Daily Kor for December 25, 2009: Peacekeeping on Earth, bad will beyond the Tumen

I dozed off while tracking Santa via NORAD, so this is me getting up the next morning to finish the news report I should have done about seven or eight hours ago. Nothing has actually changed: Japanese textbooks are still removing the claim to Tokto but speaking euphemistically about territorial claims (which, to be fair, includes things other than Tokto). A step in the right direction for good relations, I suppose. And other stuff, too, but none of it really comes together for a Yuletide theme.

1. In absence of direct mention of Tokto but a general description that Japanese students understand territorial problems, Seoul reiterates its position that there is no territorial dispute with Tokyo (Xinhua)
2. Crew of plane carrying tons of North Korean weapons detained for at least twelve more days (ABC, WSJ, AP via WaPo)
3. National Assembly passes bill allowing for quick deployment of ROK troops for UN peacekeeping operations (Korea Times)
4. Korea Institute for Defense Analyses believes North Korea could conduct a third nuclear test (AP via WaPo, Yonhap)
5. South Korea is considering a cap-and-trade scheme to control greenhouse gases (Yonhap)
6. North Korean authorities detain "obese, jocular" deer herder crossing Tuman River (Yonhap)

• Finnish embassy in Pyongyang demands to see prisoner (AFP)
• Confiscated goods include DVDs, MP3 players, and extensive list of contacts (AP via WaPo)
• KCNA releases Dear Leader's favorite venison recipes (Xinhua)