US Wants More Monitors for North Korea Food Program Last Updated: Dec 10 2008 8:29AM The United States said Tuesday it wants more outside personnel sent to North Korea to monitor distribution of food aid in the communist country. A monitoring dispute has slowed relief efforts led by the United Nations' World Food program. Former N. Korean defectors participate in a rally near a photo showing a N. Korean child suffering from famine, in Seoul, 09 Dec 2008 The Bush administration says it wants to fully implement the North Korea food aid program it committed to earlier this year, but it says it wants more monitors sent to that country to assure that U.S.-provided food reaches those truly in need. The United States announced in May that it was resuming food aid to North Korea for the first time since 2005 in response to warnings from aid agencies that the country faced devastating food shortages.   Japan PM Aso To Raise Territorial Spat With China's Wen Last Updated: Dec 10 2008 8:24AM Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso will raise the thorny issue of a territorial row involving Chinese survey ships when he meets Premier Wen Jiabao this weekend, officials said Tuesday. Aso will speak to Wen about the intrusion into waters that Tokyo considers its own when the pair meet Saturday in southwest Japan, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said. "Prime Minister Taro Aso will raise what needs to be discussed about this case in his meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao," Nakasone told reporters. Japan lodged an official protest Monday after the Chinese ships were spotted six kilometres (four miles) southeast of the uninhabited Senkaku, or Diaoyu, islands in the East China Sea, claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan.   Coast Guard Urges Chinese Survey Ships To Leave Waters Near Disputed Islands Last Updated: Dec 8 2008 8:37AM Japan's coast guard urged Chinese survey ships to leave waters near disputed islands in the East China Sea on Monday, and the government lodged a protest with Beijing, officials said. The two maritime survey ships entered waters surrounding the Japan-held islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, earlier in the day, the coast guard said. "Despite repeated warnings issued by radio from our patrol boat, the Chinese ships are still within our waters," said coast guard official Kazuya Ono. Japan also lodged a protest with China over the entry, but Beijing responded by saying it was checking facts, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.   Taiwan's Ex-Intelligence Chief Gets 10-Year Jail Term On Graft Last Updated: Dec 4 2008 8:34AM A Taiwanese court on Thursday sentenced a former intelligence chief to 10 years in prison for his involvement in a corruption scandal implicating ex-president Chen Shui-bian. Former Bureau of Investigation director Yeh Sheng-mao was convicted of influence peddling, concealing documents and leaking secrets to Chen while he was president, said an official at the Taipei district court. Yeh was also found guilty of leaking secrets to a lawmaker in a separate case and received a combined 10-year imprisonment, the official said. The court refused Yeh bail while he decides whether or not to appeal against the ruling.   Taiwan's Air Force Denies Transporting Cash For Ex-President Last Updated: Dec 3 2008 8:23AM Taiwan's air force on Wednesday denied allegations that it assisted former president Chen Shui-bian by smuggling cash, as a money laundering probe into the detained Chen's activities continued. "The air force abided by the rules strictly to operate the presidential jet and didn't do anything outside the law," it said in a statement. The comment came after fresh accusations that Chen used the presidential jet to smuggle US$5.17 million in cash to the Pacific Ocean island of Palau during a state visit there in 2006. Kuomintang lawmaker Chiu Yi, one of the first politicians to allege Chen's role in taking bribes, money laundering and embezzlement, made the claim on Taiwanese television that the money was stashed aboard the jet when it departed for the state trip. Chen's office has flatly denied the allegations and has threatened to sue political commentator Sisy Chen for making similar claims last week in a column for the Apple Daily newspaper, for what it regards as a smear against the ex-leader.