koreans in China by Pyongyang. ``The Chinese
government should stop repatriating North Korean
refugees,'' it said in a statement.
In China, Neckties Are Southeast of Socks City
By DAVID BARBOZA
Published: December 24, 2004
DATANG, China - You probably have never heard of this factory town in coastal
China, and there is no reason why you should have. But it fills your sock
drawer.
Datang produces an astounding nine billion pairs of socks each year - more than
one set for every person on the planet. People here fondly call it Socks City,
and its annual socks festival attracts 100,000 buyers from around the world.
Southeast from here is Shenzhou, which is the world's necktie capital. To the
west is Sweater City and Kid's Clothing City. To the south, in the low-rent
district, is Underwear City.
This remarkable specialization, one city for each drawer in your bureau,
reflects the economies of scale and intense concentration that have helped turn
China into a garment behemoth. On Jan. 1, a new trade regime will end the
decades-old system of country-by-country quotas that divide the world's exports
among roughly 150 countries. Now, China is banking on its immense size and
efficient operators to grab an even larger share of the world's clothing
orders.
Chung: North should abandon nuclear weapons
December 23, 2004 ? BEIJING -- Unification
Minister Chung Dong-young told students here
that the North Korean nuclear standoff should be
solved peacefully and that the next year will be
critical.
Mr. Chung arrived here Tuesday to discuss with
Chinese leaders how to resume the stalled six-
party talks and seek the Chinese government's
aid in urging North Korea to come back to the
negotiating table.
"We should not unilaterally force Pyeongyang to
make a decision," Mr. Chung said during a talk
with students at the University of Beijing. "The
only thing that will never be compromised in the
process of resolving the nuclear issue is that
it should be solved peacefully.
"Some argue for military pressure or economic
sanctions against Pyeongyang, but we do not want
any physical force," the minister said.
Goguryeo conference under way in Beijing
December 22, 2004 ? BEIJING ? The first joint
Korean-Chinese academic conference on the
history of Goguryeo, an ancient kingdom that
existed in Northeast Asia from 37 BC to AD 668,
opened in Beijing yesterday.
The event, hosted by South Korea's Goguryeo
Foundation and the Chinese Institute of Social
Sciences, includes a series of closed-door
seminars, which will be held through tommorow.
The title of the academic conference is "The
Historical Value of Goguryeo's Culture," and
scholars from both countries will present
academic findings related to this.
Seoul and Beijing have been at odds over the
origin of Goguryeo, which occupied most of
present day North Korea and Manchuria. China
claims that it was a subordinate kingdom ruled
by Chinese dynasties, while Korea asserts it was
an independent kingdom made up of ethnic
Koreans.
[Koguryo]
Chung in China seeks help in six-party talks
December 22, 2004 ? Unification Minister Chung
Dong-young arrived yesterday in Beijing to
discuss with Chinese leaders how to resume the
stalled six-party talks aimed at ending North
Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Mr. Chung is expected to seek the Chinese
government's aid in urging North Korea to come
back to the negotiating table.
Presidential Envoy to Visit China on 6-Party
Talks
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young will make
a four-day visit to China from Tuesday to find a
breakthrough in the stalled six-party talks over
Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
``As a presidential envoy, he will focus on
discussing ways to resume the six-nation talks
during his meetings with high-ranking Chinese
officials,'' a ministry spokesman said.
On Dec. 22, he will meet Wu Bangguo, chairman
the Standing Committee of the 10th National
People's Congress and state councilor Tang
Jiaxuan to discuss measures for early resumption
of the multilateral talks.
Backward in China
Monday, December 20, 2004; Page A22 WP Editorial
FOR TWO YEARS the outside world has speculated about where
Chinese President Hu Jintao would lead his country once he and his
team consolidated their hold on power. The answer got clearer last week
when his police knocked on the doors of three leading intellectuals who
have criticized the government or advocated democratic change. The
detentions of Yu Jie, Zhang Zuhua and Liu Xiaobo confirmed the launch
of a crackdown on dissent that includes greater censorship of the press
and a new campaign by the Communist Party to tighten discipline in its
ranks. Rather than dismantle the creaky political dictatorship that
governs China's increasingly modern economy, Mr. Hu is headed in the
opposite direction
Beijing has since undermined Western efforts to stop genocide in
Sudan and to halt Iran's development of nuclear weapons and has
positioned itself as a neutral party in the standoff with North Korea.
Meanwhile, it has continued a large military buildup explicitly aimed at
acquiring the capacity to invade and conquer Taiwan.
Beijing Korean school closed after defections
December 17, 2004 ? A South Korean school in
Beijing was shut down yesterday following a
series of asylum bids by North Korean defectors.
The front gate of the South Korean International
School in Beijing was closed after a Chinese
school foundation, which owns the Korean
school's building, barred students from
entering. The Korean school leases a building
inside the Chinese school's compound.
Uninformed about the move, about 600 Korean
elementary, middle and high school students were
unable to attend classes.
On Oct. 22, 29 alleged North Koreans entered the
school, seeking refuge. On Wednesday afternoon,
another four alleged North Koreans entered the
school.
"Chinese armed police held late night meetings
in the auditorium the previous night," an
official of the Korean school said. "I think the
school was shut on their order."
China and the U.S.: Competing Geopolitical Strategies
Immanuel Wallerstein
Commentary No. 151, Dec. 15, 2004
Ever since Richard Nixon went to China on Feb. 21, 1972 to visit Mao Zedong, the world's geopolitical alignments have never been the same. The meeting represented a spectacular shift in geopolitical hostilities of the post-1945 period. The major consequence was that China and the United States ceased to act as though each were the other's primary enemy, and acted as though each were a potential collaborator of the other on the world scene - collaborator, which is less than an ally. Each has been careful to do nothing that would allow for a return to the pre-1972 period which had seen open warfare in Korea and unlimited rhetorical harangue across the world. This cautious, even wary, relationship has continued unabated up to today and has survived intact even during the era of U.S. neo-conservative aggressive foreign policy under George W. Bush.
The key to U.S. military superiority remains nuclear weapons, which explains why the U.S. continues an almost hysterical concern with nuclear proliferation. It is however becoming clear, even to the Bush administration, that the U.S. is isn't going to be able to stop a series of countries from obtaining nuclear weapons. North Korea and Iran may head the list, but there is a long list quietly (or not so quietly) starting to jump on the bandwagon. When the U.S. can't get even Great Britain to align itself on its struggle to keep Iran in line, it is in bad shape politically.
The U.S. emphasis on the military card has the flavor of desperation. China's emphasis on building slowly its economic base seems by contrast an act of patience. Perhaps this is the story of the tortoise and the hare.
I.B.M. Sought a China Partnership, Not Just a Sale
By STEVE LOHR
Published: December 13, 2004
In July 2003, Samuel J. Palmisano, the chief executive of I.B.M., traveled to
Beijing to explore the sale of the company's personal computer business. But he
did not start by making the usual visit with executives of I.B.M.'s preferred
partner, Lenovo, China's largest personal computer maker.
Instead, Mr. Palmisano first engaged in a bit of old-fashioned courtship.
Before formally approaching Lenovo, he sought permission from the parents, by
meeting privately with a senior Chinese government official in charge of
economic and technology policy.
I.B.M. was not merely looking to sell its PC business, Mr. Palmisano told the
official, but had bigger aspirations of creating a global enterprise, with
I.B.M. contributing technology, management, marketing and distribution.
The idea, Mr. Palmisano explained, would be to build a modern and truly
international Chinese-owned corporation. The move, he added, would demonstrate
China's desire to take that next step toward economic maturity by investing
abroad instead of merely serving as a manufacturing hub for the rest of the
world.
The senior Chinese government official, Mr. Palmisano recalled, responded,
"That is the future model for where we see China headed."
Chinese TV Maker Sharpens Focus on Europe
From a Factory in Hungary, Hisense Sets Its Sights on Brand Recognition
By Peter S. Goodman
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, December 13, 2004; Page A01
SARVAR, Hungary -- Wu Yongliang arrived in April with a suitcase full of
instant noodles, a bad case of jet lag and a mind overwhelmed by his mission --
to somehow turn Hisense, a Chinese television-maker still owned by the
Communist Party government, into a brand as recognized as Samsung or Sony.
Other than a week-long trip to Korea, he had never been outside China. He spoke
no Hungarian and minimal English. He could not pronounce the name of the
village where he was to live, its entrance sign looming like a daily taunt --
Ostffyasszonya. The thought of transforming an empty factory into Hisense's
first European beachhead filled him with anxiety.
