U.N. to place 1st travel ban on N. Korean gov't officials, scientists (Kyodo)
New York – A U.N. sanctions committee is making final adjustments to place a travel ban on about a dozen North Korean government officials and scientists involved in the country's nuclear and missile development, a move that could lead to the first U.N. travel ban on North Korean individuals, diplomatic sources at the world body said Wednesday.
The committee of the U.N. Security Council is also likely to designate more North Korean-related entities as subject to asset freezes, further toughening sanctions against the country, as aimed for by Japan and the United States.
The list of individuals to be placed under the travel ban could be announced as early as Wednesday, but with China still withholding its answers with regard to some of the individuals the list could be subject to some last-minute changes, the sources said.
The list includes high-class officials of North Korea's national defense committee and physicists that Japan and the United States had named.
The travel ban will be based on the U.N. Security Council resolution adopted June 12, following North Korea's nuclear experiment in May. Once the ban is finalized, U.N. member states must deny them entry.
China and Russia were initially reluctant to take the measure, saying additional sanctions against the country were unnecessary, but they accepted most of the list in the end.
The sanctions committee has already designated three entities as subject to an asset freeze due to suspected activities related to nuclear weapons and missile development in North Korea.
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U.S. Ready For N. Korean Threat: Gen. Sharp (Yonhap)
WASHINGTON – The commander of U.S. troops in South Korea said Tuesday that the forces of South Korea and the U.S. are prepared for any attack from North Korea.
Gen. Walter Sharp also urged the North to return to the six-way talks on ending its nuclear ambitions.
"I am absolutely confident that the capabilities that we and the Republic of Korea have are prepared for any threat," Sharp said in a video-linked news conference from New York.
The U.S. maintains 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Korean War, which ended in 1953 in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Sharp's remarks come amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea tested a nuclear bomb in May, its second detonation, and has launched a series of dummy missiles.
The provocations led the U.N. Security Council to ban the North from conducting any further nuclear and ballistic missile tests and to impose financial sanctions and an arms embargo. A Security Council resolution allows cargo interdiction on the high seas to detect weapons trafficking.
Sharp urged Pyongyang to "take a new path" to care for its people and stop threatening the international community.
The commander said that the U.S. military computer system has not been damaged by the recent cyberattacks against scores of government Web sites in South Korea and the U.S.
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U.S. Not to Allow Enhanced Missile Capability For S. Korea: Gen. Sharp (Yonhap)
WASHINGTON – The United States has no immediate plans to allow South Korea longer-range missiles to counter North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, the commander of U.S. troops in South Korea said Tuesday.
The remarks by Gen. Walter Sharp come amid reports that South Korea will soon call on the U.S. to begin talks on improving South Korea's missile capability, which is constrained to 300 kilometers in range and 500 kilograms in payload under a 2001 agreement.
Until 2001, South Korea was limited to 180 kilometers in missile range under an agreement with the U.S., which feared an arms race between the Cold War archrivals on the Korean Peninsula.
"You'll need to direct that towards the State Department and, you know, again, there's been no request to do that and I really don't see a need for that right now," Sharp said in a video-linked news conference from New York. He was responding to the question if the issue will be discussed at an upcoming Security Consultative Meeting between defense ministers of the sides in October.
Sharp also said that the combined forces of South Korea and the U.S. are prepared for any attack from North Korea and urged the North to return to the six-way talks on ending its nuclear ambitions.
"I can assure you that the alliance is fully prepared to respond to any situation as we continue to monitor the activity in the region," he said. The U.S. maintains 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Korean War, which ended in 1953 in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
"We're prepared for any sort of military attack ... from ballistic missiles, from any sort of missiles all the way up to a full range of combat," he said.
Sharp's remarks come amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea tested a nuclear bomb in May, its second detonation, and has launched a series of dummy missiles.
The provocations led the U.N. Security Council to ban the North from conducting any further nuclear and ballistic missile tests and to impose financial sanctions and an arms embargo. A Security Council resolution allows cargo interdiction on the high seas to detect weapons trafficking.
