China, Taiwan, or Korea In The NEWS!

[nChrist]

North Koreans 'shot at frontier'

North Korea has executed 15 people in public for trying to flee or help others to escape across the border into China, according to an aid group.

Good Friends, based in South Korea, said the 13 women and two men were shot on a bridge in the north-eastern town of Onseong two weeks ago.

The aid group said those executed had been trying to get economic help from relatives already in China.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans are thought to be in hiding in China.

In a newsletter, Good Friends said residents who witnessed the shooting were shocked at the harshness of the punishment. Some were crying at the scene, it reported.

The group quoted a woman as saying: "Everyone is anxious about a lack of food. The shooting has made people angry."

A local North Korean official is also quoted in the newsletter.

"It has become a daily routine for a few residents to disappear and illegally cross the border to visit relatives in China," he is reported as saying.

"We shot them to send a warning to people over this."

There has been no official word from North Korea on the executions and South Korea's Unification Ministry said it could not confirm the report.

Acute food shortages have led to thousands of North Koreans fleeing their homeland through China.

Many hope to make their way to South Korea - the Unification Ministry in Seoul says more than 12,000 North Koreans have fled to the south since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Others cross the border into China with the intention of returning with food supplies.

North Korea received hundreds of thousands of tonnes of food aid last year, more than half of it from Seoul.

An unusually dry and mild winter has raised fears of worse shortages to come.

[nChrist]

China to raise military spending
   
China says it plans to increase military spending by nearly 18% this year, to 417.8bn yuan ($59bn; £30bn).

The figure was revealed ahead of China's annual parliamentary session, which begins on Wednesday.

Just before the announcement, the US released a report criticising China's military spending, and voicing concern over advances in space and cyberspace.

China rejected the Pentagon report as a "serious distortion of facts" that could harm its relations with the US.

"It breaks international norms... We do not pose a threat to any country. The US should drop its Cold War mentality," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

In the report, Washington claimed that the real Chinese defence budget for 2007 was at least double the stated amount.

And other nations have also expressed concern about China's growing military power, and say Beijing is not open enough about what it is spending its money on.

Most of this year's military increase will be spent on increasing salaries and accommodating higher oil prices, according to Jiang Enzhu, a spokesman for China's National People's Congress, which begins its annual meeting on Wednesday.

Mr Jiang said spending on armaments would rise only moderately.
   
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"China pursues a national defence policy that is defensive in nature," he said.

"China's limited military capability is solely for the purpose of safeguarding independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and does not pose a threat to any other country."

He added that China spent less on defence, as a proportion of GDP, than the US, UK, France and Russia.

But the international community remains concerned.

This year's rise in military spending "will mark the 20th consecutive year that the Chinese military budget has increased by double digits," Japan's defence ministry said in a statement.

It called on China to "address the concerns of the international community".

US officials are particularly worried that China's growing military might could be aimed at Taiwan, a self-governing island which Beijing sees as part of its territory.

Beijing has threatened military attack if Taiwan declares independence, and the island's 22 March presidential election will be watched closely by the authorities on the mainland.

The US defence department released its annual report on Chinese military power on Monday evening.

The report said China was developing weapons that would disable its enemies' space technology - such as satellites - in the event of a conflict.

It expressed concern about China's decision to shoot down a defunct weather satellite in a test in January 2007.

It also said that "numerous" cyber intrusions into computer networks around the world, including some owned by the US administration, apparently originated in China.

David Sedney, a senior China specialist at the Pentagon, told reporters there was no call for US alarm, but he said that Washington was keen for Beijing to be clearer about the reasons behind its expanding military costs.

"I think the biggest thing for people to be concerned about, really, is the fact that we don't have that kind of strategic understanding of the Chinese intentions," he said. "And that leads to uncertainty."

In its report, the Pentagon estimated that China's total military spending in 2007 was between $97bn and $139bn.

Last month, the Bush administration requested $515bn for the next US fiscal year, not including extra spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There has recently been some progress in US-Chinese military relations, including the installation of a joint telephone hotline.

[nChrist]

Taiwan warned over independence
By Michael Bristow
BBC News, Beijing

China has warned that Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's government will pay a "dear price" if he continues moves towards independence for the island.

Jiang Enzhu, a parliament spokesman, said Beijing would "repulse" any pro-independence activities.

In a few weeks, Taiwan is due to hold a referendum on whether to apply to join the UN under the name Taiwan.

