SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; August 07, 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 SEOUL 001252 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; August 07, 2009 TOP HEADLINES -------------- Chosun Ilbo, Dong-a Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo, Hankyoreh Shinmun, Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun, All TVs Ssangyong Workers End 77-Day Strike after Labor Union and Management Reach Compromise Deal on Layoffs JoongAng Ilbo Strike is Tip of the Ssangyong Iceberg; Other Problems Left to Solve Include Liquidity, Restarting Production and Hunt for a New Owner DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS -------------- Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry Spokesman Moon Tae-young, in an August 6 regular briefing, said: "It is my understanding that former U.S. President Bill Clinton conveyed to North Korea that an ROK worker (from the Kaesong Industrial Complex) and crewmen of the fishing boat "Yeonan" should be released from a humanitarian perspective." (All) Citing a USG official, U.S. CBS TV also reported yesterday that former President Clinton urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and other North Korean officials to free ROK and Japanese detainees. (Chosun) INTERNATIONAL NEWS -------------- President Barack Obama, in an August 5 interview with MSNBC, stressed that the release of the two U.S. journalists held in North Korea is a separate issue from improved relations between the U.S. and North Korea. (All) MEDIA ANALYSIS -------------- -N. Korea -------------- All ROK media gave wide attention to President Barack Obama's August 5 MSNBC interview, in which he stressed that the release of the two U.S. journalists held in North Korea is a separate issue from improved relations between the U.S. and North Korea. President Obama was widely quoted: "We have said to the North Koreans, there is a path for improved relations and it involves them no longer developing nuclear weapons and not engaging in the provocative behavior that they've been engaging in." Conservative Chosun Ilbo carried an inside-page analysis that said that the reason why the Obama Administration repeatedly stresses the importance of North Korea's denuclearization is that the Administration feels that Washington has frequently been deceived by North Korea's conciliatory gestures since former President Jimmy Carter's visit to Pyongyang in 1994. The analysis went on to observe that the Obama Administration also believes that there is no reason to rush to improve ties with the North, since international sanctions against the country are working effectively. Conservative Chosun replayed an August 6 CBS report quoting a USG official as saying that former President Bill Clinton, during his recent surprise visit to Pyongyang to free the two journalists, urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and other North Korean officials to free ROK and Japanese detainees. In a related development, most media quoted Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry Spokesman Moon Tae-young as saying during yesterday's SEOUL 00001252 002 OF 011 regular briefing: "It is my understanding that former President Clinton conveyed to North Korea that an ROK worker (from the Kaesong Industrial Complex) and crewmen of the fishing boat "Yeonan" should be released from a humanitarian perspective. A senior State Department official delivered the message to the ROKG as a token of gratitude for supporting the former president's latest trip to the North." Conservative Chosun commented that considerable behind-the-scenes efforts by both the ROK and Japanese governments led to Clinton raising the issue in Pyongyang. In a commentary entitled "Was Clinton's North Korea Visit a Private Mission?," conservative Chosun Ilbo wrote: "No matter how much the Obama Administration stresses that this rescue operation was (former President Clinton's) 'private mission,' if North Korea does not feel that way, the result will be otherwise. ... Clinton's visit to the North was practically the first meeting between the Obama Administration and North Korea. In this regard, this visit will inevitably have considerable influence on resolving issues, such as improving ties between the U.S. and North Korea and the North's nuclear problem." Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo, in a news analysis titled "Clinton's 195-Minute 'Examination' of Kim Jong-il... We Should Prepare for Change in U.S.-North Korea Relations," observed: "The Obama Administration has already presented a comprehensive package of incentives, such as diplomatic normalization and economic assistance, in return for North Korea's nuclear abandonment. Mr. Clinton probably explained the U.S. position and listened to Kim Jong-il's response. If so, a meaningful adjustment to Washington's North Korea policy would be possible even within the framework of sanctions on the North. The problem lies with the ROK. ... The ROK, while being negligent in improving ties with the North, cautions against improvement in U.S.-North Korea relations, describing it as part of Pyongyang's strategy of promoting exchange with the U.S. while blocking off the ROK. We cannot rule out the possibility that, depending on Pyongyang's attitude, improvement in U.S.