Extracts. Seoul, Pyongyang Reach Agreement on Joint Regulation in DMZ South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Thursday reached a 41-point regulation on a reconstruction program in the Demilitarized Zone, said the Defense Ministry. The zone will be jointly managed by the two sides during the reconstruction and subsequent operation of an inter-Korean railroad from Seoul and Shuinjiu and a parallel high highway which have been under construction since last September. The agreement was reached at the fifth round of inter-Korean working-level military talks held at the DPRK Panmugak pavilion in the truce village of Panmunjom. Under the agreement, the two sides agreed to the joint management area for the reconstruction project at 250 meters wide and four kilometers long, with personnel from both sides to work in the area. Two joint guard posts, one in the South and another in the North, will be set up 250 meters away from the military demarcation line(MDL) to observe the reconstruction. In addition, mine and explosive clearing activities in the joint management area will only be conducted in the afternoon hours. The two sides also agreed on the building of eco-tunnels in the joint management area for wild animals to freely pass between the South and North. The details of the agreement will be announced after it is officially signed. The agreement will be officially signed at the second round of inter-Korean defense ministers' meeting, which is expected to open in the DPRK in late February or early March. The first defense ministers' meeting was held on South Korea's Cheju Island last December. **** UN Chief Urged to Condemn US Aid for Iraqi Opposition Iraq on Thursday urged United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to condemn the support by the United States for an Iraqi opposition group with the aim of toppling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. In an editorial, Ath-Thawra, organ of Iraq's ruling Arab Socialist Baath Party, demanded Annan to condemn the US efforts which "violated the international law, the UN Charter, as well as international conventions." The editorial also blasted the US for attempting to overthrow the Iraqi government by providing financial aid to the Iraqi opposition. The US has authorized US$4 million for use by the Iraqi opposition group, Iraqi National Congress (INC), in undermining the Iraqi government. The money, according to the US government, will be used by the INC to gather information on Iraqi war crimes, military operations and other internal developments, for logistics and training outside Iraq. Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan has mocked the US decision as "laughable." "We pay no attention to such actions, which only confirm our conviction that there is no difference between Republican or Democratic administration" in Washington, Ramadan said. **** Iraq Sends Fourth Batch of Aid to Palestinians Iraq on Thursday sent the fourth batch of food and medicine to Jordan, where the aid will be transferred to the Palestinian territories. The caravan of 33 trucks, carrying 1,000 tons of rice, flour, edible oil, milk powder and medicine, left the Iraqi capital Thursday morning. Before departure, Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammad Mehdi Salah said that at the order of President Saddam Hussein, Iraq sent the aid to the Palestinians in support of their intifada (uprising) against Israel. But he admitted that the previous three shipments of aid supplies bound for Palestine have not yet reached its destinations, due to the obstruction of Israel. Under agreements signed with the Palestinians, Israel is in charge of the border crossings between the Palestinian areas and Jordan. The Iraqi minister has warned that Iraq would put Israel in a difficult position internationally through public media reports that food and medicine should be allowed into Palestine. "We are still waiting for the approval of the United Nations to donate 1 billion euros (880 million U.S. dollars) to support the Palestinians," Salah said. Iraq notified the U.N. last December of its decision to give the Palestinians the money from its oil proceeds, which have been under U.N. control due to international sanctions imposed in 1990 after its invasion of Kuwait. Iraq has said the latest aid to the Palestinians should not be included in the projected 1 billion euros aid for them. Iraq has dispatched more than 4,000 tons of aid supplies to the Palestinian self-rule areas via Jordan, and has sent three medical teams to Jordan to help treat the Palestinians wounded in clashes with Israeli troops. More than 380 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed and thousands of others wounded in four months of clashes between the two sides, triggered by Israeli violation of Islamic holy sites in East Jerusalem. ***' Party Publicity Chief Stresses Development of Internet News Service Party Publicity Chief Stresses Development of Internet News Service Ding Guangen, head of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said that China should accelerate the development of the Internet news service and build a large, influential on-line publicity system as soon as possible. Ding, also member of the Political Bureau and member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks when inspecting Xinhuanet, an Internet news website run by the Xinhua News Agency <http://www.xinhua.org/> , on Wednesday. Ding said that Xinhua should continue to concentrate its recourses to build the website into an "on-line information hub" that is of top standard in China and enjoys popularity in the world. Ding pointed out that Chinese President Jiang Zemin <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/leaders/jzm/jzmhome.htm> and the CPC Central Committee think that the use of publicity on the Internet is very important. He emphasized that key news websites in the country should strive to develop their own brand names and authority and adopt unique characteristics and high standards. **** China Welcomes Efforts by Pakistan and India to Improve Relations China appreciates measures adopted by Pakistan and India <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/india.html> on easing bilateral relations, and hopes the two countries will maintain the good momentum. Chinese Foreign Ministry <http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/> spokesman Zhu Bangzao made the remarks Thursday at a regular press conference. It is reported that Pakistani Chief Executive Pervez Musharraf spoke to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on February 2 over the phone. This was the first contact between the leaders of the two countries in the past year. Zhu said that the improvement of the relations between Pakistan and India is the common aspiration of all countries in the region, and conforms to the fundamental interest of the Pakistani and Indian people. Such progress would also benefit regional peace, stability and development, he said. **** US Urged Not to Allow Visit by Lee Teng-hui China Thursday urged the United States <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/usa.html> not to allow Taiwan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/taiwan.html> 's Lee Teng-hui to visit America so as to avoid serious damages to bilateral ties. China is adamantly opposed to the US allowing Lee to visit under any identity and for any reason, and has time and again made solemn representations with the US side over this matter, foreign ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said at the regular press conference. Zhu's response came when asked to comment on recent reports that Lee would visit the US at the invitation of Cornell University. It should be pointed out that Lee is absolutely not an ordinary citizen, but a politician engaged in activities meant to split China, Zhu said, citing the fact that Lee was engaged in separatist activities at Cornell University in 1995 and concocted his notorious "two states" theory in 1999. Lee is a representative of the Taiwan independence force and a clear-cut "troublemaker," said Zhu, pointing out Lee's current attempt to visit US is politically motivated. China calls on the US to earnestly abide by the One-China principle, the three Sino-US joint communiques and relevant commitments it has made, and not to permit Lee's visit, Zhu stated. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