China considers Taiwan as part of its territory but the island has functioned independently for nearly 60 years.

Mr Jiang made the tough comments on Taiwan at a press conference outlining details for China's forthcoming legislative session.

"The attempts by the Chen Shui-bian authorities to push for a referendum on joining the UN under the name Taiwan is a... move towards 'de jure' independence for Taiwan," he said.

"If the Chen Shui-bian authorities should stubbornly continue down the path, they will surely pay a dear price."

He added that the referendum was tantamount to a referendum on Taiwanese independence.

Mr Jiang said China would pursue peaceful reunification between the two, but warned that there were other options available.

"We are fully prepared to repulse any adventurous activities aimed at Taiwan independence, and prevent anyone from separating Taiwan from China," he said.

China has previously threatened to attack the island - formally, and confusingly, known as the Republic of China - if it declares independence.

Taiwan has been self-governing since 1949, when the two sides split following a civil war in China.

But most countries officially recognise China's territorial claims over the island.

As well as holding a referendum later this month, Taiwan will also hold a presidential election.

The current president, independence-leaning Chen Shui-bian, will step down after eight years in office.

[nChrist]

China dust storm hits East Asia

The dust picks up toxins as it passes over Chinese factories.

A huge cloud of choking dust is passing over South Korea as the first sand storm of the year blows in from China.

South Korea has ordered schools to close and drivers in south-west Japan have been warned about low visibility from the dust clouds.

Every spring brings "yellow dust" storms which blow sand from China's Gobi Desert over the Koreas and Japan.

The dust storms have become more deadly each year as they pass over China's industrial zones picking up toxins.

South Korea blames dozens of deaths every year on the storms, mostly of elderly people and those with respiratory problems.

South Korean authorities advised parents to keep younger children at home to avoid the dust.

"We have advised the closure because kindergarten, primary school students have weaker immune systems," Min Eyu-gi, an education official in the southern city of Busan, told Reuters news agency.

Seasonal winds lasting from late February to April or May combine with dry winter weather to pick up millions of tonnes of sand from China's northern deserts.

The storms turn the sky a yellow colour and coat everything in a layer of fine dust.

[nChrist]

China talks tough over Darfur

China has issued an unusually energetic call to its ally, Sudan, to do more to stop fighting in Darfur.

The "humanitarian disaster" in the region was a grave concern to China's government, said its envoy Liu Guijin.

Mr Liu called for Khartoum to do more to speed up the arrival of peacekeepers in the region but he also criticised Darfur's rebel groups.

China is a key ally of the Sudanese government - buying its oil, selling it weapons and using its weight at the UN.

Mr Liu has just returned from a trip to Sudan which included Darfur.

He said he had been profoundly affected by things he had seen in the province.

He said he was also moved by the stories he had heard from Darfuris forced to flee their homes after five years of conflict.

China has been stung by Western accusations that it is colluding with the Sudanese government, and is eager to ensure the issue does not overshadow this year's Olympic Games in Beijing.

Last month, US film director Steven Spielberg pulled out as artistic adviser to the Olympics, saying that China had failed to use its influence on Khartoum over Darfur.

The BBC's Amber Henshaw in Khartoum says Beijing is keen to defend its economic interests but also wants to be seen to be taking a more aggressive stance against Khartoum in the run up to the Olympics.

She says when Mr Liu spoke to journalists in Khartoum last week he was much less outspoken.

Then he pointed out that China was a friend to Sudan and that the Chinese government was already doing a lot to work with the West over Darfur.

The United Nations says more than 200,000 have died in Darfur during the four-year conflict and at least two million have been displaced and live in camps.

[nChrist]

China sets Tibet protest deadline


The authorities in Tibet have given anti-Chinese protesters until Monday to surrender, following unrest that officials say left 10 people dead.

"The plot of the separatists will fail," the head of Tibet's government warned as sporadic clashes continued in the main city, Lhasa.

Police used tear gas to disperse groups of protesters in the city centre.

State media said those killed in earlier unrest were mainly business people who had been "burnt to death".

James Miles, a British journalist in the city, said the rioting on Saturday morning was not on the same scale as Friday.

Tibetans were looting the few remaining shops which had not been attacked, and throwing rocks.

Security forces responded with occasional volleys of tear gas, but not a full scale assault, the journalist said.