-North Korea relations will go several steps ahead of improvement in inter-Korean relations. This is why we hope that President Lee will make a significant proposal to the North on the August 15 Liberation Day." OPINIONS/EDITORIALS -------------- WAS CLINTON'S NORTH KOREA VISIT A PRIVATE MISSION? (Chosun Ilbo, August 7, 2009, page 29) By Senior political reporter Kang In-sun It was moving to see Euna Lee and Laura Ling embrace their families as they came out of an airplane upon returning home after their 142-day detention in North Korea. Their relief was palpable. And it was dramatic to see a former U.S. president fly into a hostile country to win their release on a plane provided by a long-time associate. The rescue operation was a spectacle enacted by professional actors of presidential caliber. President Barack Obama, ex-president Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a former first lady who challenged Obama in the 2008 presidential election, and 2000 Democratic Party presidential candidate Al Gore all played their respective roles well. Clinton and Gore took the stage, Obama and Hillary stood in the wings. Yet the Obama Administration claims that the operation was an "individual" and "humanitarian" action that has nothing to do with political issues between the U.S. and North Korea, including the nuclear problem. That is, Clinton's visit was motivated by purely humanitarian considerations at the request of his former vice president, as he has devoted himself to charity work since leaving office, and thus it should not be interpreted in any other way. SEOUL 00001252 003 OF 011 But the virtual special envoy role Clinton suddenly took on cannot possibly be the action of a charitably inclined individual, especially if his wife happens to be the top U.S. diplomat. Why does the Obama Administration nonetheless package Clinton's North Korea visit as private and humanitarian? It must be a desperate effort to tell the international community and the American people that the operation does not mean a change in the basic direction of North Korea policy. The U.S. has maintained a firm stance of sanctioning Pyongyang over its long-range missile launches and two nuclear tests. Pushing ahead with independent sanctions in addition to UN Security Council sanctions, the U.S. acted as though it would no longer be tricked into rewarding the North for provocations or vague denuclearization gestures. But Clinton's Pyongyang visit is incompatible with that firm posture and can easily be interpreted as a sign that the U.S. is changing its mind. It is to prevent such an interpretation that the Obama Administration is protesting that the visit was a private effort. Clinton seldom smiled during his 20-odd-hour stay in Pyongyang, perhaps in reflection of the sentiment. Had he smiled in the pictures along with the broadly smiling Kim Jong-il, it would no doubt have been seen as signifying a mood of reconciliation. Kim knew that he could not resume dialogue with the U.S. while detaining two American journalists and condemning them to hard labor. The problem was how to get them back home. He solved the difficult question by asking for Clinton, a man not unlike former president Jimmy Carter, who visited North Korea 15 years ago and helped break the standoff at the time. Now the Obama Administration continues to send more or less stern warnings to the North, as if nothing happened. But are the two issues really separate? In relations between countries, everything is tit for tat. No matter how much the Obama Administration stresses that this rescue operation was (former President Clinton's) 'private mission,' if North Korea does not feel that way, the result will be otherwise. Kim Jong-il would hardly have spent more than three hours with Clinton just to eat. Clinton's visit to the North was practically the first meeting between the Obama Administration and North Korea. In this regard, this visit will inevitably have considerable influence on resolving issues, such as improving ties between the U.S. and North Korea and the North's nuclear problem. ROK SHOULD PREPARE FOR A GAME BETWEEN U.S AND NORTH KOREA (JoongAng Ilbo, August 7, 2009, page 33) By Yoon Young-kwan, Professor of Seoul National University Bill Clinton's visit to Pyongyang duly drew sufficient international attention. He is the former President and the husband of the incumbent Secretary of State. He also considered visiting Pyongyang in 2000 while in office. These all indicate the significance of his visit. It is not unreasonable that many people expect to see a breakthrough in U.S. and North Korea relations. U.S. President Barack Obama said that former President Clinton's mission was only to secure the release of two U.S. journalists, who had been held in North Korea. However, there is a great likelihood that former President Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il sought to create an atmosphere to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. This seems to be the biggest concern regarding this visit. The U.S. successfully freed the journalists, while North Korea won the chance to turn things around to start bilateral talks with the U.S., and is using this visit as propaganda internally and externally. SEOUL 00001252 004 OF 011 But few people believe that Clinton's visit will easily lead to a settlement of the North Korean nuclear issue. What North Korea wants runs counter to what the U.S. wants. North Korea