Sharp urged North Korea to return to the six-party talks and "take a new path" to care for its people and stop threatening the international community.
"We call upon Kim Jong Il to go back to what he agreed to at one time through the six-party talks, (that is) to stop his nuclear program and in fact to start denuclearizing it," he said.
Pyongyang has been boycotting the multilateral talks and vowed to expand its nuclear arsenal in protest of international condemnation of its nuclear and missile tests.
Sharp also said that the U.S. military computer system has not been damaged by the recent cyberattacks against scores of government Web sites in South Korea and the U.S.
"We in the Department of Defense, our operations have not been affected by the cyberattacks," Sharp said. "Our networks, within our ability to be able to operate from a military perspective, have been protected and were not affected by those. We are on the U.S. military side working very hard to make sure that we have the proper defenses in place across all of our networks to be able to stop any sort of the viruses or any sort of the attacks, and we work on that on a daily basis."
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S. Korea Discounts U.S. General's Comment on Missile Limitation (Yonhap)
SEOUL – South Korea's defense ministry on Wednesday discounted a comment made by a U.S. general that Seoul does not immediately need to develop longer-range missiles to counter the threat from North Korea.
In a video-linked conference from New York, Gen. Walter Sharp said he does not see a need "right now" for South Korea to develop missiles of over 300km in range and 500kg in throw weight.
The comment by the commander of 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea ran counter to that of a two-star general under his command, who said last week that the issue could be brought up in talks between the defense ministers of the two allies in October.
The comment by Maj. Gen. Frank Panter, confirmed by the U.S. Forces Korea, came after North Korea test-fired a series of missiles, including ballistic ones, in defiance of international warnings.
"As far as we can see, this is an issue to be discussed between the working-level officials of South Korea and the United States," South Korean defense ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said.
"I do not believe we need to give Commander Sharp's comment much weight," he said in a briefing.
North Korea heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, which remains divided after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, by conducting its second nuclear test on May 25.
South Korea recently announced that it plans to have the capabilities to monitor and potentially strike every North Korean nuclear and missile base.
Until 2001, South Korea was limited to 180 kilometers in missile range under an agreement with the U.S., which feared an arms race between the Cold War archrivals on the Korean Peninsula.
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Wage Hike a Good Excuse to Quit Kaesong (Daily NK)
Predicting that Kaesong Industrial Complex talks will continue to rumble on ineffectually for some time to come, the North Korean authorities are threatening to unilaterally inform South Korean companies that North Korean workers’ wages will increase to $300 from August.
Representative of the Forum for Inter-Korea Relations Kim Gyu Chul revealed on Wednesday in a telephone interview with Daily NK, “North Korean Kaesong Complex officials have told several South Korean entrepreneurs that since it seems hard to anticipate something coming from the working group meetings between North and South, they will unilaterally inform them of the wage increase from August regardless of existing laws and regulations.”
Kim explained the path to the current situation, “North and South negotiated wage rises of 5% in August 2007 and 2008, according to Kaesong Industrial Complex laws.”
The owner of one company stationed in the Complex complained, “This move may well be impending, judging by North Korea’s general attitude. I hope the North gives me a good excuse to withdraw my company from the Complex, such as by raising wages to $300 or $500.”
North Korea warned on the 10th in a notice from the Guidance Bureau for Developing Central Special Economic Zone, “If South Korea does not fully accept our demands, we do not have any other choice but to put into practice what we have already decided.”
North Korea’s demand will be a blow to South Korean companies, whose businesses have already suffered due to constraint of overland passage and the detention of a North Korean employee.
If the wage were $300, as North Korea has demanded, the real wage would be almost $400, including $45 for insurance, $40-50 dollars in charges for food, snacks, traffic expenses and other sundries.
The company owner maintained, “The Kaesong Industrial Complex has lost its business vitality and is breaking down. If North Korea issues the wage raise unilaterally, I think it will be a good chance to withdraw my company.”
Another owner also emphasized, “I have done my best to survive there thus far, but this month I don’t have the ability to secure a loan. We are on the brink of collapse.”
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