SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; September 28, 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 SEOUL 001554 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; September 28, 2009 TOP HEADLINES -------------- Chosun Ilbo Progressive Teachers' Group Acknowledges Need for Teacher Evaluation JoongAng Ilbo, Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun, All TVs Mobile Phone Rates to be Cut Starting in November, Helping Households Save 7 to 8 Percent Annually Dong-a Ilbo Separated Families Hold Reunions Hankook Ilbo Number of "Working Poor" Jumps by 140,000 in First Half Hankyoreh Shinmun Survey: Six out of 10 Citizens Think Prime Minister Nominee "Unfit for Office" DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS -------------- According to diplomatic sources, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will visit Seoul on Oct. 9 for a summit with President Lee Myung-bak. His visit comes on the eve of the Oct. 10 trilateral summit in Beijing between the leaders of the ROK, China and Japan. (All) The ROK's Red Cross Chief Yoo Chong-ha said yesterday that his North Korean counterpart presented an indirect request for ROK rice and fertilizer aid in return for ongoing reunions of separated families. (All) INTERNATIONAL NEWS -------------- Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, during a Sept. 27 press briefing in Hanoi, said that the U.S. wants its partners in the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament to send Pyongyang a "unified" message to return to the talks. (Segye, MBC) According to a diplomatic source in Beijing, China's Premier Wen Jiabao will visit North Korea for two days from Oct. 4 to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. There is a high possibility that the Chinese premier may meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to persuade the North to promptly return to the Six-Party Talks. (JoongAng, Hankook) MEDIA ANALYSIS -------------- -N. Korea -------------- Conservative Segye Ilbo and MBC, a public broadcaster, quoted Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg as saying during a Sept. 27 press briefing in Hanoi that the U.S. wants its partners in the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament to send Pyongyang a "unified" message to return to the talks. Most media on Saturday quoted a senior ROKG official as saying that the U.S. and North Korea may need more than a month or two to finalize the details of a bilateral meeting. The official was �0A;further quoted: "The timing and format have not yet been set. The U.S. will take a careful approach so as to not give the North a wrong signal." SEOUL 00001554 002 OF 006 Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo editorialized on Saturday: "The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a new resolution, No. 1887, aimed at stopping the spread of nuclear weapons. ... It is not news that international efforts for denuclearization have been emphasized and highlighted. However, as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, this was 'a historic moment, a moment offering a fresh start toward a new future.' President Obama stressed that 'international law is not an empty promise, and treaties will be enforced.' By doing so, Obama hinted at his intentions to deal firmly with the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran." -G20 Summit Wrap-Up -------------- The ROK's hosting of the Group of 20 Summit in November next year received prominent press coverage today and over the weekend. President Lee Myung-bak was widely quoted as saying on Saturday upon his return from his seven-day trip to the U.S.: "Hosting the G-20 summit gives Korea momentum as the nation continues efforts to elevate itself to the status of a developed country. It will not only help Korea stand at the center of diplomacy but also upgrade Korea's national stature in terms of politics, economy, legal system and civility." According to media reports, the leaders of the Group of 20 rich and developing countries agreed during the third G-20 summit in Pittsburgh to endorse the G-20 as the premier forum for international economic cooperation, largely replacing the G-8, a forum for industrialized nations that has long dominated the world economy. Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo editorialized today: "Last year's financial crisis clearly demonstrated that the G-8 countries alone, without the emerging economies, cannot deal with global economic crises properly. ... Now it has become an established fact that the 'central axis' of the world economy has shifted from the G-8 to the G-20. ... However, the prospects of the G-20 system are still unclear. It is doubtful whether various countries can communicate without difficulty since there are big differences of opinion between developed countries and emerging economies on every issue. ... In this sense, the G-20 Summit, which will take place in the ROK next November, is highly likely to become a watershed in determining the stable development of the G-20 system." OPINIONS/EDITORIALS -------------- G-20 SUMMIT SHOULD BECOME THE CORNERSTONE OF WORLD ECONOMIC GROWTH (JoongAng Ilbo, September 28, 2009, page 46) Leaders of the third G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh