The Chosun Ilbo, 1 August 2008 How Korea Got Its Way Over Dokdo in the U.S.

The U.S. decision to change official descriptions of Dokdo from "undesignated territory" to Korean dominion was a bold step that astounded even Korean government officials, pundits said Thursday. The Board on Geographical Names under the U.S. Geological Survey restored the entry for Doko to "South Korea" at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. President Gorge W. Bush earlier told reporters he asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to review it and promised the database "will be restored where it was seven days ago"... The Chosun Ilbo, 1 August 2008 Editorial: Dokdo Should Be Given Its Rightful Name U.S. President George W. Bush ordered Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to restore the original description of Dokdo as it was seven days ago. The White House immediately informed the South Korean Embassy in Washington of this decision, and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names restored its description of Dokdo on its website to "South Korea," a week since it marked it as an area of "undesignated sovereignty." This incident resulted from the decision of one U.S. federal agency, but its ramifications were serious enough to rattle the very alliance between South Korea and the United States... JoongAng Ilbo, 1 August 2008 Non-Aligned Movement gives North and South equal attention Member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement that convened in Iran for an annual conference chose a closing statement that buttressed concerns of both Seoul and Pyongyang. Seoul diplomats have been working hard to have their position equally reflected in the statement along with that of Pyongyang, after diplomatic embarrassments at the Asean Regional Forum in Singapore last week... JoongAng Ilbo, 1 August 2008 Editorial: Wrong made right The U.S. government has restored the designation of Dokdo's ownership. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names last week suddenly changed its label on Dokdo islets to "undesignated sovereignty" and then changed it back yesterday to Korean territory. This is just a correction of a wrong, and it was the right measure to take. It didn't make sense to say that the Kuril Islands and the Senkaku Islands were Russian and Japanese territory, respectively, while saying that only Dokdo had no designated sovereignty... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 2 August 2008 Fukuda overhauls Cabinet / LDP executive shakeup also elevates Aso to party No. 2 Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Friday reshuffled his Cabinet, after shaking up his Liberal Democratic Party executive lineup earlier in the day by appointing one-time rival and former LDP Secretary General Taro Aso to the party's No. 2 position. Aso's appointment is believed to be aimed at unifying the party in the lead-up to the next House of Representatives election, according to observers... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 2 August 2008 Editorial: Revamped Cabinet must make tough choices A divided Diet and a mountain of important issues, domestic and international, to be addressed means Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's new administration is sure to face a tough road ahead. Fukuda carried out a major reshuffle of his Cabinet and executive

posts of the Liberal Democratic Party on Friday. The revamped Cabinet is to be formally launched Saturday. What will Fukuda set out to achieve with his new Cabinet lineup?... JoongAng Ilbo, 2 August 2008 Report: Japan will press Dokdo issue after visit Tokyo: The Japanese government will ask the United States to undo its decision to call Dokdo South Korean territory, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday, quoting a senior Japanese government official. "The Japanese government is now acting calmly because the Korea-U.S. summit will be held, but after President George W. Bush visits Korea, it plans to demand that the U.S. change it back to undesignated sovereignty," the official was quoted as saying... JoongAng Ilbo, 2 August 2008 Editorial: Get real on Dokdo "If there are ways to modify the fishery pact between Korea and Japan, a modification is the right way to go." These are the words of Grand National Party Chairman Park Hee-tae. "The pact was rushed ahead of then-President Kim Daejung's visit to Japan," he said. "The Dokdo islets were included in the middle zone and we were deprived of our sovereignty." Renegotiating the pact has been mentioned by some scholars and politicians in the past, but this time the ruling party leader brought it up... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 3 August 2008 Profile Of Fukuda's Reshuffled Cabinet INTERNAL AFFAIRS AND COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER HIROYA MASUDA Masuda, 56, is serving in his third consecutive cabinet, following posts in the administration of Shinzo Abe and Fukuda's first Cabinet. Masuda entered national politics after serving as Iwate governor. He will tackle such tasks as decentralization and rejuvenation of regional economies--issues he dealt with in previous cabinets. Chosen from the private sector, Masuda has found it almost impossible to prevail against other government ministries and agencies when he has had to grapple with difficult tasks, largely because he lacks a strong foothold in the ruling coalition... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 3 August 2008 New Cabinet gets down to work Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's reshuffled Cabinet was officially launched and got down to work Saturday after new members were received in the morning by the Emperor at a confirmation ceremony at the Imperial Palace. The new Cabinet held its first meeting around noon at the Prime Minister's Office to discuss reviewing the social security system and measures for tackling rising prices, among other topics. "We'll steadily tackle the most pressing tasks one by one, and proceed with reforms taking into account the views of ordinary citizens," Fukuda said in a statement... The Asahi Shimbun, 4 August 2008 Reforms stay off the table for Fukuda's new lineup For the incoming members of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's new Cabinet, it's all about the economy. At least, that is the impression left after their first meeting on Saturday. At news conferences following their appointments, many emphasized the need to bolster economic growth, citing measures such as a supplementary budget. But a notable absence from a statement issued by Fukuda after that first meeting was "structural reform," a key mantra since the days of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi...