aims to obtain economic assistance or improve relations through dialogue with the U.S., while it still pursues nuclearization. North Korea intends to follow the path of India and Pakistan, both of which have made their nuclear possessions an established fact and then sought to patch up relations with the U.S. The U.S. will continue to seek economic sanctions and pressure unless North Korea makes a strategic decision to abandon its nuclear ambition. The Obama Administration has made denuclearization the top priority in its foreign policies. Moreover, the U.S. government is concerned that it may send the wrong message to Iran. A high-ranking U.S. government official emphasized privately that the North Korean issue and the Iranian issue are closely related and the Iranian government is keenly watching how the U.S. deals with the North Korean nuclear issue. A former U.S. official from the Bush Administration, who I met in Washington three weeks ago, predicted that UN sanctions against North Korea this time will yield considerable effects. The official said that the UN sanctions will have effects several times greater than the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) sanctions imposed in 2005. U.S. Treasury Department officials, who led the sanctions at that time, even expressed their surprise at the effects the UN sanctions have been producing recently. North Korea, which had rejected dialogue, proposed to hold bilateral talks with the U.S. when UN sanctions started to be enforced. Since both sides have contradicting positions, it seems that they will wage a time-consuming tug-of-war. The U.S. will push for economic sanctions and take proactive measures. The U.S. will also hold out positive incentives and leave the door of dialogue open. North Korea will delay dismantling its nuclear program amid economic sanctions and seek to extract necessary aid from the outside world. Moreover, North Korea has to engage in the game amid political instability stemming from Kim Jong-il's ill health, power succession, and North Korea's economic hardship. Therefore, it won't be an easy game for the North. In the end, North Korea will send a signal to the U.S. to give up its nuclear program and come back to the negotiating table. There is some probability that North Korea will be compelled to choose strong incentives in the face of harsh pressures. In this process, tedious negotiations will take place. The ROKG should actively move to come up with strong incentives while intensifying pressure on North Korea. We also should bolster international coordination. The U.S. has engaged in a nuclear game with North Korea for 20 years in a cycle of crisis, negotiation, and some progress. This time, the game will be different from the ones in the past. This nuclear game will be much more complicated and difficult. Such a game will not be repeated forever and will come to an end (some day.) Whether the game ends with a soft landing or a hard landing, the ROK should take the lead to prepare for the time when the game is over. The end may be approaching faster than we expect. RELYING ON ROK-U.S. COOPERATION IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO RESOLVE PENDING INTER-KOREAN ISSUES (Hankyoreh Shinmun, August 7, 2009, page 31) Looking at our government's attitude concerning former U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to Pyongyang, we are beginning to sense that something is not right. Perhaps this is because Lee Administration officials have been busy minimizing the visit's significance while failing to take the measures they themselves need to take in regards to inter-Korean relations. North Korea said Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il held frank discussions about pending North Korea-U.S. issues, and that the two agreed to resolve matters through dialogue. Moreover, U.S. President Barack Obama says he will meet with Clinton to hear what SEOUL 00001252 005 OF 011 was discussed. It is almost as though an indirect summit has taken place between Obama and Kim. Despite this, ROK government officials are reiterating that Clinton's visit was a private mission, the U.S. will not agree to direct talks with North Korea, and that ROK-U.S. cooperation is going well. This administration now seems to be twisting even objective reality into far-fetched stories in order to rationalize their hardline North Korea policy. Of course, this attitude will make resolving pending issues more difficult. In order to secure the release of two reporters, the U.S. coordinated a visit by a former president to North Korea, while all our government has done concerning the Hyundai Asan employee, who was detained at roughly the same time, is to bring up the issue a few times and slam North Korea during working-level talks on the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Like the U.S., many people have been calling for the issue of the detainee to be resolved separately from other pending issues with North Korea, but the administration is pretending not to listen. Indeed, it has also chosen to wait as a response to the detention of the fishing boat crew that crossed the NLL last week. The government has abandoned its most basic duty to protect its citizens. The pending issues are naturally connected with North Korea policy as a whole. Accordingly, a change in North Korea policy is important for its own