SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; June 29, 2009

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SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; June 29, 2009

TOP HEADLINES
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Chosun Ilbo
Ssangyong Motor Union Workers Join Forces with Leftist Organizations
to Continue Strike over Job Security

JoongAng Ilbo, All TVs
Kumho Asiana to Sell Daewoo Construction to Raise Funds

Dong-a Ilbo
Then Senior Joint Chiefs of Staff Officer: "ROK Won June 29 Second
Yeonpyeong Naval Battle...

N. Korea Suffered Great Losses"

Hankook Ilbo, Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun
Lee, Aso Agree in Principle on the Need
to Hold Five-Way Talks on N. Korea

Hankyoreh Shinmun
Lee Myung-bak Administration
"Turns the Clock Back 20 Years" to Control MBC


DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
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President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, in a
June 28 summit, reaffirmed that they will not tolerate a
nuclear-armed North Korea and agreed in principle on the need for a
meeting of the five members - excluding North Korea - of the
Six-Party Talks to discuss how to bring North Korea back to the
dialogue table. They also agreed to speed up negotiations for a
bilateral free trade agreement. (All)


INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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On June 26, the Obama Administration created a task force to enforce
UN Security Council Resolution 1874 and appointed the former U.S.
Ambassador to Bolivia, Philip Goldberg, to lead the task force.
President Obama will soon send him to China to discuss sanctions on
North Korea. (All)


MEDIA ANALYSIS
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-N. Korea
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Yesterday's ROK-Japan summit in Tokyo received wide press coverage
today. All ROK media reported that President Lee Myung-bak and
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso reaffirmed that they will not
tolerate a nuclear-armed North Korea and agreed in principle on the
need for the five members - excluding North Korea - of the Six-Party
Talks to meet to discuss how to bring North Korea back to the
dialogue table.

Newspapers carried the following headlines: "Lee, Aso Share the Need
for Five-Party Consultations" (right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo,
conservative Dong-a Ilbo, conservative Segye Ilbo, moderate Seoul
Shinmun); "Leaders Lay the Foundations for Trilateral Cooperation
(between ROK, U.S. and Japan) on N. Korea... Have In-depth
Discussions to 'Move China'" (moderate Hankook Ilbo); "Lee, Aso
Agree that It Is Important to Implement Sanctions against N. Korea"
(left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun)

All media also gave attention to the June 26 launch of the Obama
Administration's interagency task force to enforce UN Security
Council Resolution 1874. The media reported that President Barack
Obama has appointed the former U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, Philip

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Goldberg, to lead the task force and will soon send him to China to
discuss sanctions on North Korea.

In particular, conservative Chosun Ilbo observed that the
appointment of Mr. Goldberg brings the number of senior American
officials who deal with North Korea to four, including Special
Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth, Special
Envoy for the Six-Party Talks Sung Kim, and Kurt Campbell, who was
recently confirmed as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian
and Pacific Affairs. The Chosun report commented that it remains to
be seen whether the responsibilities of the four will overlap and
lead to confusion.

Chosun also noted in an accompanying article that Washington has
approached China several times to urge them to join in sanctioning
North Korea but that Beijing is making Washington anxious by
failing to give a clear answer. Chosun headlined its article:
"Sanctions against N. Korea... U.S. Pressures China; China Ignores
U.S."

In a related development, conservative Dong-a Ilbo argued in a
commentary from Beijing: "Instead of clearly opposing North Korea's
nuclear development clear and taking stern measures, China is buying
North Korea time for additional nuclear development. ... If China
continues to be lackadaisical about sanctioning North Korea over its
nuclear test, it can invite perception that China does not care
about North Korea's poverty and downfall, and is only interested in
keeping North Korea under its influence for its own national
interests."


OPINIONS/EDITORIALS
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IF CHINA IS NORTH KOREA'S TRUE ALLY
(Dong-a Ilbo, June 29, 2009, Page 31)

By Beijing Correspondent Gu Ja-ryong

After North Korea's second nuclear test, the world's expectations
for China's role are growing higher than ever before. Some people
argue that the UN Security Council's resolution or sanctions will
not be effective without China's active participation.

