MEDIA REACTION Q NORTH KOREA - TOKYO

UNCLAS TOKYO 006048 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 KOREA - TOKYO LEAD STORIES: Wednesday morning's Yomiuri gave top play to a report saying that the GOJ is considering allowing Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels to follow suspicious ships during inspections under the UN Security Council resolution calling for sanctions on North Korea. ¶1. "South Korea's Sunshine Policy Fails to Prevent North Korean Nuclear Test" The top-circulation, moderate Yomiuri editorialized (10/18): "The US has announced that it has confirmed North Korea's nuclear test. This reinforces the gravity of the problem for the international community, particularly Japan. Top priority should be given to applying a brake to the North Korean nuclear threat by imposing effective sanctions on that country in accordance with the resolution adopted by the UN Security Council (UNSC). South Korea joined the US and Japan in signing on to the UNSC resolution. South Korea's circumstances dictate that it should make every effort to halt North Korea's nuclear development. Following the adoption of the resolution by the UNSC, the ROK government issued a statement welcoming and supporting the resolution. It is unclear, though, exactly what sanctions the South will impose on the North.... Rather than halting North Korea's nuclear development, however, Seoul's Sunshine Policy has actually helped it along. The ROK-DPRK joint statement on denuclearization has been abrogated, exposing the Sunshine Policy as a complete failure.... Secretary of State Rice will be visiting Japan, South Korea, and China to coordinate the implementation of sanctions, and there will be a trilateral foreign ministerial in Seoul among the US, Japan, and South Korea. Through close strategic dialogue, the US and Japan should call on South Korea to reconsider the Sunshine Policy." SCHIEFFER