said in a statement that they will hold the meeting annually starting from 2011. It seems that the leaders intend to upgrade the G-20 Summit from a temporary irregular meeting for combating the global financial crisis to a permanent premier coordinating body. The White House said that the G-20 leaders reached a historic consensus to designate the G-20 as the world's premier forum for international economic cooperation. This indicates that the leaders officially confirmed a new world economic order, in which the G-8 is being replaced by the G-20 involving both developed countries and emerging economies. In fact, the statement provides some concrete evidence that indicates that the G-20 system is being implemented. The G-20 called for a shift from developed to developing countries in the proportion of equity share and voting rights in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). In particular, the leaders agreed that the head of the international organizations should be selected based on qualifications, not nationality. This shows that emerging economies including the ROK have a growing voice on the international economic stage. This reflects, even if belatedly, the increased status of emerging SEOUL 00001554 003 OF 006 economies in the aftermath of the global financial upheaval. Even before the financial crisis, emerging economies had played a key role in the global economy by achieving fast economic growth. Therefore, it was meaningless for only the G-8 Summit leaders, excluding these emerging economies, to discuss the global economy. Last year's financial crisis clearly demonstrated that the G-8 countries alone, without the emerging economies, cannot deal with global economic crises properly. It seems natural that the G-20 Summit, which was hastily convened in Washington last December, has taken hold as a premier coordinating body by reflecting a change in the structure of the world economy. Now it has become an established fact that the 'central axis' of the world economy has shifted from the G-8 to the G-20. The Pittsburgh G-20 Summit is important in that the ROK was chosen to host next year's meeting. What carries greater significance is that the G-20 Summit emerged as the premier decision-making body of the global economy, and the ROK was given an opportunity to take the leadership role in the historic shift. However, the prospects for the G-20 system are still unclear. It is doubtful whether various countries can communicate without difficulty since there are big differences of opinion between developed countries and emerging economies on every issue. The G-20 Summit may end up being "an arena of struggle" or a "dysfunctional" summit which issues only a statement without reaching any concrete decision. In this sense, the G-20 Summit, which will take place in the ROK next November, is highly likely to become a watershed in determining the stable development of the G-20 system. The ROK should serve as a mediator between developed countries and emerging economies. This is why the entire world is paying attention to whether the ROK will exert its capability as a host country. G20 SUMMIT SHOULD EXPEDITE NAT'L DEVELOPMENT (Dong-a Ilbo, September 28, 2009, Page 31) Korea will be the first Asian country to host the Group of 20 summit in November next year and the fourth country to do so among G20 member states after the U.S. (twice),Britain and Canada. Korea's participation in the summit in and of itself attests to the nation's great strides in the international community. Seoul's successful bid to host the event is also a great achievement in Korean diplomacy. The country has also secured a monumental opportunity to raise its international profile. President Lee Myung-bak expressed his will to host the G20 summit soon after his return from the first event in Washington in November last year. A government task force was formed to bid for the hosting rights immediately. His "personal network of G20 leaders" added momentum to Korea's bid, and government officials including former Finance Minister Sakong Il, Chairman of the G20 planning and coordination committee, visited major member countries to propagate Korea's successful bid. The Group of Eight economies had previously dominated the global economy but failed to effectively tackle all pending global issues. The G20 was formed at a time when the world required new leadership in the wake of global challenges, including climate change, nuclear proliferation and terrorism. The G20 accounts for 85 percent of global production, so the G8 will likely see its role in the global agenda gradually decline. G20 leaders in Pittsburgh last week agreed to make the G20 the world's leading forum, and so chances are high the G20 will replace the G8 in the economic area. The G20 summit in Korea will likely cover key agenda items such as a strategy to overcome the economic crisis, financial regulations, and reform of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. If Korea can play a leading role in setting the agenda and generating solutions as the host country in successfully hosting next year's event, it can raise its global profile as a key member of the "post-G8" alliance. Advanced and emerging economies and developing nations have shown SEOUL 00001554 004 OF 006 differing