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NORTH KOREA THIS WEEK NO. 474 (November 15, 2007)
*** NEWS IN BRIEF (Part 2)
N. Korea thanks U.S. for helping its seamen fight off Somalian pirates
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Nov. 8 thanked the United States for helping the crew of a North Korean cargo ship fight off pirates in waters off Somalia, citing the rescue as a symbol of Washington-Pyongyang cooperation.
"We feel grateful to the United States for its assistance given to our crewmen. This case serves as a symbol of the DPRK (North Korea)-U.S. cooperation in the struggle against terrorism," the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
On Oct. 30, the U.S. Navy provided medical assistance and other support to the North Korean crew of a North Korea-flagged ship, Taehongdan, hijacked by pirates off the coast of the East African nation.
The USS James E. Williams, an Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer, dispatched a helicopter to investigate after receiving a call from the International Maritime Bureau about the North Korean ship, the Navy said earlier in a press release.
The KCNA said the helicopter rushed to the scene and helped the North Korean sailors fight the pirates. About 20 hours after the start of the fight, the pirates dropped their arms and surrendered, and the ship was recaptured by its sailors.
One pirate was killed and six North Korean crewmen were wounded, it said.
The North's expression of gratitude for the U.S. action shows its will to cooperate with the U.S. call to fight against terrorism, said the KCNA report.
North Korea "will continue to render international cooperation in the fight against terrorism in the future," it said.
The Navy's action came as relations between Washington and Pyongyang are improving due to the North's pledge to disable its nuclear facilities and submit a full list of its nuclear programs by the end of the year under a six-party deal signed in October.
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N. Korea says six-way deal calls for its removal from terrorism list
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Nov. 9 called on the United States to remove it from the U.S. list of terrorism-sponsoring states, saying the implementation of its pledge to disable its key nuclear facilities and declare all its nuclear programs within the year depends on the U.S. action.
North Korea "will meet the deadline reached in the six-party talks" for disabling its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon and submitting a complete list of its nuclear programs, the Choson Sinbo, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper published in Japan, reported. The newspaper is often viewed as a de facto mouthpiece of the reclusive North.
A U.S. team of nuclear experts began disabling the Yongbyon facilities earlier this month, and the communist nation is expected to submit at least an initial draft of all of its nuclear programs before the end of November.
The measures come under the second phase of an aid-for-denuclearization deal signed in February, under which Pyongyang is entitled to 950,000 tons of heavy fuel oil or equivalent assistance, as well as political benefits such as the removal from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism and the termination of application of the U.S. Trading with the Enemy Act, which has long prevented the North from conducting economic activities in international markets.
The Choson Sinbo said there is no reason for North Korea to delay implementing the denuclearization measures, but said the steps are being undertaken on a principle of action-for-action.
"What was agreed in the six-party talks is the DPRK (North Korea) would disable its nuclear facilities by the end of the year and, in return, the United States would remove the DPRK from the list of terrorism-sponsoring states and end its application of the Trading with the Enemy Act," the newspaper said.
A joint statement issued at the latest round of the six-way talks said the political benefits will be rewarded "in parallel" with action taken by the North to disable its nuclear facilities and declare all its nuclear programs.
Christopher Hill, Washington's chief envoy in the six-nation talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambition, however, hinted last week that it may take some time for the U.S. to take North Korea off the terrorism list, saying the action can only be taken when the communist nation meets all the criteria.
"Getting off the terrorism list is not a reward for endeavors in other areas," Hill told reporters in Seoul on Nov. 2. "What it is is a confirmation a country is no longer engaged in any terrorist acts, no longer is providing assistance to terrorist groups."
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Pyongyang urges Tokyo's new Cabinet to change policy toward N.K.
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea urged Japan's new cabinet to change what it called the hard-line policy towards Pyongyang, pointing out Tokyo's continued raising of the issue of Japanese abducted by the North, the North's news outlet said on Nov. 10.
The comments came more than a month after a new Cabinet led by Yasuo Fukuda was inaugurated in Japan.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the present Japanese Cabinet does not seem to be in a position to switch its foreign policy, claiming it has not taken any steps away from the preceding regime's sanctions on the DPRK (North Korea).
"There is no change in the Tokyo's hard-line policy toward North Korea," the KCNA said, urging the island country to "swim with the trend of the times" by following international reconciliation with the communist state.
Yasuo Fukuda was elected on Sept. 25 as Japan's new prime minister, replacing Shinzo Abe who was known for his hard-line policy towards Pyongyang over the abduction issue.
The KCNA said that at a recent meeting of the working group on economic and energy aid of the six-party talks, Japan sidestepped economic aid to the DPRK under the pretext of the "abduction issue," while the house of representatives of Japan approved a bill on extending the sanctions against the DPRK including a total ban on imports and an embargo on DPRK-flagged ships.
The DPRK has taken practical measures for denuclearization under an agreement adopted by the six parties and the countries concerned have sincerely honored their commitments under it, the agency said, questioning whether Japan is qualified to attend the six-party talks.
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North Korea criticizes U.S. test of missile interceptor
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea slammed the recent U.S. test of a missile interceptor, calling the test in Hawaii a clear indication that "the U.S. warmongers' ambition for military supremacy" remains unchanged.
The Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling Workers' Party, on Nov. 13 said that the "U.S. imperialists' frantic moves" to modernize nukes and establish a missile defense system are not aimed at ensuring the security and peace of their allies, but realizing their "criminal ambition to dominate the world." The article was carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), monitored in Seoul.
The newspaper also stated that the U.S. Defense Department requested Congress to approve a proposal for spending US$88 million to purchase a "Bunker Buster," a state-of-the-art bomb designed to make surprise strikes in military strongholds in what the U.S. calls "rogue states," including North Korea.
"It is the criminal goal of the U.S. bellicose forces to hold a military edge in the Asia-Pacific region with South Korea and Japan as strategic strongholds," the Rodong Sinmun said, adding it was no coincidence that the test was carried out in Hawaii.
The Minju Joson, the organ of the North's Cabinet, said in a commentary on the same day that "the U.S. confrontational policy is only throwing itself into a bottomless political pit," and urged the U.S. to properly see the world from a new viewpoint, and go with the flow of the times.
(END)
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