Chronologies
US - China
Chronology from Jan 2003 to Mar 2003
: Jerry D. Jennings, deputy assistant security of defense for POW and missing personnel affairs, concludes visit to China during which specialists discuss cooperation in resolving POW and MIA cases. The team explored options for gaining information from Chinese archival materials at the national and provincial levels.
: China provides an exit visa to Tibet’s longest-serving female political prisoner, Ngawang Sangdrol, permitting her to seek medical treatment in the U.S.
: South Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Yang-kwan meets with Secretary Powell in Washington.
: Charles Li, a U.S. citizen, is sentenced to three years in prison and deportation by a Chinese court after being convicted of sabotaging broadcast facilities in connection with the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement.
: Ambassador Hubbard says U.S. will meet directly with North Korea in a multilateral setting.
: Secretary Powell phones State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan who relates China’s position that military actions against Iraq should avoid civilian casualties and calls for an immediate halt to U.S. military operations in Iraq.
: The China-U.S. Metropolis Green Environment Seminar convenes in Beijing to discuss construction of green metropolises.
: President Bush phones Hu to congratulate him on his election as Chinese president and discusses Iraq, North Korea, and China-U.S. relations.
: KPA turns down UN Command offer of general officer-level talks to explain current joint military exercises in South Korea; U.S. Secretary Powell rejects North Korean demand for direct talks in lieu of multilateral framework; Pentagon announces U.S. and South Korea will develop a realignment blueprint by Sept. 2003.
: Newly appointed Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing confers by phone with Secretary Powell on Iraq.
: At the conclusion of the annual session of the NPC President Jiang steps down and Hu Jintao, current party secretary, is named as his successor.
: President Bush thanks President Roh for South Korean support on Iraq. Nuclear carrier USS Vinson arrives in Pusan to participate in military exercises.
: The U.S. announces it will send up to six radar-avoiding F-117A “stealth” warplanes to South Korea for “Foal Eagle” exercise.
: The House of Representatives unanimously passes a bill authorizing the U.S. to seek observer status for Taiwan at the World Health Organization.
: North Korea conducts second test launch of antiship missile.
: Presidents Bush and Jiang have a scheduled phone conversation on the subjects of North Korea and Iraq.
: North Korea rejects U.S. proposal of multilateral talks, insisting on direct negotiations.
: ROK Defense Ministry formally protests North’s interception of U.S. reconnaissance plane.
: FM Tang meets with Secretary Powell on the sidelines of the UNSC meeting on Iraq.
: ROK Prime Minister Goh Kun calls for U.S. forces to remain in Korea for deterrent purposes.
: Two top U.S. aerospace companies, Hughes Electronics Corporation, a unit of General Motors, and Boeing Satellite Systems, agree to pay a record $32 million in fines to settle civil charges that they unlawfully transferred rocket and satellite data to China in the 1990s.
: The 10th National People’s Congress (NPC) opens in Beijing, China.
: Operation “Foal Eagle” begins for Combined Forces Command, testing force deployment, protection, command and control between U.S. and ROK forces; Defense Secretary Rumsfeld deploys 24 long-range bombers to Guam, within range of North Korea.
: DPRK fighter intercept and shadow a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane over the Sea of Japan about 150 miles off the DPRK coast.
: U.S. reports that North Korea has restarted its 5-megawatt Yongbyon reactor.
: U.S. Customs Service Deputy Commissioner Douglas Browning speaks at Terminal Operations Conference 2003 in Hong Kong entitled “Pushing Security Borders Back to Origin.”
: Roh Moo-hyun is inaugurated as president of the Republic of Korea. Secretary of State Colin Powell leads U.S. delegation, says U.S. will resume food aid to North Korea.
: State Department issues annual report on human rights. It concludes that although legal reforms in China continued in 2003, “there was backsliding on key human rights issues during the year, including arrests of individuals discussing sensitive subjects on the Internet, health activists, labor protesters, defense lawyers, journalists, house church members, and others seeking to take advantage of the space created by reforms.”
: State Department issues annual report on human rights. It concludes that although legal reforms in China continued in 2003, “there was backsliding on key human rights issues during the year, including arrests of individuals discussing sensitive subjects on the Internet, health activists, labor protesters, defense lawyers, journalists, house church members, and others seeking to take advantage of the space created by reforms.”
: North Korea tests antiship missile, one day prior to President Roh’s inauguration.
: Xiong Guangkai, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, meets with a delegation of officers from the U.S. National Defense University Capstone Program.
: Secretary Powell holds a press conference in Beijing after talks with Chinese leaders; participants include China Youth Daily, USA Today, CCTV, CNN, and 21st Century World Herald.
