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

August

The Measures Committee on Compensation for Comfort Women for the Japanese Army and Victims of the Pacific War issues "a report on investigation into the truth of the crimes committed against the comfort women"who were forced to serve as sex slaves for Japanese troops, demanding that Tokyo must provide reparations and compensation to the Korean women.

Visiting SK Defense Minister Cho Sung-tae and his Chinese counterpart, Chi Haotian agree to the exchange of military personnel and to expansion of high-level military contacts, the Korea Times reports.

Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the NK Workers'Party, comments that the NK military was calling for emergency measures if the light-water nuclear reactor project continues to be delayed.

A Japanese contingency law, "situations in areas surrounding Japan"law is enacted as one of the New Guidelines-related laws. The Law allows mobilization of the Self-Defense Force to support the US forces and specifies types of cooperation from local governments and the use of private facilities, the Asahi Shimbun reports.

Bilateral trade between NK and the US plunged by more than 90 percent in the first half of the year to US$392,000, the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency announces.

NK proposes bilateral talks in Sep. to several European nations.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin hold private talks before taking part in a five-nation summit in Kyrgyzstan.

US Representative Benjamin A. Gilman, chairman of the House International Relations Committee, announces that the House Leadership has asked him to form a "North Korea Advisory Group"to report on the serious threat NK poses to the US and its allies.

A team of UNC officers and SK civilians cross to the NK side of the downstream section of the Imjin River to retrieve a dredging boat that ran aground after being swept away in the recent flooding.

The UN Subcommission on Human Rights adopts a resolution which urges Japan to provide compensation to Asian women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army during World War II.

US Representative Tony Hall visits NK to examine the food situation there and exchange opinions with NK officials on pending issues, while monitoring the distribution of the donated food.

A Russian military delegation visits SK in accordance with an agreement on the exchanges of military delegations between the two parties last year.

According to a SK National Statistical Office report, the population of NK has been calculated at 22.082 million, which is about 47 percent of the population of SK. Women exceed men by 435,000. The average lifespans of men as of the end of 1997 appeared to be 59.8 years, and that of women, 64.5 years. 3.8 years and 4.8 years shorter, respectively, than those recorded in 1993.

Millions of North Korean youth have been mobilized to work at various construction sites for the past five years, Radio Pyongyang reports.

The JDA announces that it will ask the government to increase its funding for the first time in three years. Its budget request for fiscal 2000 will total US$45 billion, up 1.6 percent from this year, the Associated Press reports.

Investigations show that 75.5 percent of displaced NK citizens who fled from NK to China are women. The displaced women had either been sold as slaves or forced into prostitution, and that they had moved far away from the border in order to escape deportation to NK, the Chosun Ilbo reports.

September

The USS Pueblo, captured by NK on Jan. 23, 1968, for spying off the coast of Wonsan is now being displayed beside a bridge on the Taedong River in Pyongyang, the Korea Herald reports.

Japan and Russia formally exchanged agreements on free visits to the Northern Territory by former residents of the territory and their spouses, the Yomiuri Shimbun reports.

SK and Russia agreed that their navies will begin undertaking joint maritime search-and-rescue exercises next year, the Korea Herald reports.

The SK MOU announces that it has approved the Hyundai Asan project to build an indoor sports complex in Pyongyang, to help facilitate inter-Korean sports exchanges.

SK Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil meets with Japanese Emperor Akihito.

Chong Song-ok, the North Korean winner of the women's marathon in the Spain World Championships, has been greeted by a large-scale national celebration, and been given the title "Republic Hero,"the highest honor in the North, and "People's Athlete."

Rodong Shinmun marks the first anniversary of Kim Jong-il's reelection as chairman of the National Defense Commission with a call on North Koreans to uphold his "military-first politics"and to construct a strong and prosperous state.

SK citizens who have met family members and relatives residing in NK in a third country have given an average of US$1,345 to their family members, the Joongang Ilbo reports.

The NK CPRF issues an statement which demands that South Korea undertake a "three-step process"to remove US troops form the Korean peninsula.

The US-NK missile talks begin in Berlin.

High-ranking military leaders pay a visit to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, where the embalmed body of the deceased leader Kim Il-sung is on display, to mark the 51st anniversary of the North Korean regime.

China detains 17 people, including two SK pastors and a businessman. MOFAT announces that the two priests were involved in offering help to NK defectors in China.

The SK MOU refuses to allow delivery of computer parts to NK for possible military use.

