Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07TOKYO1172
2007-03-16 06:01:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:
MEDIA REACTION - US LIFTING OF FINANCIAL
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UNCLAS TOKYO 001172
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 - US LIFTING OF FINANCIAL
SANCTIONS ON DPRK - TOKYO
LEAD STORIES: Friday morning's business daily Nihon
Keizai front-paged an informal UNSC meeting Thursday in
New York, during which Britain and other members proposed
a resolution calling for additional retaliatory measures
against Iran.
UNCLAS TOKYO 001172
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 - US LIFTING OF FINANCIAL
SANCTIONS ON DPRK - TOKYO
LEAD STORIES: Friday morning's business daily Nihon
Keizai front-paged an informal UNSC meeting Thursday in
New York, during which Britain and other members proposed
a resolution calling for additional retaliatory measures
against Iran.
1. "What Effect Will US End to Financial Sanctions Have
on DPRK Denuclearization?" An editorial in the top-
circulation, moderate Yomiuri commented (3/16): "...The
US Treasury Department, which had been investigating the
Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA) on suspicion of
helping launder money for North Korea, formally decided
to sever ties between BDA and US financial institutions
on the grounds that the Macau bank turned a blind eye to
illicit activities by North Korea.... The US decision, in
effect, paves the way for unfreezing DPRK-related
accounts at BDA, which are estimated at about 25 million
USD. But some observers believe that less than half that
amount will be released. A partial release of funds could
make it less likely that North Korea will agree to
abandon its nuclear programs in line with the agreement
reached at the six-party talks in Beijing."
2. "US Should Not Back Away from Basic Principles of DPRK
Policy" The business-oriented Nihon Keizai editorialized
(3/16): "With a resumption of the six-party talks set for
next Monday in Beijing, an announcement Wednesday by the
US Treasury Department about the partial lifting of
financial sanctions on North Korea was, as it were, a
'carrot' intended to accelerate talks with the North
concerning its denuclearization.... We strongly hope that
the US will not play into the hands of North Korea,
making compromise after compromise and weakening its
policy of dialogue and pressure. In the past, the Bush
administration had called for the North's abandonment of
its nuclear programs in a complete, verifiable, and
irreversible manner and had expressed strong support for
Japan on the abduction issue. Nonetheless, criticism is
now growing in Japan and elsewhere that the Bush
administration, tied down with Iraq and Iran, is
violating the basic principles of its policy on North
Korea. Any US attempt to take an ad hoc policy that would
only kick the can down the road would harm not only the
trust it shares with Japan but also its prestige in the
world."
SCHIEFFER
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 - US LIFTING OF FINANCIAL
SANCTIONS ON DPRK - TOKYO
LEAD STORIES: Friday morning's business daily Nihon
Keizai front-paged an informal UNSC meeting Thursday in
New York, during which Britain and other members proposed
a resolution calling for additional retaliatory measures
against Iran.
1. "What Effect Will US End to Financial Sanctions Have
on DPRK Denuclearization?" An editorial in the top-
circulation, moderate Yomiuri commented (3/16): "...The
US Treasury Department, which had been investigating the
Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA) on suspicion of
helping launder money for North Korea, formally decided
to sever ties between BDA and US financial institutions
on the grounds that the Macau bank turned a blind eye to
illicit activities by North Korea.... The US decision, in
effect, paves the way for unfreezing DPRK-related
accounts at BDA, which are estimated at about 25 million
USD. But some observers believe that less than half that
amount will be released. A partial release of funds could
make it less likely that North Korea will agree to
abandon its nuclear programs in line with the agreement
reached at the six-party talks in Beijing."
2. "US Should Not Back Away from Basic Principles of DPRK
Policy" The business-oriented Nihon Keizai editorialized
(3/16): "With a resumption of the six-party talks set for
next Monday in Beijing, an announcement Wednesday by the
US Treasury Department about the partial lifting of
financial sanctions on North Korea was, as it were, a
'carrot' intended to accelerate talks with the North
concerning its denuclearization.... We strongly hope that
the US will not play into the hands of North Korea,
making compromise after compromise and weakening its
policy of dialogue and pressure. In the past, the Bush
administration had called for the North's abandonment of
its nuclear programs in a complete, verifiable, and
irreversible manner and had expressed strong support for
Japan on the abduction issue. Nonetheless, criticism is
now growing in Japan and elsewhere that the Bush
administration, tied down with Iraq and Iran, is
violating the basic principles of its policy on North
Korea. Any US attempt to take an ad hoc policy that would
only kick the can down the road would harm not only the
trust it shares with Japan but also its prestige in the
world."
SCHIEFFER