Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


November 2003 South Korea Special Weapons News



  • Overview of Intra-Korean Exchanges & Cooperation for Nov 2003 ROK Ministry of Unification November 2003
  • NORKOR/NUCLEAR VOA 28 Nov 2003 -- A South Korean government spokesman says North Korea appears to be moving toward giving up its nuclear weapons programs. The comments come as several countries work to set a date for a second round of talks on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
  • NOKOR / NUCLEAR VOA 27 Nov 2003 -- A South Korean cabinet minister says the future of a recently suspended nuclear energy project in North Korea depends on whether the communist state agrees to abandon its nuclear weapons development.
  • S. Korea's Economy 28 Times Larger Than NK's Korea-net 26 Nov 2003 -- South Korea's gross national income (GNI) stood at $477 billion in 2002, 28 times larger than the North's $17 billion, showing the huge economic disparity between the two Koreas.
  • Military Provocation by S. Korean Navy KCNA 26 Nov 2003 -- South Korean battleships committed such grave military provocation as firing a barrage of gun shells at a patrol boat of the Navy of the Korean People's Army which was on a routine patrol duty in southwest waters of Wollae Islet at 13:10 on November 24, according to a military source.
  • U.S. Pressure for Additional Troop Dispatch Blasted KCNA 26 Nov 2003 -- The issue of troop dispatch to Iraq by south Korea has not cropped up at the will of the south Korean people and authorities but under the unilateral gangster-like demand and pressure of the United States, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article
  • SOKOR/JAPAN TALKS VOA 26 Nov 2003 -- Japan and South Korea are consulting each other in anticipation that a new round of multilateral negotiations on the North Korean nuclear standoff will take place next month. South Korea says possible security pledges for North Korea would not necessarily protect its communist government.
  • Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting Joint Communique` 25 Nov 2003 -- The following is the text of a joint communiqué issued in Seoul, Korea, on Nov. 17, 2003, by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense Yung Kil Cho
  • KOREA-CHINA-POW VOA 25 Nov 2003 -- The South Korean government has asked Beijing to allow a former South Korean soldier to leave China, where he fled after escaping North Korea. The man is believed to have been a prisoner of war in North Korea for half a century.
  • SOUTH KOREA/POL VOA 25 Nov 2003 -- South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun's political clout took another hit Tuesday, when he vetoed the appointment of an independent prosecutor to investigate scandals involving several his aides. The move comes as the leader fights for his political life as his popularity drops and corruption concerns grow.
  • KOREAS BORDER CLASH VOA 24 Nov 2003 -- Officials in Seoul report there has been another maritime encounter between the South and North Korean navies. In the latest incident, a South Korean patrol boat fired to warn off a North Korean vessel.
  • JAPAN /KEDO VOA 22 Nov 2003 -- Japanese and South Korean officials have been quoted as expressing hopes that a U-S-led consortium's decision to suspend construction of two nuclear reactors in North Korea will prompt the isolated communist state to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.
  • ROK, US Discuss Strategy for 6-Way Talks Korea-net 21 Nov 2003 -- South Korean and U.S. officials on Thursday (Nov. 20) held a meeting to discuss strategies for the next six-nation talks to resolve the North Korean nuclear row.
  • Koreans Called Upon to Reject U.S. Pressure for Troop Dispatch KCNA 21 Nov 2003 -- Minju Joson today in a signed commentary accuses high-ranking officials of the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, the U.S. ambassador to south Korea and others of pressurizing south Korea to send combatants of a divisional scope to Iraq as early as possible.
  • Iraq Won't Siphon U.S. Troops from Korea, Rumsfeld Says Washington File 20 Nov 2003 -- The United States has no plans to reduce the number of U.S. forces in South Korea to meet the demands in Iraq, says the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
  • US SOKOR/TALKS VOA 20 Nov 2003 -- Senior South Korean and U-S diplomats began going over the wording of a proposed security guarantee for North Korea. As Steve Herman reports from Tokyo, Pyongyang demands a guarantee in return for abandoning its nuclear weapons programs.
  • U.S. to Transfer 10 Missions to South Korean Military AFPS 19 Nov 2003 -- The United States is transferring some of its military missions in South Korea to that country's military.
  • U.S. Brigandish Pressure for Troop Dispatch Condemned KCNA 19 Nov 2003 -- Minju Joson in a signed commentary Tuesday condemns the United States for pressurizing south Korea to dispatch additional troops to Iraq.