The Asahi Shimbun, 4 August 2008 Editorial: Fukuda's new team Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda reshuffled his Cabinet on Friday to revive his floundering leadership. The shakeup came amid drooping job approval ratings for his administration and growing calls for an early election--and even for Fukuda's replacement within his own Liberal Democratic Party. The new lineup reflects the beleaguered prime minister's desperate efforts to save his sinking administration... JoongAng Ilbo, 4 August 2008 Dokdo is shown as Korean in U.S. military maps Another piece of documentary evidence affirming South Korea's territorial sovereignty over Dokdo was revealed recently: the United States air force turns out to have indicated for the past 57 years that the islets are under South Korean control. According to the South Korean military, the U.S. Air Force's Asia Pacific Command in 1951 designated Dokdo, the islets on the East Sea that are being claimed by Japan, under its so-called Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (Kadiz) and has maintained the status since... JoongAng Ilbo, 4 August 2008 Hot topics await Lee-Bush summit United States President George W. Bush and President Lee Myung-bak have pressing issues to address during their two-day summit this week. The leaders are set to narrow policy gaps on the U.S. military relocation in Korea, the transfer of wartime operational control from the U.S. to South Korea, the newly upgraded alliance between the two countries and Washington's stance regarding the territorial dispute over Dokdo... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 5 August 2008 Cabinet reshuffle set up behind the scenes Despite having kept silent until the last minute about whether he would reshuffle his Cabinet, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda secretly made careful preparations with a few close aides after last month's summit meeting of the Group of Eight major nations in Toyokocho, Hokkaido. On July 9, just after the G-8 summit ended, Fukuda told then Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Bunmei Ibuki he was going to reshuffle the Cabinet. After beginning his summer vacation on July 16, Fukuda began selecting new Cabinet members with a few close aides, including his eldest son, Tatsuo Fukuda, who serves as a secretary for the prime minister... The Chosun Ilbo, 5 August 2008 Editorial: Lee, Bush Must Look to the Long Term U.S. President George W. Bush visits Seoul today to hold thes last summit of his tenure with President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday. The United States elects a new president in November, and Bush is already preparing to retire. A summit in such circumstances can normally have only symbolic significance, but relations between Korea and the U.S. and the diplomatic situation in Northeast Asia make the talks more than symbolic... JoongAng Ilbo, 5 August 2008 Editorial: True allies? The summit between President Lee Myung-bak and President George W. Bush tomorrow in Seoul is interesting on several levels. It will make clear whether the Korea-U.S. alliance, which was damaged because of the U.S. beef import dispute, is

secure once more, and it will be a chance to discuss other concerns, including how to share the cost of national defense and wartime control over Korean troops... The Asian Age, 7 August 2008 Japan marks anniversary of 1945 Hiroshima attack Tokyo: Tens of thousands bowed their heads at a ceremony in the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Wednesday, the 63rd anniversary of the world's first atomic attack, as the city's mayor hit out at countries that refuse to abandon their bombs. A bell tolled at 8.15 am to mark the exact moment when the bomb dubbed "Little Boy" was dropped on the city, killing tens of thousands immediately and many more later from radiation sickness. "We who seek the abolition of nuclear weapons are the majority," mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said in a speech at the Peace Memorial Park, attended by the ambassador of nuclear-armed China, as well as Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and elderly survivors of the attack... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 7 August 2008 N-probe also eyes DPRK's help to others / Inspection dispute may delay delisting Washington: A draft list of procedures devised by the United States for verifying North Korea's declaration concerning its nuclear weapons programs includes a probe into the reclusive state's alleged cooperation in promoting similar projects by other nations, it was learned Tuesday. The draft, which Washington submitted to Pyongyang in July under the framework of six-party talks on the communist state's denuclearization, lists strict measures for uncovering the whole truth behind North Korea's nuclear arms development programs... The Asahi Shimbun, 7 August 2008 Editorial: Nuclear disarmament With the global political balance of power heavily dependent on nuclear deterrence, desperate prayers in Hiroshima and Nagasaki for a world without nuclear weapons have gone unheeded for decades. Lately, however, a very different situation has begun to emerge. Former policymakers among the leading nuclear powers, recognizing that nuclear weapons can't keep the world safe, and in fact endanger human life, are starting to call for a nuclear-free world. Former advocates change their views... The Chosun Ilbo, 7 August 2008 Lee, Bush Highlight Human Rights in N.Korea President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday highlighted human rights in North Korea when they "reaffirmed their commitment to improving the human rights situation" in the Stalinist country, a statement following their meeting said. They "shared the view that in the process of normalizing relations, meaningful progress should be made on improving North Korea's human rights record"... JoongAng Ilbo, 7 August 2008 Editorial: Strengthening alliance The Korea-United States summit meeting that took place yesterday is significant in many ways. For one thing, it was an opportunity to refresh the turbulent political scene here due to the controversy over the resumption of U.S. beef imports. Second, it helped reaffirm the strength of the alliance between the two countries. Third, the meeting dealt with several timely issues, including Pyongyang's nuclear program, the free trade agreement between the two countries and the newly enhanced exchange