In a statement quoted by the state-run news agency Xinhua, the Tibetan government urged "the lawbreakers to give themselves in by Monday midnight" and promised that "leniency would be given to those who surrender".

   
Tibetan government Chairman Qiangba Puncog denounced the "plot of the separatists".

"We will challenge them firmly, according to law," AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

Police have cordoned off a few central sections of Lhasa and are on the lookout for signs of trouble, state media reported. Witnesses reported seeing tanks on the street.

A regional government official told Xinhua: "The victims [of Friday's violence] are all innocent civilians, and they have been burnt to death."

They included two hotel employees and two shop owners, according to the news agency.

It said electricity and telephone services, which were cut for much of Friday in Lhasa, were being restored.

A Tibetan in Lhasa told Reuters on Saturday: "If there is blood today it will be ours."

Western countries have expressed concern at the clashes, and US officials called on the Chinese to act with restraint.

The violence - the worst in Tibet since 1989 - erupted on the fifth day of largely peaceful protests that began on Monday's anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.

Fires broke out near the famous Jokhang temple, one of the most sacred sites for Tibetan Buddhists, and Xinhua reported that shops, banks and hotels were destroyed.

News agency pictures aired on Saturday showed young men setting fire to a Chinese flag and throwing rocks, while state media said police had fired tear gas to disperse protesters.

One eyewitness reported seeing people being carried away on stretchers.

The demonstrations - like last those September in Burma - were initially led by Buddhist monks and then attracted crowds of ordinary people.

From exile in India, the Dalai Lama called for an end to the violence and urged China to "address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue".

Chinese officials quoted by Xinhua alleged that the riots had been "organised, premeditated and masterminded by the Dalai clique" - which the spiritual leader denied.

Hollywood star Richard Gere - a strong supporter of the Tibetan cause - told the BBC he would support a boycott of the Beijing Olympics unless China granted basic freedoms to the territory.

BBC China editor Shirong Chen in Beijing says the Chinese government certainly does not want bloodshed five months before staging the Games.

On the other hand, it cannot allow the monks and other Tibetans to vent their anger in case this is seen as a sign of weakness, he says.

Many Tibetans claim their culture has been diluted or even destroyed by Beijing and they resent the local presence of Han Chinese, China's biggest ethnic group.

China says Tibet has always been part of its territory - although Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before the 20th Century. Many Tibetans remain loyal to the Dalai Lama, who fled in 1959.

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[nChrist]

US envoy urges N Korea progress

Progress was made at talks between the US and North Korea aimed at reviving the stalled nuclear deal but more headway is needed, the US envoy said.

Christopher Hill described his talks with counterpart Kim Kye-gwan in the Swiss city of Geneva as "substantive".

But he urged the North Korean side to "pick up the pace" of the negotiations.

North Korea agreed last year to end its nuclear activities in return for economic aid, but the deal is currently deadlocked.

The communist nation has closed its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, but it missed a year-end deadline to provide a complete declaration of all of its nuclear activities.

In a late-night news conference, Mr Hill said the two sides had "had good discussions on all substantive issues".

At issue is whether or not Pyongyang has a secret programme to enrich uranium for weapons purposes, and whether it has transferred nuclear technology overseas.

North Korea denies both allegations and says it has already given Washington full details of all its nuclear activities.

"We have really had to challenge and to work with them on [the two issues]," Mr Hill said.

"I'm not really in a position to tell whether we've resolved that except to say that I think we've made some progress today."

He also called on North Korea to accelerate the pace of the talks.

"We are already in March and we have some ambitions for trying to get through this in 2008. There is no question we need to move faster," he said.

Mr Kim told reporters he was "satisfied" with the talks.

The two men would now return to their respective capitals to brief top leaders, Mr Hill said.

North Korea carried out a nuclear test in October 2006.

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[Shammu]

China blankets Tibetan areas with troops

By GREG BAKER, Associated Press Writer Thu Mar 20, 3:46 PM ET

ZHONGDIAN, China - China blanketed restive Tibetan areas Thursday with a huge buildup of troops, turning small towns across a wide swath of western China into armed encampments.

Beijing acknowledged that last week's anti-government protests had spread far beyond Tibet's borders and that police opened fire on protesters. It warned foreign tourists and journalists to stay away from a huge expanse of territory across four provinces.

In an overture of peace, the Dalai Lama offered to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other leaders, reiterating that he was not asking for Tibetan independence.

