Text Fwd: N. Korea lambasts S. Korea, U.S. over "aerial espionage"

* Yonhap News
NorthKorea
2009/07/31 20:07 KST
N. Korea lambasts S. Korea, U.S. over "aerial espionage"

SEOUL, July 31 (Yonhap) -- North Korea condemned Friday what it claimed was "aerial espionage" conducted by the United States and South Korea, accusing Seoul and Washington of remaining unchanged in their attempts to stifle the communist nation by force.

The United States and South Korea conducted around 180 aerial surveillance missions in July alone, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing an unidentified military source.

Text fwd: S. Korea to launch the nation's first rocket on Aug. 11

Yonhap News
2009/08/01 16:33 KST
S. Korea to launch the nation's first rocket on Aug. 11

SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Saturday it will launch its first space rocket from its soil on Aug. 11 to put a communications satellite into orbit after a delay last month due to technical problems.

South Korea had originally planned to lift off the KSLV-1 rocket on July 30 but it was suspended as Russia asked for more time to upgrade the test control and evaluation programs needed for the critical test.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said the new launch date was set after consultations with Russian scientists who are cooperating with South Korea on the launch.

"South Korea and Russia will jointly conduct a final review before moving the rocket to the launch pad two days before the date," a ministry official said. "There will be a dry run one day before the final countdown starts."

The ministry said it will aim to meet the launch date but said unexpected technical problems or weather conditions could cause a change in plans. It set a window of Aug. 11-18, and plans to notify both the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization.

South Korea has never launched a rocket before from its soil. The country is working with Russia to acquire technology and expertise that could allow it to send locally made space vehicles into orbit in the future.

The rocket will be fired from the Naro Space Center, located 485km south of Seoul, which was built to launch the KSLV-1 and future rockets.


http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2009/08/133_49443.html

08-01-2009 21:41
Home-Made Satellite to Be Launched on Aug. 11

After a delay last month due to technical problems, South Korea will launch its first satellite from its territory on Aug. 11, Yonhap News reported Saturday.

South Korea had originally planned to lift off the KSLV-1, a communications satellite, on July 30 but it was suspended as Russia asked for more time to upgrade the test control and evaluation programs needed for the critical test.

The new launch date was set after consultations with Russian scientists who are cooperating with South Korea on the launch, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said.

The ministry set a window of Aug. 11-18 for the launch, in case unexpected conditions require a change in plans.

South Korea has never launched a rocket before from its soil. The country is working with Russia to acquire technology and expertise that could allow it to send home-made satellites into orbit in the future.

* Related article

Korea Times
08-01-2009 21:41
Home-Made Satellite to Be Launched on Aug. 11

After a delay last month due to technical problems, South Korea will launch its first satellite from its territory on Aug. 11, Yonhap News reported Saturday.

South Korea had originally planned to lift off the KSLV-1, a communications satellite, on July 30 but it was suspended as Russia asked for more time to upgrade the test control and evaluation programs needed for the critical test.

The new launch date was set after consultations with Russian scientists who are cooperating with South Korea on the launch, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said.

The ministry set a window of Aug. 11-18 for the launch, in case unexpected conditions require a change in plans.

South Korea has never launched a rocket before from its soil. The country is working with Russia to acquire technology and expertise that could allow it to send home-made satellites into orbit in the future.

Text Fwd: S. Korean, U.S. nuclear envoys to meet in Hawaii

Yonhap News
2009/08/01 15:48 KST
S. Korean, U.S. nuclear envoys to meet in Hawaii

SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- The nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States will meet in Hawaii next week to exchange views about the diplomatic stalemate with North Korea on the sidelines of an international seminar, Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday.

Wi Sung-lac, South Korea's top negotiator to the six-party talks on denuclearizing North Korea, and Sung Kim, the U.S. special envoy for the talks, will hold informal discussions about the North while attending the closed-door, two-day seminar, which begins Tuesday
Their meeting will be a follow-up to the ASEAN Regional Forum, a security meeting of foreign ministers held in Thailand last month, the ministry said.