sake, but it is also necessary to resolve these pending issues more effectively. Meanwhile, North Korea is hoping to resume talks with the U.S., and appears to have worked hard during Clinton's visit. To refuse to change, while demanding it from North Korea is the worst choice that the ROK could make, and will only aggravate pending issues and isolate us from transformations occurring in the geopolitical landscape around us. The administration talks as if ROK-U.S. cooperation is the resolution to all of its problems. It is almost as though it is espousing the logic that if Seoul relies on Washington to continue placing pressure on North Korea, all problems can be solved. If this unrealistic attitude is not abandoned, the situation will not improve. The government could free itself from the yoke it has made to start anew in order to resolve pending issues and play a lead role in transforming the geopolitical situation. So why is it just trying to read other country's minds? FEATURES -------------- CLINTON'S 195-MINUTE "EXAMINATION" OF KIM JONG-IL... WE SHOULD PREPARE FOR CHANGE IN U.S.-KOREA RELATIONS (JoongAng Ilbo, August 7, 2009, Page 2) By Senior Columnist Kim Young-hie News Analysis Does Clinton's visit to North Korea serve as an opportunity to improve U.S.-North Korea relations? The USG draws a clear line, saying that the North Korean nuclear issue is separate from the release of the journalists. The U.S. appears to be trying hard to give the impression that the case is closed with regards to the journalists' return. This is because, if Clinton's visit is aimed at not only winning the release of the journalists, but also resolving the nuclear standoff and finding a breakthrough in U.S.-North Korea relations, it could risk upsetting U.S.-led sanctions against the North. The meeting between Kim Jong-il and Clinton lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes, including a 75-minute talk and a two-hour dinner. This was a long meeting. Ahead of this meeting, the two sides had reached an agreement in principle, through the New York (UN) channel, to the release of the journalists. The remaining issue was to send someone of high enough stature to save North Korea's face and bring the journalists back home. North Korea wanted Clinton to come. Logically, it was not unreasonable. Clinton was the very person that reached the Geneva Agreement with North Korea in 1994 and sent SEOUL 00001252 006 OF 011 then-Secretary of State Albright to Pyongyang in October 2000, to discuss his own possible visit to the North at the end of that year. Despite some criticism that Clinton's status is too high for such a visit, he headed for Pyongyang. The picture of the Kim-Clinton meeting showed a smiling Kim Jong-il and a dour-looking Clinton. Clinton, in accordance with President Obama's wishes, looked as if he tried to caution against reading too much into his visit to North Korea. This, however, does not weaken the meaning of the Kim-Clinton meeting. Both Kim and Clinton must have had their respective goals. For Kim Jong-il, Clinton's visit was a golden opportunity to publicly say to its people that the former U.S. President and husband of the current U.S. Secretary of State visited Pyongyang to ask for mercy and to apologize for the two journalists' illegal entry into the North. For Kim Jong-il, who is seeking to transfer power to his son, loyalty and support from the military and the party is just a necessary condition, not a sufficient one. If being accepted as a normal member of the international community is ONE of the sufficient conditions for the North, the first step is to improve the relations with the U.S. The fact that North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju - an influential figure in U.S.-North Korea relations - attended both the meeting and the dinner indicates that the purpose of the Kim-Clinton meeting is beyond just the release of the journalists. It is also noteworthy that Kim Yang-gon, Director of the United Front Department of the Workers' Party of Korea, who is in charge of North Korea' s policy toward the ROK, also attended both the meeting and the dinner. The ROKG briefed Clinton on the current stalemate in inter-Korean relations and asked for cooperation, including on the issues regarding an ROK employee detained at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the ROK fishermen held by the North. If Clinton had explained to Kim Jong-il that improvements in inter-Korean relations and U.S.-North Korea relations are like the two sides of the same coin, it would have been most desirable. However, Clinton may have focused on emphasizing that an absolute precondition for improvement in U.S.-North Korea relations is (North Korea's) verifiable and irreversible nuclear abandonment. Clinton's visit was a good opportunity to catch a glimpse into the stances of North Korea's government, military, and party, which are entangled in Kim Jong-il's HEALTH problems and power transfer. The Obama Administration has already presented a comprehensive package of incentives, such as diplomatic normalization and economic assistance, in return for North Korea's nuclear abandonment. Clinton probably explained the U.S. position and listened to Kim Jong-il's response. If so, a meaningful adjustment to Washington's North Korea policy would be possible even within the framework of sanctions on the North. The problem lies with the ROK. The ROKG is optimistic that the U.S. will not ease sanctions unless the North returns to the Six-Party Talks and implements its obligations of nuclear abandonment. But things change. Sanctions, which started strong, could lose momentum for any small reason before they bring the North to its knees, and a demand made to the North regarding nuclear abandonment could be softened to a certain level of nuclear freeze. This is actually what the 1994 Geneva Agreement is about. After Clinton's visit, U.S.