"I thought, 'Here, there is nothing. We need everything,' " he said. "There is
only darkness, emptiness. We don't know how to do this."
Seven months later, the Hisense line hums with precision. Hungarian laborers in
white lab coats insert wiring into flat-panel televisions for sale in France,
Britain and Italy at prices as little as half those of established European
brands. The new factory now employs 150 and produced its first order in July --
3,300 televisions for the French retailer Carrefour. Last month, the factory
made 20,000. Next year's sales target is 500,000.
Goguryeo on display
Hwadongyanghaeng, a coin dealer based in Seoul,
displayed gold and silver medallions embossed
with cultural assets from the Goguryeo Dynasty.
The medallions will go on sale Tuesday and can
be ordered at Shinhan Bank branches nationwide.
The maker said it wanted to attribute the assets
to the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo,
especially because of China's recent attempts to
include Goguryeo as part of its own history.
[Koguryo]
End of an era as firm that brought us the PC
sells out to Chinese pretender for $1.75bn
Little known company becomes world's third
largest manufacturer in breakthrough deal
David Teather in New York and Jonathan Watts in
Beijing
Thursday December 9, 2004
The Guardian
IBM yesterday sold its personal computer
business to China's leading manufacturer,
Lenovo, in a deal that reflects the profound
changes taking place in the economic world order
and marks the end of an era for one of America's
most iconic companies.
The sale is a great leap forward for China,
still nominally a communist country, onto the
global business stage. The deal is the largest
overseas acquisition by a Chinese company and
Lenovo will become the third largest maker of
personal computers in the world.
As a part of the $1.75bn (£900m) deal Lenovo
will have use of the IBM name on PCs and laptops
for at least five years.
The firm, known until last year as Legend, was
founded in 1984 by a group of Chinese government
scientists and financed from public coffers.
Year of Epochal Significance in DPRK-China
Friendship
Pyongyang, December 6 (KCNA) -- This is a
historic year in which the DPRK-China friendship
has strengthened still further. The unofficial
visit of leader Kim Jong Il to China in April
marked a new milestone in the development of the
bilateral friendship.
During the visit, he met and had talks with Hu
Jintao.
At the talks, held in a cordial and friendly
atmosphere, the two leaders exchanged their
views and reached a consensus on the issue of
further developing the relations between the two
parties and two countries and important
international issues of common concern.
The deeply rooted friendship between the DPRK
and China has been carried forward by their
leaders through generations.
President Kim Il Sung, along with Mao Zedong,
Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, provided the
historic foundation of the DPRK-China friendship
and developed it with a strong sense of
revolutionary obligation and fraternity
Unhelpful China
By Dan Blumenthal Monday, December 6, 2004; Page A21
In contrast to its rejection of traditional U.S. foreign policy in the Middle
East, the Bush administration has largely embraced the traditional approach to
the People's Republic of China, the one it inherited from its predecessors.
This policy, known as "engagement," is predicated on the belief that as Beijing
grows more confident and influential on the global stage, it will act in ways
that advance common Sino-American interests. But as China's behavior on key
U.S. policies makes clear, while Beijing may speak the language of cooperation,
it acts like a strategic competitor.
The spirit of obstructionism rules even in the
case of North Korea. By any rational measure,
the elimination of Kim Jong Il's nuclear arsenal
should be a shared Sino-U.S. interest. Instead,
Beijing acts as if the United States and North
Korea are equally to blame for the standoff.
Styling itself an "honest broker," the Chinese
leadership has taken to calling for both sides
to be "more flexible." And, when North Korean
parliamentary head Kim Yong Nam visited Beijing
in October, President Hu Jintao vowed to
"enhance bilateral cooperation and coordination
in regional and international affairs."
A Long March From Maoism to Microsoft
By GARY RIVLIN
Published: December 5, 2004
Duncan James Livingston for The New York Times
Sidney Rittenberg, an American, was once a Communist Party functionary in
China. Now, he is a high-priced global go-between for companies wanting to cash
in on the booming Chinese economy.
.
OX ISLAND, Wash.
IN one sense, Sidney Rittenberg can be viewed as just another international
business consultant scrambling to cash in on the China boom. He certainly
appears to fit the mold, driving an expensive late-model BMW and serving as an
adviser to a long list of companies that have included Microsoft, Intel,
Prudential Insurance and Polaroid.
But at 83, Mr. Rittenberg is a striking contrast with the new breed of
self-proclaimed China experts setting up shop on either side of the Pacific,
promoting themselves as corporate matchmakers. It's a safe bet, after all, that
he is the only American business consultant who
can claim to have been airbrushed out of a
photograph appearing in the official Beijing
Review. And certainly none of his competitors
can say, as he did in his autobiography, "Mao
didn't really like me."
From 1945 until 1980, Mr. Rittenberg lived in
China. He was a member of the Communist Party
there and served as a midlevel party functionary
- except for 16 years when he was locked away in
solitary confinement, wrongly accused of being a
spy.
Goguryeo row moves to Chinese stamps
December 04, 2004 ? Revelations that China has
recently begun issuing stamps depicting relics
from the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo is
prompting South Korea to counter with a version
of its own next year.
A government official said yesterday, "We found
out China issued stamps in July commemorating
the registration of Goguryeo relics in China as
a World Cultural Heritage Site. The government
decided to issue our own commemorative stamps to
let it be known that Goguryeo is our history."
The kingdom of Goguryeo (BC 37 to AD 668)
covered parts of present-day Manchuria and North
Korea and has become the center of heated
dispute between China and Korea.
A Beijing official told Seoul the stamps merely
commemorate the World Cultural Heritage site
registration.
China Issues Postage Stamps on Koguryo Relics
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
The Seoul government on Friday said that China has recently issued postage
stamps featuring historic relics of Koguryo, heralding another round of
disputes over the ancient Korean kingdom.
The stamps, published in two designs, each include images of tombs and murals
located in Jian, Jilin Province, northeastern China.
Seoul is trying to find out Beijing's true intention behind the move, an
official said. ``We understand that China has recently published the stamps on
Koguryo relics to celebrate their registration on the world heritage list,'' he
said.
But diplomatic experts in Seoul said China is apparently trying to play up its
current sovereignty over a portion of the ancient kingdom, set up by hunting
tribes that ruled much of modern day North Korea and Chinese Manchuria from 37
B.C. to A.D. 668.
China Slammed for Issuing Stamps Featuring Korean Relics
SEOUL (Yonhap) - China has issued commemorative postage stamps featuring
historic relics from Koguryo, in what foreign ministry officials yesterday said
is an apparent bid to upset the country's sovereignty over the ancient Korean
kingdom.
``We understand China has recently created stamps with Koguryo relics in
commemoration of their addition to the world heritage list,'' an official said,
on condition of anonymity.
Seoul City to Have New Chinese Name
By Lee Jin-woo
Staff Reporter
The new Chinese name of Seoul, the capital of
Korea, will be decided on Dec. 3, Seoul City
said Sunday.
Seoul City received proposals for a new Chinese
name for the metropolitan city from both Chinese
language experts and citizens in May as the
current Chinese characters, ?? (Hansong), have a
different pronunciation.
However, it had to postpone its plan due mainly
to the lack of positive response from the
Chinese government.
The city plans to choose an official Chinese
name and will strongly urge China to use it. The
new name will be used for maps, street
directions, airports and public transit systems
to help the increasing number of Chinese
travelers to the city.
``It will be of no use to have a new Chinese
name for the capital city if the Chinese
government and people do not accept it,'' a city
official said.
China hedges on talk of Dear Leader's death
November 26, 2004 ? Chinese officials hedged a
bit yesterday when questioned about a rumor that
the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, had died.
Speculation swept Seoul's stock market yesterday
afternoon that Mr. Kim had been shot and killed.
At its daily press briefing yesterday in
Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman, Zhang Qiyue, said she had not been
informed about such a report and did not know if
the rumor was true.
Ms. Zhang said no abnormal signs had been seen
in the North, citing a remark by Wu Dawei, the
vice foreign minister in charge of Asian
affairs.
After a series of news reports on unexplained
incidents in North Korea, including the
disappearance of portraits of Mr. Kim that
Pyeongyang said were untrue despite photographic
evidence, nerves were on edge about the
possibility of some sort of upheaval in North
Korea. In that atmosphere, stock market rumors
here took on a life of their own.
Seoul also has denied that anything unusual was
going on in the North.
Chinese troops set up camp on North's border
November 24, 2004 ? WASHINGTON ? Satellite
surveillance photos indicate that a 10,000-man
Chinese army division is making preparations for
a prolonged deployment along the Chinese-North
Korean border, sources in Washington said.