  • Rumsfeld Reassures South Koreans on Reorganization Efforts AFPS 18 Nov 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reassured South Korean leaders that any changes in the U.S. posture in the country will do nothing to detract from the United States' commitment to defend Korea.
  • U.S. to Reorganize Forces in Korea Around Two Hubs in South AFPS 18 Nov 2003 -- American military forces in South Korea need to transform to defend against changing threats in today's world, the general in charge of U.S. and combined forces in that country said.
  • 35th Republic of Korea-United States Security Consultative Meeting Joint Communiqué 17 November 2003, Seoul, Republic of Korea -- Secretary Rumsfeld reaffirmed the US commitment to the security of the ROK and to the continued provision of a nuclear umbrella for the ROK, consistent with the Mutual Defense Treaty.
  • Five Nations Await NK's Nod on 6-Party Talks: Ra Korea-net 18 Nov 2003 -- Mid-December is emerging as the likely date for the second round of six-way talks aimed at resolving the North Korean nuclear standoff, although a final decision has yet to be made.
  • U.S.: Rumsfeld Ends South Korean Visit Amid Questions About Military Presence RFE/RL 18 Nov 2003 -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld completed his visit to South Korea today, saying the country must learn to become more "self-reliant." The United States had previously denied that its plan to pull U.S. forces out of the South Korean capital, Seoul, presaged a cutback in the total number of U.S. forces in the country. But Rumsfeld's latest comments are now fueling speculation that Washington may be planning to reduce its presence on the peninsula.
  • RUMSFELD ASIA DMZ VOA 18 Nov 2003 -- A day after discussions about possibly shifting U-S forces in South Korea and Seoul's dispatch of more troops to Iraq, top U-S defense officials inspected U-S and South Korean troops.
  • U.S. to Move Military Forces From Seoul, DMZ AFPS 17 Nov 2003 -- The United States and South Korea have agreed in principle to move most American forces out of the capital city of Seoul and south from the demilitarized zone along the border with North Korea.
  • U.S. Should Stop Forcing S. Korea to Dispatch Troops KCNA 17 Nov 2003 -- The United States should immediately stop forcing south Korea to dispatch troops to Iraq. Rodong Sinmun says this in a signed commentary today.
  • U.S. Pressure for Additional Troop Dispatch to Iraq Rebuffed KCNA 17 Nov 2003 -- The additional troop dispatch to Iraq is not in the interests of south Korea but is aimed to help the U.S. achieve its strategic purpose, says Minju Joson today a signed commentary.
  • KCNA Blasts New Type Missile Deployment in S. Korea KCNA 15 Nov 2003 -- The south Korean authorities announced that they would deploy at least 100 tactical ground-to-ground missiles with a 300 km firing range long enough to strike the whole of the DPRK within this year, pursuant to the U.S. hostile policy towards the DPRK.
  • Shelter for NK Defectors Expanded Korea-net 15 Nov 2003 -- New buildings opened on Friday (Nov. 14) at the state-funded shelter in Anseong to meet an increasing stream of North Koreans defecting to the South to seek new lives.
  • Actions against Troop Dispatch to Iraq Called for KCNA 15 Nov 2003 -- The United States is the main target of the south Koreans' struggle to fundamentally settle the issue of additional troop dispatch to Iraq, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary.
  • Gov't to Open CIQs to North Korea Korea-net 14 Nov 2003 -- The government will soon make official two immigration offices along the inter-Korean border, which had operated on a temporary basis so far, Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun said on Thursday (Nov. 13).
  • South, North Korea Agree to Open Trade Office in Gaeseong Next Year ROK Ministry of Unification 13 Nov 2003 -- South and North Korea agreed on Saturday (Nov. 8) to set up a joint office in the North's border city of Gaeseong in the first half of next year to promote inter-Korean direct trade.
  • Agreement of 7th Working-level Contact on Connection of Inter-Korean Railways and Roads - Gaeseong ( October 28, 2003 ) ROK Ministry of Unification 13 Nov 2003 -- Agreement of the Seventh Working-level Contact on Connection of the Inter-Korean Railways and Roads
  • Agreement of 7th Meeting of Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee - Pyongyang ( November 08, 2003 ) ROK Ministry of Unification 13 Nov 2003 -- Agreement of the Seventh Meeting of the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee
  • ROK, China Fine-Tune Approach to 6-Way Talks Korea-net 11 Nov 2003 -- North Korea and the United States must go to the second round of six-way talks with negotiable proposals if the forum is to yield tangible results towards settling the nuclear crisis, visiting Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo said on Monday (Nov. 10). Dai made the points when he met with Foreign Affairs-Trade Minister Yoon Young-kwan and Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun on the second day of his visit to Seoul.