-North Korea relations and the North Korean nuclear issue may develop in a different way. There is also a possibility that the ROK and the U.S. may be at odds over what is the resolution of the nuclear issue. The ROK, while being negligent in improving ties with the North, cautions against improvement in U.S.-North Korea relations, describing it as part of Pyongyang's strategy of promoting exchange with the U.S. while blocking off the ROK. We cannot rule out the possibility that, depending on Pyongyang's attitude, improvement in U.S.-North Korea relations will go several steps ahead of improvement in inter-Korean relations. This is why we hope that the President will make a significant proposal to the North on the August 15 Liberation Day. CLINTON 'URGED N. KOREA TO FREE S. KOREANS, JAPANESE TOO' SEOUL 00001252 007 OF 011 (Chosun Ilbo, August 7, 2009, page 6) By Reporter Lim Min-hyuk Former U.S. President Bill Clinton urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and other officials there to free ROK and Japanese detainees, CBS quoted a U.S. government official as saying. During his surprise visit to Pyongyang on Tuesday to free two U.S. reporters, the official said Clinton "made it clear to the North Koreans that he was on 'purely a private humanitarian mission' aimed solely at the release of the journalists and was separate from other issues on the table between the North and the U.S. and other countries," according to CBS. Clinton "also pressed very hard" on the release of ROK detainees and people abducted from Japan, it said quoting the official. Here, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Moon Tae-young told reporters Clinton "demanded that the detained ROK worker in Kaesong and the crew of the Yeonan be freed on humanitarian grounds." The Yeonan is a fishing boat that strayed across the Northern Limit Line and was towed to the North on July 30. "A senior official at the U.S. State Department delivered the message to the ROK government as a token of gratitude for supporting his latest trip to the North," Moon added. Considerable behind-the-scenes efforts by both the ROK and Japanese governments reportedly led to Clinton raising the issue in Pyongyang. Seoul urged the U.S. to raise the issue because it was concerned about North Korea maneuvering to hold dialogue only with the U.S. while shutting out the ROK. A government official said North Korea's detention of South Koreans, including the fishing crew and a Hyundai Asan staffer who has been held there incommunicado for some 130 days "is similar to that of the American women journalists. The ROK's issue is quite different from the question of Japanese detainees, given that the North has completely denied the existence of some Japanese detainees or claimed that others are dead." The Japanese were abducted as part of a bizarre drive by the North in the 1970s and '80s to acquire trainers for spies. But a diplomatic source said it is questionable how much stress Clinton placed on the Korean and Japanese detainees, "a side issue at a time when his main goal was to win the freedom of the American female journalists." The source added it was "highly likely" that he paid mere lip service to the matter as a courtesy to U.S. allies. FREED JOURNALISTS 'TREATED WELL' DURING CAPTIVITY IN N. KOREA (Chosun Ilbo, August 7, 2009, page 6) By Reporter Lee Hye-un Lisa Ling, an award-winning investigative journalist and the elder sister of Laura Ling, ONE of the two American journalists released from North Korea on Tuesday, said her sister was fed rice containing rocks during her 142-day detention in the communist country. Laura Ling was arrested with Korean-American Euna Lee for illegally entering North Korea and the two were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. They were granted amnesty after former U.S. president Bill Clinton traveled to Pyongyang and met with the country's leader Kim Jong-il. The two journalists have so far remained silent about their experience in captivity. According to the Associated Press, Lisa said that Laura is "a little bit weak" and that "she's really, really anxious to have fresh fruit and fresh food." "There were rocks in her rice. Obviously, it's a country that has a lot of economic problems." SEOUL 00001252 008 OF 011 Lisa said that after their trial the two women were sent to a guest house rather than to a labor camp. CBS reported on Wednesday that Laura suffered from an ulcer and was allowed regular visits by a doctor, while Lee lost 15 pounds during the detention. The two journalists reportedly were treated relatively well during their ordeal. According to some reports, they stayed in a luxury guest house in Pyongyang and were served American-style meals such as eggs and toast with milk. The Daily NK reported that North Korea seems to have allowed them special treatment in a calculation of