TOKYO MEDIA REACTION - NORTH KOREA AND U.S.-

UNCLAS TOKYO 002038 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 - NORTH KOREA AND U.S.- INDIA NUCLEAR COOPERATION ¶1. LEAD STORIES: All Thursday morning papers gave top play to the strong earthquake that hit the Tohoku area just after midnight. ¶2. "First Priority Must Be Given to Strict Verification of Nuclear Declaration" On the informal six-party foreign ministerial held in Singapore on Wednesday, the business-oriented Nikkei editorialized (7/24): "...Convening a foreign ministerial just for the purpose of demonstrating progress in the six-party talks will only benefit North Korea.... A security mechanism in Northeast Asia was one of the items on the agenda for discussion. The U.S. hopes to convert the six-party framework into a standing institution for regional peace and stability in the hope of building a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. initiative has some merits.... Still, such an initiative must be premised upon the denuclearization of North Korea. It is unimaginable that North Korea, which has tried to portray itself as a nuclear power, would easily abandon its nuclear programs. The U.S. for now must concentrate on the most pressing task." ¶3. "Priority Given to Holding Ministerial" The liberal Asahi wrote from Singapore (7/24): "Despite Wednesday's six-party foreign ministerial, a stalemate apparently remains over verification protocols concerning North Korea's nuclear declaration. As issues involved in the verification are so complex, assembling the six ministers alone was not enough to find a breakthrough. The session ended up as a mere 'political show.'" ¶4. "A Political Show" The liberal Mainichi's correspondents reported from Singapore (7/24): "The informal six-party ministerial ended up as a political show without accomplishing anything meaningful.... For North Korea, the meeting was effective in calling international attention to progress in the six-party talks and in preparing an atmosphere in which it can be delisted as a state sponsor of terrorism. As the U.S., Japan, and South Korea were not able to unite due to a row over beef trade between Seoul and Washington and a territorial dispute between Tokyo and Seoul, they failed to corner the DPRK." ¶5. "U.S.-India Deal to Render Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime Meaningless" The liberal Asahi asserted in an editorial (7/24): "The NPT regime's basic premise is that member states will refrain from extending support for the peaceful use of nuclear power to nations that are not signatories. Up until now, the U.S. had abided by this principle.... Creating a big loophole in the already-shaky NPT regime is unacceptable. Making India an exception will inevitably prompt Pakistan to ask for similar treatment. North Korea went ahead with a nuclear test after stating that it had withdrawn from the NPT. Iran is proceeding with uranium enrichment in defiance of UN sanctions. Making India and Pakistan exceptions would be tantamount to throwing cold water on the international community's desperate efforts to prevent North Korea and Iran from becoming nuclear powers." ZUMWALT