China has repeatedly ignored calls for dialogue, accusing the exiled Tibetan leader and his supporters of organizing violence in hopes of sabotaging the upcoming Beijing Olympics and promoting Tibetan independence.

Hundreds of paramilitary troops aboard at least 80 trucks were seen traveling along the main road winding through the mountains into southeastern Tibet. Others set up camp and patrolled streets in riot gear, helmets and rifles in the town of Tiger Leaping Gorge, a tourist attraction in Yunnan province bordering Tibet.

Farther north, the largely Tibetan town of Zhongdian, renamed Shangri-la a decade ago, was swarmed by 400 armed police. Many carried rifles and what appeared to be tear gas launchers. Residents walked freely among the military, and there was no sign of a daytime curfew.

The troop mobilization was helping authorities reassert control after the broadest, most sustained protests by Tibetans against Chinese rule in decades. Demonstrations had flared across Tibetan areas of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces in support of protests that started in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.

Led by Buddhist monks, protests had begun peacefully in Lhasa early last week but erupted into rioting on March 14, drawing a harsh response from Chinese authorities.

The crackdown drew worldwide attention to China's human rights record, threatening to overshadow Beijing's attempts to project an image of unity and prosperity in the lead-up to the Aug. 8-24 Olympics.

On Thursday, a group of 26 Nobel laureates said they "deplore and condemn the Chinese government's violent crackdown on Tibetan protesters," calling for Beijing to exercise restraint.

"We protest the unwarranted campaign waged by the Chinese government against our fellow Nobel Laureate, his holiness the Dalai Lama," the group said in a statement released by the Elie Wiesel Foundation.

Tibetan exile groups have said 80 people were killed in the protest and its aftermath, while Beijing maintains that 16 died and more than 300 were injured.

Tibetan television in Lhasa showed video Thursday of black-clad police arresting 24 men. Handcuffed against a wall, the men — some young, some old — were charged with "endangering national security, beating, smashing, looting and burning."

The two remaining foreign journalists in Tibet — Georg Blume of Germany and Kristin Kupfer of Austria — were forced to leave Lhasa on Thursday, according to Reporters Without Borders. Earlier this week, Economist correspondent James Miles and a group of 15 Hong Kong reporters were forced out.

Speaking from the seat of his government-in-exile in Dharmsala, India, the Dalai Lama offered to meet with Hu and other Chinese leaders but said he would not travel to Beijing unless there was a "real concrete development."

"The whole world knows the Dalai Lama is not seeking independence, one hundred times, thousand times I have repeated this. It is my mantra — we are not seeking independence," the 72-year-old Dalai Lama told reporters.

"The Tibet problem must be solved between Tibetan people and Chinese people," he said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, expressed "grave concern" over a planned meeting between British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Dalai Lama, telling Brown not to offer support to the Tibetans' exiled spiritual leader.

China says the riots and protests were organized from abroad by the Dalai Lama and his supporters.

Reinforcing that claim, state broadcaster China Central Television aired a 15-minute program Thursday night, showing how Tibetan rioters rampaged through Lhasa last week but none of the ensuing police crackdown.

Video from security cameras showed burned shops, wounded Chinese and a knife-wielding Tibetan standing atop a police car. Buddhist monks were shown throwing sticks and other debris at riot police in a scuffle on March 10, in an attempt to portray the protests as having been started by monks.

But authorities have moved to clamp down on unrest in Tibet and surrounding provinces, where more than half of China's 5.4 million Tibetans live. Moving from town to town, police have set up blockades and checkpoints to keep Tibetans in and reporters out.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China is "suggesting" foreigners stay out of Gansu and Sichuan provinces for safety reasons.

But tour operators in the provinces said foreigners were barred from traveling in those areas and tour groups were banned from Tibet, isolating a region about four times the size of France.

An employee at the Nine Lakes Travel Agency in Lanzhou, Gansu province, said she had heard about recent protests and unrest in many counties around the province.

"Tourists are not allowed to enter the seven counties affected because it considered dangerous at the moment. It is not safe to travel here at this time," she said, refusing to give her name for fear of reprisal.

Despite the massive security, protests have continued to crop up in towns in Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu provinces.

The official Xinhua News Agency said police shot and wounded four rioters "in self-defense" during violent protests Sunday in Aba County in Sichuan. It is the first time the government has acknowledged shooting any protesters during the unrest.

