Obama Inspects the DMZ for the First Time before Elections

Editor’s note: In conjunction with Obama’s visit to the DMZ, Chinese news sources have analyzed the various aspects of the situation and the impact his visit could have.

On [March] 24, people took to the streets of Seoul, South Korea to promote the Nuclear Safety Summit. The Nuclear Safety Summit is to be held from March 26-27 in the Seoul International Convention and Exhibition Center, where over 50 heads of state and international organizations will meet.

The Nanfang Daily, according to the Voice of China’s “Global Chinese Radio” reports that American president Obama is preparing a visit to the DMZ, the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. As it just so happens, tomorrow is the two-year anniversary of the Cheonan incident and a hundred days after the death of North Korea’s previous leader, Kim Jong Il. At such a sensitive time, in such a sensitive place, with a sensitive arrangement on the line, what kind of waves will Obama’s actions send throughout the Korean peninsula?

Obama is not the first president to have visited the DMZ. Bush Jr., Clinton, and Reagan visited the area in 2002, 1993, and 1983 respectively. But Obama’s visit comes a particularly sensitive time.

China’s specially appointed observer, Hong Lin, is not optimistic about the situation before elections for Obama. Foreign policy is a point of weakness for opponents to seize upon; for example, Republicans have criticized Obama for being soft on some issues, including the Korean peninsula. As Obama visits the DMZ, he can appear to take a hard-line attitude.

To military expert Song Xiaojun, it does not seem like Obama’s actions can result in increased tensions. South Korea’s parliament forced through the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement which has profited the U.S. Obama’s visit is a matter of etiquette, not a big change in policy matters.

North Korea Will Hold the Supreme People’s Assembly

The function of the meeting includes the election or removal of the National Defense Chairman (Xinhua News Agency, Pyongyang, March 24). It was reported that the Standing Committee of the DPRK Supreme People’s Assembly is scheduled on April 13 to hold the fifth meeting of the 12th Supreme People’s Assembly.

It was reported that the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly made the decision on [March] 22 and has notified the members of the Assembly to register on April 11 and 12. The announcement did not address the issues of the meeting.

According to the Korean Constitution, the Supreme People’s Assembly is the highest organ of state power in the DPRK. There are 687 members and its functions include modifying and supplementing the Constitution, developing national domestic and foreign policy principles, the election or removal of the National Defense Chairman, the Chairman of the Standing Committee and the Prime Minister. The Supreme People’s Assembly is held once or twice a year to discuss the implementation of the previous year’s budget and finalize accounts of the national economy as well as related personnel issues.

Japan Intends to Activate Air Defense System as North Korea Gets Ready to Launch Satellites

According to the Xinhua News Agency, on March 23 the Japanese government got ready to activate their air defense system to deal with the satellite launch in North Korea. “I have ordered the relevant officials to be ready to activate the air defense system,” Japan’s Defense Minister, Tanaka Naoki, told reporters.

At the same time, Tanaka Naoki ordered the deployment of the Patriot-3 interceptor missiles and standard equipment in Okinawa and the surrounding waters, as well as “sea-based interceptor missiles and Aegis-class warships.”

Japanese experts have previously stated that if North Korea were to launch a satellite-carrying rocket into Japanese airspace, it would most likely cross over Okinawa. The DPRK announced last week that the “third observation satellite is set to launch on April 12-16 to commemorate the hundred year anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung.”

The Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul Will Discuss the North Korean Nuclear Issue

According to the Voice of China’s “Peak Evening News,” The Nanfang Daily News reports that the Nuclear Security Summit will be held in Seoul, South Korea. Assistant Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said after the briefing that there will be 53 national leaders or representatives of international organizations, as well as the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The North Korean nuclear issue will be discussed, but the Iranian nuclear issue will not be a topic of the summit.

Ma Zhaoxu said that the Seoul summit’s theme will be a comprehensive review of the progress made by the international community in the field of nuclear safety since the 2010 summit, which focused on both national and international measures to strengthen nuclear safety.

The reporter reviewed a researcher at the China National Nuclear Corporation, Zhu Xuhui. Zhu Xuhui said that the international community is advancing four nuclear issues: nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation, the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and ensuring that the material for nuclear weapons is not available to terrorists.

According to Zhu Xuhui, the North Korean and Iranian nuclear issues are non-proliferation issues, where non-nuclear states promise not to develop nuclear weapons. But since we are currently discussing the North Korean nuclear issue but not the Iranian issue, we should not mix these two matters together.

Zhu Xuhui said that the summit will also talk about nuclear safety in terms of natural factors and human error. The Fukushima nuclear accident was caused by the tsunami, while the Chernobyl accident was due to human operational errors. More emphasis is being placed on nuclear safety, particularly preventing terrorist from stealing materials for nuclear weapons.