Seoul is also trying to set up a meeting between Wi and Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, who will also be attending the seminar hosted by the East-West Center, a U.S. research organization focused on the Asia-Pacific region.

If the two meet, they are expected to discuss the details of a proposed "comprehensive package" of incentives for North Korea should the communist nation dismantle its nuclear program in a complete and irreversible way, Wi's aides said earlier.

The Hawaii seminar will also be attended by: Keith Luse, senior professional staff member with the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Frank Jannuzi, senior East Asia specialist with the Foreign Relations Committee; James Kelly, a former assistant secretary of state who handled negotiations with North Korea; and Marcus Noland, senior researcher at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Text Fwd: Japan’s Opposition Rekindles Dokdo Dispute

* Image source/ description: same as below
'Katsuya Okada, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan'

Korea Times
07-31-2009 17:04
Japan’s Opposition Rekindles Dokdo Dispute
Katsuya Okada, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

A leader of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) stood firm on his party's claim to the Dokdo Islets, Friday, indicating a territorial dispute will test Seoul-Tokyo relations if the Japanese opposition party wins the Aug. 30 general election.

Katsuya Okada, secretary general of the DPJ, told Korean correspondents based in Tokyo that his party's description of the rocky islets as Japan's territory in its campaign pledge reflected its traditional position.

"I think it's important for the two governments to try to understand their counterpart's position on the matter. Regarding Takeshima, it shouldn't be a big deal to state in textbooks that it is Japan's territory, in view of the fact that the Japanese government upholds the view," Okada was quoted as saying in Japanese.

He added both governments should handle the sensitive issue wisely.

DPJ's prospects of winning the race appear to be high, with recent polls showing the opposition party outpolling the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

A recent Nikkei survey showed that 20 percent of people who had previously described themselves as "undecided" now support the DPJ.

Only 6 percent of those polled said they would vote for the LDP, which has ruled Japan for more than a half-century.

Calling the Dokdo Islets Japan's northern territory, the opposition party said in its campaign booklet, released last week, that it would communicate with South Korea in order to settle the dispute peacefully.

Okada said the DPJ would respect past agreements signed between the two governments and maintain the principles of Seoul-Tokyo relations.

He also said that no discussions have been held as to whether Japan needs to issue an apology similar to the Murayama Statement of 1995 if his party wins the election.

Tomiichi Murayama, then Japanese prime minister, issued an apology in a statement to Asian nations on Aug. 15 on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Okada made it clear that diplomatic normalization with North Korea will not come without settling the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by the North, as well as the North's dismantlement of its nuclear and missile programs.

The leader agreed on the need to impose sanctions on Pyongyang, saying the Stalinist country might become a de facto nuclear state unless the international community takes a tough stance now.

In its manifesto for the Aug. 30 election, the DPJ stated that the abductions were "a violation of Japan's sovereignty and a serious violation of human rights."

Okada indicated Japan could rewrite its pacifist Constitution if his party wins the election, saying that democracy allows a nation to rewrite its basic laws in response to a changing environment.

South Korean political parties expressed concerns over Japan's move to rewrite its Constitution in 2007, worrying that it could lead to militarism which would have ramifications on East Asia's security.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr


* Related articles

http://english.dokdohistory.com/01_about/intro.asp
Dokdo Research Institute

http://www.geocities.com/mlovmo/
A Collection of the historical articles on the Territorial Dispute Over Dok-do

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liancourt_Rocks
Dok-do

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft-Katsura_Agreement
Taft-Katsura_Agreement, July 29, 1905

* The Dok-do was forcefully merged by the Japanese imperialism during the period. Since then, the Korea restored it. The Japan with the imperialism desire has never abandoned it. The Dok-do has the invaluable energy resource. The WWII broght out fudamentally around the energy resource among the imperial countries, we should remind it.

