Last Monday, Japan renewed claims over a row of islands that has been in a territorial dispute with South Korea. Japan proposed a bilateral foreign ministers’ meeting over the territorial dispute, however South Korea has rejected this proposal and remains angry over Japan’s claim on the islands. At the beginning of the week, South Korea directed formal complaints toward Japan’s actions. In response to this event, a protest involving former South Korean soldiers who had been training in infiltrating North Korea, killed pheasants similar to the Japanese national bird over Japan’s flag and pictures of their prime minister. The demonstration took place in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul. This group of former soldiers has been known to hold protests directed towards Japan. There were no arrests reported during the event.

President Lee of South Korea also claimed the start of a ‘diplomatic war’ and expressed the growing rage among the South Korean people due to these claims by Japan. The row of islands, known to South Korea as Dokdo and Japan as Takeshima, now have South Korean police stationed there and South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak, who had pledged better ties with major trading partner Japan after his predecessor waged a “diplomatic war” said on Wednesday South Koreans were “understandably enraged” and prescribed a tough response. The islands fall about the same distance from both Japan and South Korea. The area around the islands has a vast marine life presence and there may be deposits of natural gas hydrate making the area economically valuable.  This is the first report I have come across like this. I was aware that the Asian countries have disputed over underground islands but this is the first I have heard of Japan actually claiming an island that has already been claimed. It will be very interesting to see if America takes a side on this one. Right now I have a felling that the US is staying a million miles away from that debatae. Just as a side note, I don’t see why innocent birds had to die for the protest.

Article from Reuyers, “S.Korea to spurn Japan minister over island row”

http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKT22947320080717?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

At this time, South Koreans are allowed to visit Kaesong the city that borders North and South Korea. However, during the meeting on Friday, this trip was also included in the tour program suspension if further safety measures were not guaranteed. The United States is also in support of South Korea’s position and will cooperate with Seoul in their response to the killing. Although the two Koreas are still at war, the tourism program has been seen as a symbol for reconciliation. South Korea has also halted plans to send supplies to build a facility for reunions of separated families at the Diamond Mountain location. I had a feeling that other relations might get cut, it seems like the South is holding to its word. I still believe that part of this is a pride issue but I think the South is portraying a very serious message here.

From the Associated Press, “South Korea mulls halting other North Korea tours”

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j-LFQeQ9KgypN6tmxAS8AwgZ5psQD92075K80

Associated Press “North Korea blames South Korea for tourist death”

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jzx1X32fwvV9O-pJOGTDPQHiOQSwD91S8SDG0

North and South relations have been greatly effected by the recent shooting that took place on July 11th at the Mount Kumgang resort in N. Korea. The shooting resulted in the death of one S. Korean tourist. The fifty-three year old woman was hiking near the resort when she came too close to a restricted area. N. Korean solders ordered the woman to halt, she apparently ran from the soldiers and they opened fire on her. Her death sparked an immediate response by S. Korea to withdraw all tourists from the resort. S. Korean officials were prevented from conducting an investigation in the area, and were told that an investigation into the matter had already been conducted. N. Korea also banned all S. Korean tourists from visiting the area even after S. Korea withdrew all tourists from the area. N. Korea also made an official statement that it would not lift the tourism ban until S. Korea accepted responsibility for the incident, apologized and took steps to prevent that type of incident from reoccurring. The effects of this incident have already increased tensions between the two countries and have the potential to damage the two countries relations. Considering the weakened state of N. Korea I don’t feel that the issue will be pushed for very long. It seems that the response from both sides has been very political but not a signal for any major conflict. N. Koreas responses have been made to maintain their pride and to prevent any disgrace from befalling the country. 

In response to North Korea’s recent actions against its own nuclear program, President Bush ended the application towards North Korea under the Trading with the Enemy Act. Some of the actions taken by North Korea that contributed to President Bush’s decision to suspend the DPRK’s status included the submission of a declaration to China about the country’s nuclear program, allowing United States representatives to oversee the disabling of the Yongbyon facility, allowing the IAEA to monitor the sealing and closure of the facility, and blowing up the cooling tower as a symbolic act towards denuclearization. President Bush also announced his plan to remove North Korea as a state sponsor of terror after the United States monitors the country over a 45 day period to ensure cooperation. 

Although the United States has eased some sanctions against North Korea, the country remains one of the most sanctioned in the world. This is due to human rights, nuclear testing, and weapons proliferation violations. If North Korea wants to end its isolation and the sections against them, it must completely dismantle its nuclear programs in addition to verifying this action. The country must also address Japan and the abduction of Japanese citizens. The recent events by North Korea have shown progressive steps toward diplomacy, but there will remain a need for the diplomatic process to continue. The ultimate goals according to President Bush, is to have “a stable and peaceful Korean Peninsula”.  
 

http://www.voanews.com/uspolicy/2008-07-09-voa1.cfm

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/presidentbush/2008/06/north-korea-as.html