The sources said on Monday that the photos show
that the Chinese division, which in September
moved from the interior to the border area close
to North Korea, was in the process of building
winter barracks.
"These forces are elite combat soldiers and are
now being positioned along the Chinese-North
Korean border," the sources said.
Analysts have said the positioning of the
Chinese troops is a move to have forces
available in case of an abrupt political change
that could include the downfall of the North's
leader, Kim Jong-il.
"What was first thought to be a move to block a
massive influx of North Korean defectors looks
now more like a preemptive move anticipating
internal turmoil," the sources said.
University cites need for Chinese skills
November 24, 2004 ? Korea University said
yesterday that a test on Chinese characters will
become a graduation requirement for students
entering this year. The students can take the
test at any time during their stay at the
school.
"China has become an economic giant, but our
students are less and less competent in the
language," Kim Chang-bae, education support
manager of Korea University, said. "Proficiency
in Chinese characters is essential for
understanding the Korean language." He said
large business groups, such as Samsung and SK,
have recently begun looking at Chinese character
proficiency in their employment criteria.
The first test, on which students must score a
minimum of 60 percent, is scheduled to take
place Saturday, and the university is now taking
applications. Four tests are planned next year.
Lee Fears Pro-China Regime in NK
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
The ruling Uri Party chairman Lee Bu-young
indicated that a pro-China regime may be set up
in North Korea in case of political turmoil.
``I am concerned that a radical pro-China regime
may take over in North Korea in an emergency,''
Lee said during a special lecture at Korea
University on Tuesday. ``China is ready to
intervene whenever political disorder takes
place in the North.''
Lee further said that the possible establishment
of a pro-China regime in North Korea would
aggravate the inter-Korean relationship and
predicted it would be a more serious problem
than the division of the Korean peninsula
itself.
The surprising remark came from his assumption
that the United States may choose to let China
solve the North Korean nuclear problem by their
own methods rather than removing the North's
nuclear weapons by using U.S. forces.
``The U.S. may consider armed intervention by
China the best solution to
resolve North Korea's nuclear crisis, which will lead to pro-China regime
reigning in the North,'' Lee explained.
To support his claim, Lee cited 100,000 military personnel deployed by the
Chinese government near the Yalu River, a border river between North Korea and
China, laying the groundwork for intervention in North Korean affairs when
needed.
``If North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons programs, China will take
the North's nuke development as an excuse to use armed force to the North,''
the Uri leader said. ``North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is well aware of this.''
The possibility of an armed attack by China on North Korea was first announced
by the leader of the governing Uri Party at a time when the ruling camp is
intent on identifying U.S. President George W. Bush's second-term policy toward
North Korea.
A Japanese newspaper recently reported that the U.S. had a contingency plan in
the late 1970s to bomb North Korea with 30 nuclear weapons if North Korea
invaded South Korea.
Meanwhile, Lee judged the North Korean military threat to be trivial, saying,
``The rogue state (North Korea) is starving and its military capability is only
one blow. The communist country will be as good as dead after exerting that one
and only blow.''
On the party's lowest-ever popularity, Lee said political reforms cannot be
achieved overnight, and urged people to be patient to see the tangible result
of the party's reform drive.
yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr
11-10-2004 17:28
[PYR] [Collapse]
China Repatriates 70 Defectors to NK
By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter
Around 70 North Korea refugees arrested in
crackdowns by Chinese police last month have
been sent back to the North where they will
likely face severe punishment for defection,
sources in Beijing said Tuesday.
However, following a rush of asylum bids in
recent months, China appears to have begun
actively blocking attempts to enter embassies.
The Foreign Ministry in Beijing issued a formal
warning late last month saying that it will not
tolerate attempts by North Koreans to seek
asylum by intruding on foreign diplomatic
missions and schools.
``It seriously violates Chinese law and disturbs
the normal operations of diplomatic missions and
schools, posing a direct threat to their safety
and property,'' the ministry's spokeswoman Zhang
Qiyue said.
The Chinese government views North Korean
refugees as economic migrants and has a pact
with North Korea to repatriate any defectors in
its custody.
Chinese Defense Minister on Sino-Korean
Friendship
Beijing, November 4 (KCNA) -- It is the firm
stand of the party and government of China to
further develop the Sino-Korean friendship, and
the cooperative ties between the two armies will
grow stronger in the future, too, for the sake
of the blood-sealed bilateral friendship.
Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan, vice-
chairman of the Central Military Commission of
the People's Republic of China, said this when
meeting with the DPRK delegation headed by Kim
Sang Ik, vice-minister of the People's Armed
Forces, on Nov. 4 which was participating in the
security policy meeting of the ASEAN Regional
Forum in Beijing.
Freedom for Chinese Detainees Hinges on Finding a New Homeland
By NEIL A. LEWIS
Published: November 8, 2004
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba, Nov. 7 - One of the most vexing and peculiar problems
that the imprisonment of people suspected of being terrorists at the naval base
here has caused for the Bush administration has been what to do with the ethnic
Uighur detainees here.
Guantánamo has 22 Uighur (pronounced WEE-ger) detainees, most captured in
Afghanistan. They traveled there from their homeland in the Xinjiang Province
of China where the mostly Muslim Uighurs have fought a low-level insurgency
against Beijing's rule for years.
United States military officials have concluded that at least half of the
Uighurs here are eligible for release, but the prisoners have said they do not
want to be returned to China because they fear they will be tortured or killed
as terrorists. That has sent United States officials scrambling to find a third
country willing to accept the Uighurs. So far, several European countries,
including Norway and Switzerland, have declined. European newspapers in other
countries have reported that their governments have refused as well.
Beijing, for its part, has asserted that the Uighurs are terrorists and that
the United States should return them to China to demonstrate its commitment to
fighting terrorism around the world
CIA estimates on China
This collection of over seventy National
Intelligence Estimates on China is the most
extensive single selection of intelligence
analyses the United States Government ever has
released. This recently declassified collection
represents the most authoritative intelligence
assessments of the United States Government and
thus constitutes a unique historical record of a
momentous era in China's modern history.
Chinese reinforce border near North
WASHINGTON ? China has dispatched thousands of
additional soldiers to its border region with
North Korea, prompting an alert among
intelligence officials in South Korea and the
United States, according to a diplomatic source
here.
"Based on the U.S. satellite photos and South
Korea's human intelligence, the two countries
concluded that China has recently deployed
10,000 elite troops to the North Korean border,"
the source in Washington said Tuesday. "China
already has two divisions of troops guarding the
border. Seoul and Washington are now analyzing
why China had to send another division of its
best-trained troops to the area."
North Korea's No. 2 Official to Visit China
[Yonhap,Oct.12th]
North Korea's titular head of state Kim Yong-nam will make a formal visit to China next week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Kim, chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, is to lead a government delegation to China on Oct. 18-20, ministry spokesman Zhang Qiyue said in a news briefing. The visit will be made at the invitation of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress and the State Council, Zhang added.
N. Korea, China Mark 55th Anniversary of Ties This Year
[Yonhap,Oct.5th]
North Korea and China will increasingly pursue practical interests in their relations as they mark the 55th anniversary of their diplomatic ties this year, experts said Tuesday. When the two countries opened formal ties on Oct. 6, 1949, it began as a strong relationship based on their common communist ideology, experiences of anti-Japanese struggles and geographical accessibility. Korea and China were colonies of Japan in the early part of the 1900s
However, China's policy of friendly ties and cooperation with the North is likely to stay intact as Hu pledged to further develop the relationship in a handwritten letter sent last month to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Agreement on Cooperation in Hydrology Signed
between DPRK and China
Pyongyang, September 23 (KCNA) -- An agreement
on cooperation in the hydrological work of the
Rivers. Amrok and Tuman between the Hydro-
Meteorological Service of the DPRK and the
Ministry of Water Resources of China was signed
in Pyongyang today. The agreement was inked by
Ko Il Hun, director of the Hydro-Meteorological
Service of the DPRK and E Jingping, vice-
minister of Water Resources of China who is
heading a delegation of the Chinese Ministry of
Water Resources.
Two Koreas Should Join Forces to Rectify China's Folly
The following is the third in a series of articles on China's
misrepresentations of the history of the ancient kingdom of Koguryo (37
B.C.-A.D. 668) _ ED.