views on easing the disparity in the global economy and overcoming the financial crisis. Korea is poised to join the league of advanced economies, and has ample experience as a successful developing country and emerging market. As such, the country is indeed qualified to play the role of a bridge between developed and developing economies. Korea must use the G20 summit as an opportunity to increase its national image to the level of advanced countries across the spectrum, encompassing politics, economy and society. The country was ranked 19th this year in national competitiveness by the World Economic Forum. Notably, the country is "rock bottom" in terms of labor competitiveness, including labor-management cooperation, and lags behind financial market sophistication and soundness of banks, a shameful level for a country that will host the G20 summit. Korea needs notable achievements recognized by both the Korean public and the world in advancing the nation's political culture, including making Korea's democracy more representative by the time of the next G20 summit. Otherwise, Korea could face disgrace as an "underdeveloped democracy" that hosts the G20 summit. (This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is identical to the Korean version.) G-20 AS DEMOCRATIC GLOBAL ECONOMIC COORDINATOR (Hankyoreh Shinmun, September 28, 2009, Page 27) The nations meeting at the G-20 summit, which closed last weekend in the U.S. city of Pittsburgh, have agreed to turn the G-20 into the world's top economic forum and to regularize G-20 summits starting in 2011. This agreement is being interpreted as an acknowledgement that the international community cannot resolve the economic problems of the world with just the leadership of the G-8 alone, which is centered on the advanced countries. In addition, it is being seen as a confirmation that the G-20 summit, which includes newly industrialized developing countries, such as China, will replace the G-8 summits. When one considers that the G-20 accounts for some 85 percent of the global economy and over half of the total economy of developing nations, this can be seen as an important decision that advances the global economic order towards democracy. The G-20 member states also agreed to adopt mutual evaluations of policy in order to build a cooperative system for sustainable balanced growth, reorganize the capital structure of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank by 2011, and strengthen regulations on financial institutions. They also reaffirmed a global economic keynote of openness and clarified the principle that nations should not use crisis to retreat into protectionism. The problem, however, is not only that many of the agreements made in the past few days lack not only substance, but also binding force. This is the case with the reorganization of country representation at the IMF and World Bank, which is directly related to the democratization of the global economic order. China and others had pressed to resolve the issue during this meeting but the summit declaration only provided support for, but no affirmative action towards, a shift in quota share for the IMF and World Bank in which 5% and 3%, respectively, of the shares from over-represented countries would go to under-represented countries. The summit also confirmed the need to improve global governance by tightening the lax management of financial institutions that led to the world economic crisis; however, a decision on setting a concrete international standard was put off until 2012. In certain respects, the outcome was predictable. Because the number of participating nations has grown and the gaps between them are much larger than those among the G8, reaching agreements on substantive issues can only get that much more difficult. The G-20 member countries must refuse to be satisfied with SEOUL 00001554 005 OF 006 agreements made just for agreement's sake if they want to become the world's top economic community. The G-20 must not shy away from the issues that were at the root of the world economic crisis, and instead should demonstrate the courage to resolve them. In this regard, the role of newly developed nations, starting with South Korea which will host next year summit prior to the regularization of the G-20 summit process, is important. The G-20 countries should democratize the global economic order by going beyond the interests of rising nations and make it easier for poor nations, which are not represented, to be heard. (This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is identical to the Korean version.) UN TIDE TURNS AGAINST NORTH (JoongAng Ilbo, September 26, 2009, Page 34) The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a new resolution, No. 1887, aimed at stopping the spread of nuclear weapons. U.S. President Barack Obama and other members of the Security Council, including the permanent members China, Russia, France and Britain, supported the resolution. It called for preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and related materials, for UN members to take action to end nuclear testing, and for a strengthening of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. In particular, the resolution states that if a state that receives nuclear materials or