SEOUL - MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SEOUL 001464 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KMDR KS US SUBJECT: SEOUL - MEDIA REACTION EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC: DPRK -------------- "Resumption of U.S.-North Korea Dialogue" Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo editorialized (09/14): "Some people believe that U.S.-North Korea dialogue is inevitable in order to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff. The issue is the format and pace of the dialogue. ... Above all, we hope that the Obama Administration will not follow in the footsteps of the previous Bush Administration, which took an inconsistent approach toward North Korea by adopting an ultra hard-line stance in its early days and turning excessively conciliatory in its final days. ... There is an (important) point that the USG should not forget under any circumstance; it is the principle that North Korea must get rid of its nuclear weapons. The U.S. should not forget this point even for a moment." "North Korea-U.S. Bilateral Talks" Conservative Dong-a Ilbo editorialized (09/14): "Washington should exercise caution to ensure that the U.S.-North Korea bilateral talks do not replace the Six-Party Talks or that the U.S. will not be used by North Korea to exclude the ROK from discussion of issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula. Furthermore, the bilateral talks should not result in derailing the Six-Party Framework. ... Caution is also needed to temper optimism that the North's return to the negotiating table will end its nuclear threat. ... The international community should remember that mere dialogue without sanctions for North Korea's behavior is not enough to get the communist state moving. Sanctions must remain until it has been confirmed that the communist state has abandoned its nuclear program." "U.S.-North Korea Dialogue Should Lead to Denuclearization Negotiations" Moderate Hankook Ilbo editorialized (09/14): "What matters is that U.S.-North Korea talks should provide momentum for North Korea to return to the Six-Party Talks and engage in denuclearization negotiations. ... However, the prospect of holding the Six Party Talks seems uncertain because North Korea is highly likely to insist on being recognized as a nuclear state." "U.S.-North Korea Dialogue Should Lead to Denuclearization Negotiations" Left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun editorialized (09/14): "Although the U.S. is limiting the character of these talks to an attempt to bring North Korea back to the Six-Party Talks, the significance of these talks should not be taken lightly in that they will represent the first real dialogue between the two countries during U.S. President Barack Obama's Administration. ... Peace on the Korean Peninsula, the only region in the world still caught up in a 20th century-style Cold War, is impossible without a simultaneous resolution regarding North Korea's nuclear program and its concerns about the stability of its system. In that sense, both North Korea and the U.S. need to approach these talks as an opportunity to lay the groundwork for peace on the peninsula and to bring back the Six-Party Talks, which made considerable headway towards resolving these issues." TOKOLA