The US Embassy in Kazakstan stated that the US may cut US$75 million in annual aid to Kazakstan as punishment for its alleged sale of 30 MiG fighter jets to NK, the Associated Press reports.

US President Bill Clinton, SK President Kim Dae-jung and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi meet at the Stamford Plaza Hotel hours before joining the other leaders of APEC for the regional forum's two-day annual summit.

The US and NK delegates in Berlin reach a tentative deal on the NK's long-range missile development program.

A NK soldier swam across the demilitarized zone and sought asylum in SK, the SK Defense Ministry announces.

NK Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun visits New York to attend the 54th UN General Assembly.

NK has largely lifted the suspension of visits by SK citizens to NK, implemented after its defeat in the West Sea firefights in June, the Joongang Ilbo reports.

US envoy William Perry briefs Congress on his report on US policy toward NK.

After hearing a briefing on the Perry Report, Ben Gilman, chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on International Re-lations, announces that he will oppose the US Administration's move to relax economic sanctions against NK.

"Women's Peace Line"of Japan, led by the vice-leader of the Social Democratic Party, Shimizu Sumiko, visits NK.

United Nations officially requests that SK join the UN multinational force to be dispatched to East Timor to restore order.

the White House issues a press release that the President will ease some sanctions against NK, administered under the Trading With the Enemy Act, Defense Production Act, and the Department of Commerce's Export Administration Regulation, in order to pursue improved overall relations with NK, and to support the Agreed Framework, and as a result of US-NK discussions in Berlin Sep. 7-12, 1999.

The Mongolian vice-foreign minister visits Pyongyang.

NK has effectively completed the sealing up of 8,000 spent fuel rods at a reactor in Yongbyon and the removal of radioactive residue in the water in holding tanks, the Chosun Ilbo reports.

A national symposium is held at the People's Palace of Culture to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-suk, Kim Jong-il's biological mother.

SK President Kim Dae-jung revealed that China has played a crucial role in dissuading NK from firing another missile, the Korea Times reports.

The SK MOU approves plans by Hyundai group to build a US$57 million gymnasium in Pyongyang as part of a joint venture with NK's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee.

SK is launching next-generation air defense and destroyer programs to step up its air defense posture and naval capabilities. At present, the Seoul metropolitan area and major military facilities are not protected from NK air and missile threats. Only the US bases in Osan, Kunsan, and Suwon are protected, the Korea Times reports.

SK sends a 16-member search-and-rescue team to Taiwan to help with earthquake relief.

US presidential advisor William Perry holds talks with SK President Kim Dae-jung at Chong Wa Dae.

Li Jong-ok, former NK vice president and one of three honorary vice chairmen of the Presidium of the SPA, dies at the age of 83.

NK Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun addresses a speech at the UN General Assembly meeting.

US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky holds talks with Chinese Trade Minister Shi Guangshen on China's entry into the World Trade Organization.

Defense Ministry addresses a report before the National Assembly that NK has imported US$156 million worth of weapons from Kazakstan and other former Soviet republics and from China since 1995. It has also sold US$800 million worth of military hardware, including Scud-B and Scud-C missiles to Middle East and Southeast Asian countries between 1991 and 1998.

The SK National Assembly ratifies the government's bill on sending a peacekeeping force to East Timor.

South and North Korean male and female basketball teams hold matches, dubbed the "unification basketball tournament,"in Pyongyang for the first time.

An accident occurs at Japan's Tokaimura uranium plant. The Japanese government declared the accident to be "level four"on a scale of nuclear accidents, making it Japan's worst ever.

Fifty-six members of the 419-man SK peacekeeping force bound for East Timor leave for Townsville, Australia to join a UN-backed mission in the territory.

US Army veterans of the Korean War confirmed allegations that on July 26-29 1950, their Army battalion killed a large number of Korean refugees beneath a railroad bridge at Nogun-ri, the Associated Press reports.

October

NK leader Kim Jong-il meets with Hyundai Group's honorary chairman Chung Ju-yong and his son, Hyundai Chairman Jong Mong-hun.

Memorial rites for Tangun, the legendary founder of ancient Korea, is held at the Tangun Mausoleum in Pyongyang to mark Korea's National Foundation Day.

Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan visits Pyongyang to join celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations.

SK foreign minister hong Soon-young states that the estimated number of NK defectors in China is 10,000-30,000, adding that the government will resolve the issue through quiet diplomacy.

SK President Kim Dae-jung and Uzbek President Islam Karimov hold summit talks at Chong Wa Dae.

