PRESS BULLETIN - January 13, 2009

UNCLAS SEOUL 000063 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/K, EAP/PD, INR/EAP/K AND INR/IL/P TREASURY FOR OASIA/WINGLE USDOC FOR 4430/IEP/OPB/EAP/WGOLICKE STATE PASS USDA ELECTRONICALLY FOR FAS/ITP STATE PASS DOL/ILAB SUDHA HALEY STATE PASS USTR FOR IVES/WEISEL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO PGOV PREL MARR ECON KS US SUBJECT: PRESS BULLETIN - January 13, 2009 Top Headlines Chosun Ilbo Illegal Use of State and Public Land Increases Fivefold in Four Years JoongAng Ilbo Ruling Camp Officials: "Heads of National Intelligence Service, National Police Agency and National Tax Service will be Replaced" Dong-a Ilbo Wife of Detained Former National Tax Service (NTS) Chief Puts High-Priced Painting for Sale, and Claims: "I Received It from Wife of Current NTS Chief in Early 2007, when My Husband was Still in Office" Hankook Ilbo, All TVs Lee, Aso Agree to Help Japanese Companies Invest in ROK Industrial Complexes for Parts Production Hankyoreh Shinmun Foreign Media: Israel Even Aims to Devastate Underground Hamas Military Facilities if Its Ground Incursion into Downtown Gaza City Ends Segye Ilbo President Lee Expected to Reshuffle Four to Eight Cabinet Ministers, Including Finance Minister Kang Man-soo Seoul Shinmun ROKG Considers Selling Ssangyong Motor Co. after Strengthening Its SUV Unit; Ssangyong, ROK's Fifth-Largest Automaker, Filed for Court Receivership Last Week Domestic Developments ¶1. President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso agreed during yesterday's summit meeting in Seoul to put aside historical disputes and enhance bilateral cooperation to deal with the global economic crisis. The two leaders also stressed the importance of maintaining the Six-Party framework to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and agreed to work closely with the incoming Obama Administration. (All) International News ¶1. President George W. Bush, during his last official press conference on Jan. 12 (local time),said that North Korea is still a problem. President Bush was quoted as saying: "One of my concerns is that North Korea might still be pushing for its alleged highly enriched uranium (HEU) program." (Hankyoreh, Seoul, all TVs) Media Analysis North Korea Most of the ROK media gave play to President George W. Bush's last official press conference at the White House on Jan. 12 (local time),in which he said that North Korea is still a problem. President Bush was quoted as saying: "In order to advance our relations with North Korea, the North must honor the commitments it made to allow for strong verification measures to be in place so as to ensure that they do not develop a highly enriched uranium program. One of my concerns is that North Korea might still be pushing for the alleged program." In a related development, the ROK media reported that President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, during their summit meeting in Seoul yesterday, stressed the importance of maintaining the Six-Party framework to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons and agreed to work closely with the incoming Obama Administration. Gaza Conservative Chosun Ilbo ran an inside-page report saying that after 12 days of fighting in Gaza, Israel now faces a choice - pursue a ceasefire or push ahead with the kind of messy, door-to-door urban fighting to remove Hamas, which might cause the death toll to rise dramatically among both Palestinian civilians and its own soldiers. Chosun went on to say that the Israeli prime minister and the defense minister are differing over whether to escalate the two-week offensive, with the former supporting pushing ahead with the offensive while the latter is arguing for a ceasefire, citing deteriorating international opinions. Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo's headline read: "Israel Enlists Reserves... Gaza Offensive Reaches Its Final Stages." Conservative Dong-a Ilbo wrote in the headline: "Israel Pushes the Offensive into a Third and Final Phase in which the Army Takes Over Larger Areas of Gaza." Left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun headlined its story: "Israel Even Ready to Devastate Underground Hamas Military Facilities if Its Ground Incursion into Downtown Gaza City Ends; Is Israel's Final Objective to Reoccupy Gaza?" Stephens 1