| THE NORTH KOREA REPORT: FEBRUARY 17, 2003 Our statement on why North Korea must be liberated can be found here. TOP STORY: CIA DIRECTOR SAYS NORTH KOREA COULD HIT U.S. WITH MISSILE TAEPODONG 2 MISSILE NOT TESTED YET; INTEL OFFICIALS FEAR NK COULD SELL NUKES CIA Director George Tenet told the Senate Armed Services Committee that North Korea has a missile capable of hitting the United States. It was the most definitive answer from a government source on the capability of the Taepodong 2 missile, which was known to possibly be able to hit the U.S. Pacific Coast. The Taepodong 2 has yet to be flight-tested. Reports: CNN, Fox News According to the New York Post, �Intelligence officials fear North Korea also could sell its nukes on the black market,� a very serious concern echoed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (CNN). The Taepodong�s capability was known as far back a 1999 Congressional report (Newsmax.com) and intelligence reports from 2001. White House Press Secretary Ari Fleishcer again held out �diplomacy� � not liberating the people of North Korea from the Stalinist regime that starves and tortures them � as the key to solving the problem. JAPAN GROWS MORE HAWKISH, SOUTH KOREA DOESN�T A rather pleasant surprise came from Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who came out in favor of �military force as a self-defence (UK sp) measure� (BBC) if the North �started to �resort to arms against Japan.�� Ishiba even hinted at a possible pre-emptive action, saying, in the BBC�s words, that �it would be too late if a North Korean missile was already on its way.� Japan's hawkishness on North Korea won quick support from Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill, who said, "The right to self-defend in the light of imminent attack is legitimate" (Cybercast News), not a pre-emptive attack. Meanwhile, Japan also will conduct joint missile intercept tests with the United States (Nihon Keizai Shimbun via BBC). Moreover, Fumio Ota, the chief of Japan's military intelligence agency, told the defense policy committee of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that �North Korea seeks to become a nuclear-armed power and is not simply raising stakes to bargain away in negotiations� (Washington Post 2/13), dropping an earlier disagreement with the U.S. on this issue. Meanwhile, incoming South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said he would not support an American military strike against North Korea, something the Bush Administration has all but ruled out anyhow (Washington Times). Despite the tensions between the United States and South Korea the two allies are planning a major military exercise in March (BBC). NUCLEAR NEWS SOUTH KOREAN ENVOY SAYS ROH WOULD PREFER NUCLEAR NORTH TO LIBERATION According to Donald MacIntyre, Time Asia, one advisor to President-elect Roh Moo-huyn said his boss �would rather see North Korea with nukes than see it collapse.� If true � MacIntyre couldn�t get that confirmed � it reveals a South Korean incoming administration rife with utter callousness toward its fellow Koreans, to say nothing of its allies. NORTH KOREA TO BUILD FOUR MORE POWER PLANTS Stalinist North Korea is planning to build four more power plants, each "bigger than the Yongbyon plant at the center of a stand-off with the United States" (London Sunday Telegraph via Washington Times). IAEA SEND NORTH KOREAN NUKE ISSUE TO SECURITY COUNCIL; PRC OPPOSED MOVE The International Atomic Energy Agency voted to send the issue of North Korea�s nuclear weapons program to the United Nations Security Council by a 31-0 vote (CNN 2/12). The Security Council could, in theory, impose economic sanctions against the Stalinist regime for violating its pledges to freeze its nuclear weapons program. Also reporting: Washington Times, Washington Post After the vote, Communist China�s UN Ambassador quickly downplayed the move, saying, �The UN Security Council's involvement at this stage might not necessarily contribute to the settlement of the issue� (BBC 2/13). He then repeated the Communist assertion that �The only correct and effective approach... is through constructive dialogue and consultations on the basis of equality.� Earlier this week, Communist spokesperson Zhang Qiyue also called on the U.S. to consider the �particular security concerns� (CNN 2/11) of PRC�s five-decade ally. Given the Communists� veto power on the Security Council, any punitive action against the Stalinist North is very unlikely indeed, despite its violations of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the 1994 Agreed Framework. Meanwhile, the U.S. isn�t all that interested in punishing the North anyway, according to the BBC (2/14). Both Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly and envoy Richard Williamson ruled them out. The Stalinists themselves waited a couple of days before ripping the IAEA as �a pawn of the United States� (CNN 2/14). CIA CHIEF SAYS NORTH KOREA�S NUCLEAR AMBITIONS AT HEAD OF TREND According to CIA Director George Tenet, �desire for nuclear weapons is on the upsurge� (Washington Post) among small, dictatorial states, with North Korea as the lead tyranny with nuclear ambitions. Tenet said the desire to go nuclear was �to deter threats from more powerful states.� Sadly, Tenet did not propose pushing for the North�s liberation, a move that would throw a wrench into the deterrence logic. NORTH KOREA �READY TO TALK� ABOUT NUCLEAR WEAPONS North Korea, through its press agency, said it was �ready to talk� (CNN) to the U.S. about what it called �peaceful solution to the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula.� Also Reporting: Washington Post SOUTH KOREAN PM NOT CONVINCED NORTH HAS NUCLEAR WEAPONS Prime Minister Kim Suk-soo is less than convinced that North Korea possesses enough plutonium to make one or two nuclear weapons, according to CNN. Among the many who believe the Stalinist regime has between one and three nuclear weapons is Kim�s very own intelligence apparatus (see 11/4/02 North Korea Report). SOUTH KOREA, U.S. TO FORM JOINT BODIES ON ALLIANCES, NORTH�S NUKES South Korea and the United States �agreed to establish a joint governmental consultative body to deal with North Korea's nuclear threats . . . (and) a separate committee to discuss their decades-old security ties� (UPI via Washington Times). The deal for the bodies was struck in talks between Vice President Richard B. Cheney and Chyung Dai-chul, envoy to South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-hyun. CLINTON WAS AWARE OF NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM IN 1998, SAYS DICK MORRIS Dick Morris, former aide to ex-President Bill Clinton, says his old boss had to be aware of the North�s nuclear weapons program, in violation of the 1994 Agreed Framework, as early as 1998, when �the Washington Post published a report that that was the case,� according to Newsmax.com, which also quoted extensively from said Post article. Stop the North Korean Nuclear Power Plants: North Korea announced that it would restart the pre-1994 plutonium power plants. Despite this, talk of negotiations continues, and the two nuclear power plants that were part of the deal have still not been canceled. Use this China e-Lobby fact sheet and tell the President to stand firm against the Stalinist regime, and not to build the power plants. NORTH KOREA SAYS IT WILL WIN NUCLEAR WAR Stalinist North Korea insisted to the rest of the world that "Victory in a nuclear conflict will be ours" (CNN). Of course, in order to achieve such a "victory" one would have to have nuclear weapons, something the Stalinists have denied ever since their admission of a nuclear-weapons program last fall led to the suspension of fuel oil shipments from the United States. The fuel oil was conditioned on the North's 1994 promise to "freeze" its nuclear weapons program, a promise they admitted to break last October (see 10/21/02 and 11/18/02 North Korea Reports). U.S., RUSSIA INSIST DIPLOMACY CAN SOLVE NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS ISSUE The United States and Russia both issued statements expressing confidence that the North's nuclear ambitions, and the problems arising from it, could be resolved through diplomacy. Report: CNN NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA�S ROLE IN NORTH KOREA McCAIN DEMANDS PRC HELP U.S. ON NK, HOLDS OUT THREAT OF NUCLEAR JAPAN Arizona Senator and former GOP Presidential candidate John McCain warned Communist China that unless it "become(s) very engaged with North Korea and bring about a very quick resolution to this crisis" (CNN), it would be looking at a nuclear-armed Japan, something the Communists would no doubt like to avoid. POWELL SAYS �CHINA IS THREATENED� BY NORTH KOREA�S NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM Do you laugh or cry on this one? Secretary of State Colin Powell, in testimony before the House Budget Committee, actually claimed that due to North Korea�s nuclear ambitions, �China is threatened� (CNN). Powell cited this �threat� as a reason the Administration pushing for a �regional settlement� on the issue. Why the Communists would be threatened by their ally�s nuclear ambitions was not explored. OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS MILITARY PRESENCE IN SOUTH KOREA MAY BE CUT Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the United States is looking at possibly shifting and/or reducing American troop strength in South Korea (CNN). According to the Washington Times, the idea is, in part, a result of the election of dovish President-elect Roh Moo-hyun in last December�s South Korean elections. Also reporting: Washington Post SOUTH KOREAN GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION SAYS ANTI-AMERICANISM IS OVERBLOWN However, a South Korean Embassy spokesperson said reports of mass anti-Americanism in his country were overblown, and that �three-quarters of Koreans agree with the presence of U.S. forces and want them to stay� (Washington Times). Chung-won Suh, who leads of the Grand National Party � the pro-American opposition party that controls the South Korean legislature � echoed those comments, and announced a pro-American rally on March 1. Suh said the pro-American march could bring �as many as 1 million� to the streets in support of the U.S. OTHER SOUTH KOREA NEWS KIM DAE-JUNG APOLOGIZES FOR HYUNDAI PRE-SUMMIT PAYOUT Outgoing President Kim Dae-jung apologized to his people for allowing Hyundai to borrow $186 million from a government bank and send it to North Korea, �even though it was against the law� (BBC). Kim said he felt the payments were in the �national interest,� but denied charges that the money was a payoff for the 2000 summit between himself and Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il. Also reporting: CNN Over the weekend, the head of Hyundai himself acknowledged that the payments it made to the North "helped in some part stage the South-North summit" (London Sunday Telegraph via Washington Times). He also put the amount of the payments, which he said were for "to win exclusive business rights in the isolated communist country," at $500 million. INTERNAL NEWS NORTH KOREAN