NK leader Kim Jong-il has directed mass production of the "super sweet corn,"a corn breed developed and test-grown in NK by an SK expert. Kim Soon-kwon, who leads the International Corn Foundation, has tested 6,000 kinds of corn seeds in NK to select the most suitable and productive ones for NK's soil, the Korea Herald reports.

The NK Foreign Ministry spokesman issues a statement which criticizes Japan for having imported a large amount of mixed-oxide fuel (MOX), a blend of uranium and plutonium recycled from spent nuclear fuel, from Britain and France the month before.

Radio Pyongyang announces that NK recently completed the construction of a large hydraulic power station (Namgang) in Pyongyang.

The US Department of Defense announces that it agreed to the direct transfer of the remains of US soldiers killed during the Korean War.

A spokesman for the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland issues a statement blasting SK for attempting to raise the human rights issue of NK at the 1999 Seoul International Conference of NGOs.

The Seoul International Conference of NGOs opens at the Olympic Park in Seoul, attended by about 7,600 representatives from 1,115 NGOs in 108 countries.

Hyundai announces that it will start a test run of its Kumkang Mountain tour for foreigners on Oct. 23.

NK created a new missile division last year, according to an almanac produced by the SK MND. NK merged the Rodong I missile battalion with other missile divisions to form a new division, the Korea Times reports.

NK rejects US Ambassador Steven Bosworth's plan to take part in the Kumkang Mt. tours, the SK MND announces.

The Korean Federation of Bank and Financial Labor Unions announces a plan to bring the IMF to court, claiming the rescue packages of the IMF caused damage to workers in SK.

The SK Environment Ministry announces that it will require through the revision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that US Forces Korea restore the polluted environment around one of its bases under SK laws.

The US Senate voted 48 to 51 against ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson states that NK escapees in China who are sent home face serious consequences, the Korea Herald reports.

Great Britain and NK plan to hold a new round of political dialogue aimed at improving relations in either London or Pyongyang later this year, a spokesman at the British Embassy in SK announces.

SK Unification Minister Lim Dong-won announced the government's plan to accept all NK defectors who have been staying in other countries in cooperation with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees as well as the government of foreign countries where NK escapees are staying. The minister's remarks are the first time the government has publicly stated it will resolve the NK refugee problem through direct diplomatic negotiations and official contacts with concerned parties.

The 18th Yunisang music concert opens in Pyongyang.

The American Chamber of Commerce in SK announces that it expects to send a trade mission to NK in the second half of November.

Shingo Nishimura, one of two Japanese parliamentary Vice Defense Ministers, resigned after his remark that Japan should consider acquiring nuclear weapons.

Government officials, scholars and businessmen of SK, China, Japan and the ASEAN opens a two-day meeting of the East Asia Vision Group to discuss the launching of a regional cunsultative body on cooperation for the 21st century in Seoul.

Local airliners are looking to save an annual US$14 million as NK recently opened its flight information region (FIR) in Pyongyang to them, the Joongang Ilbo reports.

The NK Olympic Committee sends a letter to the International Olympic Committee proposing the restoration of Korean citizenship for Son Gi-jong, a Korean who won a gold medal in the marathon at the Berlin Olympics in 1932 during Japanese colonial rule.

NK was confirmed to have deployed four battalions equipped with Rodong-1 missiles, which have a range of 1,300 km, into battle-ready positions. These battalions belong to a missile division which the NK army recently established. Three of the four battalions have been stationed in Pyungsan-gun, North Hwanghae province, a few miles from the demilitarized zone, the Chosun Ilbo reports.

China has recently intensified a crackdown on NK defectors illegally crossing into its territory after the SK government vowed to accept any NK refugee who wished to settle in SK, the Korea Herald reports.

The annual SK-US combined rear-area field training exercise, Foal Eagle, begins. The US aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, and some 35,000 US and 300,000 SK troops join the drill. Foal Eagle '99 is designed to test rear-area-protection operations, as well as major command, control and communications systems, the SK Defense Ministry announces.

The SK MOU announces that trade between NK and SK rose 77.9 percent to US$257.96 million in the first nine months of this year, from US$144.99 million in the same period a year earlier.

Military authorities in SK and the US have confirmed that NK is constructing missile bases at six different places for its Scud-C missiles. NK is building bases in North Hwanghae, Changang and Kangwon Provinces, with the one in Pyongsan County, North Hwanghae Province, comprised of three battalions with some 40 Scud-Cs, the Korea Herald reports.

A national rabbit fair and a symposium on rabbit cultivation are held in Pyongyang.