  • Elimination of Kingpin of Corruption Called for KCNA 10 Nov 2003 -- Grand National Party of south Korea is working hard to gloss over its fund scandal during the "presidential election" with empty words of "apology".
  • 7th Meeting of North-South Committee for Promotion of Economic Cooperation KCNA 10 Nov 2003 -- The 7th meeting of the North-South Committee for the Promotion of Economic Cooperation was held here from November 5 to 8 according to the agreement reached at the 12th north-south ministerial talks.
  • Koreas Agree to Set Up Joint Office in Gaeseong Korea-net 10 Nov 2003 -- South and North Korea agreed early Saturday to set up a joint office in the North's border city of Gaeseong in the first half of next year in an effort to expand inter-Korean direct trade.
  • Chinese Vice FM to Visit Seoul Korea-net 10 Nov 2003 -- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo on Sunday (Nov. 9) arrived in Seoul for a three-day visit to discuss security issues including the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear standoff.
  • GNP's Corruption Flailed KCNA 08 Nov 2003 -- Choe Ton Ung, national assemblyman from the Grand National Party (GNP) of south Korea, on Oct. 21 confessed that he received 10 billion won from the SK Group as "political fund" for the "presidential election" last year.
  • KEDO Project May Resume in a Year: Jeong Korea-net 08 Nov 2003 -- Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun said on Friday (Nov. 7) that he believed the Korean Peninsula Energy Organization (KEDO) project for the construction of two light water reactors in North Korea, which has been temporarily suspended, will be resumed after a one-year period.
  • Gov't Calls on NK to Come Out for Nuke Talks Korea-net 07 Nov 2003 -- South Korean officials called on Pyongyang Thursday to participate in a second round of six-party nuclear talks in good faith, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
  • S-N Reunion Center Due at Mt. Geumgang Korea-net 07 Nov 2003 -- South and North Korea on Thursday (Nov. 6) agreed to build a facility at Mt. Geumgang in the North by the middle of 2005, where separated families from the two Koreas will be able to meet.
  • 5th North-South Red Cross Talks Held KCNA 07 Nov 2003 -- The 5th North-South Red Cross talks were held from Nov. 4 to 6 in Mt. Kumgang resort to discuss the issue of building Kumgangsan center for the reunion of separated families and relatives.
  • Delegation Arrives in P'yang for Economic Talks Korea-net 06 Nov 2003 -- The South Korean delegation on Wednesday (Nov. 5) embarked on the first day of their negotiations for the seventh Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee meeting to be held for the next four days.
  • Inter-Korean Economic Talks to Begin Wed. Korea-net 05 Nov 2003 -- South and North Korea will start the 7th inter-Korean economic talks in Pyongyang on Wednesday (Nov. 5). Their goal is to review the progress of major cross-border projects, officials in Seoul said on Tuesday.
  • 2nd Round of Nuke Talks Likely Before Year-End Korea-net 05 Nov 2003 -- Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yoon Young-kwan said on Tuesday (Nov. 4) that Beijing is the most likely venue for the second round of six-party talks aimed at resolving the North Korean nuclear standoff.
  • Kim Dae-jung Presidential Library Opens Korea-net 04 Nov 2003 -- Former president Kim Dae-jung said on Monday (Nov. 3) he will dedicate himself to inter-Korean reconciliation and peace on the peninsula.
  • 6-Party Talks to Resolve Nuclear Issue: Perry Korea-net 03 Nov 2003 -- North Korea could unwittingly contribute to the security of Northeast Asia by serving as the catalyst for a yet-to-be-formed organization focused exclusively on the region's stability, U.S. officials who shaped the Clinton administration's North Korea policy said in Seoul on Sunday (Nov. 2).
  • Roh Certain of Peaceful Settlement of Nuke Row Korea-net 01 Nov 2003 -- President Roh Moo-hyun said on Friday (Oct. 31) that he is confident of a peaceful settlement of the North Korean nuclear standoff through a “package deal,” following Pyongyang's agreement to participate in a second round of six-party talks.