MEDIA REACTION Q NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCHES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 003791

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR,
EAP/J, EAP/P, PM;
USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE;
TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI;
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA;
CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE;
PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION Q NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCHES
- TOKYO


LEAD STORIES: Friday morning's business daily Nihon
Keizai gave top play to press remarks Thursday by JDA
Vice Minister Moriya pointing to the possibility that
North Korea would prepare to launch another Taepodong-2
long-range missile. Yomiuri front-paged a GOJ plan to
call on G-8 member nations to issue a chairman's
statement condemning North Korea at their coming summit
in St. Petersburg, Russia.


1. "UNSC Resolution Alone Cannot Guarantee Japan's
Security" The top-circulation, moderate Yomiuri
editorialized (7/7): "Now is the time for the world
community to show its intention not to overlook North
Korea's reckless act of launching a barrage of missiles,
including a Taepodong-2 long-range missile, in defiance
of international calls for a suspension of launches. The
early adoption of a resolution against the North Korean
missile launches at the UN Security Council (UNSC) will
only be part of a move to show such a global
intention.... Although Japan has already proposed a
resolution to the UNSC which includes punitive measures
against North Korea, it will be difficult for the Council
to adopt the resolution as is, since China and Russia,
permanent UNSC members closely related with North Korea,
are opposed to punitive measures against the North....


2. "North Korea would not suspend its nuclear and missile
development programs even if the UNSC adopts a resolution
condemning the missile launches. One problem is that
other nations are not necessarily as concerned as Japan
is about North Korea's missile threat, with the US,
Japan's closest ally, having reportedly dismissed the
North Korean missile launches as an imminent security
threat because of the reported failed launch of a
Taepodong-2 missile. The DPRK has already deployed Rodong
missiles that can bring a large part of Japan within
their range. Should the North successfully develop
nuclear warheads, Japan could suffer direct nuclear
missile strikes. While it is important for the UNSC to
apply further pressure on North Korea, such a move alone
will not able to guarantee Japan's security. It is,
therefore, imperative for Japan to build up effective
defense measures to cope with the North's missile threat,
while strengthening its alliance with the US."


3. "UNSC Members Should Join Hands and Send a Strong
Message to North Korea as Soon as Possible" An editorial
in the liberal Asahi commented (7/7): "Japan has
submitted to UNSC member nations a resolution which
strongly protests against North Korea's missile launches
and calls for international punitive measures against the
North. It is fortunate that Japan is currently a
nonpermanent UNSC member.... Although quite a few UNSC
member nations are expected to support the Japanese draft
resolution, China and Russia, both permanent members,
have shown opposition to the resolution.... The two
nations, which had called on Pyongyang to refrain from
firing missiles, must be well aware of the seriousness of
the situation surrounding the North. Although it may be
difficult for Japan to get full Chinese and Russian
support for its resolution, Japanese diplomats should do
their utmost to narrow differences between Japan, China
and Russia.


4. "What if the US-Japan-EU camp disagrees with the China-
Russia group over the adoption of the Japan-initiated
resolution? At this juncture, it is important for members

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of the international community to join together and send
a strong message condemning the North's missile launches
as soon as possible. The US, Japan and EU nations should
consider revising the contents of the resolution, if
necessary, in order to get cooperation from China and
Russia.... The UNSC should adopt its resolution before
the G-8 summit begins on July 15 in Russia and send its
message through the G-8 summit to Pyongyang. First and
foremost, it is important to seek a diplomatic settlement
of the North Korean missile crisis and to bring the North
back to the six-party talks."


5. "China and Russia Should not Invite Misunderstanding
from North Korea" The business-oriented Nihon Keizai
editorialized (7/7): "China and Russia are perhaps the
nations on which North Korea is most dependent
after firing a barrage of missiles into the Sea of Japan.
This is because both nations oppose the planned
submission to the UNSC of a joint US-Japan resolution
denouncing the North for its missile launches. It is
likely that China and Russia's opposition will encourage
the Pyongyang, which has clarified its plan to continue
missile launches....


6. "The North Korean missile crisis will be a key subject
of discussion at the G-8 summit in Russia. As things
stand, Russia's position is isolated from those of other
G-8 members. Should Russia and other G-8 nations fail to
reach a consensus on the North Korean issue at the
summit, Russia would suffer a diplomatic failure, giving
North Korea the wrong message that the world community is
not together on this issue.... It is indispensable to get
cooperation from China and Russia to reach a consensus on
the resolution at the UNSC. If the UNSC fails to adopt
the resolution, a coalition of the willing will probably
take punitive measures against the North. But its
effectiveness will be limited."

SCHIEFFER