(NHK) US raises China's alleged aid for N.Korea missile

US raises China's alleged aid for N.Korea missile

The United States has raised allegations that China supplied North Korea with technology for its missile program.

State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters on Friday that the US raised the issue during ongoing talks with the Chinese government on North Korea.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said China likely provided some help for North Korea's mobile missile technology.

His remark followed North Korea's first public display of what appears to be an intercontinental ballistic missile at a military parade in Pyongyang last Sunday.

The vehicle that carried the missile, which is also used as a launch pad, resembles a Chinese-made special-purpose vehicle.

The Chinese government has denied its involvement.

But defense experts say it is highly unlikely that weapons technology is taken out of China without the consent of its top military officials. They say China may have violated UN Security Council sanctions banning the supply of weapons-related materials to North Korea.

The US is expected to take up the issue with Chinese leaders in the upcoming Strategic and Economic Dialogue, scheduled to begin on May 3rd in Beijing.
Saturday, April 21, 2012 10:25 +0900 (JST)

(NHK) Panetta: China offered N.Korea missile technology

Panetta: China offered N.Korea missile technology

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says China may have provided North Korea with mobile missile technology.

Panetta made the remark on Thursday during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.

North Korea put a long-range ballistic missile on public display for the first time at a military parade in Pyongyang last Sunday. Western experts say the vehicle that carried the missile -- which is also used as a launch pad -- is the same as a special-purpose vehicle developed by a Chinese company.

Panetta said China has provided some help with North Korea's technology, though he doesn't know the exact extent. He said the matter should be discussed in a closed session due to its high sensitivity.

Panetta said the potential threat from North Korea would be increased if the country has a mobile capability for long-range ballistic missiles. He also revealed a plan to conduct a detailed study.

An online version of the British military magazine Jane's Defense Weekly says if the transporter-launcher vehicle was Chinese-made, it raises the possibility that China may have violated UN sanctions. Supplying North Korea with weapons and vehicles that would help improve the country's missile technology is banned under the sanctions.

The weekly reported that a UN committee of experts has begun an investigation.
Friday, April 20, 2012 08:14 +0900 (JST)

(My latest for Asia Times) Tokyo eyes prime island real estate

Territorial disputes are a devil. Once it gets up, nationalism flares up. People slip into victim mentality by imagining an economic disadvantage and feeling blasphemy against their own history. This creates a real risk of explosive conflicts erupting. 

The problem is that there are always those politicians who abuse territorial issues to boost their popularity by stirring up nationalism from all time periods and countries. Cheers, Kosuke

Tokyo eyes prime island real estate
China has warned that controversial plans by Tokyo's governor to buy three of the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea threaten to cause another blow-up in bilateral ties. While Japan's government has seemingly seconded Shintaro Ishihara's move with talk of "nationalizing" the islands, called the Diaoyu by China, critics say he's merely drumming up anti-Chinese sentiment. - Kosuke Takahashi (Apr 19, '12)

Tokyo eyes prime island real estate
By Kosuke Takahashi

TOKYO - Although this year marks the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, storm clouds have gathered in the East China Sea.

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, 79, a long-time hardline conservative who always calls China "Shina", a derogatory Japanese term, has said the Tokyo metropolitan government will buy three of the disputed Senkaku Islands, irritating Beijing.

Ishihara is connected by marriage to former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, who paid frequent visits to the Yasukuni shrine - which honors Japan's war dead, included convicted war criminals - which were strongly criticized by China and South Korea.

Ishihara's surprising comments could dampen improving relations with China, which hit their lowest point in years in late 2010 in the wake of the arrest and eventual release of a Chinese fishing boat captain near the disputed Senkaku Islands (known by China as the Diaoyu Islands).

While the Chinese government is still showing restraint in its response to the eccentric Japanese politician's behavior, current Sino-Japanese political ties could be tested further if Ishihara goes ahead with the planned purchase.

"Tokyo will protect the Senkaku Islands, whatever other nations dislike," Ishihara said on Monday during his visit to Washington at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative US think-tank. "Who dares to complain about Japanese nationals trying to defend Japan's soil?"

The disputed Senkaku Islands are about 400 kilometers from both Okinawa's main island and Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian province. Going by Japan's administrative boundary, the islands belong to Ishigaki city of Okinawa prefecture.

The island chain consists of five uninhabited islands - Uotsurishima, Kita-Kojima, Minami-Kojima, Kubajima and Taishojima - plus a scattering of rocks nearby. Only Taishojima is owned by the Japanese government, while the other four islands are owned by Japanese citizens.