By Choi Kwang-shik
Professor of Korea University
The source and motivation for China beginning its Northeast Asia Project was
North Korea's application to have its Koguryo site declared by UNESCO as World
Heritage. The problem for China lessened when it was able to simultaneously
have its Koguryo tombs and relics given World Heritage status along with those
of North Korea.
But for Korean academics, the fact that the sites were declared World Heritage
sites for both countries should be motivation to accelerate their research,
because China's argument that Koguryo's history is applicable to both countries
has been strengthened.
The problem of Koguryo's history is not one for South or North Korea, but one
for all Korean people, this being an opportunity for the two countries to
cooperate with each other.
Foreign Scholars Back Korea on Koguryo History
Dispute
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Historians from Japan, Mongolia, Australia,
Russia and the United States have voiced support
for Korean scholars' position that the ancient
kingdom of Koguryo is part of Korean history,
citing historical records.
John B. Duncan from the United States, who
participated in an international conference in
Seoul, expressed his support for the Korean
scholars' statement describing the Chinese claim
as groundless. The two-day conference, organized
by the Koguryo Research Foundation, ended
yesterday.
Dispute on Goguryeo flares up once again
The Foreign Ministry said yesterday that it
would demand China make amends for a report on
the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in state-
published magazines, which claimed the kingdom
was an ethnic minority state under China.
The article appeared in the September edition of
a monthly magazine published by a subsidiary of
China's Ministry of Culture.
[Koguryo]
South Korea Again Urges China to Correct
Historical Distortion
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
The conflict between South Korea and China on
sovereignty over Koguryo, which was loosely
sealed up in the verbal agreement last month, is
shaping up into a second round as Seoul strongly
urged again Beijing to correct its latest
historical distortion Friday.
The fresh bout began when a cultural
institution, affiliated to the Chinese
government, published a monthly magazine
Wednesday, claiming that Koguryo was a
provincial administration belonging to Chinese
minority nation.
`Seoul Rejected Deal With China on Gando'
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
China asked South Korea to promise it will not
stake a claim on Gando, a disputed region north
of the North Korean border, when it held talks
with Seoul last month to patch up the history
dispute over the ancient kingdom of Koguryo,
sources said.
Beijing has been very concerned about the recent
move by a group of South Korean lawmakers to
nullify the Gando Convention, signed in 1909
between China's Qing Dynasty and imperial Japan,
which ruled Korea until 1945, a government
official said.
Chinese Party and Government Delegation Here
Pyongyang, September 10 (KCNA) -- The Chinese
party and government delegation led by Li
Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of
the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of
the Communist Party of China, arrived here today
to pay an official goodwill visit to the DPRK at
the invitation of the Central Committee of the
Workers' Party of Korea and the DPRK government.
Korean Children Awarded "Excellence" Prize
The 4th Shanghai China International Juvenile
Festival of Culture and Art was held in
Shanghai, China, from July 25 to 28. An art
troupe of Pyongyang schoolchildren who
participated in the festival, was awarded an
"excellence" prize in the group division.
Gando New Source of Friction
Seoul, Beijing Brace for Fresh Round of
Historical Bout
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
A historical row between Seoul and Beijing is
entering a second round as the dispute over
sovereignty of Gando in southern Manchuria,
China, has emerged as a fresh bone of contention
after the two countries had loosely resolved the
earlier controversy over the ancient Korean
kingdom of Koguryo.
Recently, 59 lawmakers from the ruling and
opposition parties submitted a resolution to
nullify the Gando Agreement signed by Japan and
China in 1909.
DPRK-China Cooperation in Public Health and
Medical Science
Beijing, September 1 (KCNA) -- A 2004-2005
working plan for cooperation in public health
and medical science was signed between the
ministries of Public Health of the DPRK and the
People's Republic of China in Beijing Wednesday.
Roh calls Goguryeo 'regrettable' issue
In talks with a visiting top Chinese official,
President Roh Moo-hyun said yesterday that he
was dismayed that Goguryeo, an ancient kingdom
whose history both China and Korea claim, had
become a matter of a modern dispute.
Roh Calls for Swift Action
Hu Jintao Promises to Settle History Dispute
Properly
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun expressed ``strong
regret'' over China's misrepresentation of the
history of the ancient kingdom of Koguryo, Chong
Wa Dae spokesman Kim Jong-min said Friday.
``It is very regrettable that the issue has been
a bone of contention between the two countries
in recent days,'' Roh was quoted as saying
during his meeting with Jia Qinglin, a high-
level Chinese official, at Chong Wa Dae.
NK Hits China for Laying Claim on Koguryo Kingdom
SEOUL (Yonhap) _ A North Korean magazine on
Friday indirectly criticized China's bid to
distort ancient Korean history by publishing a
detailed history of the ancient Korean kingdom
of Balhae.
``Balhae was a sovereign country that succeeded
Koguryo and took a great role in developing
Korean history while existing for more than 200
years from 698 to 926,'' the monthly Choson said
in its August issue. ``The people of Koguryo
formed Balhae and its territory was almost
identical to that of Koguryo.''
Koguryo was a kingdom which stretched from the
upper Korean Peninsula into what is today
Manchuria in China between 37 B.C.
and 668 A.D. Balhae was established by a former
Koguryo general 30 years later.
Koreans have no doubt that the kingdoms are part
of their history. But some Chinese scholars have
recently laid claim to the kingdoms, arguing
that they were regional governments subject to
China. The Chinese government supported that
view after rejecting South Korean protests.
It was the latest in a series of North Korean
news media reports on Koguryo and Balhae. The
North recently increased the volume of such
reports in an apparent protest against what it
sees as China's bid to distort early Korean
history. However, it refrained from directly
criticizing its staunch ally.
China's Censorship of Koguryo History 'Mistaken Approach'
By Bernard Rowan
Professor of political science,
Chicago State University.
The Chinese government's manipulation of its Internet site references to the
Koguryo kingdom in Manchuria has become a hot item of news, commentary, and
diplomacy in South Korea. The Chinese government is denying Koreans the proper
credit due, and denying the people of China of correct knowledge of the
relationship between Korea, Koguryo and Manchuria. This is no casual revision,
since Koguryo ruled territory corresponding to parts of Manchuria for over
three hundred years. The complex interplay of Koguryo, Manchu, and other
peoples in that area is a valuable historical record for all concerned
Lawmakers to Visit China for Asian Parties Conference
South Korean ruling and opposition lawmakers will visit China next week to
attend the third Asian Political Parties' Conference, party officials said
Friday.
Lee Bu-young, chairman of the ruling Uri party, will depart for Beijing
Thursday to attend the Sept. 3-5 meeting, accompanied by Reps. Moon hee-sang,
Chung Eui-yong, Chung Duck-goo and Kim Hyun-mi.
Across Asia, Beijing's Star Is in Ascendance
By JANE PERLEZ
Published: August 28, 2004
American military supremacy remains
unquestioned, regional officials say. But the
United States appears to be on the losing side
of trade patterns. China is now South Korea's
biggest trade partner, and two years ago Japan's
imports from China surpassed those from the
United States. Current trends show China is
likely to top American trade with Southeast Asia
in just a few years.
Two Koreas Should Join Forces to Rectify China's Folly
The following is the third in a series of articles on China's
misrepresentations of the history of the ancient kingdom of Koguryo (37
B.C.-A.D. 668) _ ED.
By Choi Kwang-shik
Professor of Korea University
The source and motivation for China beginning its Northeast Asia Project was
North Korea's application to have its Koguryo site declared by UNESCO as World
Heritage. The problem for China lessened when it was able to simultaneously
have its Koguryo tombs and relics given World Heritage status along with those
of North Korea.
But for Korean academics, the fact that the sites were declared World Heritage
sites for both countries should be motivation to accelerate their research,
because China's argument that Koguryo's history is applicable to both countries
has been strengthened.
The problem of Koguryo's history is not one for South or North Korea, but one
for all Korean people, this being an opportunity for the two countries to
cooperate with each other.
China's No. 4 Man to Visit Seoul Thursday
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
A top Chinese official will arrive here Thursday
for a five-day visit to discuss North Korea's
nuclear weapons program and the lingering
dispute over China's distortion of the history
ancient Korean kingdom of Koguryo, sources said
Wednesday.
Jia Qinglin, chairman of the People's Political
Consultative Conference, will fly to Seoul
aboard a private jet at the invitation of
National Assembly Speaker Kim One-ki, a
legislative staff said asking not to be named.
What Is Behind China's Attempt to Distort the
Past?
The following is the first in a series of
articles on China's distortion of the history of
the ancient Korean kingdom of Koguryo. _ ED.
