Nautilus Weekly April 28 - May 2, 2008

DPRK-SYRIA DICLOSURE DEMONSTRATES POLICY CONFLICT WITHIN U.S. GOVERNMENT, BRUCE SAYS

In an interview with ABC Radio Australia, Scott Thomas Bruce, Director of US Operations for the Nautilus Institute, noted, “The United States is very much in conflict with itself over what's going to happen next. There are hardliners in the American government who believe that this indicates that there is no deal with North Korea that can be made that's worth the paper it's written on. Then at the same time there is a little more pragmatic perspective that says that North Korea is much less likely to sell its nuclear knowledge and technology if it is being monitored and verified by the international community, and in an agreement with its neighbours over its nuclear arsenal then if that agreement was dissolved then all bets were off.”

North Korea accused of helping Syria build nuclear reactor

REPORTS FROM THE DPRK ENERGY EXPERT WORKING GROUP MEETING

David von Hippel is a Senior Associate at the Nautilus Institute. Chung Woo-jin is a Research Fellow at the Korea Energy Economics Institute. All presentations are from the 2008 DPRK Energy Expert Working Group Meeting which was held in Beijing, P.R. China on March 8 and 9, 2008.

-“North Korea’s Mineral Resources and Inter-Korean Cooperation”
By Woo-jin Chung

-"Nautilus Institute’s Analysis of the DPRK Energy Sector and DPRK Energy Paths: Update"
By David von Hippel

APSNET TOP STORY: ELECTIONS IN TONGA RE-AFFIRM CALL FOR CHANGE

Australian journalist and researcher Nic Maclellan writes that following public protests in the Kingdom of Tonga in recent years, the re-election of key pro-democracy figures in elections last month ensures that “reform of existing political structures will remain high on the agenda”. Tonga, notes Maclellan, “is largely ignored by Australia’s media, except in moments of crisis like the destruction of businesses and public buildings in the central business district on 16 November 2006 - even though the deployment of Australian troops and police in support of the Tongan authorities in November 2006 has set a significant precedent for operations by the ADF and AFP in support of the government and monarchy in Tonga.” He concludes that “the Australian government’s attitude to democratic reform in Tonga will be a significant factor in the changes to come.”

Read the article.

MIDDLE POWERS AND KOREAN NORMALIZATION: AN AUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVE REVISITED

Jeffrey Robertson, Senior Researcher in Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security at the Australian Parliamentary Library, writes, “What this study demonstrates above all, is the need to capitalize on periods of relatively reduced security tension on the Korean peninsula… During these periods of relative calm, stronger coordination devoted to building momentum in coalition building and ultimately garnering major power support would allow the limited resources of middle powers to be dedicated to an objective that lends itself as both practical and achievable."

Read the report here.

REPORT OF VISIT TO THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF NORTH KOREA (DPRK)

Siegfried S. Hecker, Professor at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University, writes, “the most important risk-reduction actions now are to stop the production of more plutonium and to stop export of existing plutonium and nuclear technologies. The current situation puts us within reach of stopping plutonium production for the foreseeable future. The five parties should do everything in their power to get the DPRK to finish the disablement expeditiously and to move on to dismantlement."

Read the article here.

NAPSNET TOP STORY: SIX-PARTY TALKS TO CONTINUE: SEOUL, WASHINGTON VOW

Chosun Ilbo reported that the ROK and the US reaffirmed that six-nation talks on denuclearization of the DPRK will continue. Kim Sook, the newly appointed ROK envoy to the talks, met his U.S. counterpart Christopher Hill in Washington D.C., and the two agreed to resume the talks soon and put priority on the plutonium extracted from the Yongbyon nuclear reactor. "We discussed various aspects of the six-party process... what we would expect to see as we continue on this process," said Hill. He continued that “as the North Koreans complete all of their requirements, all of their obligations, we will certainly complete ours."

Read the article here.