Korean Peninsula Today, 24 June 2009

Regional Powers Vow 'Stern But Diplomatic' Solution to N. Korean Problem (Yonhap News Agency)

SEOUL -- Four regional powers seeking to restart dialogue with North Korea emphasized on Tuesday the need for a "stern but diplomatic" response to the communist nation's nuclear and missile threats.

In a rare forum with her Chinese, Russian, and Japanese counterparts at the National Assembly, U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens said Washington will cope with the crisis in close consultation with its allies.

"We are in conjunction with allies in taking prudent steps to implement the best defensive measures aimed at enhancing our military capacity and extended deterrence in the region," she said. "We've begun to outline a future plan and extensive measures with our allies that we will take should North Korea refuse to adjust course and continue with the announced plan for provocative behavior, including future missile or nuclear tests." She stopped short of providing details of the plan.

In a summit between the leaders of the two nations last week, the U.S. pledged an "extended deterrence" for South Korea against the North's nuclear and conventional weapons threats.

Chinese Ambassador Cheng Yonghua said his country supports the U.N. Security Council's tough resolution against North Korea for its second nuclear test on May 25, but pointed out that sanctions against Pyongyang are not an ultimate goal.

He said relevant nations should handle the North Korean issue in a "cool-headed and restraint-oriented" manner.

"We should prevent the situation from escalating to a point where it could get out of control. We should break through the currently tense situation through peaceful means," Cheng said.

Russian Ambassador Gleb Ivashentsov echoed the view, saying it is important to "cut off emotions," and called for the parties to "subtly analyze all nuances and move forward while combining firmness and determination with restraint."

He also warned that the North's recent moves should not be used by others as "a pretext for a forceful enlargement of all military contention."

The ambassadors urged the North to rejoin the six-way talks on its nuclear program, saying the disarmament forum remains one of the most effective tools to denuclearize the North in spite of growing worries over the future of the often-troubled negotiations.

With the North boycotting the dialogue, South Korea has pushed for a five-way meeting with the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan to discuss future steps.

South Korean officials stressed the proposed talks would not be an alternative to the six-way format but a way to break the deadlock.

Japanese Ambassador Torinoshi Shigei said his country has no intention of using the North's threats as a pretext for bolstering its nuclear capability.

"In accordance with domestic laws, I reiterate that Japan has no policy options to possess nuclear capability," the Japanese envoy said in response to a question on whether his country would engage in a regional arms race.

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Inspection of N. Korean Vessels 'complex And Sensitive' Issue (Kyodo World Service)

Beijing -- China stressed Tuesday that any interception and inspection of North Korean vessels on the high seas should be based on ''sufficient evidence,'' and called on all parties to refrain from any action that could intensify an already tense situation.

Speaking at a regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the U.N. Security Council resolution calling on all 192 member states to carry out cargo inspections of North Korean vessels suspected of carrying nuclear or missile-related cargo is a ''complex and sensitive issue'' that should be based on ''reasonable grounds.'' ''China will strictly adhere to the U.N. Security Council's resolution, but at the same time any relevant cargo inspections should be based on sufficient evidence and the right reasons,'' Qin said. ''Under the current circumstances, we call on all parties to refrain from taking any action that will intensify the tense situation.'' Qin was responding to media reports the U.S. Navy is preparing for a possible intercept of a North Korean ship suspected of carrying missile and nuclear-related items, after it leaves the coastal area of China.

He said China had no details on where the vessel originated, where it is headed, or what cargo it carried but added the country is in close contact with the United States on the North Korean issue.

According to Fox television last Friday, the U.S. destroyer John S. McCain, deployed at Yokosuka base in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture, is already traveling to the area of the North Korean ship.

Though the navy has yet to issue an interception order, the destroyer may conduct an inspection of the North Korean cargo ship Kang Nam once the vessel leaves the coastal area of China, according to the report.

The navy has been monitoring the North Korean ship at sea under new U.N. sanctions that bar Pyongyang from exporting missile and nuclear-related items.

Since the United States cannot conduct the inspection of the vessel on the high seas without North Korea's consent, the navy is considering monitoring the ship until it enters a port for refueling and then asking the local government to conduct the inspection.

The Kang Nam is reportedly headed toward Singapore, having left North Korea last Wednesday.

A Singaporean government agency warned Friday it will take appropriate action if the ship is carrying weapons of mass destruction.

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N. Korea Renews Navigation Ban in Sea of Japan for 'military Drill' (Kyodo World Service)

Tokyo -- North Korea has issued another navigation restriction for vessels passing through waters off its eastern coast in the Sea of Japan over a self-claimed military exercise, the Japan Coast Guard said Monday.

According to the coast guard, which was notified of the ban by Pyongyang via e-mail the same day, the new ban covers an area about 450 kilometers in length and 110 km wide along the coast of Wonsan from June 25 until July 10 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Japan time.

It is the first time North Korea has disclosed the reason for issuing a navigation ban along its coastline.

The area subject to the restriction covers a wider range of waters than the areas covered in the coast guard's navigation alarms issued June 8 and 18 based on the previous navigation bans sent out by North Korea.

On Monday, the coast guard called on vessels to be aware of the North Korean prohibition by issuing a navigation warning, it said.

On May 25, North Korea conducted its second nuclear test and fired three short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan.

On April 5, Pyongyang conducted what appeared to be a long-range missile test, as its first stage fell into the Sea of Japan and the second stage landed in the Pacific Ocean after flying over Japan.

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Relatives of former N. Korean party secretary in third country after defection (Yonhap News Agency)

SEOUL-- Three relatives of Hwang Chang-yo'p, a former North Korean Workers' Party secretary who defected to South Korea over a decade ago, fled the North last month and are now in a third country en route to the South, sources said Tuesday.

The defectors are members of Hwang's extended family, one of the sources who is also a North Korean defector and frequently communicates with defectors abroad, said on condition of anonymity.

An intelligence source in Seoul said diplomatic contacts are under way with the third country to examine how they fled the North and whether they are related to Hwang. This source could not divulge the name of the foreign country involved or when they would be flown to South Korea, citing the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue.

Hwang's direct family members were expelled from Pyongyang after he fled to the South in 1997. The former aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is the highest-ranking North Korean defector to date.

The source said the fleeing relatives lived in the city of Tokchon in South Pyongyang Province and quoted them as saying that Hwang's wife had died and that they did not know the whereabouts of Hwang's children.

More than 16,000 people have fled the impoverished state to the more affluent South Korea, with the number of defectors rising every year from 1,138 in 2002 to 2,544 in 2007 and 2,809 last year.