By Choi Kwang-shik
Professor of Korea University
In February 2002, China officially established
the Northeast Asia Project, which was actually
in the works for the past five years. This
Northeast Asia Project, organized through the
China Border Land, which is affiliated with the
state-run China Academy of Social Sciences, is
one that has significant national importance due
to its dealing of history and contemporary
problems in China's northeastern region in an
academic manner.
China Fears Once and Future Kingdom
By JAMES BROOKE
Published: August 25, 2004
EOUL, South Korea, Aug. 24 - Highlighting history's weight in modern Asia,
China and South Korea, two of the region's closest economic partners, tried to
patch over the sharpest crisis in 12 years of diplomatic relations by agreeing
Tuesday to discuss calmly the boundaries of a kingdom that disappeared from
maps 1,300 years ago.
China may be South Korea's largest trading partner and South Korea may be
China's largest source of new foreign investment, but that did not prevent
South Koreans from taking on their huge neighbor this summer over the
boundaries of Koguryo, a kingdom of hunting tribes that ruled much of
modern-day North Korea and northeastern China from 37 B.C. to A.D. 668, when it
was conquered by China's Tang dynasty.
Koreans see the kingdom as the forerunner of their nation, a flourishing
civilization that bequeathed to modern Korea its name. In July, Koguryo tombs
and murals in North Korea were given World Heritage status, the first such
listing by Unesco for the Communist country.
Top envoy from China seeks way to resolve
dispute over Goguryeo
South Korea and China took diplomatic steps
yesterday to calm their conflict over the
ancient kingdom of Goguryeo.
The dispute over Goguryeo, which had control
over northeastern China and the northern part of
the Korean Peninsula from 37 B.C. to 668, began
two years ago. At the time Chinese scholars
participating in a research project interpreted
the kingdom's history as that of a state under
sway of China.
[Koguryo]
Seoul Asks Beijing to Solve Koguryo Issue
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
South Korea urged China to stop attempts to
distort the history of the ancient Korean
kingdom of Koguryo and suggested that China
should first resolve the problems of its own
creation with regard to the Koguryo issue,
officials here said Monday.
Korea-Tibet Cooperation on History Urged
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
A leading opposition party leader on Monday underlined the necessity of joining
forces with Asian countries or territories, including Tibet, to deal with
China's attempt to distort the history of the ancient Korean kingdom of Koguryo.
Hands Off Koguryo's History, Seoul Warns Beijing
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
South Korea urged China to stop attempts to
distort the history of the ancient Korean
kingdom of Koguryo and suggested that China
should first resolve the problems of its own
creating with regarding the Koguryo issue,
officials here said Monday.
Researcher Proposes Economic Pressure on China Over Koguryo
By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter
The Koguryo Research Foundation is calling for the government to put economic
pressure on China to drop its attempts to absorb the history of the ancient
kingdom of Koguryo.
Yoon Hwi-tak, a researcher at the government-funded foundation, on Friday
suggested the government urge local businesses
to reduce their investment in China's fast
growing economy as a countermeasure unless
Beijing drops its claims over Koguryo, which has
long been considered a part of Korea's cultural
heritage.
``Korea is the second largest investor in China
after Hong Kong,'' Yoon said, stressing that the
government should take all possible measures
against the historical revisionism.
`China Aims to Expand Territory by Distorting History'
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
China's distortion of Koguryo's history is aimed
at claiming territory currently belonging to
North Korea in the event of the unification of
the Korean peninsula, an Internet user claimed
on his Web site, citing a Chinese professor.
The site also argued that Beijing is plotting to
make Pyongyang a local government by
misrepresenting history.
The professor reportedly said Kim Jong-il's regime will be overthrown within 10 years by a coup led by army generals affiliated with China, and the rebels may depend on China's military power to maintain order.
``China will be able to federalize some regions of North Korea by supporting the new regime, attaching them to local Chinese government in the end,'' the professor is quoted as saying.
China yawns at Goguryeo spat
Despite South Koreans' emotional reactions to
what they see as a challenge by China to Korea's
ancient history, the Chinese media have
generally ignored the matter since a series of
comments in July that aroused Koreans' ire. A
Chinese editor in Beijing said that residents
there are mostly ignorant of the dispute or are
indifferent to it.
[Koguryo]
Koguryo Belongs to Korea: Chinese Ex-PM
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
The Seoul-Beijing historical row on Friday
entered a new phase as a former Chinese premier
was found to have openly stated the ancient
kingdom of Koguryo belongs to Korea, a crucial
blow to Beijing, which has been claiming it as
part of its own history.
In a document revealed by former lawmaker Sul
Hoon, the late Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai
said that the Korean race has been residing in
China's northeastern part since ancient times
and that historic relics unearthed in the area
prove that Koguryo and its successor Parhae are
part of ancient Korea.
A Chinese critic speaks out
China's renowned literary critic Zhu Dake has
criticized recent efforts by Chinese historians
in the past five years to weave China's
prehistoric era of Ha, Sang and Zhou into
historical chronology. This is just one of the
signs proving that China's distortion of history
has reached serious levels. Mr. Zhu said that
the objective of this project was to prove that
the Chinese played the central role in the
creation of Chinese civilization, and criticized
the efforts as comparable to historians' blind
devotion and loyalty to the emperor in the old
times.
[Koguryo]
Party official cocks eye to China, cites U.S.
alliance
The Uri Party appears to be playing a U.S. card
as tensions with China flare over the alleged
"hijacking of Korea's history."
A senior Uri Party official yesterday told the
JoongAng Ilbo on background that President Roh
Moo-hyun told Condoleezza Rice during her visit
here in early July that Korea must work closely
with the United States, not China. Ms. Rice is
the U.S. national security adviser.
Chinese Web Sites Describe Koguryo as History of
Korea
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
Despite the Chinese government's repeated claim
over the ancient Korean kingdom of Koguryo, two
main Chinese internet sites describe the kingdom
as part of the history of Korea.
Sohu.com, a major Chinese internet site,
introduced ancient Korean history by saying that
three different kingdoms _ Koguryo.
Paekje and Silla _ were established on the
Korean Peninsula during the first century B.C.
Seoul Will Not Let Beijing Off Hook Over Koguryo
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
South Korea will not make any concessions in
dealing with China's attempts to claim
sovereignty of the ancient Korean kingdom of
Koguryo, Deputy Foreign Affairs-Trade Minister
Lee Soo-hyuck said Monday.
``The government will not back down on its
Koguryo sites put onto heritage list
Xin Dingding, China Daily
2004-07-02 06:19
SUZHOU: The 28th Session of the World Heritage
Committee yesterday agreed to inscribe the
capital cities and tombs of the ancient Koguryo
Kingdom of China onto its world heritage list.
It means China now has 30 world heritage entries.
Also yesterday, the Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty in Shenyang, in the
northeastern province of Liaoning, was included as an extension to the already
listed Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).
The Liaoning Tombs were inscribed as an extension to the Imperial Tombs of the
Ming and Qing dynasties.
The selection committee also agreed to put the Complex of the Koguryo Tombs
which is inside the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the
heritage list.
The Koguryo Kingdom once expanded to the Korean Peninsula.
To better protect the vanished civilization, the committee recommended future
co-operation between China and the DPRK.
In response, Cultural Minister Sun Jiazheng said: "The Chinese Government
encourages domestic archaeologists and scholars to undertake all possible
co-operation with their peers in the DPRK."
US holds unprecedented seven-carrier military exercise with three intentions
Currently the US' seven aircraft carriers are busy holding a global military
exercise. During the exercise, dubbed Summer Pulse 2004, the US puts altogether
150,000 troops from the army, navy and air force, more than 600 fighter planes
and seven of its 12 carrier groups. The unprecedented scale, therefore,
attracts the attention from various sides. Some analysts believe the US is
holding a large aircraft carrier military drill with its eyes on China. The US
intentions, however, do not stop at that.
China's ancient Koguryo Kingdom site added to World Heritage List
The 28th Session of the World Heritage Committee Thursday, July 1, unanimously
agreed to inscribe the capital city and tombs of the ancient Koguryo Kingdom of
China onto the World Heritage List
The site of capital cities and tombs of the ancient Koguryo Kingdom of China
has been inscribed into the World Heritage List, sources close to the ongoing
28th session of the World Heritage Committee said Thursday in Suzhou.
Although the committee has not issued any
related statement, reliable sources confirmed
that the new heritage property consisted of Wunu
Mountain City, Guonei City, Wandu Mountain City,
Haotaiwang Stele and 38 tombs for either Koguryo
Kings or noble people.