the consequences of their future return to the U.S. The women were mostly kept apart after their capture, which is why they hugged and were happy to see each other at their trial on June 4, Lisa said. She said that Laura had four telephone conversations with her family in the U.S. while she was held by the North. Unlike previous occasions, North Korea did not demand money for the release of the journalists, Radio Free Asia reported on Wednesday, quoting an official at the U.S. State Department. In 1994 when releasing chief warrant officer Bobby Hall, a helicopter pilot with the U.S. Forces in Korea who strayed into North Korean territory during a low-altitude flight, Pyongyang demanded US$10,000 for the cost of international calls. In 1996, when releasing Evan Hunziker, an American civilian arrested by the North on espionage charges after he swam across the Apnok (or Yalu) River, the communist country demanded US$100,000 in fines. CLINTON SOUGHT RELEASE OF DETAINED SOUTH KOREANS (JoonAng Daily, August 7, 2009) By Reporter Ser Myo-ja U.S. maintains North policy has not changed following a 'private' visit During his meetings with the North Korean leadership to free two Americans, former U.S. President Bill Clinton also sought the release of five South Koreans being detained by Pyongyang, the Lee Myung-bak Administration said yesterday. Pyongyang's reaction, however, was not immediately known. "It's my understanding that Clinton had conveyed to the North that an ROK worker (from the Kaesong Industrial Complex) and crewmen of the fishing boat Yeonan should be released as a demonstration of humanitarianism," Moon Tae-young, spokesman of the ROK's Foreign Ministry, said yesterday at a press briefing. "We expect to see progress in this matter as soon as possible." A senior State Department official confirmed that Clinton addressed the issue during his meetings, according to Moon. Asked if Seoul made a specific request to Clinton in advance to persuade the North to release the detainees, Moon only said, "When Clinton left (for the North),he had enough understanding about the matter." A senior U.S. administration official said in a background briefing in Washington on Tuesday that "(Clinton) also discussed and we know pressed very hard - and we heard this from our debrief, our short debrief from the plane - he did press very hard on the positive things that could flow from the release of the ROK detainees and entering into talks and to really - seeking the release of Japanese abductees, so I can tell you with confidence that both those issues were raised." A Hyundai Asan engineer who worked at the joint industrial complex in Kaesong, just north of the inter-Korean border, has been detained by the North for 130 days for allegedly criticizing the country's political system. Since March 30, Seoul made repeated calls to discuss the worker's fate, but Pyongyang has snubbed the request. SEOUL 00001252 009 OF 011 On July 30, the fishing boat 800 Yeonan strayed north of the border on the east coast and was tugged away by a North Korean patrol boat. The North's military has only told the ROK that a probe is being conducted on the incident. Following Clinton's dramatic trip and the subsequent release of the two jailed American reporters, the Lee Administration faced demands from politicians that it should also consider sending a special envoy. However, Chun Hae-sung, unification ministry spokesman, repeated yesterday that such an option is not being considered at this time. The Lee Administration also dismissed concerns that Pyongyang has resumed a negotiation strategy of sidestepping Seoul and dealing directly with Washington. Moon rejected the view that Seoul will eventually be left out if bilateral talks resume between the North and the United States. "The U.S. government has informed us again that Clinton went to North Korea on a private, humanitarian mission," Moon said. "Our position for the Six-Party nuclear disarmament talks remains unchanged. Pyongyang must return to the negotiation table as soon as possible." State Department spokesman Robert Wood also said that Washington had briefed its Six-Party Talks partners, including Seoul, in advance about Clinton's trip. Shortly after the reporters' return, the U.S. government again drew a line in the sand that the Clinton trip and the nuclear issue are separate matters and that Pyongyang will have to work harder to improve its ties with Washington. "We were very clear that this was a humanitarian mission. President Clinton was going on behalf of the families to get these young journalists out," U.S. President Barack Obama told NBC News in an interview yesterday. "We have said to the North Koreans there is a path for improved relations, and it involves them no longer developing nuclear weapons and not engaging in the provocative behavior that they've been engaging in." Obama, however, did not deny that the Clinton trip will have an influence over his administration's North Korea policy. "You know, I suspect that President Clinton will have some interesting observations from his trip, and I will let him provide those to me. I won't speculate," Obama said. Clinton has remained tight-lipped about his mission. He was a rare foreigner allowed to hold a face-to-face meeting with the North's "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il, believed to have suffered a stroke a year