TOKYO MEDIA REACTION - SIX-PARTY TALKS AND

UNCLAS TOKYO 001927 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: TOKYO MEDIA REACTION - SIX-PARTY TALKS AND IRAN'S TEST LAUNCH OF BALLISTIC MISSILES ¶1. LEAD STORIES: Top stories this morning included the resumed six-party head-of-delegation meeting in Beijing on Thursday, as well as Toyota's plan to temporarily halt auto production at three plants in the U.S. ¶2. "Do Not Compromise on Verification Regime" The top- circulation, moderate Yomiuri editorialized (7/11): "North Korea's nuclear declaration was incomplete in that it failed to include data on the number of nuclear weapons and their whereabouts. While Pyongyang claims to have extracted about 30 kg of plutonium, vigorous scrutiny of this claim is required in order to learn the entire picture of North Korea's nuclear program. Sloppy verification could provide North Korea with a loophole that would allow it to maintain a nuclear arsenal." ¶3. "Establish Verification Regime with No Loopholes" The business-oriented Nikkei editorialized (7/11): "Given that the U.S. lowered the bar and accepted an incomplete nuclear declaration from North Korea, it is a matter of course to establish a verification regime that does not have any loopholes. If the six-party talks fail to conduct a thorough verification of the declaration, concerns will mount that North Korea may again employ nuclear blackmail." ¶4. "Stringent Verification Needed" The liberal Asahi asserted in an editorial (7/11): "North Korea has submitted a massive amount of operation records from its nuclear facilities. The U.S. should carefully analyze the documents in order to ascertain the volume of plutonium extracted.... The Bush administration in its final months appears to be in a hurry to realize some sort of 'accomplishment.' It must not forget the final goal of denuclearizing North Korea." ¶5. "Loophole-Free Verification System Needed" The liberal Mainichi insisted (7/11): "...Whoever takes the helm, the next U.S. president needs to review his predecessor's foreign policy. It is not certain whether the next U.S. administration will prioritize North Korea. U.S.-DPRK dialogue aimed at averting a crisis on the Korean Peninsula started with the 1994 Agreed Framework. Given that the world has been plagued by North Korean threats over the past 14 years, the Bush administration is called upon to set a roadmap toward North Korea's denuclearization during its remaining tenure." ¶6. "Concerns about Mounting Iranian Crisis" On Tehran's recent test-launch of ballistic missiles, the conservative Sankei stated (7/11): "What is concerning is that the escalation of tensions between Iran and Israel and between Iran and the U.S might bring unpredictable consequences.... Under the current situation, a military option would be too risky. Such a scenario would throw the Middle East into complete chaos. An additional surge in petroleum prices would also be nearly inevitable, as Iran has the second-largest oil reserves in the world." SCHIEFFER