Major Events Around the Korean Peninsula
(May 23, 1999 - August 22, 1999)

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Officials of the WFP mission in Pyongyang visit the Osin cooperative farm in Taean Distict, Nampo.

A 14-member US team leaves Pyongyang after wrapping up its mission to inspect a suspected underground site in Kumchang-ri.

SK cabinet approves an amendment to the inter-Korean cooperation fund law which calls for imposing a 3% tax on power bills to help finance the construction of two light-water reactors in NK.

SK President Kim Dae-jung officially announces new cabinet members after a large-scale reshuffling.

PRC politburo member Wu Guanzheng expressed concern to Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi over the newly enacted Guidelines for Japan-US Defense Cooperation laws, the Asahi Shimbun reports.

SK defense budget fell below the 20 percent level of total government expenditures for the first time since 1971, the Korea Times reports.

U.S. presidential envoy William Perry arrives in Pyongyang for a four-day stay.

Dilawar Ali Khan, representative of UNICEF in NK, said that NK still has large numbers of malnourished children despite international food aid, the Associated Press reports.

A meeting hosted by U.S. Presidential envoy William Perry is held in Pyongyang attended by First Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye-gwan.

SK KOTRA announces that NK's 1998 overseas trade totaled $1.42 billion, well below the $2 billion figure that is considered the minimal survival trade figure by some economists, the Korea Times reports.

SK President Kim Dae-jung pays a 6-day state visit to Russia and Mongolia.

NK reportedly has been exporting $1 billion worth of missiles to countries in the Middle East and Asia every year, the JoongAng Ilbo reports.

SK President Kim Dae-jung meets with Russian President Boris Yeltsin in Moscow for a summit meeting. In a press conference, they stressed the importance of establishing a permanent structure for peace on the Korean peninsula and solving all pending issues between the two Koreas, the Chosun Ilbo reports.

The CPRF issues a statement criticizing Operation Plan No.5027-98, which was revised at the 20th US-SK MCM held earlier this year.

KCBS says potato planting has been almost completed in Taehongdan County, Yanggang Province.

June

A friendship meeting between NK and foreign children is held in Pyongyang to mark the 49th International Children's Day.

KCNA carries an article warning its people today against the "Trojan horse" of capitalism, ruling out any economic or political reform in efforts to rebuild its economy.

NIS announces that Yoon Myung-chan, who managed the NK national soccer team in the early 90s, has defected to SK. Yoon managed the team that played in pro-unification matches held both in Seoul and Pyongyang in October 1990.

A NK women's soccer team arrives in the US to participate in the 3rd Women's World Cup. NK team's matches will be televised on state television in NK.

Chinese and Russian Foreign Ministers issued a joint communique that repeated their demand that NATO air-strikes be halted, the New York Times reports.

For the first time in eight years, a high-level NK mission visits China, led by Kim Yong-nam, chairman of the Presidium of the SPA. Kim meets Chinese President Jian Zemin and Prime Minister Zhu Rongji.

NK has recently forced its laborers working abroad to donate 50 percent of their income to NK in order to increase foreign exchange holdings, the JoongAng Ilbo reports.

SK and NK formally signed an agreement in Beijing in which SK agreed to deliver 100,000 tons of fertilizer aid by June 20 and another 100,000 tons by July, in return for the resumption of deputy ministerial talks beginning June 21, the Korea Herald reports.

The RF Strategic Missile Forces carried out a test launch of a Topol-M ICBM from the Yuzhnaya-1 start position at Plesetsk missile test launching site in the RF North, the Izvestia reports.

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji promised visiting high-level NK official Kim Young-nam 150,000 tons of grain and 40,000 tons of coal for NK, the Associated Press reports.

UNCHR special investigator Gay J. McDougall called on Japan to acknowledge that its sex slavery system during World War II constituted a violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, in an international symposium on the issue of Japanese military sex slavery, organized by the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, the Korea Times reports.

Lim Dong-won, SK Minister of Unification said that he is confident that the two Koreas will be able to reach a full agreement on the issue of reunions of separated families at vice-ministerial talks on June 21.

Stephen W. Bosworth states that a large number of US troops, in addition to the 37,000 soldiers currently stationed in SK, would be mobilized in the event of an all-out war on the Korean peninsula, the Korea Times reports.