programs for college students in both countries... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 8 August 2008 Political Pulse / Secret deal made on power transfer? Immediately after Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda reshuffled his Cabinet on Aug. 1, speculation spread in the Nagatacho political arena that Fukuda had made a secret deal with Taro Aso when he asked him to become secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the party's No. 2 post. According to the speculation, Fukuda promised Aso that he would transfer the prime ministership to Aso smoothly without dissolving the House of Representatives for a snap election on his own... The Indian Express, 8 August 2008 India doesn't let North Korea plane overfly to Iran New Delhi: India this afternoon withdrew its permission for a North Korean plane to overfly Indian airspace on its way to Iran, just before it could take off from Mandalay in Myanmar where it had made a stopover. This, sources have told The Indian Express, was done after instructions from the Prime Minister's Office this morning. It's learnt that on August 4, Indian authorities had given permission to the North Korean plane - its call sign is KOR 621 - to overfly Indian airspace today. The civilian plane, an IL-62, is said to be part of the country's Air Koryo fleet and was on "nonscheduled operations," possibly a government charter... The Chosun Ilbo, 8 August 2008 Bush Keeping Up Pressure on N.Korea U.S. President George W. Bush in a statement winding up his Asian tour on Thursday reiterated the importance of solving the North Korean nuclear issue. "The North Korean regime must commit to help us verify the declaration and address outstanding concerns about its behavior, including its proliferation and uranium enrichment," he said... JoongAng Ilbo, 9 August 2008 Lee secures resource deals on Beijing trip With an eye to energy diplomacy, President Lee Myung-bak met with leaders of Turkmenistan and Algeria yesterday in Beijing, where he is visiting to attend the opening of the Olympic Games. Lee and Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov agreed yesterday to fully support the participation of Korean companies in an energy resources development project in the Caspian Sea region. They also agreed to encourage Korean firms to take part in infrastructure-building in Turkmenistan... JoongAng Ilbo, 9 August 2008 Another territorial dispute for Seoul? Seoul said it would urge Beijing to revise its latest claim to Ieodo, a remote underwater reef about 149 kilometers (92.5 miles) from the southwest coast of Korea, on the Web site of its government agency. The move came after China's National Marine Data and Information Service said on its Oceanic Information Network Web site as of Dec. 24 last year that Ieodo, about 245 kilometers away from China, is "Chinese territory"... JoongAng Ilbo, 9 August 2008 Editorial: Dispute on Ieodo The Chinese government claimed ownership over Ieodo, an underwater reef south of Jeju Island, via a state agency's Web site. Korea is still trying to calm down after the

