CINA

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NEXT WEEK: JAPAN WILL DECLARE WAR TO THE D.P.R.K.(*)

S.K. Yonhap news agency reported today:

Japan considers financial sanctions against N. Korea

Japan has reportedly decided to impose financial sanctions against North Korea amid concerns that the communist state may be preparing to launch additional missiles or test a nuclear bomb.

Japanese news outlets reported that the country may take action as early as next week.

"Japan is considering releasing specifics of financial sanctions on North Korea in line with a U.N. Security Council resolution as early as Tuesday and has begun final consultations on the matter with the United States," Kyodo News reported, quoting unidentified sources.

The U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on July 15 condemning North Korea's test-firing of seven ballistic missiles earlier that month and to prohibit any transfer to or from the communist state of material, technology and financial resources that are related to the North's weapons program.

North Korea immediately rejected the resolution, calling it a "gangster-like" act by Washington and its allies to isolate and stifle its communist regime. Japan and the United States have been calling for additional sanctions against the North amid Pyongyang's boycott of international negotiations over its nuclear weapons program.

The move, if taken, is expected to deal a severe blow to the North as its firms in Japan and pro-Pyongyang Koreans in the country have been one of the largest sources of hard currency for the communist state.

Japan's prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, told reporters Thursday that the plan has yet to become final, saying his country would "have to consult on the matter with the United States and South Korea."
But his Deputy Chief Secretary of Cabinet Jinen Nagase said the country was moving toward that end.

"At the moment, relevant government ministries and agencies are making preparations as to whom the sanctions will target and when the sanctions will be implemented," Nagase was quoted as saying Thursday.

News reports here said the envisioned sanctions were likely to target 12 North Korean or pro-Pyongyang businesses and organizations that have been outlined by the United States for having suspected links to the North's communist regime and one person suspected of similar links.

Tokyo banned a North Korean passenger ferry in July from its ports for six months as part of a nine-point resolution, imposing economic and diplomatic sanctions against the North.

The total amount of North Korea's exports to Japan dropped to 440 million yen (US$3.75 million) in July, a 44.2 percent decrease from that of June, Japan's Finance Ministry said late last month.

The amount also represented a 42.2 percent decrease from the same month in 2005, according to the ministry.

Japan is part of the multilateral negotiations aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions. But the talks, also attended by South Korea, China, Russia and the United States, have been stalled since November due to a North Korean boycott.

http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20060915/610000000020060915091104E8.html

DailyNK(no comment please!!) wrote this today:

“Japan, Imposing Financial Sanctions Against North Korea”

Mainichi “Freezing assets of enterprises suspected to be involved with WMD”  
 
A Japanese newspaper, the Mainichi reported that on the 14th the Japanese government confirmed its policy to implement financial sanctions against North Korea this month and freeze assets of individuals or corporations speculated to be involved with weapons of mass destruction.

The newspaper reported that “The government will ban withdrawals and overseas remittances from accounts held in Japan by organizations and individuals suspected of being linked to North Korea’s development of weapons of mass destruction” and “may implement the sanctions before Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi resigns on September 26th.”

The newspaper relayed that “Top government officials deemed it indispensable to impose additional sanctions against the secluded state after North Korea refused to hold talks on its missile development plan and failed to express its readiness to return to the six-party talks even though two months have passed since the United Nations adopted the resolution.”

After the U.S urged members of the United Nations resolution to pass the North Korea financial sanctions, it appears that further cooperation will be advocated through the U.S.-Japan mutual support.

Although it is difficult to anticipate cooperation from China or Russia, it is expected that European countries, Canada, Australia and such will be provoked to cooperate.

The Japanese government plans to identify the individuals or organizations subject to the sanctions based on information from investigative authorities in various countries. Even if dozens of individuals and organizations receive sanctions though it would not have direct affect on North Korea, the Japanese government anticipates that these measures will portray a strong message of ‘pressure’ to each country.

After the missile launch on July 5th, the Japanese government implemented the nine-point sanctions prohibiting the North Korean vessel ‘The Mangyongbong’ and North Korean officials to enter Japan. In addition, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is deliberating drafting a law to further impose sanctions against financial institutions suspected of being involved in money-laundering.

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=1101

* Several times the D.P.R.K.(KCNA/Rodong Shinmun..) said that any sanctions against it will be seen as a "declaration of war"!!(^^)

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1968, J. Joplin, Ball and Chain

Sittin’ down by my window,
Honey, lookin’ out at the rain.
Oh, Lord, Lord, sittin’ down by my window,
Baby, lookin’ out at the rain.
Somethin’ came along, grabbed a hold of me, honey,
And it felt just like a ball and chain.
Honey, that’s exactly what it felt like,
Honey, just dragging me down.