related equipment doesn't comply with the NPT or opts out of the treaty, then the country that provided those materials can require their return. Also, the resolution urges states to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. This move puts the last touch on a vision of a nuclear-free world. While North Korea and Iran weren't directly mentioned in the resolution, heads of state at the meeting pointed to those two countries as obstacles to a safe world. It is not news that international efforts for denuclearization have been emphasized and highlighted. However, as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, this was "a historic moment, a moment offering a fresh start toward a new future." President Obama stressed that "international law is not an empty promise, and treaties will be enforced." By doing so, Obama hinted at his intentions to deal firmly with the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran. And with the endorsement of this resolution, there could be a new international agreement at next April's NPT review summit, which is designed to strengthen the treaty. North Korea should take note of this resolution. Considering the ever-growing international sentiment against nuclear weapons, the North's "military first" politics can be sustained only for so long. The North can't live while holding on to nuclear weapons. Its isolation in the international community will only deepen, and the North will again have to walk the same path of hardship, dealing with tens of thousands of deaths from hunger. Today, the international community is urging North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons and is offering security assurances and economic aid in return, within the framework of the Six-Party dialogue. North Korea must return to the Six-Party Talks immediately. A nuclear weapons and military first policy will only lead to destruction. (This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is identical to the Korean version.) NORTH KOREA SHOULD TAKE UNSC'S ANTI-NUCLEAR RESOLUTION SERIOUSLY (Dong-a Ilbo, September 28, 2009, Page 31) The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1887 on nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament on September 24. The heads of the UNSC member nations came forward to spearhead anti-nuclear efforts in order to save the international community from nuclear threats. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon attached significance to the day, describing it as a "historic moment." SEOUL 00001554 006 OF 006 Although the resolution did not specifically mention North Korea and Iran, the leaders of major nations made it clear that (the resolution) is targeted at the two nations. President Obama warned during his speech at the UN General Assembly that "the governments of North Korea and Iran threaten to take us down this dangerous slope" and "they must be held accountable." French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after the adoption of the resolution that for almost 20 years since 1993, the Pyongyang regime has been developing nuclear and missile programs and exporting sensitive technologies overseas, and he urged every UN member nation to supervise and seize North Korea's illegal weapons and nuclear exports. The international community's commitment to nuclear non-proliferation is stronger than ever before. Since President Obama advocated a nuclear-weapons-free world in April, he has ambitiously taken the road to nuclear non-proliferation. He will chair the Global Nuclear Security Summit next March and the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) Review Conference next May. The reason why the special, summit-level meeting of the UN Security Council was held after five years was that its member nations considered nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran to be serious. Russia is also taking part in the U.S.'s anti-nuclear efforts. During their summit on September 23, President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to consider imposing additional serious sanctions on Iran if the nation does not accept the international community's proposal to end the nuclear standoff. The two Presidents also promised to come up with a new accord which will replace the START-1 treaty set to expire this year. The anti-nuclear resolution, which was adopted by the heads of the UNSC member nations, carries more weight than an agreement from the Six-Party Talks attended by vice minister-level officials. Through the resolution, the UNSC members also showed their willingness to abide by UNSC Resolutions 1718 and 1874. The latest resolution even "encourages States to require as a condition of nuclear exports that the recipient State agree that, in the event that it should terminate, withdraw from, or be found by the IAEA Board of Governors to be in non-compliance with its IAEA safeguards agreement, the supplier state would have a right to require the return of nuclear material and equipment provided prior to such termination, non-compliance or withdrawal, as well as any special nuclear material produced through the use of such material or equipment." If North Korea continues to ignore these warnings, it will inevitably be driven into a corner with its regime security deteriorating. STEPHENS