CASC spokeswoman Zhang Lihui said that China has evidence to prove that charges in the Cox Report which were leveled against the CASC are fabrications, the China Daily reports.

NK leader Kim Jong-il has developed support from more than 70 percent of the armed forces leadership, and he has taken complete control of the NK Army, according to a the Chosun Ilbo analysis.

SK and Chinese arms control officials held talks in Seoul on Northeast Asia disarmament and nonproliferation issues, the Korea Herald reports. Six NK patrol ships enters a buffer zone between SK and NK waters.

The KCNA denies that North Korea has benefited from Chinese technology to develop its missile and nuclear weapons program.

MND has asked budget officials to allocate an extra 180 billion won to finance production of 20 more KF-16 fighter jets, which will create more jobs in SK, the Korea Times reports. But budgetary officials showed a lukewarm response to the demand.

SK Ministry of Unification has approved the Samsung delegation's visit to NK, the Korea Herald reports. Samsung is expected to invest $1 billion in NK by 2008 to manufacture electronic goods and communications-related products.

SK sent 6,000 tons of fertilizer to NK, the Korea Herald reports. The aid marks the first governmental aid since the breakthrough was made in inter-Korean dialogues.

Rodong Shinmun, the organ of the Workers' Party of NK, claims South Korean Naval vessels infiltrated the North's territorial waters on June 7 and June 8.

SK patrol boats intentionally collided with NK vessels after they intruded into the buffer zone in an effort to force them back to their own waters, the Korea Times reports.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan approves a Cabinet plan to adopt a bill legally recognizing the Hinomaru as the national flag and Kimigayo as the national anthem.

The THAAD weapon system, which is part of the theater missile defense initiative, successfully intercepted a target missile after six failures, the Associated Press reports.

In Moscow, NK and Russia sign a protocol on economic, scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries.

NK and SK warships exchanged gunfire at 9:25 am in the West Sea only minutes before talks began to end the standoff. SK put its entire armed forces on combat-level alert. One NK ship was sunk and another was sinking and appeared to be towed away. Three other NK warships were heavily damaged in a 10-minute firefight. SK navy vessels reportedly sustained minor damage, and seven navy sailors were slightly injured. Colonel Hwang Dong-kyu, spokesman for the SK Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that three NK ships shot first and that fire was returned by at least some of the eight SK ships patrolling the area, the JoongAng Ilbo reports.

In the UNC-North Korea talks, UNC generals urged both Koreas to withdraw their naval forces from the area but it ended without any agreement. An MND official said that the NK delegation came to the talks with detailed information about the confrontation, suggesting that the incident had been planned, and a US general had to telephone the Seoul government to verify the details, the Reuters reports.

As tension eased, SK allowed a freighter to sail to NK with 14,000 tons of fertilizer, the Associated Press reports.

NK announces that for the time being it will limit or suspend visits by SK citizens to Pyongyang.

Officials from Russia, the US and China meet to discuss a proposed new route for shipping cargo between the US and China. The proposed route, which would take cargo through Russia's Far Eastern ports instead of via SK and Japan, is expected to shorten the sea journey to the US west coast by nearly 1,500 miles, the Associated Press reports.

SK President Kim Dae-jung said that his pursuit of the engagement policy toward the North, seeking peace, expanded exchanges and cooperation, on the basis of a strong security posture, will remain firm, the Reuters reports.

US and Russia conclude an agreement extending for seven years the Cooperative Threat Reduction program to reduce the threat posed by nuclear, biological, chemical and other weapons of mass destruction.

NK is planning to launch a ballistic missile within two months, Japanese media report.

Military tensions in the West Sea eased as NK patrol boats and fishing vessels kept their distance from the naval border for the second consecutive day, the Korea Times reports.

The US recently decided to support eight emergency measures for SK in preparation for the possible event of a sudden war. According to the agreement after the West Sea infiltration by NK, the US moved three early warning systems from Okinawa, Japan to SK to detect NK's movements. Also, a high tech aircraft carrier carrying 100 missiles was dispatched to the West Sea, together with a contingent of marines. Aircraft fighters, including 30 F-15s and F-16s, are remaining in SK as the aircraft carrier, the USS Constellation, is heading for SK as well, the JoongAng Ilbo reports.