provocation caused by Japan's renewed claim to the Dokdo islets. Now China irritates us. As every coastal state has the right to establish an exclusive economic zone up to 200 nautical miles from the baselines of the territorial sea, Ieodo lies where both Korea and China's exclusive economic zones overlap... The Chosun Ilbo, 11 August 2008 Editorial: Lee, Hu to Work Closely on N.Korean Nuke Issue President Lee Myung-bak and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on Saturday agreed to work closely together in ongoing efforts to denuclearize North Korea through sixparty talks. "I am not an exclusionist in terms of North Korean affairs, and although there are problems in inter-Korean relations here and there, we will overcome them," Lee said. "Solving the North Korean nuclear weapons issue requires a great deal of patience, but South Korea will play its due role for the success of the sixparty talks." Hu said the North Korean nuclear issue will progress within the framework of the six-party talks and reconciliation and cooperation between the two Koreas will be beneficial to peace in Northeast Asia... Taipei Times, 12 August 2008 Japan, N Korean officials discuss normalizing ties Japanese and North Korean negotiators met in northeast China yesterday to discuss normalizing ties, a Japanese official said, two months after Pyongyang promised to reinvestigate abductions of Japanese. The talks, which were expected to last two days, began in Shenyang yesterday morning, an official at Japan's consulate said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. Akitaka Saiki, Japan's top nuclear negotiator with North Korea, was leading the Japanese delegation at the talks, officials said... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 12 August 2008 Japan, U.S. must be firm with N. Korea The United States has postponed the removal of North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura during at phone conversation Monday that the reclusive nation would not be taken off the list the same day as originally planned. The United States had promised to remove Pyongyang from the list of state sponsors of terrorism in return for North Korea's nuclear declaration... The Chosun Ilbo, 12 August 2008 U.S. Democrats Support Rights in N.Korea The U.S. Democratic Party stresses human rights in North Korea, denuclearization and the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance in a draft national platform to be adopted by a convention scheduled for Aug. 25 that will also nominate Barack Obama as its presidential candidate. Titled "Renewing America's Promise, "the platform was approved at a party committee meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last Saturday. "We will stand up for oppressed people from Cuba to North Korea and from Burma to Zimbabwe and Sudan," it reads, making it clear the party considers North Korea an authoritarian country that suppresses the human rights... JoongAng Ilbo, 12 August 2008 Angry Buddhists protest perceived Lee favoritism Buddhists are raising their voices against what they call the government's unequal treatment of different religions. The heads of major Buddhist orders, including Jogye, Cheontae and Taego, along with representatives from 25 congregations, called on the Lee Myung-bak administration to end what they call its Christian favoritism,

yesterday at the Jogye Temple in Jongno District, central Seoul. "The current administration is creating a divide in public opinion and fostering religious conflict," they said in a statement. "The government is using its authority like a [Christian] missionary"... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 13 August 2008 N. Korea playing waiting game / Delaying tactics aimed at wresting concessions on verification regime Washington: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's announcement Monday that the United States would postpone removing North Korea from its list of terrorismsponsoring nations came after Washington and Pyongyang failed to reach an agreement on procedures to verify North Korea's declaration of its nuclear programs. Previously criticized as having been too lenient toward North Korea on its nuclear program declaration, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush showed no sign of giving ground on verification procedures... The Asahi Shimbun, 13 August 2008 Editorial: Pyongyang and U.S. terror list The United States informed Japan on Monday that it has decided to postpone removing North Korea from its list of countries that sponsor terrorism. The assurance was given by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura during a phone call. The removal of North Korea from the blacklist is conditioned on Pyongyang's complete declaration of its nuclear program. No agreement, however, has been reached yet on the specifics of the process to verify whether the information provided by North Korea is adequate and accurate. Obviously, Washington has no reasonable choice but to delay the delisting... The Chosun Ilbo, 14 August 2008 The Secret of South Korea's Success South Korea, one of the poorest countries on earth in 1948 when it was founded, has achieved miraculous growth in 60 years. Having become the world's 13th-largest economy through industrialization and democratization, the republic is rushing to join the ranks of advanced countries. What has made that great leap possible? To mark the 60th anniversary of Liberation Day on Friday, the Chosun Ilbo selected six secrets to South Korea's success... JoongAng Ilbo, 14 August 2008 Dokdo dispute started at high level Tokyo: Tokyo's renewed territorial claim on Dokdo in July was a part of the Japanese government's long-deliberated blueprint to stir as much debate as possible and eventually take the case to an international court, said Taku Yamasaki, a senior legislator from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party. It was the first time for a senior Japanese lawmaker like Yamasaki, the leader of one of four major divisions of the LDP, to publicly confirm that the April decision on school teaching guidelines is only the tip of the iceberg of a Tokyo plan to control the small islets on the East Sea... The Asahi Shimbun, 15 August 2008 Fukuda set on refueling extension Brushing aside objections from his political rivals, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has made clear he intends to pass legislation extending the Self-Defense Forces' refueling mission in the Indian Ocean. During a meeting Wednesday with Taro Aso, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Fukuda confirmed that the