A Tibetan resident in Aba County said Thursday she had heard of numerous arrests of protesters.

"There are many, many troops outside. I'm afraid to leave the house," said the woman, who refused to give her name for fear of retaliation by authorities. Police could be heard shouting from loudspeakers for protesters to turn themselves in.

Troops blocked roads in nearby Sertar, also in Sichuan, confining residents to their homes, said a woman reached there by phone. The London-based Free Tibet Campaign reported that troops had been sent to the county after residents blew up a bridge near the village of Gudu.

A hotel worker in central Luqu County, in neighboring Gansu province, said she had not left the hotel in four days because she was afraid.

"On the 16th, hundreds of Tibetan protesters marched in the streets, throwing rocks and breaking windows. The streets are now filled with police officers," she said, refusing to give her name for fear of reprisal. "Our hotel is booked out with tourists, but no one feels safe enough to set foot outside."

China blankets Tibetan areas with troops

[Shammu]

North Korea fires short-range missiles off western coast
March 28, 2008

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea fired short-range missiles off its western coast Friday, a move the United States said was not illegal but a diversion from the work North Korea needs to do to finish a complete declaration of its nuclear program.

 The South Korean government, which has been taking a harder line toward the north, dismissed the importance of the firings.

"The government regards North Korea's missile firing as merely a part of its ordinary military training," South Korean presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan told the Yonhap news agency.

"The South Korean government will just continue to watch the missile-related situation carefully," he said. "We're convinced that North Korea doesn't want inter-Korean relations to deteriorate."

A U.S. official said any such short-range missile tests do not constitute a violation of the missile moratoriums, and North Korea didn't break any agreements.

However, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said North Korea's time would be better spent finishing a complete declaration of its nuclear program for the United States and its partners, who have been negotiating the nuclear issue with the country.

 Pyongyang agreed last year to dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for economic aid and better relations with the United States. North Korea still must finish the nuclear disablement process for the first phase of the agreement, McCormack told an informal gathering of reporters.

Once that's done, the rest of the parties -- Russia, China, Japan and South Korea -- will fulfill their obligations, he said. North Korea has already made an "incredible amount of progress" on disablement, McCormack said.

The firings came a day after the Seoul government pulled 11 of its diplomats from an industrial park the two countries operate in North Korea.

Their departure followed comments made last week by South Korean Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong. He said it would be hard to expand the industrial complex without North Korean progress on denuclearization.

North Korea cited the minister's remarks as a reason for demanding that the South Korean diplomats leave, Yonhap reported.

North Korea fires short-range missiles off western coast

[Shammu]

North Koreans resort to auto batteries, bicycle generators to cope with electricity shortages
March 27, 2008

North Korea continues to face widespread electricity shortages, according to a South Korean newsletter published by defectors from the North.

“These days, those well-to-do in rural areas use an electric generator to power lights and watch TV,” one North Korean visitor with relatives in the north was quoted as saying.

The Daily NK reported last week that visitors to North Korea reported chronic shortages of electrical power.

“People overcome the shortage of electricity on their own. They import a large number of batteries from China. In addition, there are many households that have bicycle generators," he said. "Even though no electricity is provided by the state, people can manage to get by. Indeed, they get used to the shortage of electricity and can solve the problem on their own."

Auto batteries are highly sought after in cities, since the batteries can be recharged.

Cities are powered twice daily from 8 am to 1 pm and from 8 pm to 11 pm, times during which people charge their batteries.

In rural areas, bicycle generators are common sources of electricity. “Many rural villages have received no electricity from the state since the arduous march," or the mass starvation period in the 1990s, the visitor said. "Even if the state does provide electricity, some rural villages would not be able to receive it because electric poles have been uprooted at many places," the visitor said. “So a great number of rural people began to use bicycle generators to generate electricity on their own."

A generator is connected to the rear wheel of the bicycle and peddling produces electricity, although it is unsteady.

Asked if North Koreans complain about the shortages, the visitor said: “Do you think the government has ever provided anything for its people? These days, people have become accustomed to making a living with their own hands even if there is no provision from the government.”

North Koreans resort to auto batteries, bicycle generators to cope with electricity shortages

[nChrist]

Saturday, March 29, 2008

International organizations call for religious freedom and global prayer for China

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

ZURICH. SWITZERLAND (ANS) -- Several key organizations that work with the persecuted church around the world have launched a global campaign calling for prayer for China.