The US Forces Korea announced that the US Defense Department approved its request to issue protective masks to command and non-command sponsored military family members in SK, the Chosun Ilbo reports.

November

2

Japan resumes charter flights to NK.

A panel of US congressional Republicans, the NK Advisory Group, releases a report stating that NK is continuing acquisition of uranium-enrichment technologies and conducting nuclear-related high explosive test.

US Secretary of Defense William Cohen states that China and the US have agreed to resume military contacts.

Chung Mong-choon, chairman of the Korean Soccer Federation and SK's representative to FIFA's 2002 World Cup Organizing Committee, visits NK.

The SK National Statistical Office announces that a drastic drop in SK's national income in the wake of 1997's economic crisis narrowed the income gap between SK and NK last year, the first time that has happened since such statistics began to be compiled in 1990. The SK's gross national income (GNI) posted US12.6 billion in 1998 representing just 61.1 percent of that recorded in 1996, the all time high. Although both nations have been on a downward curve, SK experienced a sharper decline, so that the ration of the SK's GNI to the NK's decreased from 26.8 times greater in 1997 to 25.1 times greater in 1998.

The UN food agencies including FAO and WFP have warned that NK has become trapped in a vicious cycle of hunger, with chronic food shortages weakening the rural workers who produce the food. The two agencies estimate that NK needs an extra 1.29 million metric tons of grain to make up for food shortages in 1999-2000, an amount of aid similar to what was needed in 1998-1999, the Korea Times reports.

The US Defense Department announces that it has agreed to sell 14 of the latest Patriot air defense systems, produced by Raytheon Corporation of Andover, to SK for US$4.2 billion, the Korea Times reports.

Hyundai's Mt. Kumgang project has the potential to bring about societal changes in NK by breaking down NK's traditional value system, the Korea Times reports, quoting the research of a SK scholar.

SK President Kim Dae-jung has reiterated his proposal to establish a security forum in Northeast Asia, the Korea Herald reports.

The KCNA announces that on Nov. 6 the US completed the delivery of 500,000 tons of heavy oil to the North, the amount promised for this year under the US-NK Agreed Framework.

SK-Japan fishery talks fail to reach an agreement on how to manage maritime resources in the tentatively-agreed zone both in the East Sea and within their respective exclusive economic zones.

The KCNA denies earlier reports of the SK media that the NK acrobatic troupe will conduct friendly performances in SK.

China and the US sign trade deal on the market opening measures, clearing a hurdle for WTO entry.

SK officals categorically denied Saturday's New York Times report that SK is seeking to secretly develop longer range ballistic missiles.

A SK media quoted a declassified US Department of the Army document as saying that the US sprayed Agent Orange, Agent Blue and Monuron in the area of the demilitarized zone in 1968 and 1969. The document reported that US troops stationed in SK spread more than 21,000 gallons of toxic defoliants along the zone.

Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who met with the heads of parties at the invitation of SK, will visit NK in Dec. with a supra-partisan Japanese delegation.

Radio Pyongyang says South Pyongan Province built more than 1,000 fish farms after the launch of the fish-raising campaign last May.

Jeffrey Jones, president of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), announces that NK has informed AMCHAM that it would welcome a visit from the group.

SK and the US begin two days of talks on SK's bid to extend the missile range to 300 km from the present 180 km. The MTCR bans the transfer of technology for making missiles with a range of up to 300 km among member countries.

The SK Navy announces that a fleet of three naval ships had arrived in Surayaba, Indonesia, the day before to deliver relief goods to East Timorese refugees displaced in West Timor.

NK produced 4.28 million tons of food grains this year, up 40 percent from last year, the Korea Herald reports, quoting the NK Vice Agriculture Minister's speech.

The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Kurt Campbell visits China for two days of talks with Chinese military officials.

The Sankei Shimbun reports that Japan may invite Chinese President Jiang Zemin to a summit of the Group of Eight (G8) to be held in Okinawa.

The US-NK talks end in Berlin without agreement on high-level talks.

China's first experimental spacecraft successfully touched down in the central Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Korea University president Kim Jung-bae announced that he visited NK from Nov. 9 to 16 to meet with Park Kwan-oh, president of Kim Il Sung University. They agreed to proceed with co-research projects in non-political fields starting in the year 2000, the Chosun Ilbo reports.

KEDO convenes an executive council meeting in New York to launch debates on the forthcoming signing of a "turn-key contract"with the KEPCO.

The KCBS criticizes George W. Bush, a US Republican presidential candidate, for stressing "America" power as a world leader"in his foreign policy speech last week.