government will submit the bill to an extraordinary Diet session to be convened in fall, sources said... JoongAng Ilbo, 15 August 2008 Lee seeking new chance for plans "From now on, I will run the nation with quiet guts," President Lee Myung-bak said earlier this week, a remark perceived by many in the Blue House and governing party that Lee will announce a new start to his troubled administration when he addresses the nation today. "Consider it Lee's second inauguration speech," said an official. It comes on the anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan. "Some said I have lost power in the aftermath of the candlelight vigils," Lee, nicknamed "The Bulldozer," told Grand National Party Chairman Park Hee-tae during their meeting on Tuesday, sources said. "But that's not true"... JoongAng Ilbo, 15 August 2008 Editorial: August 15 Today is the 63rd anniversary of Korea's liberation and the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Korea. We should commemorate Liberation Day and be proud that we founded a modern state on our own. We were liberated suddenly when Japan surrendered and liberation thus caused division and conflict. Amid the chaos, we built the foundation of our country on Aug. 15, 1948. Over the past 60 years, we have successfully achieved modernization, which is sufficient to make us feel proud as Koreans... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 16 August 2008 Service held in memory of WWII dead A national memorial service attended by the Emperor and Empress was held Friday at the Nippon Budokan in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, to mark the 63rd anniversary of the end of World War II and remember 3.1 million Japanese people who died during the war. About 5,800 people attended the ceremony, including bereaved family members of the war dead and other representatives, who prayed for the souls of the dead and made fresh vows to work for peace... The Asahi Shimbun, 16 August 2008 Editorial: 63 years after the war On Sunday, the third day of the Beijing Olympics, Japan's Hinomaru flag was hoisted on the central flagpole as the "Kimigayo" national anthem was played at the judo venue. Masato Uchishiba had just won gold for the men's 66-kilogram judo division and was standing on the podium's top spot to receive his medal. Many Japanese who watched the ceremony on TV probably must have felt slight apprehension about how the Chinese spectators in the gymnasium would react to the Japanese flag and anthem. Fortunately, many of them stood up and applauded the medalists for their competitive spirit... JoongAng Ilbo, 16 August 2008 Fukuda declines a visit to the Yasukuni shrine Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda kept his promise not to visit the controversial Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo yesterday, avoiding angering the neighboring nations that suffered from Japan's military aggression in World War II. Yesterday marked the 63rd anniversary for Japan's surrender to Allied forces and Korea's independence from Japan. Instead of visiting the shrine, Fukuda offered flowers at the Chi-dorigafuchi National Cemetery near the shrine. The cemetery is home to bodies of unidentifiable soldiers killed in the war...

JoongAng Ilbo, 16 August 2008 Lee plans for an eco-friendly future In something resembling a second inaugural address, President Lee Myung-bak yesterday provided his vision of "low-carbon, green growth" for the nation's economic development during the next decade. Lee used his Liberation Day address to sketch out his plans on how to improve the nation's competitive power by establishing a system of security, trust and rule of law. Marking the 63th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan and the 60th year of the Republic of Korea's foundation, the government invited 34,000 citizens and dignitaries to a ceremony at Gyeongbok Palace, followed by a street parade downtown... JoongAng Ilbo, 16 August 2008 Editorial: Spirit of fair play? There was been an online post that claims that Ieodo, located south of Jeju Island, is part of Chinese territory. This claim was made on a Chinese Web site on Thursday. The Web site belongs to an organization under the Chinese government. The post was made again one day after it was deleted as it faced harsh criticism from Korea. It is hard to understand why China, which is currently hosting the Olympic Games, would try to cause a diplomatic conflict with Korea, especially with Chinese President Hu Jintao's imminent visit to Korea... JoongAng Ilbo, 16 August 2008 Editorial: Time for fraternity In his speech celebrating Liberation Day and the anniversary of foundation of the country, President Lee Myung-bak said despite the regretful killing at Mount Kumgang, we hope that North Korea will actively engage in dialogue and economic cooperation. He added that we would carry out economic cooperation with the North in accordance with the progress of six-party talks and international cooperation. This means he would separate the incident at Mount Kumgang and general inter-Korean affairs and he would pursue dialogue with the North through economic cooperation... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 17 August 2008 Government wants post-Kyoto framework to oblige developing nations to cut CO2 The government plans to propose in U.N. talks that developing countries be obliged to join their industrialized counterparts in cutting greenhouse gas emissions under a new international framework to combat global warming to come into force in 2013, according to government sources. The government has submitted five documents related to the proposal to the secretariat of a special working panel meeting to be held in Accra beginning Thursday under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change... The Asahi Shimbun, 18 August 2008 Editorial: End political nepotism When Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda reshuffled his Cabinet earlier this month, he replaced 13 of 17 ministers. While described as a major realignment, one aspect of the group remains unchanged, the number of hereditary Diet members onboard is still high. Including Fukuda, nine of the 18 Cabinet ministers inherited their constituencies from parents or relatives with experience in the national legislature. This number is exactly what it was before the Cabinet shakeup... JoongAng Ilbo, 18 August 2008

