DPRK MISSILES PROVOKE PUBLIC ANGER AT ROKG AND

UNCLAS SEOUL 002458 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PREF PGOV KS KN SUBJECT: DPRK MISSILES PROVOKE PUBLIC ANGER AT ROKG AND JAPAN ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The July 5 DPRK missile tests appear to be causing public ire, but not necessarily at the DPRK. According to polling agencies and our own informal "man-on-the-street" survey, many South Korean citizens are angry at their government's relatively slow response to the launches. More still are angry at Japan's reaction, which was perceived as being too extremist. Few expressed outrage at North Korea or any sense of panic. END SUMMARY POLLS SHOW DISGUST AT ROKG AND JAPAN -------------- ¶2. (U) On July 12, Heo Jin-jae from Gallup Korea told us that immediately after the launches, South Korean citizens seemed "indifferent" to the North Korean missile tests. However, more recent internet polling indicates that opinions are forming that the ROKG responded too slowly, while Japan responded promptly, but too aggressively. Maeil Economy News, in an ongoing internet opinion poll that began July 7, found that out of 2,556 respondents so far, 86 percent said they felt ROK security policy was inadequate compared to neighboring countries; 69 percent indicated that the ROKG should take the present opportunity to reevaluate the issue of humanitarian assistance in general. In a poll of over 2000 people conducted by Nate News from July 10 to 17, 91 percent said that regardless of the North Korea missile launches, the ROKG should strongly oppose Japan's discussion of pre-emptive strikes. KOREAN STREET MIFFED AT ROKG -------------- ¶3. (U) Similar themes surfaced in our July 16 to 19 nonscientific survey of about 30 South Koreans in downtown Seoul. A man in his fifties said, "It is our fault. Starting with Kim Dae-Jung, we kept giving them (NK) so much and received nothing in return." Another man, a store clerk in his forties remarked, "We have spoiled North Korea and now the situation is out of our hands." ¶4. (U) Many thought that the ROKG should have initially sent a stronger message condemning the missile launches. An elderly woman in her seventies spoke to this point: "I am sick and tired of the idiots in the Blue House who keep catering to the North. The government will never learn from their mistakes." Moreover, some people lamented the ROKG's decision to continue with the ministerial level talks held in Busan the previous week. They seem to consider these talks a failure that only undermined the ROKG's credibility in the eyes of the international community. ¶5. (U) The majority of those we spoke with expressed mixed sentiments about an appropriate response to North Korea. An office worker in his fifties said, "I don't know what to think. I do not think it is right to support North Korea for shooting missiles, but at the same time, I do not think we should give them the impression that we are abandoning them." Another passer-by, a man in his thirties said, "If we don't provide assistance to North Korea, it will collapse. If the North collapses, the greatest burden will fall on our shoulders. So we don't want it to collapse. We cannot give too much, but we cannot isolate the North or we lose any leverage altogether. So far the current government has failed to find that strategic middle ground." WHAT ARE JAPAN'S INTENTIONS? -------------- ¶6. (U) The South Koreans we spoke were united in their overtly negative attitude toward Japan, in particular, its draft UN Security Council resolution that included a reference to Chapter VII of the UN Charter. An office worker in his fifties stated, "I am suspicious of Japan's intentions. When you look back on our history, you know that you can never trust Japan." A woman in her mid-twenties agreed, saying that "Japan has never been a good neighbor. Although it is an Asian country, it takes on a self-righteous attitude and behaves as if it is above the rest of Asia." Another man in his late thirties who claimed to have been a pro-democracy demonstrator during his college days replied, "The Japanese public character is radically different from the Korean public character. We simply cannot understand each other." COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Overall, there is little sense of panic, or fear that the DPRK poses any threat to the personal safety of South Koreans. Likewise, there are relatively few people expressing outrage at North Korean behavior. Rather, it is the impression that the Korean government did not appear as aggressive as the Japanese government in responding to this crisis that has irked most Koreans. Also, the fear of Japanese regional aggression appears to have overwhelmed any concern that the DPRK may direct its missiles to the south. ¶8. (U) This message was drafted by two interns, Daisy Kim and Su Youn Kim. VERSHBOW