: Secretary Powell holds talks in Beijing with Chinese leaders.
: Ambassador Hubbard says U.S. is reviewing consolidation of military bases in Korea, including relocation of Yongsan army base in downtown Seoul.
: North Korean MiG-19 fighter penetrates South Korean airspace, turning back before being intercepted. Incoming National Security Advisor Ra Jong-il meets with North Korean official in Beijing, urging inter-Korean summit meeting.
: Ambassador Hubbard foresees possibility for new “division of roles” between U.S. and ROK military forces in future realignment; North Korea threatens to abandon 1953 Armistice that ended Korean War.
: Ambassador J. Cofer Black, director of the State Department’s anti-terrorism office, visits Beijing to conduct the third China-U.S. antiterrorism consultation and the second consultation on financial antiterrorism.
: Four Chinese intellectuals hand petition (signed by 906 scholars and students) to U.S. Embassy officials in Beijing opposing the war in Iraq.
: North Korea announces it will build four more nuclear power plants, each bigger than Yongbyon.
: Robert Zoellick, the United States trade representative, travels to Beijing, Chongqing, and Shenzhen to discuss issues in U.S.-Chinese trade.
: North Korea says it has the ability to strike U.S. military targets anywhere in the world. President-elect Roh says he will strive to prevent new Korean war even if it means disagreement with the U.S.
: USTR Robert B. Zoellick stops in Beijing as part of a multi-nation tour to promote strategic dialogue on trade liberalization and global development.
: USTR Robert B. Zoellick stops in Beijing as part of a multi-nation tour to promote strategic dialogue on trade liberalization and global development.
: China, a member of the IAEA Board of Governors, votes to refer the North Korean nuclear issue to the UN Security Council.
: The IAEA declares the DPRK in breach of its nuclear nonproliferation commitments and refers the matter to the Security Council.
: North and South Korean officials discuss inter-Korean economic issues in Seoul.
: Director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff Richard Haass holds talks with Chinese counterparts on a broad range of international security issues.
: Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet delivers the “The Worldwide Threat in 2003: Evolving Dangers in a Complex World,” which contains a section on China.
: President Bush phones President Jiang to urge him to do more to help resolve the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
: Joint U.S.-ROK panel gives Korean prosecutors greater rights to question U.S. soldiers for off-duty alleged crimes.
: FM Tang meets Secretary Powell in New York as both attend a UNSC meeting.
: North Korea says it is prepared to counter “U.S. plans to invade amid a nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula.”
: At World Economic Forum, U.S. and South Korean officials exchange proposals on multilateral framework for addressing nuclear issue with North Korea.
: In statement concluding inter-Korean talks, South and North Korea agree nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully.
: Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs John Bolton says U.S. expects North Korea nuclear issue will be referred to UN Security Council.
: Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya and Under Secretary of State John Bolton hold the first round of China-U.S. vice-foreign-ministerial-level consultations on strategic security, multilateral arms control, and counterproliferation in Beijing.
: On the eve of an antiterrorism meeting of foreign ministers sponsored by the United Nations Security Council, China’s FM Tang meets Secretary Powell.
: Ambassador Thomas Hubbard says U.S. will aid North Korea if it abandons nuclear program.
: Charles Kartman says construction of Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) project still going forward; Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage says U.S. has no hostile intent toward North Korea.
: South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-hyun urges U.S. to open talks with North Korea on peaceful resolution of nuclear issue.
: President Jiang meets a delegation from the U.S.-China Interparliamentary Exchange of the U.S. House of Representatives led by Don Manzullo.
: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly visits Beijing from Seoul to discuss the impasse over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs.
: The third meeting of the U.S.-China Working Group on Climate Change is held in Beijing.
: U.S. Asst. Secretary of State James Kelly meets President-elect Roh Moo-hyun and begins consultations with ROK officials on North Korean nuclear issue.
: South Korea and Russia jointly urge North Korea not to withdraw from NPT.
: North Korea announces it is withdrawing from Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), South Korean Foreign Ministry calls on North Korea to cancel its decision.
: President George W. Bush talks by phone with Chinese President Jiang Zemin following North Korea’s announcement it is withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
: Secretary of State Colin Powell talks to Chinese FM Tang Jiaxuan by phone about North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
: U.S, South Korea, and Japan hold Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group (TCOG) meeting.
: The CIA issues a report on weapons proliferation trends covering July 1-Dec. 31, 2001 that cites China as a key supplier of various technologies and weapons expertise.
: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopts resolution on North Korean cooperation and compliance.