ago. Observers have speculated that Kim has other complications. Clinton met with Kim for a 75-minute discussion and a two-hour dinner on Tuesday. "I think it'll be very interesting," Republican Senator John McCain said to Reuters. "He's the first Westerner to see Kim since his reported stroke and other problems. I think former President Clinton will have some interesting information." According to news reports, Clinton's personal physician, Roger Band, accompanied him to the North. OBAMA TELLS NK `NO NUKE DISMANTLEMENT, NO DIALOGUE` (Dong-a Ilbo, August 7, 2009, Front page: EXCERPTS) By Correspondent Lee Ki-hong U.S. President Barack Obama yesterday ruled out talks with North Korea if Pyongyang does not give up its nuclear program, despite North Korea's release of two American journalists. SEOUL 00001252 010 OF 011 "We were very clear that this was a humanitarian mission," he told NBC in an interview. "We have said to the North Koreans there is a path for improved relations, and it involves them no longer developing nuclear weapons and not engaging in the provocative behavior that they've been engaging in." The Obama Administration has apparently put particular emphasis on this principle to prevent sending the wrong message to North Korea or disrupting international efforts for sanctions against the communist country. On the question of whether former President Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea might lead to a breakthrough in engagement with North Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also told NBC, "It's not something we're counting on." She said she hopes Pyongyang will "make the right choice." The White House and the State Department also gave news briefings in the same tone, saying there is no change in the dire situation. One informed source said, "Sending a special envoy for the journalists' release had been discussed since before the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Regional Forum in mid-July. The Obama Administration's position has been consistent since that time." Experts, however, say strained Pyongyang-Washington relations could soon see a thaw. Signs have appeared that the North Korean leadership has sought bilateral dialogue for several weeks. Washington also believes that Pyongyang's typical cycle is to commit provocation after provocation, followed by dialogue and then by further provocations. What Bill Clinton will bring to Obama is fueling speculation. Administration officials told the Wall Street Journal that Bill Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il discussed many issues, including incentives to get Pyongyang to resolve the fates of South Koreans and Japanese being held in North Korea. The possibility that Kim suggested a summit with Obama also cannot be ruled out. Obama also told a news conference that Bill Clinton would have made interesting observations while in Pyongyang. Administration sources told the Wall Street Journal that while Obama will reject giving compensation to North Korea for belatedly keeping its promises, he can allow high-level direct contact to deal with the nuclear issue. U.S.'S N. KOREA POLICY REMAINS UNOFFICIALLY UNCHANGED SINCE CLINTON'S VISIT (Hankyoreh Shinmun, August 7, 2009, page 6: EXCERPTS) By Correspondent Kwon Tae-ho and reporter Lee Je-ho Officials say Clinton pressed for release of South Korean and Japanese individuals while asking for pardon of two U.S. journalists The U.S. government is officially suggesting it will maintain the current tenor of its North Korea policy. It appears, however, to be quietly and carefully considering changes in North Korea policy based on the results of former President Bill Clinton's visit. In an interview with NBC on Wednesday (local time),U.S. President Barack Obama said the U.S. has been telling North Korea there is a way to improve relations with Washington, and this way includes not developing nuclear weapons and not engaging in provocative acts. He also said former President Clinton's mission to secure the return of the two U.S. journalists was a personal one, and did not signify an SEOUL 00001252 011 OF 011 easing of international pressure on North Korea. He did say, however, that he planned to have a meeting with Clinton, whom he said would tell him all the interesting things he observed during his trip. The U.S. State Department is also maintaining that any negotiations that took place during Clinton's trip to North Korea are separate from the nuclear talks. U.S. State Department's deputy spokesman, Robert A. Wood, said in a briefing that while they hoped North Korea would respect its international obligations for nuclear dismantlement, all the U.S. could do is wait and see, and that it was too early to tell if Pyongyang was returning to nuclear talks. During his trip to North Korea, it has been confirmed that Clinton pressed Pyongyang to release South Korean and Japanese individuals who are also being detained. ROK Foreign Ministry Spokesman Moon Tae-young said in a briefing Thursday that he understood Clinton conveyed to the North Koreans that the Hyundai Asan employee being held in Kaesong and the crew of the Yeonanho needed to be freed from a humanitarian perspective. Moon also said nothing has been communicated to him in regards to North Korea's response, and that all information comes from a high-ranking U.S. State Department official. STEPHENS