Editorial: Summit talks are vital The government is apparently deliberating on whether to participate in the KoreaChina-Japan summit talks expected to be held in Japan next month. The Japanese government has sent us an official document to fine-tune the final schedule, but the government has not been able to respond yet because of the problem of Dokdo. To state the conclusion first, President Lee Myung-bak should not simply respond to public opinion. He should participate in the summit... The Chosun Ilbo, 19 August 2008 Lee, Hu to Meet Again in Seoul on Aug. 25 Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Hu Jintao will meet again in Seoul next Monday, South Korea and China announced Monday. Hu's state visit comes right after the Beijing Olympics come to an end and will be the third bilateral summit within four months following Lee's visits to China in May and early August. Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said the two will discuss "concrete ways to implement an agreement, reached in May, to establish a strategic cooperative partnership"... JoongAng Ilbo, 19 August 2008 Reunification during my lifetime: Lee In an interview broadcast yesterday, South Korea's president aired a very positive view on the chances his country will get back together with North Korea, and called for talks to ease current tensions. "I think during my lifetime, I will see the reunification of the two Koreas," Lee Myung-bak, 66, told global Internet portal Yahoo. "It can happen any day and it can happen suddenly. We must be very prepared for that"... JoongAng Ilbo, 19 August 2008 War games put South Korean military to the test War games began yesterday that will test South Korea's ability to command its own armed forces in a war. In Ulchi Freedom Guardian, as the joint Korean-U.S. exercises are called, the American military will take a supporting role for the first time since 1975, when the exercises began. The command change comes as South Korea prepares to take independent wartime control of its military in 2012... JoongAng Ilbo, 19 August 2008 North breaks its silence, decries U.S. blacklist delay After days of remaining tight-lipped, North Korea yesterday expressed its displeasure over Washington's delay in removing it from a terrorism blacklist as promised. "This is a clear violation of the action-for-action principle, which is basic to the denuclearization," said the North in a commentary carried by its official Korean Central News Agency... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 20 August 2008 Editorial: Assisting war on terror obligation for Japan The continuation of refueling operations by the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Indian Ocean is the very least Japan should do as part of its international obligations. The current Antiterrorism Law must therefore be revised and extended during the next extraordinary Diet session. The government and the ruling coalition parties have agreed that an extraordinary Diet session will be convened in mid-September... JoongAng Ilbo, 20 August 2008 North on blacklist until nukes verified: U.S. Washington reiterated that it will not take Pyongyang off its list of state sponsors of

terrorism unless the communist nation agrees to a proposed process through which its nuclear items can be fully verified. This came a day after North Korea finally voiced its frustration with the United States' week-long delay in removing the North from the list... JoongAng Ilbo, 21 August 2008 Northeast Asian summit may be soon The first ever summit between the leaders of South Korea, China and Japan could take place in Japan later next month to discuss pressing issues facing the Northeast Asian nations. Japanese state broadcaster NHK reported that South Korea's Lee Myung-bak, China's Hu Jintao and Japan's Yasuo Fukuda are expected to meet in Kobe, Japan, on Sept. 21, quoting an unnamed Japanese government official... JoongAng Ilbo, 21 August 2008 Buddhists to form an anti-bias committee The Jogye Order, the largest Buddhist sect in Korea, passed a vote to establish a special committee charged with eradicating what it calls the Lee Myung-bak administration's religious bias that they say discriminates against Buddhism. In a resolution adopted yesterday at a contingency meeting at the Korea Buddhist History and Culture Memorial Hall in Seoul, Jogye Order leaders denounced the Lee government for its outspoken religious preference for Christianity... JoongAng Ilbo, 22 August 2008 UN urges South to donate to North The United Nations food agency has asked South Korea to provide emergency aid to North Korea to help it avert a food crisis, an official said yesterday. The World Food Program earlier this week officially requested that Seoul contribute to its urgent appeal for $60 million to aid 6.2 million vulnerable North Koreans, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun told reporters at a daily briefing... JoongAng Ilbo, 23 August 2008 Editorial: Nuclear stalemate Negotiations aimed at resolving North Korea's nuclear issue have reached a stalemate. For nearly two months, the United States and North Korea have failed to agree on the methods to verify the North's declaration of its nuclear facilities and materials. North Korea said it was determined to maintain its status as a nuclear state, making the outlook for negotiations darker. The United States and North Korea have quite different approaches to verification... JoongAng Ilbo, 25 August 2008 Blue House will not alter North Korea line The Lee Myung-bak government will not deviate from its North Korea policy principles of coexistence and co-prosperity, despite the protracted suspension of inter-Korean dialogue, the Blue House said yesterday, marking Lee's sixth month in office. In a press release, the Blue House said it will continue to take issue with North Korea's human rights violations, while continuing efforts to promote peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula... JoongAng Ilbo, 25 August 2008 Chinese president arrives for visit today Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives today for the first state visit here by a foreign leader since President Lee Myung-bak took office earlier this year. During his twoday stay in Seoul, Hu and Lee are expected to discuss how to jointly work to