Text Fwd: Pentagon Claims Success For Global Interceptor Missile System

StopNATO
Pentagon Claims Success For Global Interceptor Missile System

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/01/content_11807055.htm
Xinhua News Agency
August 1, 2009

U.S. declares success in missile defense test

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Missile Defense Agency said on Friday that it successfully
tested a sea-based missile defense system on Thursday night.

A target missile was fired from Hawaii about 11:40 p.m. eastern time Thursday
(0340 GMT Friday) and was tracked by Navy ships hundreds of kilometers away, the
agency said in a statement.

An Aegis-class U.S. naval ship then fired an interceptor missile, which struck
the target about 160 km above the earth.

The process - from launch to shoot-down - took less than five minutes.

The United States plans to use the sea-based system on Aegis-class ships to
protect against incoming short-to-medium-range missiles fired from hostile
countries.

The test was the 19th successful test in 23 attempts of the Aegis sea-based
missile defense system since 2002.

Another part of the missile defense protection - ground-based midcourse defense
- is designed to strike at long-range missiles.

Over the past seven years, the U.S. military has spent billions of U.S. dollars
on the missile defense program, with each test costing about 85 million dollars.
===========================
Stop NATO

Text Fwd: 30 Years After War Ended, Vietnam Needs 300 Years To Heal

StopNATO
30 Years After War Ended, Vietnam Needs 300 Years To Heal

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=49096&cid=57&p=01.08.2009
Voice of Russia
August 1, 2009

Vietnam War came to a halt over 30 years ago but the aftermath will tell for
another 300 years

-[I]t is necessary to draw up an international programme to assist Vietnam.
And not only Vietnam, for that matter. One should remember that the neighbouring
Cambodia and other countries of Indochina are coming up against similar
consequences. Another case in point is Yugoslavia, which came under NATO bombing
attacks, with unexploded bombs still found there now and then. The situation is
much the same in Iraq. The aftermath of the armed aggressions will keep killing
people for a long time still if the international community fails to come to
grips with the problem.

Vietnam will need at least 300 years and over 10 billion dollars to clear the
whole of its territory of unexploded air bombs, shells and mines that have been
there since the war against the United States ended in 1975. This came in a
statement by the Deputy Chief of the Vietnam armed forces engineer troops
Colonel Fan Duk Tuan.

The Vietnam Was ended 35 years ago. Yet it is still continuing to incur losses.
Under a report that Vietnam has prepared together with the US Vietnam Veterans
Foundation over 10,000 have died and another 12,000 have been injured in Vietnam
in recent years in the post-war years. They have all hit mines that remained in
Vietnam following the US aggression. There is no end of this kind of unexploded
mines, bombs and shells in the country, says the first deputy Chairman of the
Russian-Vietnamese Friendship Society Board Yevgeny Kobelev, who is certainly in
the know, since he was in Vietnam during the war years.
"I was in Vietnam as the ITAR-TASS correspondent in the 1964 through 1967, when
the US launched its air warfare against North Vietnam, Yevgeny Kobelev says.

"I saw US military aircraft use no end of cluster bombs to carpet-bomb huge
areas of North Vietnam. These cluster bombs, just as other types of bombs, would
often not go off. They are still lying there, in Vietnam. What's more,
Americans used heaps of ammunition they had had since the end of the Second
World War. This is a fact since the Vietnamese found some unexploded bombs,
500-kilo or 1,000-kilo bombs that had been made in 1945. Those bombs, too, would
not always blow up on impact. And it is for experts to count just how many such
bombs remain scattered over Vietnam today."

Well, experts have counted up the number of such charges, and the figure is
staggering. That's taking account the fact that Vietnamese have been de-mining
their country for dozens of years to stop the war, which is long since over,
from claiming more human lives. The unexploded bombs also negatively affect the
national economy.

According to Fan Duk Tuan, last year alone Vietnam spend almost 70 million
dollars on de-mining and making land suitable for civil construction. Access to
mineral deposits has been complicated and tourism is hard to develop in the
situation that's taken shape. Yevgeny Kobelev feels that Vietnam needs
international assistance, with the United States and its allies in the Vietnam
War due to play the main role.