The Japanese central government has rented Uotsurishima, Kita-Kojima and Minami-Kojima from their private owner since 2002 by paying 24.5 million yen (US$300,000) as an annual rental fee in order to maintain and control their stability. Kubajima and Taishojima were used as firing ranges by US armed forces.

Both China and Taiwan started to claim sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands in the 1970s, after the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East issued a report in 1969 indicating the possibility of abundant natural resources such as oil and gas reserves on the seabed around the islands. The area is a major fishing ground.

Ishihara said the Tokyo metropolitan government had already reached a basic agreement with landowners on buying the three islands of Uotsurishima, Kita-Kojima and Minami-Kojima, adding, ''If we leave them as they are, we don't know what will happen to the islands.''

As if motivated by Ishihara's move, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Wednesday suggested that the central government would not rule out the possibility of buying the disputed Senkaku Islands from their current private owners.

When asked at a Diet (parliament) session about the possibility of nationalizing the islands, Noda said, "We want to consider every option while fully ascertaining the intentions of the current owners."

China has warned that Ishihara's plan would not only harm Japan's ties with China, but also its international standing.

"We do not wish such statements in Japan to encroach on China's sovereignty and harm China-Japan ties," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told a regular news briefing. "A few politicians have repeatedly made such statements. I believe they not only damage the overall state of China-Japan relations but also harm Japan's international image." China is Japan's largest trading partner.

Unlike in the 2010 Senkaku boat collision incident, China still seems to avoid overacting because doing so could play into the hands of nationalistic Ishihara.

Ishihara also drew anger among Taiwanese, with the island's Foreign Ministry issuing a protest against Ishihara's intention to buy the islands.

"The Tiaoyutais are the inherent territory of the Republic of China and we have sovereignty over them," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman James Chang said. In Taiwan, the islands are called the Tiaoyutais.

Ishihara's comments also caused bewilderment among political circles in Tokyo.

"Ishihara's plan has no reality," a lawmaker who served as a deputy chief cabinet secretary and a vice minister in recent administrations told Asia Times Online on condition of anonymity. "If diplomatic and security problems occur in the wake of Tokyo's purchase of those islands, what can Tokyo do actually? I think he just floated a trial balloon to see the public reaction."

"Ishihara is really a troublemaker," political analyst Minoru Morita told Asia Times Online. "He wants to gain popularity by stirring up anti-Chinese feeling among Japanese people. This is just childish politics."

"The Japanese media just genuflect before Ishihara," Morita said. "Instead of criticizing him, the media are stirring up nationalism."

According to Morita, Ishihara is now confronted with a hopeless situation in bidding for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games for Tokyo after the lavish and unsuccessful campaigns by Ishihara regarding Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Olympics.

"By fanning Beijing's flames of ire, Ishihara aims to blame China for his mistake on the Olympics," Morita said.

In the whirlwind of international politics, domestic politics do matter. With the popularity of the ruling the Democracy Party of Japan declining in the run-up to general elections, which must be held by the end of August 2013, Ishihara is reportedly willing to return to national politics. He is widely believed to head a new political party in the near future. Many seasoned lawmakers seem ready to move to join that party.

He also has developed a personal collaborative relationship with Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, who heads Osaka Ishin no Kai, or the Osaka Restoration Association, the Japanese version of the US Tea Party .

Ukeru Magosaki, the former chief of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's international intelligence bureau, also criticized the Tokyo governor.

Magosaki wrote in his book on Japanese territorial issues that both Chinese and Japanese national leaders such as Deng Xiaoping had shelved the territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands wisely.

"Japan currently controls and administers the islands," Magosaki said. "There is no need for Japan to rock the boat."

Kosuke Takahashi is a Tokyo-based Japanese journalist. Besides Asia Times Online, he also writes for Jane's Defence Weekly as Tokyo correspondent. His twitter is @TakahashiKosuke

(Copyright 2012 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

(JDW) Images suggest North Korea using Chinese TEL for new missile

ASIA PACIFIC

Date Posted: 16-Apr-2012

Jane's Defence Weekly

---

Images suggest North Korea using Chinese TEL for new missile

Ted Parsons JDW Correspondent
Washington, DC

Additional reporting by
James Hardy Asia-Pacific Editor
London

Key Points Images taken in Pyongyang on 15 April suggest that North Korea's new missile is transported by a transporter-erector-launcher of Chinese design If this is confirmed, the TEL would be in breach of UN sanctions designed to prevent weapons proliferation by North Korea

 Images suggest that China has either sold the design or manufactured the transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle for the three-stage missile that North Korea unveiled on 15 April at a parade in Pyongyang marking the centenary of founder Kim Il-sung's birth.