denuclearize North Korea. Also expected to be discussed is how to map out detailed plans for a "strategic cooperative partnership" between the two Asian neighbors... The Chosun Ilbo, 26 August 2008 Lee, Hu Hammer Out Strategic Partnership President Lee Myung-bak and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed to deepen their two countries' newfangled "strategic cooperative partnership." A joint statement after their meeting envisages no fewer than 34 ways of cooperation in four categories -- politics, economy, human resources and cultural exchanges, and international cooperation... The Chosun Ilbo, 26 August 2008 Editorial: Relations With China Require Wisdom and Foresight President Lee Myung-bak and Chinese President Hu Jintao met Monday in Seoul and reconfirmed their strategic cooperative partnership. It was their third summit since May this year. Hu visited Seoul the day after the closing of the Beijing Olympics, which China mobilized all of its national resources to host. Even though the timing of the visit may have been chiefly due to Hu's busy diplomatic itinerary, it showed just how close the relationship between the two countries has become... JoongAng Ilbo, 26 August 2008 Hu and Lee map out new ties during Seoul summit In his first overseas trip after hosting the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, President Hu Jintao met with his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak in Seoul yesterday to map out the details of their plan to upgrade bilateral relations. Hu arrived in Seoul yesterday afternoon for a two-day state visit. It was his second trip to South Korea as president, following his first visit in November 2005... JoongAng Ilbo, 26 August 2008 Editorial: Enhanced China relations In a summit meeting yesterday, President Lee Myung-bak and President Hu Jintao of China agreed on a joint declaration to realize their strategic and cooperative partnership. They also agreed to increase exchanges among senior officials of the two countries to enhance cooperation in economic, cultural and also in sensitive diplomatic and military fields. In the 16 years since the two nations normalized ties, relations have improved rapidly. Close Korea-China relations are of great importance to Korea... The Asian Age, 27 August 2008 N. Korea halts nuke reactor disablement Seoul: North Korea said on Tuesday it has stopped disabling its nuclear reactor and will consider restoring the plutonium-producing facility in anger over Washington's failure to remove it from the US list of terror sponsors. The North's announcement marks the emergence of the biggest hurdle yet to the Communist nation's denuclearisation process under a landmark deal in 2007 and is expected to escalate tension in the nuclear talks involving China, Japan, the two Koreas, the US and Russia... The Chosun Ilbo, 27 August 2008 Editorial: What Does N.Korea Hope to Gain? In a statement on Tuesday, North Korea said that it halted disablement of its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, while considering restoring them. It said Washington failed to remove it from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism as agreed in an Oct. 3