I think a correct and real way to settle the problem, Yevgeny Kobelev says, is
to press for the United States and the countries that either supported the US in
that war or were immediately involved in fighting should admit their guilt. And
it is necessary to draw up an international programme to assist Vietnam.

And not only Vietnam, for that matter. One should remember that the neighbouring
Cambodia and other countries of Indochina are coming up against similar
consequences. Another case in point is Yugoslavia, which came under NATO bombing
attacks, with unexploded bombs still found there now and then. The situation is
much the same in Iraq. The aftermath of the armed aggressions will keep killing
people for a long time still if the international community fails to come to
grips with the problem.
===========================
Stop NATO

Text Fwd: US Military Chief: Turkey Valued NATO Ally From Korean To Afghan War

StopNATO
US Military Chief: Turkey Valued NATO Ally From Korean To Afghan War

http://www.defenselink.mil//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=55309
U.S. Department of Defense
American Forces Press Service
July 29, 2009

U.S.-Turkish Relationship 'Exceptionally Strong,' Mullen Says
By Gerry J. Gilmore

WASHINGTON - (Editor's note: American Forces Press Service published the
following article June 2, 2009. The original version contained an erroneous
background-information statement that Turkey fought on the side of the Allies in
World War II. In fact, Turkey remained neutral until it declared war on the Axis
on Feb. 23, 1945, shortly before the war ended. The declaration facilitated
Turkey's participation in the Conference on International Organization, from
which the United Nations emerged. We regret the error. Here is a corrected
version of the article.)

WASHINGTON, June 2, 2009 - The United States and the Republic of Turkey remain
steadfast allies and friends in a modern-day relationship that stretches back
decades, the U.S. military's top officer said here yesterday.

The U.S. and Turkish governments worked together during the Cold War to surmount
"some big, big challenges," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, said during his keynote remarks at the 28th Annual Conference on
U.S.-Turkish Relations dinner held at the Gaylord resort and convention center
at National Harbor, Md.
....
Turkey joined the United Nations after World War II. The then-Soviet Union's
demands to place military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted U.S. President
Harry S. Truman to establish the Truman Doctrine in 1947....Turkey joined NATO
in 1952, and its soldiers fought alongside U.N. troops during the Korean War.

The relationship between the United States and Turkey today is "exceptionally
strong" and "vitally important," Mullen said. Turkey has deployed troops to
Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom since 2001.
....
Mullen said the United States in recent years has provided more support to
Turkey in its fight against Kurdistan Workers' Party *terrorists*, known by the
acronym PKK. The PKK wants to establish a socialist, Kurdish state....

The increased American support for Turkey in its battle against the PKK, Mullen
pointed out, has contributed toward a vast improvement of U.S.-Turkish
relations.

Mullen also cited President Barack Obama's early April visit to Turkey's capital
of Ankara, where he addressed the Turkish parliament.
....
Turkey also has good relations with Pakistan, Mullen said, noting that he has
discussed that issue with senior Turkish military leaders, including Gen. Ilker
Basbug, the chief of the Turkish General Staff.

The Pakistani military is currently engaged in an offensive against Taliban
militants that operate in Pakistan's northwestern region near its border with
Afghanistan.
....
===========================
Stop NATO

Text Fwd: U.S. Envoy: Information-Sharing Key to N.Korea Crackdown

* Image source: same as below
'Philip Goldberg'

Chosun Ilbo(South Korea's most conservative right wing newspaper)
U.S. Envoy: Information-Sharing Key to N.Korea Crackdown
VOA News / Jul. 31, 2009 08:08 KST

The U.S. envoy working on enforcing United Nations sanctions against North Korea says sharing information among UN members is key to holding Pyongyang accountable for its banned nuclear activities. Philip Goldberg spoke to reporters Thursday in New York after meeting the UN North Korea sanctions committee.

The UN imposed tough new restrictions on North Korea last month after the reclusive country launched ballistic missiles and conducted its second nuclear test. The sanctions aim to cut off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear, missile and proliferation activities.

