China:  Washington Missile Talks Start Today

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya and U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton are scheduled to meet today to discuss the two countries’ disagreement over alleged Chinese missile sales (see GSN, Nov. 26).

Expectations were low that the two countries could reach an agreement that would lead to the end of U.S. sanctions against China, according to Reuters.  “We don’t have any reason to believe the Chinese position has changed, but we’ll be listening … We’ll be interested to hear what they say,” said a senior U.S. official yesterday, adding that the U.S. position had not changed.

The United States imposed sanctions in September after China allegedly transferred ballistic missile technology to Pakistan in violation of an  agreement with the United States made in 2000 (Reuters/South China Morning Post, Nov. 30).

Wang was also scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell (Stephen Collinson, Agence France-Presse, Nov. 30).

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North Korea-Egypt:  Mubarak Denies Missile Purchase

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak denied reports that Egypt entered into a deal with North Korea to obtain medium-range ballistic missiles and technology, the Egyptian news agency MENA reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 26).  “I have already said several times that we are doing nothing to acquire this kind of weaponry,” Mubarak said.  “Had there been such a deal, we would have announced it.  In today’s world nothing can be hidden away” (Agence France-Presse, Nov. 28).

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South Korea:  New Missile Has 300-Kilometer Range

South Korea successfully flight-tested a new missile last week (see GSN, Nov. 26) that is the first South Korean missile to have a 300-kilometer range, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Friday.  The missile’s range is similar to North Korea’s Scud-B, but has better accuracy, a Defense Ministry official said.

The missile is two-thirds complete and production is expected to begin after an additional test, according to the official (Seoul Chungang Ilbo, Nov. 24, in FBIS-EAS, Nov. 24).

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China:  Nonproliferation Talks Start Friday

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya will head a delegation to the U.S.-China arms control talks on Friday (see GSN, Nov. 26), Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said yesterday.  China is expected to have an in-depth exchange of views with the United States, Qiyue said.

China and Japan held a director-level arms control meeting in Beijing yesterday, Qiyue said.  At the meeting, the two nations discussed issues including arms control, nonproliferation and the conference on disarmament, she said (Xinhua News Agency/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, Nov. 27).

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China:  U.S.-Chinese Talks Scheduled This Week

The United States and China will meet this week to work out an ongoing dispute over missile technology proliferation, the India Statesman reported yesterday. 

The United States and China worked out an agreement last year in which China agreed not to provide ballistic missile technology to other nations, while the United States agreed to resume processing space cooperation licenses, according  to the Statesman.  The United States has accused China of breaking the deal and in September imposed sanctions on a Chinese firm accused of providing prohibited technology to Pakistan.  China has denied the charge and wants the sanctions lifted, the Statesman reported

U.S. officials said they hope that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will push China to abide by the deal.  A U.S. official said China should resume full implementation of the arrangement to help build a new kind of relationship with the United States (India Statesman, Nov. 25).  

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North Korea-Egypt: Missile Deal Concluded

North Korea has concluded a secret agreement with Egypt to provide ballistic missiles and related technology, the South Korean newspaper JoonAng Ilbo reported today.  

The accord, signed earlier this year, caused concern among Egypt’s neighbors, especially Israel, according to South Korean diplomatic sources quoted by JoonAng Ilbo.  North Korea sold Rodong missiles and manufacturing technology to Egypt in July, according to the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz.  The Rodong missiles, with a range of 1,000 kilometers, eclipse Egypt’s 300- kilometer-range Scud missiles, according to JoonAng Ilbo.

JoonAng Ilbo quoted a military analyst as saying: “We believe the North Koreans agreed to sell as many as 24 Rodong missiles to the Egyptian military" (South African Press Association/News24.com, Nov. 26). 

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South Korea:  Missile Test Conducted

South Korea said Thursday it test-fired a missile believed by experts to be able to hit a target virtually anywhere within North Korea.

The missile, launched from a site about 125 miles south of Seoul, landed in the Yellow Sea off South Korea’s west coast after traveling only 62 miles. 

U.S. officials have long thought that South Korean missiles are capable of distances longer than those traveled during tests, the Times reported.  South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the United States had been informed of the recent test and that it was conducted in accordance with “military regulations between the United States and Korea” (Don Kirk, New York Times, Nov. 22).

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