The presence of the TEL in Pyongyang questions the efficacy of the international effort to contain and reverse Pyongyang's nuclear weapons threat.

North Korea revealed its new ballistic missile two days after its Unha-3 satellite launch vehicle was destroyed shortly after launching from the Sohae Launch Station in the country's northwest. The new missile's size and design suggests it could have a range of 5,000-6,000 km.

The 16-wheel TEL is apparently based on a design from the 9th Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), also known as the WoSang truck factory, which produces the WS series of TELs that are used to deploy CASIC's DF-11, DF-16 and DF-21 short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. Images of the WS2600 from a CASIC brochure indicate that the two TELs have the same windscreen design; the same four windscreen wiper configuration; the same door and handle design; a very similar grille area; almost the same front bumper lighting configuration; and the same design for the cabin steps. CASIC's involvement in North Korea's missile programme would require approval from the highest levels of the Chinese government and the People's Liberation Army. As the TEL design would require intimate knowledge of the new missile, there is also the possibility that Chinese entities have been involved in additional design and manufacturing aspects of it too. The possibility that China is involved in North Korea's development of a new long-range missile might undermine international efforts to counter Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development: it also challenges Beijing's repeated assertions that China opposes North Korea's development of nuclear missiles, and that the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is exercising responsible leadership to arrest the development of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. COMMENT The possibility that China is supporting North Korea's strategic weapons programme complicates international efforts to negotiate with North Korea and could fatally undermine the six-party talks, which are hosted by China and are built on the premise that there is a unanimous desire to prevent the North from developing a nuclear capability. Finally, China's involvement in providing this erector-launcher to North Korea would put it in breach of UN Security Council Resolution 1874, which prohibits supplying North Korea with 'any arms or related materiel, or providing financial transactions, technical training, services, or assistance related to such arms'. Copyright © IHS Global Limited, 2012

Regarding DPRK's new missile, there is a growing possibility of China’s involvement in providing this erector-launcher to North Korea, breaching UN Security Council resolution 1874

Regarding DPRK's new missile, there is a growing possibility of China’s involvement in providing this transporter-erector-launcher(TEL) to North Korea, breaching UN Security Council resolution 1874. 

The transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle that was carrying the new missile spotted over the weekend is Chinese by design and possibly origin. As below… “If confirmed, China’s involvement in providing this erector-launcher to North Korea would put it in breach of UN Security Council resolution 1874…”  Please note we say “if confirmed”.    

1) Two experts available to answer questions:

·         James Hardy, Asia Pacific Editor, IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly (in Europe right now)

·         Kosuke Takahashi, Tokyo Correspondent, IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly (in Asia right now)

2) Analysis available for quote now:  

Ted Parsons, correspondent, IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, says: “The 16-wheel TEL is apparently based on a design from the 9th Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), also known as the WanShan truck factory, which produces the WS series of TELs that are used to deploy CASIC’s DF-11, DF-16 and DF-21 short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. The CASIC and North Korean TELs have the same windscreen design; the same four windscreen wiper configuration; the same door and handle design; a very similar grill area; almost the same front bumper lighting configuration; and the same design for the cabin steps. CASIC's involvement in North Korea's missile programme would require approval from the highest levels of the Chinese government and the People’s Liberation Army.”

James Hardy, Asia Pacific Editor, IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, said: “If confirmed, China’s involvement in providing this erector-launcher to North Korea would put it in breach of UN Security Council resolution 1874, which prohibits supplying North Korea with ‘any arms or related materiel, or providing financial transactions, technical training, services, or assistance related to such arms’. The possibility that China is supporting North Korea’s strategic weapons programme complicates international efforts to negotiate with North Korea and could fatally undermine the six-party talks, which are hosted by China and are built on the premise that there is a unanimous desire to prevent the North from developing a nuclear capability.”

Doug Richardson’s, Editor, IHS Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, comments: “There is no obvious 'way in' to understanding it and estimating its performance. Right now, we don't even have a reliable estimate of the size, let alone evidence of whether it uses liquid or solid propellant. And we face the conundrum that like the earlier Musudan mobile missile, this beast seems to exist in quantity without ever having been test-flown either in North Korea or in Iran.”