In what is called “The Zurich Statement,” the Religious Liberty Partnership (RLP), with member organizations that include China Aid Association, Open Doors International, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, the Voice of the Martyrs (Canada), and the Religious Liberty Commission of World Evangelical Alliance, have called the worldwide Christian community to pray for China during this Summer Olympics year.

The Zurich Statement acknowledges some important progress made in China over the past few decades and raises the hope that this will translate into the removal of remaining obstacles to the full expression of faith and an end to serious violations of religious freedom. In addition, the Statement recognizes potential of the Chinese nation as a significant political and economic force for the furtherance of regional and global peace.

“This historic statement reaffirms the solidarity of the international Christian community with the Chinese faithful esp. the persecuted House Church, “ said Bob Fu who represents China Aid at the Zurich meeting, “ We pray the true religious freedom in China will finally be realized soon.”

“The call for prayer is rooted in the fact that the RLP felt it was time to acknowledge some progress in China’s attitude toward religious liberty and also the part Christians play at all levels of Chinese society,” stated Mervyn Thomas, CEO of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, UK, and Chairman of the RLP leadership team.

“There is still a very long way to go and religious freedom is something very alien to many Christians in China. However Christians all over the world have been praying for their Chinese family for many years and I believe we are beginning to see the impact of those prayers today."

“What a change we have seen in the nearly 30 years since my first visit to China,” said Johan Compajen of Open Doors International in Holland and a member of the RLP leadership team. “In spite of many obstacles, the Church in China has multiplied. What seemed impossible in the past has happened because around the world we joined the Chinese Christians in prayer and our Chinese brothers and sisters have been willing to pay the price for following Jesus. If we continue to pray, we may be surprised by what God will do in the coming 30 years.”

The Religious Liberty Partnership (RLP) is a collaborative effort of Christian organizations focused on religious liberty. The RLP seeks to more intentionally work together in addressing advocacy and in raising the awareness of religious persecution globally. The current membership of the RLP is listed on the Zurich Statement.

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[Shammu]

North Korea Threatens South Korea With Destruction Over Comments

Sunday , March 30, 2008

AP
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SEOUL, South Korea —
North Korea threatened South Korea with destruction Sunday after Seoul's top military officer said it would consider attacking the communist nation if it tried to carry out a nuclear attack.

"Our military will not sit idle until warmongers launch a pre-emptive strike," the North's official Korean Central News agency said. "Everything will be in ashes, not just a sea of fire, if our advanced pre-emptive strike once begins."

The statement, issued by an unidentified military commentator, marked the third straight day of bellicose rhetoric from North Korea, which is angry over the harsher line South Korea's new president has taken against Pyongyang since assuming office last month.

On Friday North Korea test-fired a barrage of missiles into the sea and warned that it would "mercilessly wipe out" any South Korean warships that violate its waters near their disputed sea border.

Such rhetoric from North Korea is not rare during times of increased tensions. The latest came just two days before a scheduled visit to South Korea by the chief U.S. negotiator in North Korean nuclear disarmament talks.

The statement Sunday also warned that the North would suspend all scheduled inter-Korean dialogue unless Seoul retracts and apologizes for a remark by its new top military leader.

Kim Tae-young, chairman of the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a parliamentary hearing Wednesday that the military would strike a suspected North Korean nuclear weapons site if Pyongyang attempted to attack the South with atomic bombs.

His office later said he was talking about a general military principle dealing with outside threats — not about launching an unprovoked pre-emptive attack on the North.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said Sunday that it would decide whether to send a response to the North over its demand for a retraction in a few days.

The North Korean military commentator reaffirmed that Pyongyang was forced to take a firm step: banning South Korean officials, including military officers, from crossing the two countries' border.

Pyongyang did not say when the ban would take effect or how long it would last.

South Korean officials have occasionally traveled across the two countries' heavily fortified border for talks.

North Korea Threatens South Korea With Destruction Over Comments

[Soldier4Christ]

 The number of religious believers in China could be 3 times higher than official estimates

In a recent survey taken by the Chinese State Media it has been revealed that more than thirty percent of the people of China above the age of sixteen consider themselves as "religious", which could be three times higher than what the Chinese officials had estimated.

