After eight months of inaction, there was a flurry of six-party action at quarter’s end. As Pyongyang produced its declaration of its nuclear activities, President Bush announced his intention to remove North Korea from the U.S. listing of state sponsors of terrorism and Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) restrictions. Pyongyang responded with a demolition of the cooling tower at its Yongbyon nuclear facility. Elsewhere, reactions to natural disasters showed how far China has come and Myanmar/Burma still has to go in dealing with the outside world. There was a generally positive reaction to Secretary Gates’ Shangri-La statements on U.S. East Asia policy. In contrast, there has been almost no reaction at all to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s call for a more inclusive Asia-Pacific community. Democracy seemed to be struggling in Thailand and in Mongolia. With this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting scheduled for Peru in November, and with leaders from China, South Korea, and India among the invited guests to the July 6-8 summit at Lake Toyako, the G8 meeting will likely serve as President Bush’s last opportunity for East Asia multilateral summitry.
-Regional Overview: Action for Action, with Mixed Reaction
-U.S.-Japan Relations: Looking toward Elections
-U.S.-China Relations: Chock-full of Dialogue: SED, Human Rights, and Security
-U.S.-Korea Relations: What's the Beef About?
-U.S.-Russia Relations: Is It Interests or Values?
-U.S.-Southeast Asia Relations: U.S. Frustrated as Burma Obstructs Cyclone Relief
-China-Southeast Asia Relations: Cyclone, Earthquake Put Spotlight on China
-China-Taiwan Relations: Dialogue Resumes in Relaxed Atmosphere
-North Korea-South Korea Relations: Lee Outflanked
-China-Korea Relations: Establishing a "Strategic Cooperative Partnership"
-Japan-China Relations: Progress in Building a Strategic Relationship
-Japan-Korea Relations: Tentative Improvement through Pragmatism
-China-Russia Relations: Medvedev's Ostpolitik and Sino-Russia Relations
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