(My latest for Asia Times) Twist and shout, Kim style

Twist and shout, Kim style
By Kosuke Takahashi

TOKYO - North Korea's new supreme leader Kim Jong-eun spoke in public for the first time on Sunday after a massive military parade in Pyongyang celebrating the centenary of the birth of the nation's founding father, Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994 and is still the country's "eternal president".

For the young leader (in his twenties), the speech was apparently aimed to add the final touches to consolidating his grip on power after ascending to the top military, party and state titles last week.

Kim said, "What was once a weak country [North Korea] has now transformed into a political and military power: he said. "If we intend to succeed in the great endeavor of building a strong and prosperous socialist state, our first, second, and third steps are to strengthen the people's military in every way possible."

Kim also stressed the importance of economic development. "We must tend well to the precious seeds planted by Comrade Kim Jong-il [his father] for the sake of building a strong and prosperous nation and improving the peoples' lives, cultivating them so that they blossom into a glorious reality."

And as if going into damage control after the embarrassing satellite launch failure on Friday, the third-generation leader firmly stood in the symbolic shadow of his grandfather, Kim Il-sung by imitating everything from his gestures to his way of speaking, hair-style and black Mao Zedong-jacket-type costume.

Experts expect Pyongyang's young master, who is reportedly short of experience and charisma, will continue to establish his authority by stressing his heroic family lineage stretching back to his grandfather's partisan guerilla activities against Japan in the 1930s.

Jong-eun's father, Kim Jong-il, was the supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 until his death in late 2011.

"Kim Jong-eun was almost a carbon copy of his grandfather," Satoru Miyamoto, an expert on North Korean affairs in Japan and an associate professor at Seigakuin University's General Research Institute in Saitama prefecture, told Asia Times Online on Monday. "His vocal quality was almost the same as Kim Il-sung's, so was the way of his speech. Kim Jong-eun sometimes stopped speaking to wait for the public to clap and cheer. Kim Il-sung did the same."

The voice
Kim Jong-eun delivered his first public speech by simply and monotonously reading from prepared text for 20 minutes in front of a crowd of more than 100,000 people, including soldiers. He swayed and twisted his body 111 times during the speech, according to Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV.

It was indeed a rare and - in some way unimaginable - moment, given his father Kim Jong-il's reticent attitude. The "Dear Leader" was known to have said, "Glory to the heroic soldiers of the Korean People's Army!" in 1992, at a ceremony for the army's 60th anniversary. It marked Kim Jong-il's only public speech during his rule, and lasted about five seconds, compared with his third son's 20-minute speech on Sunday.

During his speech, Kim Jong-eun referred to Kim Il-sung's guerilla activities, which are deeply ingrained in the minds of many North Koreans, thus legitimizing the blood-heir's succession over three generations. (In 1931, Kim joined the Communist Party of China and various anti-Japanese guerrilla groups in northern China, and in 1935 he became a member of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, a guerrilla group led by the Communist Party of China.)

The hereditary transfer is also seen in the power elites surrounding Jong-eun. For example, Choe Ryong-hae, 62, whose father was a minister of the People's Armed Forces; Choe Hyon, a close comrade of Kim Il-sung during his days as a partisan fighter, last week completed the climb to the top of the ladder by becoming one of the five members of the decision-making Politburo Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea as well as vice chairman of the party’s central military commission.

The rise of Choe Ryong-hae, despite his previous civilian status in the Workers' Party, coincides with Kim Jong-eun's ascension to power.

North Korea's top power elite also includes O Il-jong, who is the son of O Jin-u, a former People's Armed Forces minister, and O Kum-chol, who is the son of O Baek-yong, a one-time head of state security. Their fathers were all guerrillas together, and they supported Kim Jong-il when he was in competition with his uncle, Kim Yong-ju, to succeed North Korea founder Kim Il-sung, according to South Korea's Chosun Ilbo.

"The hereditary system of power leads to the stabilization of the current regime," Hiroyasu Akutsu, a professor and senior fellow at the National Institute for Defense Studies, told Asia Times Online on Monday. "It's North Korean version of the Crown Prince Party, or The Princelings."

Japanese experts on North Korean affairs see three pledges in Kim Jong-eun's speech. One is the maintenance of the policies of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il based on their instructions and wills. The second is that the songun (military-first) policy is rooted in the ideology that embodies the juche (self-reliance) idea and strengthens the rigidity of the Kim family dynasty. The third is to establish an economically prosperous nation, which has never been realized to date.

The public in front of the young leader on Sunday displayed unusual characters on placards, such as "No enemy, Strong military", along with the usual characters such as "Military-first politics" and "a strong and prosperous nation". Japanese experts say this represents North Korea's strong willingness to continue developing nuclear and missile programs.

