In The News

White House Cool to North Korean Offer of Talks

Reuters October 21, 2002
Although the US sent a new shipment of fuel oil to North Korea two days after the latter admitted having a secret nuclear weapons program, the White House says it won’t "reward bad behavior." Unnamed Bush administration officials implied that the 1994 accord with North Korea agreed to give North Korea nuclear reactors and fuel oil in exchange for shutting down weapons-related...

Seoul Criticized for Sweeping Information on North Korean Nukes under Carpet

Hwang Jang-jin October 21, 2002
The North Korean revelation about its secret weapons program has emerged as a hot new issue in the South Korean election campaign. The fact that the South Korean government was informed by the US of North Korea’s secret program in August but it kept quiet about it is being used to blast the government of president Kim Dae Jung, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his reconciliation effort vis-à-...

A Bombshell That's Actually an Olive Branch

Leon V. Sigal October 18, 2002
North Korea is seeking better relations with its neighbors and the US, not trying to start an international conflict. Although the country has breached the 1994 agreement to end its nuclear weapons program, what North Korean leaders want is more international acceptance. The record on North Korea suggests that Pyongyang will cooperate when the US stays true to its word and will retaliate when...

N Korea 'Admits' Nuclear Weapons Programme

Andrew Ward October 17, 2002
Confronted with US evidence, North Korea has admitted to developing a nuclear weapons program. The country's admission shows a blatant disregard of a 1994 agreement in which it promised to halt nuclear weapons research, and the issue poses a serious set-back for the global effort to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The admission also sheds doubt on the sincerity of...

China Reshaping Military to Toughen Its Muscle in the Region

Craig S. Smith October 16, 2002
Chinese military and political leaders are intent on modernizing and reorganizing their armed forces to better compete with the United States and assert more influence in Asia. The primary purpose of this reorganization is to attain military superiority over Taiwan so that, through either intimidation or force, Beijing can regain sovereignty over the island. In the long term, China hopes its...

Dark Clouds Hang over Indonesian Tourism after Bali Bomb Blasts

Fitri Wulandari October 14, 2002
Successful, large-scale tourism requires both great attractiveness and a basic guarantee of safety for visitors. Often billed as an island paradise, Bali's economy is now almost completely dependent upon international tourism. But according to Indonesian tourism officials, Saturday's terrorist bombing of a crowded Bali nightclub threatens to destroy the industry. Vacationers from...

China and Kyrgyzstan Launch Anti-terrorism Exercises

October 11, 2002
The global war on terror has brought new security developments like the dispatch of Japanese navy vessels to the Indian Ocean for the first time since WWII and Chinese soldiers engaging in the first ever live exercise outside their border with another nation. Kyrgyzstan and China have begun coordinated military exercises along their border in order to combat threats from international Islamic...