VARIOUS: Hundreds of conservative protestors denounce North Korea in Seoul whilst Hong Kong detains North Korean ship

South Koreans burned a North Korean flag and a banner with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's photo on the front of it in Seoul on Tuesday (October 24). About 500 protesters waved South Korean and U.S. flags to denounce the North for its nuclear test and weapons. "If North Korea does not give up its nuclear weapons and and return to six- way talks, South Korea should manufacture nuclear weapons as soon as possible. We should stop North Korea from making weapons if it takes us to make 100 over their 10. That is the only way the nuclear crisis will be solved," said protest leader Bong Dae-hong. South Korean conservative and leftist groups are widely divided over North Korea, who conducted a nuclear test on Oct. 9. Conservative groups have condemned North Korea for its nuclear weapons programme and have supported a hardline stance against the communist state with the U.S., while leftist groups blame the U.S. for provoking North Korea to manufacture nuclear weapons. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice toured Asia rallying support for the sanctions while Chinese envoy Tang Jiaxuan visited Pyongyang. But she won few commitments from China and South Korea. China, which fought on North Korea's side in the 1950-53 Korean War, is the closest thing the North has to an ally, while Pyongyang's relations with South Korea, its former foe, have warned considerably since Seoul began its "sunshine policy". Beijing said on Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has not apologised for testing a nuclear device but did say Pyongyang had no plans for a second test while reserving his options if the crisis escalates. Hong Kong has detained a North Korean ship for suspected safety violations just days after the U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions on Pyongyang. The 2,035-tonne general cargo ship -- the Kang Nam I -- arrived in the former British colony on Sunday (October 22) from Shanghai and was due to head for Taiwan with a load of scrap metal on Tuesday (October 24). It was formally detained on Monday (October 23) after a Marine Department inspection turned up 25 faults -- including 12 considered detainable under Port State Control regulations -- ranging from faulty navigational, fire fighting and life safety equipment to obsolete nautical charts, the South China Morning Post newspaper said. South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper quoted a source in Hong Kong as saying Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Hill, who visited the former British colony at the weekend, passed on intelligence about the ship and asked for it to be searched. The Kang Nam I is the ninth North Korean ship to be inspected in Hong Kong this year, the Director of Marine, Roger Tupper, was quoted by the Post as saying. Six others had been detained, the last in mid-June. The ship's captain, who declined to give his name, said he hadn't heard about the sanctions or nuclear test. The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Oct. 14 to impose financial and weapons sanctions on North Korea in response to Pyongyang's testing of a nuclear device on Oct. 9. Japan, China and Russia have committed to inspecting suspicious cargo from North Korea, but South Korea is more cautious, wary of further destabilising the impoverished Stalinist state. As efforts on the diplomatic front continue to persuade North Korea to rejoin negotiations on its nuclear programme, businessmen in the Chinese border city of Dandong say cross-border trade has been strained with Pyongyang's recent nuclear test. Meanwhile, convoys of trucks continued to arrive in Dandong on Tuesday (October 24) as they do every day from Sinuiju in North Korea despite the international community agreeing on sanctions for the isolated country. Shan Jie, chief executive of the Dandong Federal Business Company, a consultancy that often does business with North Korea says that his business has been affected ever since the test. "Due to North Korea's nuclear test, the order for us to go there to survey a new project has not been given till today. So for the big business environment, we are affected. But for small businesses, they are not very much affected. For example, our business with North Korea for building materials and paper is still in operation," he said. At the border bridge, Chinese and North Korean trucks are queue outside shops, ready to cross for commercial business. Shan, who has much experience dealing with North Korean businessmen say they never talk politics with him. Intense diplomacy last week has left world capitals unsure if North Korea will conduct a second nuclear test or return to stalled six-country talks. Diplomatic efforts will continue this week as U.N. Secretary General-designate Ban Ki-moon is set to visit China on Friday (October 27) for talks on ending the nuclear weapons programme and accelerating moves by U.N. members to sanction Pyongyang for conducting a nuclear test.

ITN Source | October 24, 2006

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