SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; August 20, 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SEOUL 001336 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; August 20, 2009 TOP HEADLINES -------------- Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, Segye Ilbo, All TVs ROK's First Space Rocket Launch Halted Due to Technical Problems Just Seven Minutes and 56 Seconds before Blast-off Dong-a Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo "Six-Day State Funeral" Set for Late Former President Kim Dae-jung Hankyoreh Shinmun, Seoul Shinmun ¶N. Korea Offers to Send Delegation to Honor Kim Dae-jung ... Opportunity Arises for "High-level Dialogue" between ROK, N. Korean Authorities DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS -------------- According to the ROKG, a state funeral will be held on August 23 for the late former President Kim Dae-jung. The funeral service will take place at 2 p.m. at the plaza in front of the National Assembly after a six-day mourning period. (All) According to main opposition Democratic Party Rep. Park Ji-won, who served as chief of staff for the late president, North Korea offered yesterday to send a delegation of five senior officials from the Workers' Party to extend condolences for the late president. (All) North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported yesterday that its leader Kim Jong-il sent a message to express "deep condolences" to the former president's bereaved family. (All) INTERNATIONAL NEWS -------------- According to AFP, on August 19 (local time),New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will meet with Kim Myong-gil, a minister at the North Korean mission to the UN. This is the first meeting between U.S. and North Korean officials since former President Bill Clinton's recent visit to Pyongyang. (JoongAng, Hankook, Hankyoreh, Seoul, OhmyNews) MEDIA ANALYSIS -------------- -N. Korea -------------- - Former President Kim Dae-jung's Death All ROK media gave prominent attention to North Korea's offer yesterday to send a delegation of five senior officials from the Workers' Party to extend condolences for the late former President Kim Dae-jung. Both conservative Chosun Ilbo and left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun observed that the visiting North Korean delegation will be the first visit to the ROK by senior (North Korean) officials during the Lee Myung-bak Administration. Chosun quoted an ROKG source as saying: "North Korea's delegation is likely to stay for two days. Our government is preparing for a possible meeting with the North Korean delegation." The ROK media also gave wide coverage to yesterday's report by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency that its leader Kim Jong-il sent a message to express "deep condolences" to the former president's bereaved family. The ROK media commented that this immediate, sympathetic North Korean response to Kim's death illustrated the North's special treatment of and respect for the late president. SEOUL 00001336 002 OF 004 -Relations with N. Korea Conservative Dong-a Ilbo quoted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as saying during August 18 joint press availability at the State Department with the visiting Foreign Minister from Colombia: "The trip to North Korea by my husband and the former President, Bill Clinton, is extremely helpful as it gives the Administration a window into what's going on in North Korea, but our policy (toward North Korea) remains the same. Our policy is consistent." Most ROK media gave attention to an August 19 AFP report citing New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's spokeswoman as saying that the governor will meet with two North Korean diplomats on August 19 (local time). The meeting is at the request of Kim Myong-gil, a minister at the North Korean mission to the UN who is one of the two diplomats attending. The ROK media noted that this is the first meeting between U.S. and North Korean officials since former President Bill Clinton's visit to Pyongyang. Conservative Chosun Ilbo, in an editorial entitled "ROK, U.S. Need More In-depth Discussions on N. Korea Policy," observed: "Questions are being raised about whether international sanctions against North Korea will continue in an effective manner, after former U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea, the announcement of a five-point agreement between Hyundai Group and North Korea, and the North's decision to send a condolence delegation for the late President Kim Dae-jung. ... Some quarters in the ROK are already calling for the Lee Myung-bak Administration to improve relations with North Korea. Even though there is some truth to such a demand in order to break the deadlock in inter-Korean ties, we cannot help but worry about how this need will be reconciled with international efforts to speed up sanctions against North Korea." Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo editorialized: "We hope that North Korea's dispatch of a condolence delegation will serve to take inter-Korean relations to the next level. ... We once again stress that overall improvement in inter-Korean relations, including the expansion of the joint Kaesong Industrial Complex project, is premised on North Korea's determination to give up its nuclear ambitions. Since North Korea expressed its intention to resolve pending bilateral issues, we urge North Korea to reopen talks between ROK and North Korean authorities. If the North deals only with ROK civilians while keeping ROK authorities on the sidelines, it will only invite suspicion that it is trying to divide ROK society rather than improve inter-Korean relations." Left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun's editorial also expressed hope that North Korea's dispatch of a condolence delegation will lay the groundwork for progress in inter-Korean ties, while urging the ROKG to utilize this "condolence diplomacy" to establish a new framework for dialogue. OPINIONS/EDITORIALS -------------- ROK, U.S. NEED MORE IN-DEPTH DISCUSSIONS ON N. KOREA POLICY (Chosun Ilbo, August 20, 2009, page 31) "Our policy remains the same. Our policy is consistent," said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as President Barack Obama met with Bill Clinton to discuss the former president's mission to North Korea that secured the release of two imprisoned American journalists. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip Crowley said the U.S. welcomes the agreement that was struck between North Korea and Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun on Sunday as a "small gesture" that could open the doors to a new inter-Korean dialogue. The two sides agreed to resume package tours to the north and continue reunions of families separated by the Korean War. But Crowley added that such "peripheral measures" are "fundamentally insufficient" to prompt easing of sanctions against North Korea. The U.S., he said, wants to see North Korea "take decisive and SEOUL 00001336 003 OF 004 irreversible steps" to dismantle its nuclear program. Ambassador Philip Goldberg, who coordinates UN Security Council resolutions against North Korea, will visit the ROK on Sunday and Monday to discuss the sanctions. The U.S. government's stance is to continue sanctions for now so that North Korea will realize that it has no choice but to scrap its nuclear program. But questions are being raised about whether international sanctions against North Korea will continue in an effective manner, after former U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea, the announcement of a five-point agreement between Hyundai Group and North Korea, and the North's decision to send a condolence delegation for the late President Kim Dae-jung. Some quarters in the ROK are already calling for the Lee Myung-bak Administration to improve relations with North Korea. Even though there is some truth to such a demand in order to break the deadlock in inter-Korean ties, we cannot help but worry about how this need will be reconciled with international efforts to speed up sanctions against North Korea. The agreement between North Korea and Hyundai Group means that a considerable amount of cash will be paid to the North in the form of entrance fees for tourists and other costs once tours to Mt. Kumgang and Kaesong resume. But UN Resolution 1874 strictly forbids any form of aid the North could divert for the development of nuclear weapons, missiles and other weapons of mass destruction. Seoul has said the agreements between Hyundai and North Korea does not conflict with the UN resolution. But cash can be diverted for other purposes. The ROK is the prime target and the country most affected by North Korea's nuclear weapons and missiles. And the ROK played a major role in the making of the resolution. Inter-Korean relations need to improve, but the ROK must consider its international credibility. North Korea has been extending a series of olive branches in recent weeks, probably to weaken the level of cooperation between the ROK and the U.S. in terms of the sanctions. Seoul and Washington need to talk, comprehensively and in depth, more than ever to prevent confusion and conflict in their North Korea policies. (This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is identical to the Korean version.) ¶N. KOREA'S CONDOLENCE DELEGATION SHOULD SERVE TO IMPROVE INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS (JoongAng Ilbo, August 20, 2009, Page 38) North Korea is reacting swiftly to the death of former ROK President Kim Dae-jung. A day after Kim's death, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il sent a message of condolences early in the morning, and yesterday the North notified the ROK that it would send a high-level delegation, including a Secretary and a Department Director of the ruling Workers' Party, to the funeral of the former President. Pyongyang's intent seems to be to pay respects to former President Kim for holding the first-ever inter-Korean summit