A spokesman for the Navy Command of the KPA issues a statement, saying, "The exchange of fire (in the West Sea) was an adventurous act to provoke a war which the South Korean authorities had planned, prepared in secrecy, and promoted."

After 5-hour delay, SK and NK hold a vice-ministerial level meeting in Beijing. SK raised the issue of separated families reunions, in response, NK called for the exchange of gunshots between the two Korea's navies to be dealt with first, the Chosun Ilbo reports.

NK has detained an SK tourist, a housewife named Min Young-mi, since June 20 for allegedly attempting to persuade a NK tour attendant to defect to SK, the SK Ministry of Unification announces.

Generals from the UNC and NK hold a meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom concerning the North's patrol boats' violation of the NLL and the naval clash in the West Sea.

US special envoy Charles Kartman and NK Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye-gwan hold talks in Beijing.

SK Unification Minister Lim Dong-won announces that SK will stop shipping fertilizer to NK if it continues to refuse to allow the reunion of separated families. SK and NK agreed that the first 100,000 tons of fertilizers were to be shipped if NK agreed to talk about family reunions and the second 100,000 tons would be sent only if NK agreed to such reunions.

The former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama's visit to NK is canceled, the Yomiuri Shimbun reports.

NK releases the detained SK tourist Min Young-mi. MOU announces that Hyundai's tour will not resume until NK guarantees the safety of SK tourists.

US special envoy Charles Kartman arrives in Seoul to brief SK officials on his two-day talks with NK officials in Beijing.

NK APPC issues a statement concerning its decision to repatriate Min Young-mi, a South Korean woman who was detained by the North during a tour to Mt. Kumgang six days ago, saying, "We decided to send her back to the South, considering the southern tourists' aspiration to visit Mt. Kumgang and our relationship with Hyundai."

The IDF of OPEC recently decided to offer a $10 million loan for the restoration of NK' reservoirs in South Pyongan Province, the JoongAng Ilbo reports.

US State Department announces that NK has confirmed to Swedish authorities, who are the US protecting power in NK, that a US citizen was arrested on June 17 in the Rajin Sonbong area. Yonhap news agency reports the US citizen detained in NK is Karen Han, 58, a Korean-American businesswoman working in Beijing.

US, Japan, and SK hold two days of talks of the Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group to coordinate their policies toward NK.

MND announces that SK troops returned to normal surveillance status, two weeks after the June 15 naval battle between two Korea.

The SK government and Hyundai decided that the June installment ($8 million) for the Mt. Kumgang tour project will be paid only when NK guarantees the security of SK tourists.

KCNA announces that a month-long drought has caused serious water shortages and hit crops in nearly all areas of the country.

Two NK men, including a soldier, have smuggled themselves across the West Sea and defected to SK.

Japanese Diet approves a $1 billion contribution to help NK build two nuclear reactors.

US Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Kurt Campbell stated that NK appears to be making preparations for a new missile launch, the Associated Press reports.

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SK and NK hold the third round of vice-ministerial-level talks.

Indian customs officers search a NK cargo ship at a western Indian port on suspicion it was carrying arms and ammunition for Pakistan, the Associated Press reports.

SK President Kim Dae-jung and US President Bill Clinton hold summit talks on policies concerning NK and trade issues between SK and the US.

The Japanese government on July 1 revealed a specific schedule for development of the four intelligence satellites that the government aims to launch by 2002, the Asahi Shimbun reports.

UNC and KPA holds the eighth meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom.

SK President Kim Dae-jung is reported to have pushed the US on July 3 to allow SK to develop and deploy missiles with a range of 500km, the Chosun Ilbo reports.

KMU issues a statement asserting that over 1,000 songs written by North Korean musicians during the Japanese colonial era have been used in SK without permission.

The number of NK citizens who have defected to SK since the SK government was reinstated in 1948 reached 1,000. Out of the 1,000 defectors, 792 are still in SK and the remaining 209 have died or emigrated, the SK Ministry of Unification announces.

NK is building an underground missile base in Youngjeo-dong in Yanggang Province near the border with China, the Chosun Ilbo reports.

KCNA insists that the breakdown of the inter-Korean vice-ministerial-level talks is attributable to the South's insincere attitude to the talks.