However, look at China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman
said, "Measures related to North Korea should not affect the
livelihood of the North Korean people and their normal economic
transactions." Furthermore, he added, "In the UN Security Council
Resolution on sanctions against North Korea, there is a provision
that (sanctions) should not affect the needs of the (North Korean)
civilian population, their economic activities, and humanitarian aid
(for them)." This implies that, although China agreed to the UNSC
Resolution, it does not have a strong determination. Douglas Paal,
a China expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,
also noted, "China has decided to maintain its relations with North
Korea, instead of (pursuing) sanctions on the North."

Despite North Korea's second nuclear test, the Chinese government
seems to believe that it can help (improve) the livelihood of the
North Korean people by not pressuring the communist state too much.
Over the past five decades, China, while describing the North as its
friend and ally, has maintained its influence over North Korea.
What is the result?

North Korean defectors in China are now estimated at over 50,000.
Many North Korean women are being sold to Chinese farmers. If
Pyongyang continues to go down the road to nuclear possession, the
situation in North Korea will inevitably get worse. North Korea,
which was once better off than China, became penniless while China
grew up to be the world's superpower. With the increasing
incidences of human rights abuses toward North Koreans in China,
does Beijing think that, if it prevents North Koreans from crossing
the border into China and sends North Korean refugees back to their
nation, it would help maintain "stability on the Korean Peninsula"?

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According to a North Korea expert, whenever tensions run high on the
Korean Peninsula, the North Korean leadership says, "We are in
ruins. We have nothing more to lose," and threatens war in
brinkmanship tactics. Ironically, China played a big role in North
Korea's plunging into poverty and becoming a pariah state in the
international community.

China did not try to lead the North out to the open world but
overlooked the North going down the nuclear road. Instead of
clearly opposing North Korea's nuclear development and taking stern
measures, China is buying North Korea time for additional nuclear
development. North Korea's closet friend and ally could play the
most harmful role.

If China continues to be lackadaisical about sanctioning North Korea
over its nuclear test, it can invite the perception that China does
not care about North Korea's poverty and downfall, and is only
interested in keeping North Korea under its influence for its own
national interests. Wang Chung, a guest researcher for Japanese
policy studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, argued,
"Despite North Korea's nuclear test, China should not give up on
North Korea." He cited as a reason the strategic importance of
North Korea as a buffer zone against the U.S. Wang said, "No
Chinese would want the buffer zone to disappear and a U.S. aircraft
to cross the Yalu River and monitor the Chinese border region."

There is some controversy over the influence that China has over the
North. However, China accounts for almost 73 percent of North
Korea's foreign trade. If you visit the border between North Korea
and China, you would think that there is nothing that China cannot
do toward North Korea, which is just across the narrow river. No
Chinese high-ranking leader has publicly said that China has no or
only small influence over the North. This may be because they
privately think (that China has a lot of influence over North
Korea.) Now is the time for China to rebuke the North in a stern
manner and encourage it to stop going down the wrong way. This is
the only way for China to clear up the misunderstanding that China
is only seeking its own national interests and for China to do what
it should as a true friend and ally of North Korea.


FOR FULL COMPREHENSIVE TALKS TO RESOLVE NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR ISSUE
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, editorial, June 29, 2009, page 23)

Since the second North Korean nuclear test, an impasse has been
developing. As nations have begun taking concrete steps to execute
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on North Korea,
North Korea's protests have only grown stronger.

The ROK and Japan held concentrated discussions to cooperate in
their response to North Korea during the ROK-Japan summit on Sunday
in an effort to strengthen the pressure both nations have been
putting on North Korea. In another unprecedented move, the U.S. has
formed a joint-task force to execute the sanctions resolution, with
Philip Goldberg, the former U.S. Ambassador Bolivia, named as its
head. This reveals the intention of the Obama Administration to
lend force to pressure on North Korea for the time being and to
distinguish its current actions from the former activities of
special envoys Stephen Bosworth or Sung Kim.

