SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; July 17, 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SEOUL 001134 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; July 17, 2009 TOP HEADLINES -------------- Chosun Ilbo, All TVs On Eve of Constitution Day, Rival Parties Continue Sit-in at National Assembly, Paralyzing Legislative Operations JoongAng Ilbo President Lee:"Overcoming Economic Crisis Should Begin by Recovering Sound Corporate Ethics" Dong-a Ilbo Committee to be Launched July 29 to Discuss How to Deal with "Spent Nuclear Fuel" Hankook Ilbo Former President Kim Dae-jung Put on Respirator but in Stable Condition Hankyoreh Shinmun New Human Rights Commission Head Appointed, but Appointee Has No Expertise and Experience in Human Rights Activities Segye Ilbo Five N. Korean Officials Face Travel Ban, Asset Freeze by U.N. Seoul Shinmun "Middle Class in Crisis" ROK's Middle Class Is Shrinking amid Economic Crisis DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS -------------- U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens was named an honorary goodwill ambassador yesterday for an ROK project to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the National Museum of Korea. (JoongAng, Segye, Seoul) INTERNATIONAL NEWS -------------- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a July 15 speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, urged the world to join forces to denuclearize North Korea. (Chosun, JoongAng) According to Michael Nacht, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, the U.S. is developing a scenario in preparation for a future North Korea, possibly without ailing leader Kim Jong-il. (Chosun, all TVs) Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's nominal head of state and No. 2 leader, said at the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Egypt on July 15: "For us, there can be neither dialogue nor any negotiations where the principles of respect for sovereign rights and equality are denied. The (Six-Party) Talks came to a permanent end because the U.S. and the majority of the obedient parties to the talks abandoned this principle." (All) The UN Security Council agreed yesterday to impose travel bans on and freeze the assets of five North Korean officials for their involvement in developing missiles and carrying out the North's second nuclear test. The UNSC also listed five North Korean firms subject to sanctions under Resolution 1874, adopted on June 12. This is the first time the UNSC put specific North Korean officials on the list of targets for sanctions. (JoongAng, Dong-a, Hankook, Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul) MEDIA ANALYSIS SEOUL 00001134 002 OF 003 -------------- -N. Korea -------------- Conservative Chosun Ilbo and right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo ran inside-page reports on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's July 15 speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, in which she urged the world to join forces to denuclearize North Korea. She was quoted: "We have invested a significant amount of diplomatic resources to achieve a Security Council consensus in response to North Korea's provocative actions. ... The short-term results were two unanimous Security Council resolutions... and the long-term result, we believe, will be a tougher joint effort toward the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." Conservative Chosun also cited two other senior U.S. officials as stating that UNSC Resolution 1874 will be strongly pursued (around the world.) Chosun viewed this series of remarks on North Korea by U.S. officials as suggesting the Obama Administration's confidence in spreading sanctions against North Korea following the return of the North Korean cargo ship, "Kang Nam," to its home port after being trailed by the U.S. Navy. The July 15 remark by Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's nominal head of state and No. 2 leader, at the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Egypt that the (Six-Party) Talks came to a permanent end, continues to draw the attention of the ROK media. Conservative Chosun Ilbo cited a local expert as interpreting this to indicate North Korea's intention to engage in nuclear disarmament talks only with the U.S., instead of the Six-Party Talks aimed at denuclearizing the North. Chosun went on to comment: "North Korea was only developing a nuclear program when the Six-Party Talks started in 2003, but it has now become a nuclear state after two nuclear tests. Pyongyang is apparently after a new dialogue framework that will replace the Six-Party Talks." The UNSC's July 16 imposition of sanctions against five North Korean officials involved in developing missiles and carrying out the North's second nuclear test also received wide media coverage. Most media noted that this is the first time the UNSC put specific North Korean officials on the list of targets for sanctions. Conservative Chosun and all TV networks carried reports from Washington quoting Michael Nacht, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, as saying, "The U.S. is developing a scenario in preparation for a future North Korea, possibly without ailing leader Kim Jong-il." FEATURES -------------- AMBASSADOR STEPHENS NAMED AN HONORARY GOODWILL AMBASSADOR FOR ROK PROJECT TO CELEBRATE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF OPENING OF NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA (Yonhap News, July 16) By Reporter Lee Seung-gwan The U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens was awarded a letter of appointment by First Lady Kim Yoon-ok on July 16 as an honorary goodwill ambassador for a ROK project to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the National Museum of Korea. The project was launched as the National Museum of Korea, which was established as the ROK's first modern museum in 1909, marks its 100th anniversary. Ms. Kim serves as an honorary chairman of the commemoration committee. Ambassador Stephens will participate as a goodwill ambassador in a special commemorative exhibition in September and a commemorative event in November. She will play various roles to promote the project and to make it internationally recognized. SEOUL 00001134 003 OF 003 When presenting the appointment letter, First Lady Kim proclaimed that Sim Eun-kyong (Stephens' Korean name) will serve as an honorary goodwill ambassador for the ROK project to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the National Museum of Korea. Ms. Kim awarded Ambassador Stephens an appointment plaque made of celadon. Ambassador Stephens said that when she came back to Korea, she felt that there were many museums in Korea, and that they were well-curated and their exhibitions were very impressive. Attendees of the award ceremony included Stephens' son James Whong, Choe Kwang-shik, the Director of the National Museum of Korea, Choe Chong-pil the Chairman of the Korean National Committee of the International Council of Museums, and Chong Jea-gon, the Senior Presidential Secretary for Education, Science and Culture. A Blue House official said that the ROKG named Ambassador Stephens an honorary goodwill ambassador for the commemorative project because of her extraordinary love and interest in Korean culture and the U.S.' deep influence on the development and growth of the Museum. U.S. PREPARING SCENARIO FOR A FUTURE N. KOREA (Chosun Ilbo, July 17, 2009, page 6) By Correspondent Lee Ha-won The U.S. Defense Department is developing a scenario in preparation for a future North Korea, possibly without ailing leader Kim Jong-il, a senior department official indicated Wednesday. Michael Nacht, the assistant secretary of defense for global strategic affairs, on Wednesday said at a hearing on weapons of mass destruction at the House Armed Services Committee that the department is developing a scenario for the future of North Korea. Nacht said Kim is sick and his youngest son and heir apparent is in an unstable position. Tension with the outside world over the past months is attributable to such domestic factors as well as external problems, he added. The U.S. Administration has so far avoided mentioning Kim's health. Nacht's remarks are unusual. Some (ROK) observers say that the U.S. Administration may have obtained detailed information on Kim Jong-il's health condition, which has been noticeably worsening these days. Nacht's mention of a "scenario" shows that the U.S. military is getting a step closer to an operational plan that will go into action in case of a sudden change in North Korea. The Defense Department has reportedly focused on preventing North Korean nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) from falling in the hands of the outside world in case of any emergency resulting from Kim Jong-il's death or the North Korean regime's collapse. Previously, General Sharp, the commander of U.S. military forces in the ROK, said that the U.S. and ROK forces are prepared to counter any attack from North Korea. North Korea railed against his remarks. (We have compared the English version on the website with the Korean version and added some sentences to make them identical.) STEPHENS