agreement reached last year. That agreement says Washington would remove North Korea from its list of terrorism sponsoring states if the communist country takes steps to disable its nuclear facilities and submits a nuclear inventory... JoongAng Ilbo, 27 August 2008 North puts the brakes on all efforts to denuclearize North Korea announced yesterday that it would stop disabling its nuclear facilities. It also threatened to restore its main nuclear reactor to protest what it called Washington's broken promises. "We have decided to immediately suspend the disabling of our nuclear facilities, which was in process under the Oct. 3 agreement [of the six-party talks]," a spokesman from the North Korean Foreign Ministry said yesterday in a statement through the country's state-run Korea Central News Agency... JoongAng Ilbo, 27 August 2008 Editorial: Sparks of religious strife Monks and believers are likely to stage a large-scale protest against the government for allegedly discriminating against their religion, the first of its kind in a democratic country. The Buddhist community plans to hold the rally today to condemn the Lee Myung-bak administration for going against the Constitution and maintaining a bias against certain religious faiths. There is a reason for this movement... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 28 August 2008 Editorial: Don't be deceived by N. Korea's tactics North Korea's tactic of trying to intimidate opponents and win concessions from them by creating a crisis is nothing new. Pyongyang has suspended its disablement of its nuclear facilities in response to the United States' postponement of removing North Korea from a list of states sponsoring terrorism. North Korea's action is irresponsible and once again turns back the process of the six-party talks over the abandonment of its nuclear programs. North Korea should unconditionally resume its disablement work... The Asahi Shimbun, 28 August 2008 Editorial: Pyongyang's bombshell announcement In what appears to be the latest display of its habitual brinkmanship, North Korea's Foreign Ministry dropped a bombshell Tuesday, so to speak, with an eyebrow-raising statement. According to the statement, Pyongyang has not only decided to suspend the disablement of its nuclear facilities, but is even "considering a step" to restore the facilities to working order... The Chosun Ilbo, 28 August 2008 Female N.Korean 'Defector' Held for Spying A North Korean woman is being held for allegedly posing as a defector to the South in order to spy for Pyongyang, the first such case on record. Authorities say the woman traded sexual favors for military secrets from South Korean officers and passed the information to the North. Investigators say she was also instructed by North Korea to assassinate South Korean intelligence agents and to discover the whereabouts of high-profile defectors including Hwang Jang-yup, a former secretary of the North Korean Worker's Party who fled to the South in 1997... The Chosun Ilbo, 28 August 2008 Editorial: How Many More Spies Are Out There? A North Korean woman posing as a defector is said to have passed to the North

sensitive South Korean military information that she gleaned from military officers she befriended while lecturing on national security at various military bases across South Korea. The woman allegedly traveled to China 14 times and delivered to North Korean intelligence agents the name cards of more than 100 South Korean officers, whose e-mail accounts are said to have been hacked from China. She even tried to lure a South Korean Army major named Kim into going to North Korea... JoongAng Ilbo, 28 August 2008 Pyongyang faces fresh American ire The United States condemned North Korea yesterday for halting the disablement of its nuclear facilities, reaffirming its position that no concessions will be made in the negotiations to rid Pyongyang of its atomic weapons programs. South Korea, however, said yesterday that it will continue providing promised aid to the North, although the Lee Myung-bak administration expressed concern on Tuesday about Pyongyang's actions... JoongAng Ilbo, 28 August 2008 Editorial: Time to play hardball By calling a halt to the disabling process at the Yongbyon nuclear facilities, North Korea has forced U.S. President George W. Bush to choose between two alternatives: Either he takes North Korea off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, achieving the diplomatic feat of disabling North Korea's nuclear facilities, or he allows the negotiations, which have taken nearly two years to get to this point, back to square one... The Yomiuri Shimbun, 29 August 2008 Japan's intl cooperation at a crossroads / Aid worker's death may prompt government to advise NGOs to leave Afghanistan In carrying out its international cooperation activities, Japan faces the difficult question of how it should engage in the international community's war against terrorism in the wake of the killing of a Japanese nongovernmental organization worker in Afghanistan. The incident in Afghanistan, observers point out, inevitably will affect discussions on a bill to extend the new Antiterrorism Law, which is expected to be the biggest issue in the next extraordinary Diet session... The Chosun Ilbo, 29 August 2008 Government Must Finally Get Down to Business The first regular session of the 18th National Assembly begins on Sept. 1. Grand National Party chairman Park Hee-tae said Thursday the public would no longer be forgiving toward parliamentarians and that the GNP would have nothing to say if it continues to be criticized by the public although it won a majority of the vote in the general election. It was difficult to implement policies from President Lee Myungbak's inauguration to the April general election; the public was able to understand that to a certain extent... JoongAng Ilbo, 29 August 2008 A spy among us A North Korean spy disguised as a defector gave lectures at military bases 50 times in the South, propagating North Korea's political system. But the military apparently did nothing to stop her. A military officer in charge of troop information and education was won over by the spy and even cooperated in helping the enemy, North Korea. We cannot think that the officer's behavior is solely his responsibility. There must be a hole in our attitude toward national security...

JoongAng Ilbo, 30 August 2008 Buddhists to hold anti-Lee services across the nation Following the massive outdoor gathering earlier this week, the Buddhist community said yesterday that it will hold services at temples nationwide on Sunday to denounce what it called the Lee Myung-bak administration's religious bias. The organizers of Wednesday's protest said the services will continue unless an official apology is issued by the president, national police chief Eo Cheong-soo is fired for allegedly religiously biased acts and legislation is established to prevent the bias in officialdom...