SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; March 18, 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SEOUL 000410 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; March 18, 2009 TOP HEADLINES -------------- Chosun Ilbo Former President of Korea Maritime Institute Arrested for Receiving Money from Taekwang Industrial Chairman Park Yeon-cha during 2005 Parliamentary By-Elections JoongAng Ilbo ROKG's Plan to Front-load Budget Spending in First Half Fails to Live Up to Public Expectations Dong-a Ilbo ROKG Seeks to Integrate Three Military Academies into One School Hankook Ilbo The Executive Above the Legislature?: ROKG Moves to Slash Capital Gains Taxes for Multiple Homeowners before Relevant Laws are Changed Hankyoreh Shinmun Supreme Court Justice Shin Ignores Pressure to Resign for Influencing Junior Judges in Trials of Anti-U.S. Beef Protesters Segye Ilbo Per Capita Personal Debt Reaches 16 Million Won Seoul Shinmun No Principles and Procedures in April 29 Parliamentary By-Elections; Elections Reduced to a Venue for Former Big Names to Make Political Comebacks DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS -------------- The ROKG seeks to draft a list of potential sanctions to impose on North Korea if it launches a rocket to test a long-range missile. The projected list is aimed at stepping up pressure on the North under UN Security Council Resolution 1718 and would specify people and organizations in the North as targets for major sanctions, including a travel ban and financial freeze. (Chosun) Experts raised the possibility that the "Kwangmyongsong-2" North Korea claims it is planning to launch might not be an experimental communications satellite but rather a "disguised warhead." (JoongAng) North Korea yesterday fully re-opened the border for ROK citizens traveling to and from the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The North also allowed ROK citizens to travel to Mt. Kumgang. It is unclear, however, whether the North will keep the border open. (All) Experts saw this abrupt and unexpected change by North Korea as the communist state's old "hit-and-run" tactic to tame the ROKG. (Chosun) INTERNATIONAL NEWS -------------- The "Honeymoon" Again between North Korea and China Ahead of a Missile Launch by the North: A North Korean delegation led by Premier Kim Yong-il visited China yesterday to attend an event marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. (Hankook, Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul) Rumor has it that the visit might also be aimed at discussing a visit to China by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. (Hankook, Pressian) MEDIA ANALYSIS -------------- SEOUL 00000410 002 OF 004 -North Korea -------------- North Korea's re-opening yesterday of the inter-Korean border for overland travel in both directions received wide play. Most of the ROK media observed that since March 9, when the ROK and the U.S. started their joint military exercises, North Korea has repeatedly closed and opened the border, tantalizing ROK business owners at the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North. Chosun Ilbo, citing experts, viewed this abrupt and unexpected move by the North as the communist state's old "hit-and-run" tactic to tame the ROKG. Hankook Ilbo's headline read: "Is North Korea's Military Alone behind Holding Kaesong Industrial Complex Hostage?... (The Move is) North Korean Leader Kim Jong-il's 'Calculated Pressure'" Most of the ROK media reported that the ROKG has asked businesses in the joint industrial complex to refrain from visiting the North except for trips by essential staff, because the situation remains unstable. On the North's missile front, Chosun Ilbo front-paged a report saying that Seoul seeks to draft a list of potential sanctions to impose on North Korea if it launches a rocket to test a long-range missile. The report went on to say that the projected list is aimed at stepping up pressure on the North under UN Security Council Resolution 1718 and would specify people and organizations in the North as targets for major sanctions, including a travel ban and financial freeze. Chosun quoted an ROKG official as saying: "Considering the positions of China and Russia, it's not easy to reach a new resolution at the UN Security Council... However, there is some consensus that the North's launch of such a projectile would constitute a violation of Resolution 1718, even if it is a satellite. A 'realistic alternative' would be to step up sanctions according to the resolution, which have so far been nominal." JoongAng Ilbo, meanwhile, quoted local pundits as raising the possibility that the "Kwangmyongsong-2" North Korea claims it is planning to launch might not be an experimental communications satellite but rather a "disguised warhead." Carrying the headline, "The 'Honeymoon' Again between North Korea and China Ahead of a Missile Launch by the North," Hankook Ilbo reported that a North Korean delegation led by Premier Kim Yong-il visited China yesterday to attend an event marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. The report went on to say