SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; November 3, 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SEOUL 001745 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; November 3, 2009 TOP HEADLINES -------------- Chosun Ilbo Board of Audit and Inspection Asks Prosecution to Investigate 16 Cultural and Civic Organizations on Suspicion of Embezzling 50 Billion Won in Government Subsidies JoongAng Ilbo President Lee Says He Won't Duck Sejong City Issue Dong-a Ilbo National Tax Service to Bring 270 Trillion Won Underground Economy to Above Ground Hankook Ilbo, All TVs ROKG to Raise "New Flu" Alert to Highest "Red" Level Today Hankyoreh Shinmun Land Ministry Lowered Grades of Highly Protected Greenbelt Areas to Build Low-Cost Apartments Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun President Lee Urges Prudence over Sejong City Project DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS -------------- A week after the ROKG offered 10,000 tons of corn in food aid to North Korea, the North remained silent yesterday, putting the ROKG in an awkward position. (Hankook) INTERNATIONAL NEWS -------------- A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday that "If the U.S. is not ready to sit down face to face with us, we will go our own way." This remark seems designed to press for bilateral talks with the U.S. (All) MEDIA ANALYSIS -------------- -N. Korea -------------- All ROK media covered Nov. 2 press remarks by a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman, in which he said: "If the U.S. is not ready to sit down face to face with us, we will go our own way." The spokesman was further quoted: "As we magnanimously clarified our position that it is possible to hold multilateral talks, including the Six-Party Talks depending on talks with the U.S., now it is the U.S.'s turn to make a decision." Most media interpreted this North Korean statement as designed to press for bilateral talks with the U.S. -Afghanistan Election Over -------------- The ROK media gave attention to Afghanistan's election commission's declaration yesterday that Hamid Karzai will continue as president after it called off a run-off following the withdrawal of his only rival. Newspapers carried the following headlines: "Though Regrettable... U.S. Again in the Same Boat with Karzai" (conservative Chosun Ilbo); "U.S. Likely to Speed up Decision on Afghan Troop Deployment" (right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo); and "Doubts Remain over Legitimacy of New Government, Including Allegations of Fraud in Favor of Karzai" (moderate Hankook Ilbo, left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun, conservative Segye Ilbo, moderate Seoul Shinmun) SEOUL 00001745 002 OF 002 FEATURES -------------- ¶N. KOREA GETS IMPATIENT WITH U.S. (Chosun Ilbo, November 3, 2009, Page 6; Excerpts) By Reporter Ahn Yong-hyun North Korea on Monday warned it will "go its own way if the U.S. is not yet ready to sit down" for dialogue about the North Korean nuclear issue. A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman made the remarks to the official KCNA news agency. "As we magnanimously clarified our position that it is possible to hold multilateral talks, including the Six-Party Talks depending on talks with the U.S., now it is the U.S.'s turn to make a decision." A South Korean security official said the remarks sound like blackmail, warning of some kind of military action "including increasing its nuclear capability" unless the U.S. jumps into talks. But he said the substance was a "rehash" of previous statements. In a recent meeting held between Ri Gun, the Chief of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's American Affairs Bureau, and Sung Kim, the Chief U.S. Delegate to the Six-Party Talks, the spokesman complained that "no discussion" took place "on any substantial issue concerning the bilateral dialogue." This can be interpreted as meaning that, during the meeting, the difference of opinions between the two over issues, such as the North's return to the Six-Party Talks, was hardly narrowed. The spokesman claimed the North suffered huge economic losses in the process of talks to solve its nuclear issue, since it did not receive the light-water reactor as promised. This is being read as a broad hint that the North wants greater economic support as a reward for returning to the Six-Party Talks. The spokesman already drew lines for future talks by saying that the Sept. 19, 2005 statement of principles was a "dead document," because the U.S. brought North Korea's "satellite launch" - widely understood to have been a long-range missile test - to the UN Security Council and invoked sanctions. The 2005 statement stipulates a stage-by-stage dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons on the "action-for-action" principle. (This is a translation provided by the newspaper. We have compared the English version on the website with the Korean version and added some sentences in English to make them identical.) STEPHENS