| THE NORTH KOREA REPORT: JULY 1, 2002 NEWS NORTH KOREA NAVY CROSSES ARMISTICE LINE, BEGINS GUN BATTLE WITH SOUTH FOUR FROM THE SOUTH DEAD, NORTHERN CASUALTY NUMBERS UNKNOWN SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT RIPS STALINIST REGIME�S �PROVOCATIVE BEHAVIOR� The North Korean navy escorted fishing vessels across the armistice line between North and South Korea and fired upon South Korean ships sent to warn them off (BBC 1). South Korean President Kim Dae-jung blasted the North�s �provocative behavior.� The U.S. also ripped the �armed provocation� (BBC 2). The Stalinist regime � surprise! � insisted the South was to blame for the actions (CNN 1). Meanwhile, South Korea said it would continue the �sunshine� policy of opening up to the Stalinist regime (BBC 3), despite its rapidly growing unpopularity (Cybercast News). The South is also considering changing its rules of engagement to allow its armed forces to fire first (CNN 2). Also reporting: Washington Post JAPAN FINDS MISSILES AND OTHER WEAPONS ON NORTH KOREAN VESSEL A North Korean ship that sunk last year after being chased by the Japanese (see January 2, 2002 Update) had �a Russian surface-to-air heat-seeking missile, portable anti-tank grenade launchers and machine guns� according to the BBC. The vessel sank last year in waters near Communist China, which had hesitated before allowing Japan to recover its Stalinist ally�s ship. CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES ARRESTED BY PRC FOR HELPING NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES . . . Communist China arrested three Christian missionaries for helping refugees from North Korea hide from PRC authorities. The Stalinist regime has been an ally of Communist China�s for over 50 years, which is one of the reasons why the PRC sends back any refugee from the North it finds. Report: Cybercast News . . . AS ONE MORE REFUGEE MAKES IT INSIDE SOUTH KOREAN EMBASSY IN BEIJING Over 60 refugees have used diplomatic compounds of democratic nations to escape the PRC. Two dozen left last week, and one more refugee enter South Korea�s Beijing embassy that same day. A massive famine has killed 2 million North Koreans, and the Stalinist regime�s practice of stealing international food aid from its own people has made matters much worse (see above Cybercast News link). COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS NOTRA TRULOCK: NORTH KOREA ALREADY HAS NUKES The former intelligence official in the Energy Department notes reports (also in the weekly update) while calling for an end to the 1994 nuclear power deal with the Stalinist regime, in the Washington Times. BACKDROP TO THE NAVAL BATTLE Keith Howard, a senior lecturer in the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, gives a brief account in the BBC of the backdrop to the naval battle reported above. Stop the Nuclear Power Deal: The United States is building two nuclear power plants in North Korea while the Stalinist regime refuses to let us inspect their nuclear weapons program to verify they have halted it as required in the deal. Use the China e-Lobby fact sheet to tell the President to end the deal. Sign the Boycott Petition: In reaction to the 2008 Olympic Games being awarded to Beijing, the China e-Lobby has begun a petition for an American boycott of those games. Miss an Update, Weekly Links, or a North Korea Report? Find it on our web site. Check out the latest on Communist China and the Terrorist War. There�s still time to contact the President and tell him not to appoint pro-PRC Doug Paal as de facto ambassador to Taiwan. See Follow-Up for more on Paal. Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in receiving it. Anyone who wishes to join can send his/her name and e-mail address to [email protected]. Please feel free to send any news on Communist China or North Korea you happen to find to the same address. |