Kim Jong-il, general secretary of the Workers' Party, pays a visit to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace marking the 5th anniversary of the death of his father Kim Il-sung. NK marks the fifth anniversary of the death of its founding leader, Kim Il-sung, with rallies and seminars swearing loyalty to his son, Kim Jong-il.

The SK Embassy in China opens a SK Consulate in the city of Shenyang.

Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and PRC President Jiang Zemin hold summit meeting.

Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi meets separately with China's three highest-ranking leaders: President Jiang Zemin, Premier Zhu Rongji, and National People's Congress Standing Committee Chairman Li Peng.

Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, in an interview, defined Taiwan's relations with China as "special nation-to-nation relations," the Associated Press reports.

In Tokyo, a group of lawyers for Taiwanese women forced to serve as sex slaves to Japanese soldiers during World War II will sue for $82,000 each in compensation, and an apology from the Japanese, the Associated Press reports.

Led by the aircraft carrier USS Constellation, a US battle group sails into SK's southwestern port of Pusan.

NK urges the US to renew the Korean War armistice pact, saying that the recent naval clash between the two Koreas would never have happened if an updated agreement had been in place, the Reuters reports.

A No.2 nuclear reactor in western Japan was shut down after monitoring equipment showed it was leaking radioactive water, the Associated Press reports.

China's People's Liberation Army announces that it has begun modernized military training.

UNDP will construct a four-lane superhighway running 67km from Wonjong bridge, located on the border of NK and China, to NK's Rajin port, the JoongAng Ilbo reports.

KCNA announces that it will continue to pursue its rocket program, reiterating that the program is purely scientific.

NK announces that it will never cede its sovereign right to launch satellites for space research and development, and condemns Japan for falsely claiming the North's satellite is a ballistic missile.

Japanese and SK foreign affairs and defense officials meet at the Foreign Ministry in Japan and agree that the two countries, along with the US, would strengthen cooperation to discourage NK from launching another Taepodong missile, the Yomiuri Shimbun reports.

A NK Foreign Ministry spokesman says that Pyongyang will put another satellite into orbit at any time if needed, reiterating that his country has the sovereign right to do so.

After a two-year break, RF-Japanese talks on joint efforts to combat weapons-smuggling and drug-trafficking were held in Moscow, the Izvestia reports.

NK bagan satellite broadcasting overseas in early July using the Thai satellite Thaicom 3, owned by Sinawat, the Yomiuri Shimbun reports.

SK and NK reached an agreement on air traffic control in preparation for any possible Y2K problems, the JoongAng Ilbo reports.

The NRC releases a statement which claims almost half of the 500 head of cattle donated by Hyundai died, and denounces NIS for causing the deaths by feeding them materials such as vinyl rope and long nails.

NK leader Kim Jong-il joined a national campaign for more rabbit-rearing, KCBS reports. NK has recently launched a campaign to raise grass-eating animals (rabbits or goats) campaigns as a source of food.

US envoy Charles Kartman discusses joint strategy with SK official Park kun-woo ahead of the sixth four-party talks in Geneva early next month.

Indian authorities have arrested Captain Hun Tae-min and Chief Officer Kim Sol-ik, of a NK ship that was detained last month for allegedly carrying equipment to manufacture missiles to Pakistan, quoting the Indian media, the Associated Press reports.

NK has deployed 170mm self-propelled guns with a 50km to 70km range and 240mm rocket launchers along the west coast near the Demilitarized Zone, the Chosun Ilbo reports.

KCNA says the NK authorities will deport Karen Han, a Korean-American businesswoman who has been detained since mid-June for allegedly violating NK laws.

Karen Han, a US citizen taken into custody a month ago in NK, is deported to China.

KOTRA announces that NK is eagerly trying to attract tourists from Taiwan by offering package tours via advertising in various media.

NK proposes working-level contacts between KPA and UNC to discuss the inter-Korean sea border, during a meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom.

The British ship Pacific Teal left France carrying a cargo of plutonium en route for Japan, the Associated Press reports.

The Philippine government will review its procedures for patrolling disputed areas in the South China Sea (Spratly Islands) to prevent further sinking of foreign ships, the Associated Press reports.

UNC-North Korea meeting on ways to avoid further armed clashes in disputed waters, ended without agreement, the Associated Press reports.