And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now hon’, tell me why,
Why does every single little tiny thing I hold on to go wrong ?
Yeah it goes wrong, yeah.
And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now babe, tell me why,
Does every thing, every thing.
Hey, here you gone today, I wanted to love you,
I just wanted to hold you, I said, for so long,
Yeah! Alright! Hey!

Love’s got a hold on me, baby,
Feels like a ball and chain.
Now, love’s just draggin’ me down, baby,
Feels like a ball and chain.
I hope there’s someone out there who could tell me
Why the man I love wanna leave me in so much pain.
Yeah, maybe, maybe you could help me, come on, help me!

And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now hon’, tell me why,
Now tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me why, yeah.
And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, when I ask you,
When I need to know why, c’mon tell me why, hey hey hey,
Here you’ve gone today,
I wanted to love you and hold you
Till the day I die.
I said whoa, whoa, whoa!!

And I say oh, whoa, whoa, no honey
It ain’t fair, daddy it ain’t fair what you do,
I see what you’re doin’ to me and you know it ain’t fair.
And I say oh, whoa whoa now baby
It ain’t fair, now, now, now, what you do
I said hon’ it ain’t fair what, hon’ it ain’t fair what you do.
Oh, here you gone today and all I ever wanted to do
Was to love you
Honey you can still hear me rock and roll the best,
Only it ain’t roll, no, no, no, no, no.

Sittin’ down by my window,
Lookin’ out at the rain.
Lord, Lord, Lord, sittin’ down by my window,
Lookin’ out at the rain, see the rain.
Somethin’ came along, grabbed a hold of me,
And it felt like a ball and chain.
Oh this can’t be in vain
And I’m gonna tell you one more time, yeah, yeah!

And I say oh, whoa whoa, now baby
This can’t be, no this can’t be in vain,
And I say no no no no no no no no, whoa,
And I say whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Now now now now now now now now now no no not in vain
Hey, hope there is someone that could tell me
Hon’, tell me why love is like
Just like a ball
Just like a ball
Baaaaaaalllll
Oh daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy
And a chain.
Yeah.

One of the last videos of J. Joplin you can watch here:

http://blog.naver.com/1dynasty?Redirect=Log&logNo=140027368291

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(*)

1968

Sailing the seas depends on the helmsman,

Life and growth depend on the sun.

Rain and dew drops nourish the crops,

Making revolution depends on Mao Zedong Thought.

Fish can't leave the water,

Nor melons leave the vine.

The revolutionary masses can't do without the communist party.

Mao Zedong Thought is the sun that shines forever..

* The working class must exercise leadership in everything

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..Paranoia and Provocation (Guardian, UK, 9.14)

North Korea's political paranoia spilled into the open this week when the isolated regime accused the Bush administration of plotting a nuclear strike. The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper said a "sub-critical" underground nuclear test in Nevada last month was part of Washington's efforts to develop new, offensive atomic weapons. "The US is perfecting a nuclear war plan after listing our and other countries as targets for its pre-emptive nuclear attack," it said.

An US assault is not remotely on the cards, but North Korea's clamour reflects more than its leadership's persecution complex. In Seoul the claim was read as possible evidence that the North is preparing to justify an imminent nuclear weapons test of its own. South Korean officials have warned that Pyongyang could conduct a test, or repeat July's destabilising Sea of Japan missile launches, at any time. Not coincidentally, President Roh Moo-hyun was in Washingtonon Thursday arguing for a more "flexible" US line.

Concern about North Korea's intentions is ratcheting up again across the region. Pyongyang escaped binding sanctions proposed by Japan after the July launches when China diluted a condemnatory UN resolution. But it failed in its apparent aim of scaring the US into relaxing financial sanctions or offering improved, Iran-style incentives for good behaviour. Now analysts suggest it may be about to try again.

The US says it would view a North Korean nuclear test as "very provocative" while the reaction in Japan, the only country to experience atom bomb attacks, could be explosive. But with the six-party nuclear talks deadlocked for almost a year, and differences in approach evident between the US, South Korea, Japan and China, foolproof mechanisms for avoiding another dangerous confrontation appear lacking.

"The key has got be some kind of bilateral deal between North Korea and the US that everyone else can buy into," said Christopher Hughes, a regional expert based at the University of Warwick. "An agreement with the US is what the North Koreans have always wanted. The US is searching for a way to reach them while stopping Japan over-playing its hand."

But Machiavellian manoeuvring by Pyongyang, diplomatic divergences and distrust continue to bedevil such efforts. When Christopher Hill, the US chief negotiator, proposed a one-on-one meeting with his North Korean counterpart last week, he was reportedly rebuffed. Kim Jong-il, North Korea's leader, is meanwhile rumoured to be on the point of visiting China for consultations.