This report suggests that three hundred million people nationwide in China could be religious, compared to the official figure of one hundred million, allowing this report to back up suspicions that religion has been enjoying a resurgence in China over the past twenty years and this as the communist party disapproval of the exercise of religion has eased up somewhat.

The recent survey taken in China of the country's religious beliefs revealed that even an atheistic nation is vulnerable to the spread of the truth as will be the case across the entire world in the future days of judgment, that according to Bible prophecy.

Reports in recent years coming out of Communist China indicated there were millions of Christians in the underground church that were being jailed or persecuted for their beliefs. Hundreds of missionaries have worked closely with this underground church to distribute Bibles, to witness to Chinese people in the street, and to otherwise try to spread the message of Christ to a needy people.

Now, the official Chinese media are reporting that the government's estimates may be way off with three times what they had estimated as the number of believers in China. What's unique about this report is that it is similar to the report that will come out of the Tribulation Period, a seven year period of judgment yet in the future, the time between the Rapture of the Church and the return of Jesus Christ to Earth.

The book of Revelation tells of two witnesses, two preachers, that will be located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the first half of the Tribulation Period and they will have a ministry that will turn people to Christianity and Jesus Christ, that's Revelation 11:3-7. Revelation 7:4-9 speaks of one hundred and forty four thousand Jewish men coming to Christ and then they will spread across the world to preach the gospel to everyone on Earth.

In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 24:14 that when everyone on Earth had heard the gospel during that seven year Tribulation Period, He would return to the Earth to setup His Kingdom.

[nChrist]

Hello Pastor Roger,

Brother Roger, I read an article recently that estimated over 200 million Christians around the world facing some kind of persecution every day simply because they are Christians. The high end of their estimate was 400 million Christians, and the source was reputable. YET, many are still asking CHRIST to be the LORD over their lives - even though their decision could easily result in being disowned by their families, shunned in their own country, beaten, imprisoned, or killed. SO, JESUS CHRIST is more important than these other critical life issues, AND THIS IS RIGHTFULLY SO!

Our safety and liberty to worship GOD is something we need to give thanks for every day. I think this safety and liberty is being removed faster than we think, so we should never take any of our blessings for granted.

[Soldier4Christ]

Beijing troops on streets of Zimbabwean city
10 Chinese soldiers armed with pistols checked in to Holiday Inn

Chinese troops have been seen on the streets of Zimbabwe's third largest city, Mutare, according to local witnesses. They were seen patrolling with Zimbabwean soldiers before and during Tuesday's ill-fated general strike called by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Earlier, 10 Chinese soldiers armed with pistols checked in at the city's Holiday Inn along with 70 Zimbabwean troops.

One eyewitness, who asked not to be named, said: "We've never seen Chinese soldiers in full regalia on our streets before. The entire delegation took 80 rooms from the hotel, 10 for the Chinese and 70 for Zimbabwean soldiers."

Officially, the Chinese were visiting strategic locations such as border posts, key companies and state institutions, he said. But it is unclear why they were patrolling at such a sensitive time. They were supposed to stay five days, but left after three to travel to Masvingo, in the south.

China's support for President Mugabe's regime has been highlighted by the arrival in South Africa of a ship carrying a large cache of weapons destined for Zimbabwe's armed forces. Dock workers in Durban refused to unload it.

The 300,000-strong South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) said it would be "grossly irresponsible" to touch the cargo of ammunition, grenades and mortar rounds on board the Chinese ship An Yue Jiang anchored outside the port.

A Satawu spokesman Randall Howard said: "Our members employed at Durban container terminal will not unload this cargo, neither will any of our members in the truck-driving sector move this cargo by road. South Africa cannot be seen to be facilitating the flow of weapons into Zimbabwe at a time where there is a political dispute and a volatile situation between Zanu-PF and the MDC."

Three million rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades and more than 3,000 mortar rounds and mortar tubes are among the cargo on the Chinese ship, according to copies of the inventory published by a South African newspaper.

According to Beeld, the documentation for the shipment was completed on 1 April, three days after the presidential vote.

Zimbabwe and China have close military ties. Three years ago, Mr Mugabe signed extensive trade pacts with the Chinese as part of the "Look East" policy forced on him by his ostracising by Western governments over human rights abuses. The deal gave the Chinese mineral and trade concessions in exchange for economic help.

The shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague called on David Miliband to demand a cessation of arms shipments.

A South African government spokesman Themba Maseko said it would be difficult to stop the shipment.