A US general stated that nearly all US defense computers linked to nuclear weapons have been verified through testing as prepared for the Y2K computer glitch, the Associated Press reports.

SK military sources said on June 21 that the first-stage rocket of NK's Taepodong II long-range ballistic missile is similar to that of the CSS-3 missile of China, the Korea Herald reports.

UNICEF's Korean committee said that a white paper on children's rights and well-being, entitled "the Progress of Nations," has introduced the concept of child risk measure (CRM) this year. The index used a 0 to 100 scale, higher numbers representing greater risks. The report showed that NK index was 50, while the SK was 5. NK CRM was the third highest among eastern and southern Asian and Pacific countries, following Cambodia at 60 and Papua New Guinea at 55, the Korea Times reports.

Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui reassured US Envoy Richard Bush that Taiwan had no plans to pursue independence and never meant to cause a row with China by asserting itself as a "state," the Associated Press reports.

KCBS says NK's gross industrial production in the first half of this year increased 20 percent over the same period of last year, with a 40% rise in power generation and a 13% climb in coal output.

SK Ministry of Unification announces NK's international trade totaled $580 million during the first half of this year, down sharply from the same period last year. NK exported $160 million worth of goods, down 38.5 percent from the same period in 1998, while its imports fell 14.3 percent to $420 million. China, Japan, and SK remained NK's three major trading partners.

KCNA reports that NK and China have agreed on the establishment of a new regular air route between Pyongyang and Shenyang.

NK agreed with PRC to open a regular air route connecting Pyongyang with Shenyang, a northeastern province in China, KCNA announces.

US Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, SK Foreign Minister Hong Soon-young, and Japanese Foreign Minister Koumura Masahiko meet trilaterally in Singapore to coordinate their respective policies on NK.

US Vice President Al Gore and Chairman of the RF Sergey Stepashin hold an executive session of the US-Russian Joint Commission on Economic and Technological Cooperation in Washington.

US Defense Secretary William Cohen arrives in Seoul to begin an official three day visit to SK.

Rodong Shinmun criticizes Japan's Lower House for passing a bill to legalize the "Hinomaru" flag and "Kimigayo" anthem, both "symbols of Japanese militarism."

The SK Ministry of Unification announces that SK Professor Kim Soon-kwon, known as the "corn doctor" for his work on corn cultivation, is currently in NK for a one-week visit. his trip had been postponed at NK's request. NK announced a temporary suspension of visits by SK citizens on June 16, immediately after the naval conflict in the West Sea.

MOFAT announces that international organizations had provided only 17 percent of a promised $292 million in aid to NK this year. The UNDP and NGOs provided none of their initial goal of $6.93 million, while OCHA and WFP sent $84,000 and $43.54 million, respectively.

The Japanese Defense Agency will seek 4.999 trillion yen for its fiscal 2000 budget, up 1.6 percent from that of the current fiscal year, the Japan Times reports.

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Japan and SK hold naval exercises in the East China Sea between Japan's southwestrn island of Kyushu and SK's Cheju Island. The six-day exercise is the first joint military exercise between the two countries.

China and Taiwanese fighter jets have flown hundreds of sorties over the past three weeks. China, which rarely sends planes over the Taiwan Strait, has flown more than 100 sorties with three different types of aircraft, including advanced Sukhoi 27s recently acquired from Russia, the Washington Post reports.

KCNA announces that heavy rains that lasted for three days from July 30 caused serious damage in five provinces and in Kaesong City. Torrential rains submerged over 40,000 hectares of cultivated land in Kaesong and South and North Pyongan provinces.

MND announces that the bodies of three NK soldiers were found washed into the Demilitarized Zone. Overall, the floods reportedly left 42 dead in NK.

Mt. Kumgang tour resumes with 533 passengers departed for the scenic NK mountain, ending a 46-day suspension.

The sixth-round meeting of four-party talks aimed at securing a permanent peace on the Korean peninsula opens in Geneva.

The WFP mission led by Catherine Bertini, executive director of the WFP, arrives NK for their six-day visit.

Inter-Korean trade in the first half of this year more than doubled from a year ago, thanks largely to the sharp increase of de facto donations from SK, including fertilizer and heavy oil. Trade between the two sides in the first six months jumped 117.3 percent to $164.96 million.