So far, China has got 30 heritage sites, with
natural, cultural and mixed properties included,
written into the World Heritage List.
Wei Cuncheng, a professor of the Jilin
University and expert on Koguryo issue, said,
"Koguryo was a regime established by ethnic
groups in northern China some 2,000 years ago,
representing an important part of Chinese
culture."
Whispers That May Wake the Dragons
By ANNE WU
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The negotiations to remove
nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula are a
delicate business, made even more so with the
tectonic shifts in Asian geopolitics. As
facilitator in the often rocky negotiations that
also include North and South Korea, Russia,
Japan and the United States, China appears to be
taking a decisive - if typically understated -
diplomatic initiative in smoothing
communications between North Korea and the
United States.
But what message is China whispering to North
Korea
History Dispute Over Koguryo Deepens
China's Disintegration Fears Drive Diplomatic Friction
By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter
Chinese concerns about territorial integrity are
behind its move to claim the history of the
ancient kingdom of Koguryo as its own, experts
in Seoul argue.
Park Sang-seek, rector of Kyung Hee University's
Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, said it
appears that China is worried about losing
sovereignty over the eastern part of Manchuria,
which was once within the Koguryo kingdom and is
still home to millions of ethnic Koreans.
``A reunified Korea may claim that area in the
long-term _ that is China's fear,'' he said.
Parties to Form Panel on Koguryo
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
Political parties said Friday that they will
launch a committee in the National Assembly to
deal with Beijing's alleged distortion of
history on Koguryo, one of the nation's ancient
kingdoms.
Goguryeo tiff flares as Seoul rebuts Chinese
A war of words erupted between journalists from
China and South Korean officials over ancient
history and in particular, the ancient kingdom
of Goguryeo, to which both countries have laid
claim.
The issue flared again during a closed luncheon
for the journalists hosted by South Korean
officials on Tuesday. Word of the confrontation
emerged yesterday.
[Koguryo]
China Deletes Ancient Korean History on Web Site
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
China on Thursday deleted all the content on
Korea's ancient history on its Foreign Ministry
Web site despite mounting pressure from the
Seoul government to correct Beijing's alleged
attempt to distort Korean history.
``The Beijing government informed us that it
will remove content on ancient Korea in an
introduction to Korean history on its Web site
last Monday,'' Shin Bong-kil, ministry's
spokesperson said. ``Today, they made the
deletion.''
Foreign Ministry Urges China to Correct Web Site
on Koguryo
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
The Seoul government urged China's Foreign
Ministry to correct some content on its Web site
where Koguryo, one of the three kingdoms of
ancient Korea, was intentionally deleted from an
introduction to Korean history, officials said
Monday.
China Keeps Distorting History
Culture Tourism Aims to Claim Koguryo Belonged
to China
By Moon Gwang-lip
Staff Reporter
China has again come under attack for escalating
its drive to distort Koguryo history and claim
the ancient Korean kingdom belonged to Chinese
dynasties.
Chinese Magazine Claims Korea Was Tributary State to China During Ming and Qing
Dynasties
AUGUST 01, 2004 22:16
by Yoo-Seong Hwang (yshwang@donga.com)
Amid the brewing fury over China's distortion of the history of the Goguryeo
dynasty, one of China's weekly magazines announced that Korea was a tributary
state to China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, which may spark serious
repercussions from Korea.
Soho.Com in China quoted a report of the weekly magazine Samryeonsaenghwal
(??????) and delivered a story titled, "Two Governments Agree to Deal With
Controversies regarding Goguryeo's History Within Academia." However, far
removed from the title, the article lashed out that Korea's argument is absurd
and, even more, underlined Korea as a tributary state to China.
[Koguryo]
China Has Its Eye on a Divided Korea
While many willingly believe there is more than a thaw in the diplomatic and
economic relations between Korea and China now, a potentially dangerous
business has sneaked up on the Koreans, recently. After a while when Koreans
seemingly forgot much about history, Chinese authorities want to remind Koreans
that they want to settle some historical legacies, in their favor. After more
than an amicable decade with Koreans, in economic cooperation in particular,
Chinese officials seem to have second thoughts.
Looks like the Korean government has tried to ignore this significant issue, to
many Koreans' dismay. It's mainly because of the burgeoning economic might
China has gained of late. In 2003 alone, more than half of Korea's exports were
to China. This clearly shows the Republic of Korea has grown quite dependent on
the People's Republic of China economically. Still, one can argue China has
grown dependent, too, on external factors like the Korean economy. It is true
yet China wants to exercise its muscle, be it economic or military.
Do you believe China is concerned about the possibility of Korean
reunification? If so, you're right. Political upheavals like territorial
reunification on the Korean peninsula do worry China. They understand well
there are millions of ethnic Koreans inhabiting regions including the three
major provinces in the Northeast. They are Jilin, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang
provinces. The Northeast shares borders with Korea, North Korea at the moment.
Chinese authorities know, historically, borderline areas are always asking for
trouble for one reason or another. They know a border dispute will eventually
arise. It is not too much to say that they may have been scared to see the
centripetal force at work on Koreans during the last World Cup Games on and
around the peninsula. Anybody heard Chinese were irate at Koreans over that
sudden athletic success and euphoria?
Chinese-Dutch Bizman Likely to Be Freed Around September
[Yonhap,Jul.22th]
China will likely free a jailed governor of a North Korean special administrative zone as early as September in response to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's request for his release, the businessman's aides said Thursday.
"North Korean leader Kim Jong-il asked Chinese President Hu Jintao to set free Yang Bin when he visited China in April," Ma Ning, a close aide to Yang, told Yonhap News Agency, quoting Pyongyang officials.
He said Yang is currently detained in Shenyang, a city northeast of Beijing, and his release will likely come shortly before or after a scheduled fourth round of six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions in the Chinese capital in September.
The Chinese-Dutch tycoon was sentenced to 18 years in jail and fined 8.3 million yuan (US$7,113) in July last year for illegal land use, bribery, fraud and other economic crimes. Nicknamed the "orchid king," the flower exporter was listed as the second richest man in China by Forbes magazine in 2001.
He was arrested just days after North Korea named him head of a special administrative zone in the northwestern border city of Sinuiju. Pyongyang announced the project to transform the city into a special enclave with independent legislative, executive and judicial powers in September 2002 but put it on hold after Yang's arrest.
Ma said North Korea has yet to abandon the ambitious project despite the unexpected twist. "If China releases Yang around September, North Korea will make a grand decision to let China save face," he said, without specifying the nature of the decision. A biographer of Yang, who declined to be identified, quoted some officials as saying that China will most likely release Yang under a special amnesty, on bail or for deportation.
The biographer, who is here to promote his new book that was recently published in Korean, refused to elaborate on the identity of the officials, citing safety reasons. The aide claimed the North's chief delegate to the six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, Kim Gye-gwan, also called for Yang's release on the sidelines of the second round of the negotiations last February as part of North Korean leader Kim's efforts to free Yang.
The Sinuiju special region was Kim Jong-il's own idea, conceived after he visited high-tech villages in Shanghai in January 2001, the biographer claimed. The biographer has been deeply involved in the Sinuiju project as Yang's close aide. He met Kim twice in Pyongyang as Yang's chief press adviser.
Seoul Gets Tough Over Koguryo Dispute
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Seoul decided to launch a taskforce and step up
countermeasures to cope with Beijing's alleged
attempt to distort the history of Koguryo, an
ancient Korean kingdom, officials said Friday.
Fight over Goguryeo flares
The Foreign Ministry reacted strongly yesterday
to what it called "the distortion of Goguryeo
history" by the Chinese government and press.
[Koguryo]
Seoul Protests Beijing's Distortion of Koguryo
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
South Korean government called in China's top
diplomat in Seoul to protest against Beijing's
recent deletion of Koguryo, one of the three
kingdoms of ancient Korea, from an introduction
to Korean history on the Web site of its Foreign
Ministry.
China to Donate Glass Factory to DPRK
Pyongyang, May 28 (KCNA) -The traditional DPRK-
China friendship is steadily growing stronger
under the deep care of the top leaders of the
two countries. Several meetings between them in
recent years including leader Kim Jong Il's
historic visit to China in April, 2004 marked
significant occasions in improving the bilateral
relations of friendship and cooperation.
The two countries are improving the bilateral
relations in political, economic, cultural and
all other fields while actively supporting and
cooperating with each other despite the
complicated international situation.
The new collective leadership of China led by Hu
Jintao sets great store traditional Sino-DPRK
friendship and has exerted big efforts to boost
it.