that the North Korean Premier is expected to meet today with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao to discuss issues such as the North's planned rocket launch. The report also quoted a diplomatic source as speculating that this North Korean visit might be designed to discuss a visit to China by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. OPINIONS/EDITORIALS -------------- ROK-EU FTA Expected To Curb Trade Protectionism (Munhwa Ilbo, March 17, 2009, Page 31) The ROK-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to be officially concluded in the eighth round of talks scheduled to take place from March 22 to 23. This adds momentum to an overall 'FTA network' strategy. Lee Hye-min, chief negotiator for a free trade agreement with the EU said on March 17 that both sides are negotiating ways to strike a deal in time for the G20 Financial Summit to be held on April 2 in London, England. He added that the ROK-EU FTA will carry significance in that major trading partners, the ROK and the EU will proclaim the importance of free trade, not protectionist trade. A year and 10 months have passed since both sides officially announced their negotiations in Seoul on May 6, 2007. In fact, the ROK and the U.S. signed the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) on June 30, 2007. The KORUS FTA however has not been ratified by legislators of both countries. Therefore, great headway in SEOUL 00000410 003 OF 004 negotiations between the ROK and the EU may pave the way for the KORUS FTA to make rapid progress. If the ROK-EU FTA and the KORUS FTA take effect, it will create a new market worth 30 trillion dollars in terms of GDP. If the ROK-EU FTA is reached at the G20 Financial Summit in London, it will become an opportunity to prove the ROK's commitment to an open world and will bring actual benefits to the nation. We take note again that when the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers adopted the 8-point joint statement, they accepted strong demands from Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun and Bank of Korea Governor Lee Seong-tae and declared in the first provision of the statement that "we commit to fight all forms of protectionism and maintain open trade and investment." Around the same time reports surfaced concerning an imminent conclusion to the ROK-EU FTA talks, U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens said, "The ROK-U.S. FTA has the potential to offer much to citizens of both our countries. I urge our Korean friends to give our new team in Washington some time to get in place." Once again, we point out to opponents of the ROK-U.S. FTA that missing an opportunity to establish the FTA network is the same as losing an opportunity for economic revival. FEATURES -------------- Seoul Mulling List of Targets for N. Korea Sanctions (Chosun Ilbo, March 18, 2009, Front Page) By Reporter Lim Min-hyuk The South Korean government is considering drafting a list of targets for sanctions in North Korea in case the North launches a long-range missile. The projected list is aimed at stepping up pressure on the North under UN Security Council 1718. The list would specify people and organizations in North Korea as targets of major sanctions. When Resolution 1718 was adopted after North Korea conducted a nuclear test in 2006, no list was made out of political consideration. A government official said, "Considering the positions of China and Russia, it's not easy to reach a new resolution at the UN Security Council if the North keeps insisting that the projectile it plans to launch is a satellite. But there is some consensus that the North's launch of such a projectile would itself constitute a violation of Resolution 1718, even if it is a satellite." He said a "realistic alternative" would be to step up sanctions according to the resolution, which have so far been nominal. Resolution 1718 obliges all UN member countries to impose an arms embargo, travel ban and financial freeze on North Korea. Of the three kinds of sanctions, arms embargo and financial freeze particularly oblige the member countries to specify "target individuals and organizations" under Article 12 (e) of the resolution. But political considerations including Washington-Pyongyang negotiations over the resumption of the Six-Party nuclear talks in 2006 meant no country made such a list of targets. A diplomatic source said it would be possible to put considerable pressure on the North without having to take separate measures because a list of targets including senior North Korean officials would have "an enormous substantial and symbolic impact on the North." Some countries such as Japan are reportedly enthusiastic about the idea, but much depends on the position China and Russia take. Another diplomatic source said, "No full list was made even after the North's nuclear test back then, so any countries can make such a list to respond to the North's launch of a long-range missile if they join efforts with the U.S." SEOUL 00000410 004 OF 004 (This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is identical to the Korean version.) STEPHENS