2003.10.25

DPRK-US (VOA) Breakthrough seen in the nuclear standoff with North Korea. Pyongyang indicates willingness to accept written guarantee from Washington that United States will not attack. This is a complete reversal from the DPRK's stance earlier this week when it called the Bush proposal "laughable" and not worth considering. South Korea tonight welcomed the statement from the North, calling it a positive development. The statement was carried on the Korean Central News Agency wire. As of 1200 UTC, the official mouthpiece Voice of Korea made no mention of it in its newscasts which were filled with reports of dictator Kim Jong Il visiting troops. Meanwhile Japan says North Korea today apparently launched a third missile of the week into the Sea of Japan. The missile firings are believe to be part of training exercises and a Japanese government spokesman told NHK that Japan "will react calmly" to the launches.       2003.10.25

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Imperial Fraud (Mainichi) More on the fake Japanese "Imperial" prince who apparently was connected to an extremist (uyoku) organization and used the posh City Club, in the basement of the Canadian Embassy, where he was a member, for the bogus wedding reception.   2003.10.25

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News Analysis: Bush finds perception gap in Asia [IHT: Asia & Pacific] Bush appears perplexed by views on the U.S.   2003.10.25

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Yamaguchi-gumi HQ raided in probe of loan-shark empire [The Japan Times] The shocker here is that these massive organized crime operations are basicaly ignored by the authorities most of the time. In this case it appears that the fact the group was pocketing billions of dollars from endebted civilians was too big to ignore.   2003.10.25

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