It is clearly evidenced by the Chinese
government's decision to offer a glass factory
to the DPRK.
S. Korean POW Detained in China After Fleeing NK
SEOUL (Yonhap) _ A South Korean prisoner of war
captured by North Korea during the 1950-53
Korean War and detained there until recently has
defected from the north only to be arrested by
Chinese police, supporters of South Korean War
POWs said Wednesday.
North Korea defectors held by China police
Twelve North Korea defectors trying to enter the
South Korean consulate in Beijing were caught by
guards and handed over to Chinese police Friday
afternoon, a diplomatic source in Seoul said
yesterday.
The group consisted of three teenage girls, one
adult male and eight women
Four North Korean Defectors Arrive
Four North Koreans arrived in South Korea from China Friday following an unsuccessful attempt to seek asylum at a South Korean diplomatic mission there.
The defectors "entered the country around 5:30 a.m. via a third country," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Their arrival is the "result of negotiations between the governments of South Korea and China," the ministry said.
Speech of Kim Jong Il at Banquet
Pyongyang, April 22 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Il,
general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea
(WPK) and chairman of the National Defence
Commission of the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea, made a speech at a banquet given in
honor of him by Hu Jintao, general secretary of
the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
China (CPC) and president of the People's
Republic of China. He said in his speech:
I have come to Beijing to express our regards to
the new CPC collective leadership including
Comrade Hu Jintao newly elected at the 16th
Congress of the CPC.
I would like to express deep thanks to Comrade
Hu Jintao and other Chinese comrades for the
cordial hospitality they have accorded to us
from the moment we arrived in Beijing.
Availing myself of this significant occasion, I
warmly congratulate the new CPC collective
leadership including Comrade Hu Jintao again on
behalf of the WPK Central Committee, the Central
Military Commission of the WPK and the National
Defence Commission of the DPRK.
In a year or little more, the new CPC leadership
headed by Comrade Hu Jintao has made a signal
success in the efforts for accomplishing the
grand cause of great prosperity of the Chinese
nation in the new century, a goal set forth at
the 16th Congress of the Party. The
international prestige and influence of the PRC
have been increased considerably.
The new CPC collective leadership including
Comrade Hu Jintao have further strengthened and
developed the CPC as a party serving the people,
while sharing life and death, sweets and bitters
with the people in the principles of people
first and governance for the people, thus
enjoying unquestioned support and trust, warm
love and respect from all the Chinese people.
We fully support the cause of the CPC and
sincerely hope that greater achievements will be
made in the future in the building of socialism
with Chinese characteristics under the
leadership of the CPC led by Comrade Hu Jintao.
We are greatly inspired by the new CPC
leadership carrying forward the traditions of
the revolutionary forerunners in attaching
importance to DPRK-China friendship, while
treasuring it so much.
It is the common will of the two parties and the
two peoples to further strengthen and develop
the bilateral friendship tested and established
in all storms of history.
DPRK Cabinet Premier Visits Village on Outskirts
of Beijing
Pyongyang, April 22 (KCNA) -- Pak Pong Ju,
premier of the DPRK Cabinet, together with Yon
Hyong Muk, vice-chairman of the National Defence
Commission of the DPRK, Wednesday visited Han
Cun He Cun, Fang Shan District, Beijing. They
were accompanied by Liu Qi, member of the
Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China and secretary of the
Beijing Municipal Committee of the CPC.
After being briefed on the history of the
village, the premier of the DPRK Cabinet and his
party looked round dwelling houses and a green
house and heard an explanation about the
agricultural development in Beijing.
Message to Hu Jintao
Pyongyang, April 22 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Il,
general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea
and chairman of the National Defence Commission
of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea,
today sent a message of thanks to Hu Jintao,
general secretary of the Central Committee of
the Communist Party of China and president of
the People's Republic of China. The message
reads:
Leaving Dandong via Tianjin after sharing
emotions at paring with you, I once again
express deep thanks to you for your warm welcome
and cordial hospitality.
Kim vows to push 6-party talks
North's leader says goal is peaceful nuclear
resolution Breaking its silence about the
overseas visit of Kim Jong-il, North Korea
officially announced Mr. Kim's meetings with
Chinese leaders through its state-run media
yesterday. North Korea's Central Broadcasting
Station and Central TV said yesterday that the
leader paid a three-day visit to China starting
on Monday at the invitation of Chinese President
Hu Jintao. At the Kim-Hu summit in Beijing on
Monday, the two leaders agreed to resolve the
North Korean nuclear issue peacefully through
dialogue. The reports said a nuclear-free Korean
Peninsula is the two leaders' goal and they
would exercise patience and flexibility to
achieve it. North Korean media also said China,
the North's only ally, agreed to provide a grant
of economic aid to Pyeongyang.
Kim vows to push 6-party talks
North's leader says goal is peaceful nuclear
resolution Breaking its silence about the
overseas visit of Kim Jong-il, North Korea
officially announced Mr. Kim's meetings with
Chinese leaders through its state-run media
yesterday. North Korea's Central Broadcasting
Station and Central TV said yesterday that the
leader paid a three-day visit to China starting
on Monday at the invitation of Chinese President
Hu Jintao. At the Kim-Hu summit in Beijing on
Monday, the two leaders agreed to resolve the
North Korean nuclear issue peacefully through
dialogue. The reports said a nuclear-free Korean
Peninsula is the two leaders' goal and they
would exercise patience and flexibility to
achieve it. North Korean media also said China,
the North's only ally, agreed to provide a grant
of economic aid to Pyeongyang.
Kim's Visit Pressures US in Nuke Talks
By Shim Jae-yun
Staff Reporter
Bear-hugging top Chinese leaders, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il apparently
attempted to show off the traditional alliance between the two nations to the
outside world and the United States in particular.
Kim's unofficial visit to China came as the
reclusive leader has become desperate following
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's series of
tours of Japan, China and South Korea with fresh
evidence on the North's possession of nuclear
weapons.
N. Korea Confirms Kim Jong-il's Visit to China
SEOUL, April 22 (Yonhap) -- North Korea confirmed Thursday that its leader Kim Jong-il paid a three-day visit to China this week at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao.
Kim Jong Il highly evaluates latest visit to China
www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-23 01:46:13
BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Kim Jong Il, leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), said Thursday that his latest meeting with China's new collective leadership will further promote the friendship and trust between the DPRK and China and mark an epoch-making milestone in the history of the bilateral relations.
Kim Jong-il on trip to woo China
Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Tuesday April 20, 2004
The Guardian
The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, left his
country for the first time in three years
yesterday to visit China.
Kim goes public and leaves China
BEIJING ? Making public what was termed an
"unofficial" visit, Chinese media said that
North Korean strongman Kim Jong-il ended three
days of meetings with China's top leaders
yesterday and had "agreed to continue jointly
pushing forward the six-party talks process."
North Korean Ends 'Candid' China Visit
Beijing Said to Urge Dialogue on Nuclear Arms
By Edward Cody and Anthony Faiola
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, April 22, 2004; Page A22
BEIJING, April 21 -- China announced Wednesday
that the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, had
reached a "broad common understanding" with the
Chinese government during three days of talks in
Beijing on the crisis over his country's nuclear
weapons program and will make his "own
contributions" to resolving the dispute.
Chinese Residents in DPRK Help Korean Builders
Pyongyang, April 1 (KCNA) -- Chinese residents
in South Hwanghae Province rendered assistance
to a construction site in Haeju City on March 30
carrying with them DPRK-China friendship. They
donated materials needed for a construction
project in Haeju City aimed to satisfactorily
solve the problem of drinking water.
They visited the construction site and handed
over the materials representing their sincerity
to the builders, hoping that they would complete
the project earlier than scheduled.
Seoul, Beijing Discuss NK Nuke Issue
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
South Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and
his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing met in
Beijing on Monday to discuss the North Korean
nuclear problem
FM in China to Discuss NK Nukes
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki-moon
embarked on his three-day visit to Beijing on
Sunday to discuss the North Korean nuclear
crisis with Chinese officials.
China envoy upbeat after trip to North
BEIJING ? Returning from a three-day visit to
North Korea, China's foreign minister, Li
Zhaoxing, offered an upbeat assessment of the
prospects for holding another round of nuclear
negotiations.
"My impression is that the North Korean side has
a positive attitude,"
Kim Jong Il Meets Chinese Foreign Minister
Pyongyang, March 24 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Il,
general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea
and chairman of the National Defence Commission
of the DPRK, Wednesday received Li Zhaoxing,
foreign minister of the People's Republic of
China (PRC), and his party on a visit to the
DPRK. Present there were Kang Sok Ju, first vice-
minister of Foreign Affairs, and Wu Donghe,
Chinese ambassador e.p. to the DPRK.
