UN Chief Hails Progress on North Korean Nuclear Program

By Margaret Besheer United Nations 26 June 2008

Besheer report - Download (MP3)
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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed North Korea's move to hand over details of its nuclear program as a "very encouraging development," and urged continued progress in the six-party talks. From U.N. headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more...

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-26-voa45.cfm

</SPAN>http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=364768&type=World

North Korea's long-delayed declaration is more noteworthy for what it does not say about its nuclear program, especially as it does not address the chief concern of the United States, that is, what Pyongyang has been doing to develop the capability of exploding a nuclear warhead with uranium at its core. All the same, Washington is prepared to overlook this omission and move on. - Donald Kirk (Jun 26, '08)


http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/JF27Dg01.html

By Paula Wolfson White House 26 June 2008

</SPAN>U.S. President George Bush says he is ready to lift some sanctions against North Korea and drop it from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, after Pyongyang submitted a long-awaited declaration on its nuclear activities. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from the White House....

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-26-voa12.cfm

By Kurt Achin Seoul 27 June 2008

North Korea has put on a very visual spectacle to persuade the world it is serious about ending its nuclear programs. With international cameras rolling, Pyongyang blew up a cooling tower at its main nuclear facility. VOA Seoul Correspondent Kurt Achin reports...

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-27-voa5.cfm

By Kurt Achin Seoul 28 June 2008

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says North Korean steps this week related to its nuclear weapons are positive - but that more cooperation is needed in the future. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul, where she is meeting with the South Korean President and key foreign policy ministers....

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-28-voa1.cfm

By David Gollust State Department 27 June 2008

U.S. officials say envoys from the six parties to Chinese-sponsored talks on North Korea's nuclear program will convene in Beijing early next week. They'll discuss the way forward after North Korea's nuclear declaration, and demolition Friday of a key part of its Yongbyon reactor complex. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department....

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-27-voa59.cfm

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
17 June 2008
South Korea's biggest labor confederation says its members will go on strike, next month, to protest the policies of the country's president. The labor troubles heap new crisis on an administration facing mass street protests about trade with the United States. VOA's Kurt Achin has more from Seoul...

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-17-voa18.cfm

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
03 July 2008

The newly-appointed commander of U.S. forces in South Korea says he is confident an upcoming transfer in command control from Washington to South Korea will leave the two countries' alliance stronger. VOA's Kurt Achin has more from Seoul....

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-03-voa25.cfm

SINGAPORE, July 8 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies were steady on Tuesday with investor sentiment torn between falling oil prices and renewed credit fears, while authorities in South Korea and Indonesia intervened to prop up their currencies.
The won hit a two-week high at 1,025.3 per dollar, up 1.7 percent from Monday's domestic close of 1,042.9, as dealers said authorities sold an estimated $1 billion-$1.5 billion to boost the local unit...

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/080708/3/3lurw.html

SEOUL, July 9 Asia Pulse - South Korea and six Gulf states agreed to reach a free trade deal by the end of next year after the two sides started their first round of free trade negotiations in Seoul earlier in the day, a high-ranking official said Wednesday....
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/080709/4/3lx69.html

By Daniel Schearf
Beijing
09 July 2008
Negotiators from six nations are preparing to meet in Beijing for talks on eliminating North Korea's nuclear programs. Discussions will focus on how to verify that Pyongyang is not hiding any nuclear materials or facilities. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing...
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-09-voa15.cfm

For some 20 years, outlandish stories of North Korean abductions pushed Japanese imaginations to the outer limits of Cold War paranoia. With the emergence of several true narratives, the abduction issue has taken on September 11 significance and given Japan an opportunity to assert victimhood, dust off plans to drive up defense spending, and embark on a new brand of militarism. - John Feffer (Jul 7, '08)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/JG08Dg01.html

Labor leaders and protest organizers have vowed to continue their months-long fight over the import of US beef into South Korea, even as President Lee Myung-bak pleads with the nation to work together to overcome the crisis. - Donald Kirk (Jul 2, '08)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/JG03Dg03.html

Under a new law, Japan can now manufacture and operate its own satellites to support its terrestrial military operations, including ballistic missile defense. While a giant step forward for Japan, the development does not guarantee closer cooperation between Tokyo and Washington in their civil and defense space activities. (Jul 2, '08)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/JG03Dh01.html

Updated July.11,2008 11:05 KST

By dumping U.S. dollars onto the foreign exchange market, the government has strengthened the Korean won from W1,042.9 against the greenback on Monday to W1,002.9 in just three days. This month alone, the government is estimated to have sold around $10 billion from its reserves into the market on July 2, and on Tuesday and Wednesday. The aim is to strengthen the won and lower import costs to stabilize consumer prices in Korea...
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200807/200807110028.html

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea pledged on Saturday to complete steps to disable its nuclear facilities by the end of October, at six-country talks aimed at disarming the communist state in return for aid and better diplomatic relations...
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSEO13336020080712

By Donald Kirk SEOUL - North Korea has livened up the current round of six-party talks in Beijing with a sideshow at the truce village of Panmunjom in which North Korean guards have been kicking over tables in the one-room, one-story hootch on the line between the two Koreas, all this in the presence of South Korean tourists. While envoys from the United States, the two Koreas, Japan, Russia and China were yakking in Beijing about "verification" of whatever the North is doing to disable its...
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/JG12Dg01.html

By Luis Ramirez
On China's Border With North Korea
15 April 2008
Each year, thousands of North Koreans risk their lives to escape poverty and oppression in their Stalinist nation. Most travel through China, which does not welcome them. Their destination is usually South Korea and the United States - often via Thailand. It is a perilous journey that can take months or years. VOA's Luis Ramirez followed the trail of North Korean refugees, traveling from China's border with North Korea to Thailand where they wait to make the final escape to freedom in South Korea or the United States. In the first of a four-part series, he looks at the defectors' treacherous and painful journey.
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-04/2008-04-15-voa42.cfm

By Luis Ramirez
China/North Korea border
16 April 2008
Last year, China surprised the world when it allowed 43 North Korean defectors to quickly leave the country after they had slipped into the South Korean consulate and U.N. refugee offices in Beijing. Some people thought Beijing was easing its longtime policy of treating North Korean defectors as economic migrants and deporting them. However, China has since tightened its efforts to keep North Korean refugees out, apparently to avoid being embarrassed over the issue during the coming Olympic games in Beijing. VOA's Luis Ramirez, who has traced the trail of refugees from North Korea to Thailand, has more in this second report of a four-part series.
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-04/2008-04-16-voa38.cfm

By Luis Ramirez
Bangkok
17 April 2008
Thailand's policy of not deporting refugees has resulted in a growing number of North Koreans making the kingdom a final stop in their trek to freedom. Activists say the number of North Koreans using Thailand for their jump to South Korea or the United States has gone from a handful to several hundred over the past year. In the third of a four-part series, VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Bangkok that for impoverished North Korean defectors, their time at the jump-off point to freedom is spent in fear and hiding.
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-04/2008-04-17-voa21.cfm

By Luis Ramirez
Bangkok
17 April 2008
For North Koreans, entering freer countries is like encountering a new universe: the lies of a lifetime under a totalitarian government become exposed. That revelation begins - to a degree - in the relative freedom of China, with its market-oriented policies and greater personal liberties. However, it is in Thailand where most get their first taste of real freedom to decide where to go, what to do, and who or what to believe in. For some, the feeling brings exhilaration - but also fear of being suddenly on their own. In the final installment in his series tracing the lives of North Korean refugees, VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Bangkok.
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-04/2008-04-17-voa23.cfm