Kosuke Takahashi is a Tokyo-based Japanese journalist. Besides Asia Times Online, he also writes for Jane's Defence Weekly as Tokyo correspondent. His twitter is @TakahashiKosuke

(Copyright 2012 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

The White House statement, the Susan Rice statement and Campbell's remarks

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

April 12, 2012

Statement by the Press Secretary on North Korea’s Missile Launch

Despite the failure of its attempted missile launch, North Korea’s provocative action threatens regional security, violates international law and contravenes its own recent commitments. While this action is not surprising given North Korea’s pattern of aggressive behavior, any missile activity by North Korea is of concern to the international community. The United States remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations, and is fully committed to the security of our allies in the region.

The President has been clear that he is prepared to engage constructively with North Korea. However, he has also insisted that North Korea live up to its own commitments, adhere to its international obligations and deal peacefully with its neighbors.

North Korea is only further isolating itself by engaging in provocative acts, and is wasting its money on weapons and propaganda displays while the North Korean people go hungry. North Korea's long-standing development of missiles and pursuit of nuclear weapons have not brought it security – and never will. North Korea will only show strength and find security by abiding by international law, living up to its obligations, and by working to feed its citizens, to educate its children, and to win the trust of its neighbors.

Remarks by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at the Security Council Stakeout on North Korea and Guinea-Bissau, April 13, 2012

Susan E. Rice
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
U.S. Mission to the United Nations

New York, NY

April 13, 2012

Good afternoon. The Council has discussed this morning both the situation with respect to DPRK and Guinea-Bissau, and I will brief you on both.
With respect to the first issue, the Council has just concluded consultations about the launch conducted yesterday by North Korea. The Council received a briefing from UN Assistant Secretary-General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco regarding the launch. Assistant Secretary-General Fernandez-Taranco reported that North Korea apparently launched a multi-stage rocket at 6:39 p.m. yesterday, Eastern Daylight Time. The launch was a failure.

He noted that the Secretary-General had released a statement regarding the launch in which the Secretary-General called the launch "deplorable as it defies the firm and unanimous stance of the international community" and noted that the "launch is in direct violation of Security Council Resolution 1874 and threatens regional stability." The Secretary-General also renewed his call on North Korean authorities to work towards building confidence with neighboring countries and improving the lives of its people.

Following our discussion, Council members have asked me to say the following on their behalf:

The Security Council held consultations to address the serious situation and listen to the concerns arising from the launch by North Korea. Members of the Security Council deplored this launch, which is in violation of Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 1874.

Members of the Security Council agreed to continue consultations on an appropriate response, in accordance with its responsibilities, given the urgency of the matter.

Now I’ll turn to Guinea-Bissau. The Council received a briefing on the situation in Guinea-Bissau from Assistant-Secretary-General Zerihoun. He noted that the situation is evolving rapidly and that it is not easy to confirm information at this time.

The military has arrested the Prime Minister, as well as Acting President Herrera. Their whereabouts cannot be confirmed at this time. The Secretariat urged the international community to address the cycle of violence and impunity in Guinea-Bissau. The members of the Security Council condemned the military action and urged the immediate restoration of civilian authority.

Council members are now discussing a press statement. I’m happy to take a few questions.

Reporter: Ambassador Rice, do you expect the US to be pushing for sanctions or interested in sanctions on North Korea? And do you expect a presidential statement, press statement or anything like that in the near future?

Ambassador Rice: I’m not going to characterize the form of the response. This is the subject of early stage discussions among Council members.

Reporter: Ambassador, though, with an appropriate response, you have an opinion in terms of your national capacity. Can you speak to that, perhaps?

Ambassador Rice: I--the United States’ view of this is quite clear. We have condemned the launch. We view it as a direct violation of Resolutions 1718 and 1874. We think it’s important that the Council respond credibly. And we will be working in that direction.

Reporter: Will that be a sanctions resolution?

Ambassador Rice: As I said, I think it’s premature, both in my national capacity and as president of the Security Council, to predict or characterize the form of the reaction. We think a credible reaction is important.

Reporter: Ambassador, will you be discussing DPRK later on today? (Inaudible.)

Ambassador Rice: We have a very full agenda, many issues are brewing simultaneously and we’re working them simultaneously.

Reporter: How soon do you want to reach an agreement on the next appropriate measure? I mean, you are discussing other urgent matters but North Korea is also very urgent, so how –

Ambassador Rice: It is, and we’re working on it. And we will let you know when we have more to say. Thank you very much.