N Korea 'upbeat' on nuclear talks
North Korea says it has reprocessed thousands of spent nuclear fuel rods
North Korea has agreed to push towards a third round of international talks on the region's nuclear crisis, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing has said.
N Koreans 'protesting' in China
South Korea is trying to verify reports that a small number of North Korean refugees being held in China is on hunger strike
N. Korean Leader, Chinese Aide Discuss Arms
Associated Press
Thursday, March 25, 2004; Page A20
SEOUL, March 24 -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il hosted a rare meeting Wednesday with China's foreign minister to discuss the region's nuclear dispute. Beijing described the visit as a "very important contact."
In Hong Kong, a North Korea expert said Pyongyang might skip the next round of nuclear talks because of the uncertainty caused by November's presidential election in the United States.
"What are they going to do there? Now, is anybody going to strike a deal?" asked Charles L. Pritchard, a former U.S. State Department official. He was part of an unofficial delegation of Americans who toured North Korea's nuclear facility at Yongbyon in January as a way of providing confirmation that it has reprocessed spent fuel rods into plutonium.
It is unlikely that President Bush will offer a deal before the election, while his Democratic rival, Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, likely would start a direct dialogue with Pyongyang if he wins, Pritchard said.
Chinese minister in N Korea
By Charles Scanlon
BBC, Seoul
North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-il has met the visiting Chinese foreign minister for talks that were expected to focus on the North's nuclear weapons programmes.
Li Zhaoxing received a tour of a new free market in the capital, Pyongyang and then met the country's elusive leader, Kim Jong-il.[economic reform]
Top Chinese minister visits North today
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing is
scheduled to arrive in Pyeongyang today for a
three-day visit to meet with his counterpart,
Paek Nam Sun, to discuss the North's nuclear
program and other issues.
This is the first time in five years that
China's minister of foreign affairs has paid a
visit to the North.
Korean Photojournalist to Be Released on Parole
By Lisa Hanson
Contributing Writer
Seok Jae-Hyun, who attempted to document North Korean refugees' flight from China, will return home to South Korea on Friday, after spending more than 13 months in a Chinese prison for ``human trafficking.''
Rights Groups Fight for Korean Journalist's Release
By Lisa Hanson
Contributing Writer
Seok was sentenced May 22, 2003 to two years in prison for what the People's
Superior Court in Yantai, Shandong Province, called ``human trafficking,'' a
charge that local and international human rights organizations scoff at and
call a misnomer used by the Chinese government to justify its prison sentence
and to scare off journalists who aspire to report on North Korean refugees.
Vincent Brossel, from Reporters Without Borders, said Seok, without a company
assignment, was vulnerable to the whims of the Chinese government from the
start.
``It's very simple for me,'' Brossel said, explaining why Seok received a harsh
penalty. ``They got a freelancer. It's a good guy to pay harshly so (that) so
many reporters will think twice before covering
the North Korean refugee issue.''
Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo to Hold Talks on NK Crisis
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan will likely make visits to
China within this month to bring about an early launch of working-group
talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis.
China Seeks to Recover Historical Sites of Palhae
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
The Chinese government is planning to launch a new project to recover
two historical sites of Palhae (698-926) located in Bohaizhen, Ningashi,
Heilongjang Province and in Dunhua, Jilin Province. Both cities were the
capital of Palhae, said a group of South Korean historians.
[Koguryo]
NK Leader May Visit China in May
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is likely to
visit China in May, a wire service quoted
sources in Beijing as saying on Sunday.
China Shines in North Korea Talks
By Frank Ching
The second round of the six-party talks in
Beijing on North Korea's nuclear weapons program
went off relatively well, even though there was
no breakthrough. And while the U.S. and North
Korea may not agree on much, both agreed that
China had done an excellent job as host and as
mediator.
We are witnessing the emergence of China as a
new diplomatic player on the world stage, one
whose role is at this point much appreciated by
the international community
China more flexible on North's escapees
According to the Commission to Help North Korean
Refugees, a South Korean civic group helping
North Korean defectors to escape, the Chinese
government has recently softened its standards
for arresting escapees.
A spokesman for the civic group said yesterday,
"China has decided not to forcibly extradite
North Korean defectors who have no criminal
background, and who are leading a relatively
stable and settled life."
In addition, he said that "according to the new
policy, defectors who are married to or cohabit
with Korean-Chinese or Chinese persons who live
in agricultural areas to sustain their living
will not be arrested by the Chinese
authorities."
New move to stymie China on Goguryeo
A research foundation to study the ancient
kingdom of Goguryeo and counter a territorial
claim to it by China will be launched today.
The Education Ministry said yesterday the
foundation's launching ceremony will take place
today at the Seoul Plaza hotel. The foundation
will be established in Bundang, Gyeonggi
province, to study the history of Goguryeo,
which existed in Asia between 37 B.C. and A.D.
668.
The foundation plans to counter what it calls
China's effort to rewrite history as if Goguryeo
was part of ancient China.
China's claim to the kingdom recently erupted
into a diplomatic dispute between the two
countries.
"Nobody can mar the history of our country. The
distortion of Korea's history by China and Japan
is an example of anti-intellectualism," reads
the launching statement of the foundation.
[Koguryo]
COURTSHIP OF BEIJING AND SEOUL: A NEW TWIST FOR AN OLD BOND
By JAMES BROOKE
Published: February 26, 2004
In turn, South Korea, a decade after opening diplomatic ties with China, is in the throes of China-mania. Convinced that China is Asia's power of the future, South Koreans are throwing themselves into Chinese study, travel and investment.
Today, for example, 30,000 South Koreans study in China, the largest group of foreign students there.
On the wings of this human exchange, about three million people last year, South Korea's exports to China jumped 50 percent last year, and South Korea's annual flow of investment to China hit $2.5 billion, more than triple South Korea's investment in the United States. Last year, nearly half of South Korea's foreign investment went to China.
"It is ingrained in the Korean psyche that China is the big brother," said Samuel Koo, president of Arirang TV, South Korea's English-language broadcaster. "But Chinese-Korean relations were far from being an unmitigated love affair. "We used to ship to them tens of thousands of virgins every year," as a tribute hundreds of years ago.
U.S.: China Is Ally Against Proliferation
Diplomat's Assertions Follow Reports on Ties to Pakistan
By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, February 17, 2004; Page A13
BEIJING, Feb. 16 -- A senior U.S. arms control official said Monday that, despite past sales of nuclear-related technology, the Chinese government now seems committed to cooperating with the United States to prevent nuclear proliferation in North Korea and elsewhere.
The upbeat assessment from John R. Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, seemed designed to take the edge off reports from Washington this weekend quoting U.S. officials saying China has been -- and may still be -- cooperating with Pakistan on nuclear technology and missile
But Bolton strongly indicated that the Bush administration, as it has in the past, will insist on focusing the talks on forcing North Korea to dismantle its nuclear development before discussing its demands for economic aid and security guarantees.
Beijing Urges Seoul's Positive Role in Talks
By Ryu Jin_
Staff Reporter
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed hope over the
weekend that Seoul will play a more ``constructive'' role in the upcoming
talks aimed at ending the North Korean nuclear crisis.
DPRK and China to Take Joint Action in Upcoming
Six-way Talks
Pyongyang, February 10 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for
the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave the following
answer to a question put by KCNA Tuesday as
regards the recent visit to China by the DPRK
vice foreign minister and his party: Vice
Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan visited China from
February 7 to 10 at the invitation of the
Chinese side.
During their stay he and his party met with
Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and his party and
Executive Vice- Minister Dai Bingguo and had
friendly talks with Vice-Minister Wang Yi.
Both sides had an exhaustive discussion of a
series of issues of mutual concern including the
issue of bilateral relations, nuclear issue and
the issue of six-way talks.
They admitted the reasonability of the package
proposal of simultaneous actions for the
solution of the nuclear issue and the DPRK-
proposed "reward in return for freeze," the
first-phase measure, and agreed to take joint
actions to make substantial progress in the next
round of the six-way talks.
China-US Secret Agreement on Iraq and North Korea Korea WebWeekly (February 3, 2003) -- China told Colin Powell that it would not use its veto power to block US war on Iraq at the UN Security Council, in return Powell agreed not to attack North Korea's nuclear facilities. This secret deal was struck during Powell's visit to Beijing on the 24th of last month.