MOU announces that reunions of families separated since the Korean War are increasingly taking place in third countries this year. From January to July this year, 122 SK citizens met their NK family members, mainly in China. Mail exchanges also increased. During the seven-month period, 385 SK citizens managed to locate their NK families, while 419 succeeded in exchanging correspondence.

MND announces that in order to collect more intelligence on the NK military, SK will purchase eight spy aircraft within the next two years from US companies. The first four Hawker 800XPs will be delivered from Lockheed Martin by April next year, and Raytheon will deliver four others in the year 2001.

Four-party peace talks end without visible progress. NK delegation leader Kim Gye-gwan, Vice Foreign Minister, reiterated that the talks deal with its demand for the US to withdraw 37,000 troops from SK, and it should address a peace treaty between NK and the US.

Visiting US congressmen, led by US Representative Benjamin Gilman, chairman of the House International Relations Committee, praised Taiwan's president Lee Teng-hi for his recent demand that China treat Taiwan equally as a state, the Associated Press reports.

The Chosun Ilbo reports bilateral US-NK discussions between US SPecial Ambassador Charles Kartman and NK's Kim Gye-kwan on the NK's ballistic missile testing are making progress.

KCNA reports that 37 South Korean labor representatives arrive in Pyongyang to participate in inter-Korean workers? soccer games scheduled for August 12~13.

NK issues a government statement urging Japan to discontinue its anti-North Korea policy and apologize for past misdeeds if it wants improved relations.

NIS confirms in a briefing to the National Assembly's Committee, that NK had purchased 30 or so MiG-21s from Kazakstan for $40 million.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman of NK announced that NK will not attend in the four-party peace talks unless they discuss the issues of US troop withdrawal from SK and a peace treaty between NK and US.

The SK National Assembly approves $3.2 billion to build two light-water nuclear power plans in NK.

The two Koreas's trade unions hold a soccer game at Pyongyang's Yanggakdo Football Stadium.

The MOU announces that 356 SK citizens visited NK during the first half of the year, excluding Mt. Kumgang tourists. It adds that 220 of the 356 were tourists, 65 visited for the light water reactor project, 39 for business purposes, 26 for NK relief programs, and 6 for social and cultural affairs. During the first half of 1998, 96 SK citizens had visited NK.

GFTU and CTU sign an agreement in Pyongyang to hold a symposium on national reunification and another workers' soccer game a year later.

IFRC is donating food aid ― 300 grams of food per person ― to 39,136 people affected by recent torrential rains in NK, the Chosun Ilbo reports.

In a government-sanctioned pro-unification event, 57,000 SK citizens formed a "human chain for unification" of people holding hands along a highway from Seoul to the Demilitarized Zone.

Catherine Bertini, head of the WFP, said that NK's food situation has improved in the past two years. She added, however, that problems in distribution or interruptions in supply still leave pockets of hunger, and that large areas of the country are still off-limits to foreign aid workers.

Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and US Ambassador Thomas Foley sign a plan to conduct joint research on a missile defense system.

The US and SK begin the joint Ulchi Focus Lens military exercise involving warships, computer simulations and thousands of soldiers.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman of NK issues a statement criticizing Seoul's engagement policy toward NK, calling it "an absurd anti-national and anti-North intrigue."

The US and Russia begin initial talks on a possible START III treaty to cut each country's nuclear arsenal to 2,000 to 2,500 warheads each.

Japan and Russia agree to establish a hot line between the Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet to ensure against illegal infiltration of each other's territorial waters, as well as to assist in search-and-rescue operations.

Rodong Shinmun blasts Japanese politicians who worshipped on August 15 at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, a "symbol of Japanese militarism."

The Chosun Ilbo reports, quoting a MND officer, that the SK Army will gradually reduce its current 690,000 military manpower to 400,000~500,000 until around 2015, assuming Korean unification is achieved. The SK Army is also increasing the percentage of officers from the present 24% to 30% so as to run the military mainly with career soldiers, and also to reduce the ratio of army soldiers from the current 81.2 percent to 71 percent and increase the ratio of naval and air force servicemen up to 29%.

SK Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Hong Soon-young holds a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Masahiko Komura to address the threat of another missile launch by NK.

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