Thanksgiving Day Report: North Korea in the News
North Korea continues to dominate Korean news--most of the articles reflecting a thawing in the North's position regarding the stalled 6-way talks and hopes for their resumption . Here's a summary of some of the recent articles:
1) The United States is likely to name a special envoy to monitor the human rights situation in North Korea before the end of this year after Congress on Saturday set aside an initial $3 million primer for the North Korean Human Rights Act, legislative sources in Washington said.
The House of Representatives allotted $1 million for the special envoy and $2 million to fund a conference on North Korean human rights issues in Seoul as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill for 2005.
The funding is separate from the $24 million earmarked under the controversial human rights act, which was signed into law last month, but it will kick start two projects detailed under the legislation, analysts said.
The special envoy, who sources at Congress said could start work within months, will be independent of the State Department and have a rank equivalent to that of an ambassador.
Park Ihn-hwi, professor at Ewha Womans University’s Graduate School of International Studies, said the initial funding is a ``clear sign’’ that the U.S. intends to use the human rights issue to put immediate diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons programs.
He also raised the possibility of the special envoy being used as a channel for bilateral discussions with North Korea outside of the stalled six-party nuclear talks.
U.S. moves to address North Korean human rights abuse have drawn an angry reaction from Pyongyang, which claims it is part of a ``hostile policy’’ aimed at overthrowing the communist regime. Korea Times, November 2004
2)North Korean officials accepted South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun’s remarks in the United States last week as being ``objective,’’ regarding them as ``positive signs’’ to help enable resumption of the six-party nuclear talks, a top U.N. official said Thursday.
U.N. General Assembly President Jean Ping, who came here after a weeklong visit to the North, said Pyongyang was well aware of the usefulness and importance of the six-party process, but wants a better atmosphere so it can return to the negotiation table.
``In short, what the North wants is the creation of a more favorable atmosphere,’’ Ping said at a press conference at South Korea’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry. Korea Times, November 2004
3) South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young noted on Thursday that the stalled six-way talks over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programs need to be resumed first in order for the much-anticipated second inter-Korean summit to occur.
``The summit meeting cannot be achieved out of the blue,’’ Chung said when asked whether there is a possibility of an inter-Korean summit in the near future during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Inter-Korean Relations Development.
``Once the six-way talks for resolving the North’s nuclear weapons program get into drive, however, we can start exploring diverse possibilities,’’ he said.
Although the minister confirmed that the government is not undertaking any measures for the summit yet, he did not deny the recently thawing mood between the two Koreas, especially after the summit talks between President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush in Santiago, Chile, last Sunday, where both agreed to ``peaceful and diplomatic solutions’’ to the nuclear crisis through the six-way talks. Korea Times, November 2004
4) Chang Sung-taek, vice director of the Workers Party Central Committee and brother-in-law of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, has been purged along with a large number of figures who were close to him, according to reports by Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS).
In a report to the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee on Thursday, the NIS said, "We understand that Chang Sung-taek was purged for sectarian behavior such as creating his own clique within the military ... We know that seven or eight generals who were part of Chang's faction were removed from command".
Another lawmaker on the committee said, "There was no explanation as to Chang's whereabouts, but there was a report from the NIS that said there were signs he was purged, such as him not appearing at official functions ... As for the background to the purge, the NIS believes it was initiated out of concern that Chang could become a barrier in Kim Jong-il's attempts to establish a system of succession." Chosun Ilbo, November 2004
1) The United States is likely to name a special envoy to monitor the human rights situation in North Korea before the end of this year after Congress on Saturday set aside an initial $3 million primer for the North Korean Human Rights Act, legislative sources in Washington said.
The House of Representatives allotted $1 million for the special envoy and $2 million to fund a conference on North Korean human rights issues in Seoul as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill for 2005.
The funding is separate from the $24 million earmarked under the controversial human rights act, which was signed into law last month, but it will kick start two projects detailed under the legislation, analysts said.
The special envoy, who sources at Congress said could start work within months, will be independent of the State Department and have a rank equivalent to that of an ambassador.
Park Ihn-hwi, professor at Ewha Womans University’s Graduate School of International Studies, said the initial funding is a ``clear sign’’ that the U.S. intends to use the human rights issue to put immediate diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons programs.
He also raised the possibility of the special envoy being used as a channel for bilateral discussions with North Korea outside of the stalled six-party nuclear talks.
U.S. moves to address North Korean human rights abuse have drawn an angry reaction from Pyongyang, which claims it is part of a ``hostile policy’’ aimed at overthrowing the communist regime. Korea Times, November 2004
2)North Korean officials accepted South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun’s remarks in the United States last week as being ``objective,’’ regarding them as ``positive signs’’ to help enable resumption of the six-party nuclear talks, a top U.N. official said Thursday.
U.N. General Assembly President Jean Ping, who came here after a weeklong visit to the North, said Pyongyang was well aware of the usefulness and importance of the six-party process, but wants a better atmosphere so it can return to the negotiation table.
``In short, what the North wants is the creation of a more favorable atmosphere,’’ Ping said at a press conference at South Korea’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry. Korea Times, November 2004
3) South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young noted on Thursday that the stalled six-way talks over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programs need to be resumed first in order for the much-anticipated second inter-Korean summit to occur.
``The summit meeting cannot be achieved out of the blue,’’ Chung said when asked whether there is a possibility of an inter-Korean summit in the near future during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Inter-Korean Relations Development.
``Once the six-way talks for resolving the North’s nuclear weapons program get into drive, however, we can start exploring diverse possibilities,’’ he said.
Although the minister confirmed that the government is not undertaking any measures for the summit yet, he did not deny the recently thawing mood between the two Koreas, especially after the summit talks between President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush in Santiago, Chile, last Sunday, where both agreed to ``peaceful and diplomatic solutions’’ to the nuclear crisis through the six-way talks. Korea Times, November 2004
4) Chang Sung-taek, vice director of the Workers Party Central Committee and brother-in-law of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, has been purged along with a large number of figures who were close to him, according to reports by Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS).
In a report to the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee on Thursday, the NIS said, "We understand that Chang Sung-taek was purged for sectarian behavior such as creating his own clique within the military ... We know that seven or eight generals who were part of Chang's faction were removed from command".
Another lawmaker on the committee said, "There was no explanation as to Chang's whereabouts, but there was a report from the NIS that said there were signs he was purged, such as him not appearing at official functions ... As for the background to the purge, the NIS believes it was initiated out of concern that Chang could become a barrier in Kim Jong-il's attempts to establish a system of succession." Chosun Ilbo, November 2004
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