ECONOMY "DRYING UP" The economy of North Korea, such as it is, is now "a system battling against the clock," according to HSBC (cited by CNN). The banking group said the only option for the Stalinist economy is "mass demilitarisation (UK sp)." KIM JONG-IL CELEBREATES 61ST BIRTHDAY Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-Il turned 61 over the weekend, and his North Korean media mouthpiece celebrated the news with, among other things, a pledge to "annihilate" (Newsmax.com) the U.S in repsonse to any American military action against the North. Also reporting: BBC The celebration also included a decent meal, which as one defector told the Washington Post, is quite rare in the Stalinist regime these days: "For those two days we'd get white rice. You don't really get to eat white rice for two days in a row." COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS ON NORTH KOREA�S NUCLEAR AMBITIONS Doug Struck, Washington Post, finds a blas� attitude in South Korea toward the North�s nuclear weapons program � with the most prevalent attitude being that the issue is between the Stalinist regime and the U.S. Mike Chinoy, CNN, also finds this in South Korea. In Japan, there is more anxiety, but it is tempered by the fact that �many Japanese feel protected by the U.S. military and U.S. diplomacy.� Meanwhile, James S. Robbins, in National Review Online, gives his snapshot view on the situation as it stands, and guesses that the Stalinists� drive to become a nuclear power so quickly may have quite a bit to do with the American drive for a missile defense �which will soon be available to help blunt the bargaining power of countries like North Korea.� FROM THE DOVES, AGAIN Brent Scowcroft and Daniel Poneman give the latest argument for giving North Korea what it wants in the Washington Post. The most unnerving thing about this piece is the goal involved: a larger inspection role for the International Atomic Energy Agency and "the removal of the 8,000 spent fuel rods from the peninsula." No mention of stopping the Stalinists' weapons sales to terrorists, let alone the suffering of the people of northern Korea. THE SOUTH KOREAN MEDIA WEIGHS IN ON THE $UN$HINE $CANDAL The South Korean media have weighed in on the 2000 pre-summit payoff scandal, and they are not happy. The conservative Chosun Ilbo, of course, ripped the payments, but this time it was joined by the moderate Tong-a Ilbo, and Chungang Ilbo. Report BBC ON NORTH KOREA�S POLITICAL PRISONS Phil Brennan, Newsmax.com, highlights NBC�s report on the North Korean political prisons (for the NBC report, see the 1/20 North Korea Report). ON NORTH KOREA AND IRAQ? Karl Taro, in Time Asia, thinks North Korea is more dangerous than Iraq. Unfortunately, he�s short on policy ideas for dealing with the Stalinist regime, beside vague references to negotiations. The editors of the Washington Post had this to say about the dichotomy of the Bush Administration's policies toward Iraq and North Korea: " thankfully -- the U.S. position in the Persian Gulf is not as weak as it is in Northeast Asia." ON FAITH AND THE NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES Caroline Gluck, BBC, meets several North Korean refugees, now in South Korea, who told her how Christian missionaries helped them while they were hiding in Communist China. The PRC returns every refugee it can find, forcing those trying to escape its Stalinist ally and neighbor to become virtual non-persons in Communist China. ON COMMUNIST CHINA�S ROLE IN NORTH KOREA James Hackett, in the Washington Times, details Communist China�s ties to North Korea, and explains why trying to get the PRC to sanction its ally will likely fail. He also blasts those would, in his words, �resume paying blackmail� to the Stalinist regime. Unfortunately, he is not willing to support, or even mention, working to liberate the people of northern Korea from said regime. The editors of the Washington Times take note of Communist China's peacekeeping plans for the Congo, and wonder when the PRC will "demonstrate its commitment to world peace by taking a more constructive role in cleaning up its own backyard," i.e., its five-decade ally Stalinist North Korea. James Lilley, former Ambassador to South Korea, gave his views on North Korea�s nuclear ambitions to CNN. In his interview he included Communist China with Japan and South Korea as �friends and allies� of the U.S. Jim Hoagland, Washington Post, sees the PRC�s complete non-action on its Stalinist ally as a need for �a workable regional strategy.� However, he himself does not provide such a strategy. The editors of the Post are particularly annoyed at the reactions of Communist China and Russia on North Korea�s nuclear weapons, calling their repeated demands that the U.S. give the Stalinists what they want �the easy way out of confronting a dictator.� Dr. Alexandr Nemets, in Newsmax.com, finds more sinister motives behind Communist China�s treatment of its five-decade ally. NORTH KOREAN �TOURS� Julian Manyon, of the Spectator (UK), recounts his very bleak �tour� of a coastal town in North Korea. His account came from the Canadian National Post. Mike Thompson, BBC, also paid the Stalinist regime a visit. The first ever South Korean tourist expedition into the North had Caroline Gluck, BBC, accompany the tourists. She finds a "fenced in" site, with a near constant Stalinist military presence. Check out the latest on Communist China and the Terrorist War. Sign the petition for an American boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. 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