Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


December 2003 South Korea Special Weapons News



  • Overview of Intra-Korean Exchanges & Cooperation for Dec 2003 ROK Ministry of Unification
  • China, ROK, Japan to cooperate over six-party talks PLA Daily 20 Dec 2003 -- China, South Korea and Japan agreed to enhance coordination over a new round of nuclear talks aiming to solve the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) nuclear issue here on Monday.
  • Guard Posts Planned for Cross-Border Railway Korea-net 26 Dec 2003 -- South and North Koreas on Tuesday (Dec. 23) signed an agreement to establish four guard posts inside the Demilitarized Zone.
  • 9th Military Working-level Talks Held KCNA 24 Dec 2003 -- The 9th north-south military working-level talks were held in the area of the south side today.
  • Inter-Korean Trade Reaches $700 Mil. in 2003 Korea-net 23 Dec 2003 -- The volume of inter-Korean trade is expected to exceed $700 million for the first time this year, nearly 40 times more than in 1989 when the two Koreas started full-scale trade for the first time.
  • SOUTH KOREA/IRAQ VOA 23 Dec 2003 -- South Korea is now one step away from sending an additional three-thousand troops to Iraq. President Roh Moo-hyun's cabinet has endorsed a controversial plan to dispatch them to northern Iraq, pending parliament's approval.
  • KCNA Blasts S. Korean Authorities' Pro-U.S. Moves KCNA 22 Dec 2003 -- The south Korean authorities finally made a decision to dispatch additional troops to Iraq on December 17 and sent to the U.S. a group for its discussion despite a strong protest from the international community and the south Koreans. According to the decision, at least 3,000 troops will join the more than 670 soldiers already dispatched to Iraq to take charge of its areas specified by the U.S.
  • Inter-Korean Meetings Held KCNA 22 Dec 2003 -- The 4th meeting of the North-South Arrangement-making Panel for Economic Cooperation took place in Pyongyang from December 17 to 20.
  • Last Inter-Korean Meetings of 2003 Under Way in Pyongyang Korea-net 19 Dec 2003 -- This year's last meetings between the authorities of South and North Korea will be under way in Pyongyang December 17-20 focusing on working out institutional means to accelerate bilateral economic cooperation.
  • FM Yoon Rules Out Six-Way Talks This Year Korea-net 18 Dec 2003 -- Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yoon Young-kwan said on Wednesday (Dec. 17) that the second round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs is not likely this year.
  • KOREAS/DEFECTORS VOA 18 Dec 2003 -- South Korea says the number of defectors from North Korea has gone up and is likely to continue rising. Steve Herman reports from Tokyo that the government in Seoul is making plans for a possible huge influx of refugees from the North.
  • Inter-Korean Trade Totals $671 Million in Year to November Korea-net 17 Dec 2003 -- Two-way inter-Korean trade reached $671 million for the first 11 months of this year, up 18.2 percent from a year earlier. South Korea imported $264 million worth of goods, 6.4 percent increase year on year, while goods valued at $406 million were shipped to North Korea, a gain of 27.3 percent.
  • Inter-Korean Meeting to Open in Pyongyang Korea-net 17 Dec 2003 -- The last meeting of the year between South and North Korea will be held in Pyongyang on Wednesday (Dec. 17). It will follow up on earlier agreements between the two on promoting trade and investment, government officials said.
  • KOREAS SUMMIT/CORRUPTION VOA 12 Dec 2003 -- close aide of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung was sentenced Friday to a 12-year jail term in a financial scandal surrounding the inter-Korean summit held in 2000. The aide, Park Jie-won, was also fined 12-million dollars.
  • Korean gov`t to seek new applicants for nuclear waste facility IRNA 10 Dec 2003 -- Responding to intense disputes among residents of Buan, North Jeolla province in recent months over the construction of South Korea`s first nuclear waste dump nearby, the government plans to seek additional applicants for the controversial facility, Commerce, Industry and Energy Minister Yoon Jin-sik said today.
  • KEDO, NK to Discuss Future of Project Korea-net 10 Dec 2003 -- Senior nuclear experts at the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization will hold two-day talks with North Koreans starting Wednesday on the future of the beleaguered project to build two light water-reactor power plants.
  • NORTH KOREA/TALKS VOA 07 Dec 2003 -- A top South Korean diplomat says his country, the United States and Japan have agreed on a proposal for the second round of talks about North Korea's nuclear ambitions. But it appears talks may not be held this month, as earlier expected.
  • Koreas Agree to Put Finish Touches on Railroads Korea-net 06 Dec 2003 -- The two Koreas on Friday (Dec. 5) agreed to begin the final phase of construction on the inter-Korean rail lines being reconnected in early April next year.
  • Text of Agreement of 8th Contact on Connection of Inter-Korean Railways, Roads - Sokcho ( December 05, 2003 ) ROK Ministry of Unification 05 Dec 2003 -- Agreement of the 8th Working-level Contact on the Connection of Inter-Korean Railways and Roads
  • Koreas Discuss Railroad Connection Korea-net 05 Dec 2003 -- South and North Korea held the second day of working-level talks on the reconnection of cross-border railways and roads in Sokcho, Gangwon Province on Wednesday (Dec. 3).
  • Outlook for Inter-Korean Trade Looking up Next Year: KDI Survey Korea-net 05 Dec 2003 -- Considerably better inter-Korean trade was forecast for next year in a survey the Korea Development Institute (KDI) conducted November 12-18 on 42 experts and 212 South Korean entrepreneurs doing business with North Korea.
  • ROK, China Out to Push for Early 6-Way Talks Korea-net 05 Dec 2003 -- South Korea and China are working together for the realization of a second round of six-way talks aimed at easing the North Korean nuclear standoff, Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun said on Thursday (Dec. 4).
  • SOUTH KOREA POLITICS VOA 04 Dec 2003 -- For the first time in 49 years, South Korea's Parliament has overridden a presidential veto - clearing the way for a corruption investigation of former presidential aides.
  • ROK, Russia Agree on Early Nuke Talks Korea-net 03 Dec 2003 -- South Korea and Russia agreed on Monday (Dec. 1) to make efforts to persuade North Korea to enter another round of six-party talks to address their concerns over North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
  • SOKOR/ POLITICS VOA 03 Dec 2003 -- An eight-day boycott that brought South Korea's Parliament to a standstill has ended. The main opposition party says it will return to work on Thursday.
  • Abolition of SL in S. Korea Demanded KCNA 02 Dec 2003 -- 55 years have passed since the fabrication of the "security law" (SL), an anti-national and anti-reunification fascist law in south Korea.
  • S-N Military Talks Held Korea-net 01 Dec 2003 -- Military officials of the two Koreas held talks Friday to resolve the remaining differences over their initial agreement to establish guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
  • Rok to give nk 350 Tons of TNT for Construction Korea-net 01 Dec 2003 -- South Korea will provide 350 tons of dynamite to North Korea this year for construction of inter-Korean railways and roads, the Unification Ministry said of Wednesday(Nov. 26)
  • Inter-Korean Immigration Control Office to Be Operational Mid-December Korea-net 01 Dec 2003 -- An inter-Korean immigration control office to be set up at the northern end of the South Korean side of the Seoul-Sinuiju Railway will become operational in mid-December. The main duties of the office will be approving exchange of personnel and materials as well as serving as liaison and cooperation with North Korea.