Goldberg called the measures "unprecedented," a word he also used to describe China's cooperation in implementing them. He said the U.S. is advising its banks about activities related to North Korean entities. He said he thinks other governments have taken similar positions, and they now have to share that information with each other.

The U.S. State Department says Goldberg will lead a delegation to Moscow on Monday. The delegation will consult with Russian Foreign Ministry and financial officials about enforcing the sanctions. Goldberg also is traveling to undisclosed Asian capitals for similar consultations in mid-August.

Text Fwd: The Significance of Kaesung as the City of Peace

* Image Source

1. Original Photo by Yoo, Young-Ho, 2001, Tongil News
‘A map attached to the Korean War Armistice Agreement, July 27, 1953’ (Name of the places in English added; The author notices the DMZ line-the thick line in the middle- along with the Northern Limited Line(NLL) and Southern Limited Line(SLL) -the both lines along the DMZ- were not drawn in the sea areas during the armistice negotiation period. The arbitrary NLL in the sea areas since then has specially become the controversy and source of conflict.

2. Korea Reports (Feb, 25, 2008)
'[Photo: North Korean workers at the Gaesong industrial complex.]'

Peace Making Issue 141
The Significance of Kaesung as the City of Peace
by Lee, Jae Jung (2009/07/31 05:13)

6. 15 Joint Declaration of South and North Korea enabled a historic city Kaesung [or Kaesong]to develop the industrial complex as a model of national economic development through new South-North cooperation. Due to the Joint Declaration, North Korea was to lease 2000 acres of land for factory, 3000 acres for a supporting town and provide the labour forces as well. South Korea was to invest capital and technology to develop this area and provide electricity for industrial complex to be constructed. In the mean time, two parties agreed to develop a tourist programme to share the historic heritage located in Kaesung along with Keumkangsan area.

In order for these purposes, two parties have enacted necessary laws. Particularly, the North took all the actions for trains from the South to enter its border through the Military Demarcation Line, while the South connected railways and road broken off since the Korean War. The development of Kaesung Industrial Complex and Tourist Programme have played a significant role in loosening military tensions and achieving a model for economic cooperation overcoming political, social and economic differences between two parties. This is a great experiment for peace on Korean Peninsular through economic cooperation and cultural exchange.

The first stage for the Construction of the Industrial Complex started in 2003 was successfully completed in 2007. Since then South Korean companies as well as foreign ones opened their factories there. The first stage of the industrial development is quite successful. Meanwhile tourism to Kaesung started in 2006 which enable South Korean people to enjoy historic heritage and witness the ordinary lives of North Koreans.

However, economic cooperation and cultural exchange between South and North now is in crisis under Lee Myung Bak government. Politically Lee government refuses to agree to mutual agreements of the summits between South and North in former governments. The Lee government fully joined PSI and strengthened economic sanction, which affected Kaesung Industrial Complex adversely. In the meantime North Korea launched a satellite and missiles, and carried out a nuclear experiment. As a result, South-North relation is in real crisis. Tourism to Kaesung and Railway Services between South and Kaesung were stopped and economic activities in the Industrial Complex were decreased drastically.

Kaesung is the city where the Armistice Agreement was signed and belonged to South before the Korean War but now belongs to North since the War, which made Kaesung a symbolic place for division and confrontation between South and North. But Kaesung turned out to be the symbol of peace on the Korean Peninsular through economic cooperation and cultural exchange since 6. 15 Summit Meeting. The role of Kaesung in making peace on the peninsular as well as North East Asia cannot be overestimated. Peace means to recognise and respect differences of others and share common interests based on common purposes. Kaesung has shown the very value of peace and its potentiality to the world.