and trying to promote peace and reconciliation between the two Koreas. Although some procedures remain to be resolved, this is desirable. It is all the more so because the visit comes amid growing signs that reunions of families separated since the Korean War and suspended inter-Korean exchange and cooperation programs, such as tourism to Mt. Kumgang and Kaesong, may resume as a result of Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun's recent trip to Pyongyang. We hope that North Korea's dispatch of a condolence delegation will serve to take inter-Korean relations to the next level. To this end, North Korea should make further efforts to understand the ROK's stance in a forward-looking way. By sending a condolence delegation to the funeral, wouldn't the North intend to honor and respect the spirit of former President Kim by improving inter-Korean relations? What former President Kim has pursued is probably the spirit of the two Koreas understanding and helping each other. For example, the ROK's prevailing opinion is in order to resume the Mt. Kumgang tour project, North Korea should apologize in any form for the shooting SEOUL 00001336 004 OF 004 of the ROK tourist by a North Korean soldier. Former President Kim once noted that North Korea was evidently wrong when it shot a running woman in her back. Against this backdrop, Kim Jong-il should not gloss over (the shooting) by only guaranteeing a visiting ROK civilian entrepreneur Hyun Jung-eun "convenience and safety" (for future tours). We should hold inter-Korean talks to produce more convincing results. In addition, we once again stress that overall improvement in inter-Korean relations, including the expansion of the joint Kaesong Industrial Complex project, is premised on North Korea's determination to give up its nuclear ambitions. Since North Korea expressed its intention to resolve pending bilateral issues, we urge North Korea to reopen talks between ROK and North Korean authorities. If the North deals only with ROK civilians while keeping ROK authorities on the sidelines, it will only invite suspicion that it is trying to divide ROK society rather than improve inter-Korean relations. ¶N. KOREA'S CONDOLENCE DELEGATION SHOULD LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR PROGRESS IN INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS (Hankyoreh Shinmun, August 19, 2009, page 27) North Korea offered to send a delegation of special envoys to extend condolences for the late former President Kim Dae-jung. Earlier, Pyongyang sent a message to express deep condolences to the former president's bereaved family. The North Korean overture is significant in that this will be the first visit by senior North Korean officials to the ROK since the inauguration of the Lee Myung-bak Administration. North Korea has much respect for Kim and it is apparently because of this that the North is sending a delegation. The North sent a condolence delegation when Hyundai Group Honorary Chairman Chung Ju-young died in March 2001. However, the late President, who ushered in the era of inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation, seems to be more special to the North. The summit between former President Kim and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il paved the way for Pyongyang to dispatch the condolence delegation in 2001. The five-point agreement between Hyundai group and the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee is an extension of inter-Korean economic cooperation that has been developed since then. It is noteworthy that the North is sending a condolence delegation while the situation on the Korean Peninsula is changing. Now the U.S. and China are moving swiftly to resume the Six-Party Talks. North Korea is also working hard to have direct negotiations with the U.S. An opportunity for the two Koreas to turn their relationship around is emerging, albeit slowly. Some ROKG officials point out that North Korea bypassed the ROKG to deliver its intention to send a condolence delegation to the funeral, but if the ROKG utilizes this "condolence diplomacy," it could establish a new framework for dialogue. What is important is the willingness of both sides. The ROKG should first stop denying the achievements of the previous administrations. If it only makes clear its commitment to faithfully implement the June 15 and October 4 declarations, there is no reason why Seoul cannot take the lead in inter-Korean relations. Seoul will also be able to raise its voice in future nuclear talks. North Korea, for its part, must not hold cross-border ties hostage to gain what it wants, nor must it sideline the ROKG. When both parties work together, they can build trust. Even right until his death, former President Kim reportedly desired to see progress in inter-Korean relations. In order to advance inter-Korean relations, we should exercise wisdom and grab even the smallest opportunity. We hope that the North Korean delegation's upcoming visit will become such an opportunity. TOKOLA