Of course, more than hardline moves are taking place. Chinese
ambassador to Korea Cheng Yonghua said that sanctions on North Korea
were not the goal of the UNSC's actions, and political and
diplomatic means were the only certain and enforceable ones that
could resolve the problems of the Korean Peninsula. Cheng's
statements emphasized efforts to resolve the nuclear issue through
dialogue. The plan to convene five-party talks as called for by
President Lee Myung-bak, too, seems to be falling out of favor due
to Chinese opposition. Moreover, the U.S.'s review of its North
Korea policy is expected to quicken now that Kurt Campbell has been
confirmed as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs and has emphasized a will to seek a comprehensive solution
to the nuclear issue.

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A response to North Korea's unilateral provocations, including its
nuclear tests and long-range rocket launches, is unavoidable, but
one cannot fundamentally resolve the nuclear issue with sanctions
alone. Significant progress made in the past on the nuclear issue
was the result of dialogue, not sanctions. It is also unrealistic
to expect China to actively participate in pressure on North Korea.
To the contrary, China is showing wariness of louder hardline voices
coming from the ROK that are acting in concert with Japan.

At times like this, the ROK's attitude plays a significant part. To
strangle inter-Korean relations and to focus only on strengthening
sanctions is to remove itself from being part of a solution to the
nuclear issue. If the U.S. begins negotiations with North Korea,
the ROK could be pushed from the center, as was the case during the
Kim Young-sam Administration. As the solution lies ultimately in
comprehensive negotiations, the ROK should establish its own
independent negotiating plan to convince the U.S. and North Korea.
The ROK should also take on a new approach towards changing
currently hostile inter-Korea relations, where even humanitarian aid
has been stopped.


(This is a translation provided by the newspaper. We have reviewed
it, edited it for readability, and have determined that it is
identical to the Korean version.)


FEATURES
--------------
U.S. HAS "FOUR TOP OFFICIALS" RESPONSIBLE FOR NORTH KOREAN AFFAIRS
(Chosun Ilbo, June 29, page 4)

By Correspondent Lee Ha-won

The U.S. is stepping up pressure on North Korea by launching a
taskforce to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1874. The
interagency taskforce to enforce sanctions against North Korea was
launched on June 26 to coordinate actions with other nations in
implementing the UN resolution, including searches of outbound North
Korean ships and aircraft, and international financial sanctions.


U.S. President Barack Obama appointed the former U.S. Ambassador to
Bolivia, Philip Goldberg, to lead the task force and will soon send
him to China to discuss sanctions on North Korea.

In the 1990s Goldberg worked with Richard Holbrooke, who currently
serves as U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, until the
signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement dealing with Bosnian matters.
With regards to the creation of the taskforce and the appointment of
Goldberg, a U.S. government official told the New York Times that
(the USG) needed someone who can be fully committed to
implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution.

The appointment of Mr. Goldberg brings the number of senior American
officials who deal with North Korea to four. In the early days of
his presidency, Obama had "two top officials" in charge of North
Korean affairs -- Special Representative for North Korea Policy
Stephen Bosworth and Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks Sung Kim.
Ambassador Bosworth was assigned to take care of general issues and
Ambassador Kim was assigned to serve as chief U.S. negotiator for
the Six-Party Talks. Goldberg will engage in establishing U.S.
policy on North Korea, along with Bosworth, Kim, and Kurt Campbell,
who has recently been confirmed as Assistant Secretary of State for
East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

This "four top" system adopted by President Obama in dealing with
North Korean affairs is significantly different from the approach
taken by the George W Bush Administration.

During the former Bush Administration, currently U.S. Ambassador to
Iraq Christopher Hill served as both Assistant Secretary of State
for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and chief U.S. negotiator for the

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Six-Party Talks, assuming sole authority over the U.S. North Korea
policy.

(It seems that) the Obama Administration has considered that
Ambassador Hill's "one-man show" led to the conciliatory policy in
which North Korea was rewarded for its bad behavior. (This is why)
the Obama Administration has decided to separate decision-making,
negotiations and sanctions regarding North Korea from one another.

It remains to be seen whether the responsibilities of the four will
overlap and lead to confusion. We cannot rule out the possibility
that if consultations among the four top officials do not go
smoothly, this (precarious situation on the Korean Peninsula) will
be aggravated and U.S policy on North Korea will not be undertaken
effectively.



STEPHENS