We can see peace through Kaesung. Peace is possible when Kaesung is open. Both Koreans and World citizens are responsible for developing the experiences of peace in Kaesung further.
--------
* Prof. Lee Jae-Jung Sungkonghoe University, former Minister of Reunification
* resource; 2009 Sungkonghoe University International Symposium[The Role of Inter-City Network for Peace Building in Conflict Areas]

* Related blog

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/07/koreans-declare-727-peace-ship-launch.html
Monday, July 27, 2009
Koreans Declare the “7.27 Peace Ship Launch in the Mouth of Han River” Movement into the New Conversion Movement

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/07/text-fwd-s-korea-fishing-boat-taken-to.html
Friday, July 31, 2009
Text Fwd: S. Korea fishing boat taken to N. Korea port after traveling over the NLL

* Related English articles

http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/korea/kwarmagr072753.html
Text of the Korean War Armistice War Agreement

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Republic_of_Korea
Constitution of the Republic of Korea

Text Fwd: S. Korea fishing boat taken to N. Korea port after traveling over the NLL

Hankyoreh
S. Korea fishing boat taken to N. Korea port after traveling over the NLL
Observers wait to see if boat’s crew will be repatriated or become a factor in inter-Korean negotiations
Posted on : Jul.31, 2009 12:45 KST

The 29-ton South Korean fishing boat with four crew members crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) on Thursday morning as it was catching squid. The fishing boat was brought back to the North Korean port of Jangjon by a North Korean patrol boat. The repatriation of the crew is expected to become a new factor in inter-Korean relations.

Unification Ministry Spokesman Chun Hae-sung said Thursday that at around 6:17 a.m., the 800 Yeonanho, a squid boat from Geojin, Gangwon Province, was on its way home after fishing in international waters in the East Sea when it was intercepted and towed by a North Korean patrol boat some 20 nautical miles northeast of the port of Jejin. The boat was about seven nautical miles across the NLL when it was towed. A military official said the boat left Geojin Harbor at 1:30 p.m. the previous day to catch squid in the distant seas. On its way home, however, it appears its GPS equipment malfunctioned and it entered North Korean waters. The boat entered the North Korean port of Jangjon near the Kumgang Mountains at around 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

A military official said they used a wireless radio to tell the North Korean patrol boat twice that the boat had gone off-course and asked that it be allowed to return south, but there was no response. The South Korean government sent a message through the inter-Korean maritime authority communication net demanding the speedy repatriation of the boat and its crew. North Korea responded in the afternoon via the same communication net, informing South Korean authorities that relevant bodies were currently investigating the incident. The four men on the boat include skipper Park Gwang-seon, chief engineer Kim Yeong-gil, and crewmen Kim Bok-man and Lee Tae-yeol (53).

Since the 2000 inter-Korean summit, North Korea has freed stray South Korean fishing boats that have accidentally crossed the NLL within a couple of days after conducting a brief investigation. In April 2005, for instance, North Korea returned the fishing boat Hwangmanho after its skipper crossed the NLL in a state of severe drunkenness. In December of the same year, the Ujinho was returned in 18 days.


In the case of North Korean boats that wander south, the South Koreans, too, have returned anyone who did not wish to defect. Chun said two North Korean fishing boats crossed the NLL in the West Sea this year, however, both boats were immediately repatriated in the name of humanitarianism, he said.

If North Korea follows these precedents, it will be a positive sign for inter-Korean relations. Observers are saying if North Korea treats this incident, the first of a South Korean fishing boat crossing the NLL since the Lee Myung-bak administration took office, similar to how it has in the past by applying the principle of repatriation, it could signal that North Korea does not want to further aggravate its relationship with South Korea.

Observers are adding, however, that the crew’s repatriation could be delayed if North Korea intends to negotiate or apply pressure by drawing out the length of the investigation. It the crew becomes a negotiating card with South Korea, one could see this incident as opening another channel in the currently blocked-up inter-Korean relationship. On the other hand, if North Koreas uses the crew to apply pressure on South Korea, it would mean it now has another “hostage” card to play, in addition to the currently detained Hyundai Asan employee who had been working in Kaesong (Gaseong) and negatively effect inter-Korean relations.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]


© 2006 The Hankyoreh Media Company. All rights reserved.

* Related blogs
Korean War Armistice Agreement