Japanese officials play down the prospect of a crisis while admitting that "favourable signs" from North Korea are lacking. "We do not have any evidence of activities suggesting that something is going to happen soon, either concerning missiles or a nuclear test," a senior diplomat said. "But it is very difficult to predict, especially when it comes to underground testing."

The likely appointment this month of a hard-hitting conservative, Shinzo Abe, to replace Junichiro Koizumi as Japan's prime minister would not change Tokyo's approach, the diplomat said. "We will maintain our current policy of dialogue and pressure. We want talks to resume. We also want full implementation of UN resolution 1695 (that requires countries to halt WMD or missile-related technology transfers to North Korea)."

Reports yesterday suggested Japan may impose financial sanctions later this month, which North Korea says would be tantamount to a declaration of war. Sources said the US could also adopt additional punitive measures if no progress is made.

Describing Mr Abe as a "neo-nationalist, more hawkish than Mr Koizumi", Dr Hughes predicted a tougher Japanese line on nuclear weapons and on the long-running dispute over Japanese abducted by North Korea. "Abe portrays himself as a leading statesman. He believes in reviving the Japanese nation. He wants to rewrite the constitution and the post-war settlement." Speaking yesterday, Mr Abe called for a more "assertive" international role for Japan.

But after fierce Sino-Japanese frictions during the Koizumi era, Mr Abe would also face considerable pressure, not least from Washington, to improve relations with China, Dr Hughes said. So partly to maintain his credibility with the nationalist right "he will probably still be tempted to bash North Korea quite hard". And that could be seen as provocation by the paranoiacs of Pyongyang.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/article/0,,1872341,00.html

PS:

Yesterday's DailyNK [well, I know, f.. reactionary.. But dont't forget: "If you want to fight your enemy you must study him/her"(Lenin)^^] wrote following stuff:

The U.S. Intensifies Sanction against NK through UN Resolution
'By deepening, rather than broadening, existing measures' 

The United States is expected to tighten its North Korean policy by strengthening financial sanction and containment through the UN resolution 1695, within the boundary of six-party talks.

Such expectation is materialized as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill visits Northeast Asia, recently. Hill, during a press conference in Seoul, said that North Korea did not pursue fulfillment of the 9.19 communiqué, and added “every member state of the UN must follow the Security Council’s resolution and we will watch it.”
 

Hill is known as the leading advocate of negotiation with North Korea in the U.S. In his recent trip to East Asia, Hill might have met with Kim Kye Kwan, Vice Minister of NK Foreign Ministry. But Pyongyang did not respond to Hill’s call and the U.S. seemed to conclude that NK lacked will to follow the 9.19 communiqué, in which NK promised to give its nuclear program. The six-party talks have become a lame excuse of Pyongyang’s procrastination.
 

The U.S. Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson’s plan to meet South Korea President Roh Moo Hyun, during Roh’s official visit to the U.S. this week, is also worthy of notice. Paulson is responsible to financial sanction against North Korea. The meeting’s main topic will not be anything but financial sanction.

However, it is not known yet whether Washington would ask for South Korea’s more vigorous participation in sanction, or Seoul will request appeasement policy to attract NK to return to the six-party talks. Nonetheless, since the gap between the two countries’ perspective, the summit will not have a more than symbolic meaning.

Therefore, it has become evermore probable that the U.S. would announce a wholesale sanction against NK after Hill’s East Asian tour and the U.S.-South Korean summit on Thursday. Given the perspective, the U.S. might hope to create another multi-lateral international structure to deal with security concerns of East Asia.
 

It might be problematic to press North Korea without participation of Seoul and Beijing. Moreover, U.S. is currently dealing with Iran’s nuclear program, too. So a joint solution that is applicable to nuclear development of both Iran and North Korea could be suggested.
 

Tom Casey, deputy spokesperson of the Department of State, announced on Tuesday that every necessary means will be exercised to terminate North Korea’s nuclear weapon or other WMD development program.
Professor Kim Tae Ho, a South Korean expert on NK, anticipated deepening rather than broadening of existing sanction policies against the North.

According to Professor Kim, it is possible to conduct intensive financial sanction world wide or inspection of North Korean ships on the sea through PSI, Proliferation Security Initiative. “South Korean government’s aid to North Korea,” Kim added, “would be in trouble as sanctions get intensified.”

An anonymous international politics professior commented that “there is no need for special measure to put pressure on North Korea right now, but if NK does not give up the nuclear program, coercion will get hardened.”

The professor supposed that Bush administration would not yield to North Korea’s persistence, since both countries’ fundamental interests are at stake.

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=1098

Wow, exactly 6 years ago(I already forgot it in the last years) I visited the first time the Korean Peninsula. At that time: Pyeongyang/DPRK, during the "Int'l Film Festival of Non-aligned and Other Developing Countries"^^!!

Harrharr, just now I found out that this night there will be a documentary about NK in the TV..

"P.Y. Robogirl"^^