About Korea: Future Policy Directions

http://www.korea.net/korea/kor_loca.asp?code=P04

Reunification of North and South Korea has become an unresolved issue that has seen little progress. After the Korean War relations between the two countries have slowly grown but all attempts to reunify the two halves have resulted in gridlock. At differing times both countries have made offers but never at the same time have the two halves been interested in joining. For many years after the Korean War N. Korea was the dominant power between the two countries. Leading up to the fall of communism in the ‘80s and ‘90s N. Korea began to suffer severe economic hardships; alternatively S. Korea during the ‘90s began to emerge as one of the economic tigers from Asia. The newly developing image of the two countries is one of N. Korea continuing to spiral towards economic instability and S. Korea gaining more and more financial and social productivity. The newly granted abilities of the South have resulted in a near dependence for food and resources in order for the North to maintain stability. Currently South Korea has little incentive to adopt a policy towards reunification with the North. The South has stated that the still current threat of a military strike by the North is one of the largest limiting factors disabeling the two countries from reunification. As six-party talks continue to show positive results there is however a new potential for North Korea to militarily disarm. Future policy plans for North Korea a hard to establish however, South Korea has given good indications as to where it intends on heading. According to its official website, North Korea intends to continue to work towards rebuilding relations with the North. Through economic relations and peace building efforts, North Korea intends to “achieve a global Korea that contributes to world peace, democracy and co-prosperity; a Korea that breathes in unison with the world”.

The Formation of the DPRK and the ROK

The History of the Formation of North and South Korea is insightful when attempting to understand current relations between the two countries. Geographically the Koreas are positioned at the eastern coastal region of Asia, between China and Japan. For many years Korea was under Japanese control. Korea remained under Japanese rule until the end of World War II after Japans defeat by US and allied forces. In 1945 the countries fate was dramatically changed when the United States and the Soviet Union divided the country in half along the 38^th parallel. In December of 1945 a joint Soviet-American commission was established with the intent of rejoining the north and south. The commission failed to come to an agreement of terms and halted all talks during the onset of the Cold War. Failure to reunite the country resulted in the progression of apposing political ideologies where the north adopted the communist practices of the Soviet Union and the south followed the United States. In 1948 North and South Korea became independent states; North Korea officially became the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea the Republic of Korea (ROK). Two years later the DPRK invaded the ROK in an attempt to militarily reunite the two halves. UN forces came to the aid of South Korea and effectively halted the advance of the DPRK beyond the 38^th parallel. An armistice agreement was reached on July 27^th, 1953 at what is now known as the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Since then North Korea has remained under communist rule and the two countries have been unsuccessful in peacefully reuniting.

Wall Street Journal “Oriental Granted Additional Uranium Exploration Licenses in South Korea”

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/oriental-granted-additional-uranium-exploration/story.aspx?guid=%7BA48A3B2A-86FA-4B18-A611-A5FCF5DC99CE%7D&dist=hppr

South Korea has granted a second set of licenses for a forgien Mining company to explore for Uranium. Oriental Minerals Inc. was granted the second set of licensees to begin exploration for uranium and vanadium in the Ogcheon Belt in the center of the country. A total of three licenses were issued each for exploration of a 2.82 km2 area. Researchers are positive the mines will yield large amounts of deposits, similar to mines found in the United States. OTL has stated that it has committed to complying with all health and safety regulations. At present I could not locate any news of interests groups trying to stop the mining. In the United States Uranium mining is heavily monitored by federal agencies and by watchdog groups. The primary concern with mining uranium is the potential that workers are exposed to radiation and that some mining processes result in radioactive material being leeched into local water systems. I trust that the Korean government is looking aware of these potential environmental related issues. It will be interesting to see if any incidents occur in the next couple years.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reportedly discovered blueprints for the production of a compact nuclear bomb in the possession of three detained Swiss businessmen. The information was apparently linked to blueprints originally produced in Pakistan. The blueprints were believed to have been obtained by A.Q. Khan, an international smuggler who originally worked for the Pakistan government. It is unclear yet what the three Swiss men were doing with the blueprints, but the fact that they had the information is depictive of a much larger concern. The information if given into the wrong hands, could be devastating.

The article went on to state that Khan must be questioned by the IAEA and that Pakistan may or may not be protecting him from interrogation. I chose this article because N. Korea was listed as one of the potential buyers for this type of information. It almost seems like the opening for a James Bond film not the opening for a newspaper. I believe the article was a little more fluff than fact, but the real concern remains that nuclear information has been compromised.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/18/opinion/edkhan.php

Story from International Herald Tribune “A nightmare of loose nukes”

The gas strikes in S. Korea have taken a sour turn as officials reported that a small number of striking truckers have attacked those truckers who have continued to run deliveries. There are over a dozen truckers facing charges with over 60 more under investigation.13,000 union truckers started the strike last Friday in response to increases in gas prices. The truckers unions are demanding government assistance to help pay for the new increases. So far no negotiation has been made, and the country’s trade market is suffering from the lack of deliveries being made. The government has urged truckers to stop striking, however unions have declared that the strike would not end until demands are met.

The strikes are a hard blow to the economy right now. The government has threatened that it would take legal action against the truckers if they continue the strikes. I feel that the truckers should not have started the strike given the state of things. A better alternative would have been to continue to work, while demanding government assistance. Or to slow down the number of deliveries being made, but an all out stop is affecting the economy to strongly. I understand that they are doing this in order to get faster results, but it seems like they are going to far. The reports of truckers attacking other truckers makes the strikers look even more like the bad guys and not the victims. At this point it is hard to say when the strike will end, but by whatever outcome I hope it ends soon.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gpOWjnxoeeiN2sHspnkkCa2RJNzAD91CDQH80

Link to most recent story from AP “South Korea to arrest striking truckers”