Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09SEOUL924
2009-06-11 07:08:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Seoul
Cable title:
SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; June 11, 2009
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SEOUL 000924
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; June 11, 2009
TOP HEADLINES
--------------
Chosun Ilbo
"Protesters" Drive "Citizens" Out of Seoul Plaza; Seoul Plaza Filled
with Chants and Flags, Instead of Planned Cultural Events
JoongAng Ilbo
Specialization Is the Way to Go If Universities are to Survive
Dong-a Ilbo
ROK Starts "Grand Long March for Space Development;"
The Nation's First Space Center Opens
Hankook Ilbo
Seven Nations Agree on New Resolution against N. Korea
Hankyoreh Shinmun
Cries of Plaza: "President Lee Should Stop Going It Alone"
Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun, All TVs
Tens of Thousands of People Gather at Seoul Plaza to Mark
Pro-Democracy Movement; Minor but Intense Clashes
Erupt between Protesters and Riot Police
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
--------------
The two Koreas will hold government-level talks today at the joint
Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North. (Dong-a, Hankook, Segye,
Seoul, all TVs)
The ROK's top priority with North Korea remains unchanged from the
first meeting in April: secure the release of a detained ROK worker.
North Korea, however, is expected to focus on presenting its
detailed demands for higher wages and land use fees. (Hankook,
Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul, all TVs)
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
--------------
According to an ROKG official, the five veto-wielding Security
Council nations - the U.S., China, Russia, Britain and France - and
Japan and the ROK reached final agreement yesterday on a new
resolution on sanctions against North Korea. The resolution is
expected to be adopted as early as today. (All)
Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea
Policy, said in a June 9 speech at the Korea Society's annual dinner
that the U.S. is willing to hold bilateral talks with North Korea.
He also said that the U.S. has no intention to invade North Korea or
change its regime through force. (Dong-a, Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul,
KBS)
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in a June 9 Senate hearing,
expressed confidence that the U.S. is fully capable of destroying
any North Korean missile heading towards its territory. This remark
may reflect U.S. concerns that North Korea's intercontinental
ballistic missile (ICBM) may pose a real threat to the U.S. (Dong-a)
MEDIA ANALYSIS
--------------
-North Korea
--------------
Yesterday's agreement in the UN Security Council on a new resolution
against North Korea received wide press coverage.
SEOUL 00000924 002 OF 003
According to media reports, the resolution, expected to be adopted
as early as today, consists of three parts: search of ships entering
or leaving North Korea that are suspected of carrying weapons of
mass destruction; ban on weapons trade; and financial sanctions. It
is, in effect, a harsher version of UNSC Resolution 1718, which was
adopted after the North's first nuclear test in 2006, according to
media reports.
Conservative Chosun Ilbo quoted an ROKG official: "The substance of
the sanctions is to choke off North Korea's supply of dollars
through arms deals." In an editorial, Chosun argued: "UNSC
sanctions, however, are not the ultimate solution to North Korea's
nuclear and missile issues. The UNSC has imposed numerous economic
sanctions against North Korea, but none of them has resolved the
issues. The ROK, the U.S., Japan, China, and Russia, the
participants in the Six-Party Talks as well as key players in this
UNSC discussion to sanction North Korea, should look for a
fundamental solution to the North's nuclear and missile issues."
Newspapers carried the following headlines: "China and Russia Also
Wield Stick against North Korea's Nuclear Development" (conservative
Chosun Ilbo); "Stronger UNSC Resolution... N. Korea to be Pressed
Economically" (right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo); "N. Korea's Nuclear
Test Condemned in the Strongest Tone" (conservative Dong-a Ilbo);
Almost All North Korean Weapons and Assets to be Frozen" (moderate
Hankook Ilbo); and "Financial Sanctions against N. Korea Softened to
'Advisory Level;' (the Resolution) is Wider in Scope but Softer on
Language than Resolution 1718" (left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun)
Most media quoted Stephen Bosworth, the Special Representative for
North Korea Policy, as saying during a June 9 speech at the Korea
Society's annual dinner that the U.S. is willing to hold bilateral
talks with North Korea and that the U.S. has no intention to invade
North Korea or change its regime through force.
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS
--------------
UN SANCTIONS MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO STOP N. KOREA
(Chosun Ilbo, June 11, 2009, page 35)
The UN Security Council has agreed on a draft resolution to sanction
North Korea over its second nuclear test. The council is to adopt a
resolution after some last-minute fine-tuning the wording of the
text. The sanctions are stronger and more extensive than Resolution
1718, which the council adopted after North Korea's first nuclear
test in October 2006. If there is evidence that a ship traveling to
and from North Korea is suspected of carrying banned materials, it
faces inspection on the high seas, and no aid to North Korea except
for humanitarian aid is permitted.
The most notable aspect of the latest round of talks in the Security
Council is that China agreed to tough sanctions on North Korea,
which it had opposed after North Korea's launch of a long-range
rocket on April 5. China has now agreed to support even the
inspection of ships entering and leaving North Korea.
The significance of this resolution is that it shows the
international community's determination not to accept a
nuclear-armed North Korea and not to hesitate to punish the
Stalinist country for provocations, such as nuclear tests. UNSC
sanctions, however, are not the ultimate solution to North Korea's
nuclear and missile issues. The UNSC has imposed numerous economic
sanctions against North Korea, but none of them has resolved the
issues. The ROK, the U.S., Japan, China, and Russia, the
participants in the Six-Party Talks as well as key players in this
UNSC discussion to sanction North Korea, should look for a
fundamental solution to the North's nuclear and missile issues.
There is not much time left to prevent North Korea from developing
the capability to launch a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic
missile. If China continues its lukewarm response, then the ROK and
SEOUL 00000924 003 OF 003
Japan would have no choice but to look for their own nuclear
options, prompting the U.S. to strengthen its military presence in
the region and triggering an arms race in Northeast Asia. China must
make a strategic decision whether it will continue to maintain the
status quo when it comes to North Korea.
As long as North Korea insists on using its nuclear and missile
programs as tools for survival and to ensure a successful transfer
of power, the U.S. administration must realize that a few carrots
mixed with sticks will no longer be enough to solve the problem. An
intensive and fundamental review of North Korea policy is needed.
The ROKG must also approach this problem with the firm resolve that
it has the option of acquiring its own deterrents, beyond the limits
in range and capacity of a Seoul-Washington agreement and
international regulations.
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is
identical to the Korean version.)
STEPHENS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; June 11, 2009
TOP HEADLINES
--------------
Chosun Ilbo
"Protesters" Drive "Citizens" Out of Seoul Plaza; Seoul Plaza Filled
with Chants and Flags, Instead of Planned Cultural Events
JoongAng Ilbo
Specialization Is the Way to Go If Universities are to Survive
Dong-a Ilbo
ROK Starts "Grand Long March for Space Development;"
The Nation's First Space Center Opens
Hankook Ilbo
Seven Nations Agree on New Resolution against N. Korea
Hankyoreh Shinmun
Cries of Plaza: "President Lee Should Stop Going It Alone"
Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun, All TVs
Tens of Thousands of People Gather at Seoul Plaza to Mark
Pro-Democracy Movement; Minor but Intense Clashes
Erupt between Protesters and Riot Police
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
--------------
The two Koreas will hold government-level talks today at the joint
Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North. (Dong-a, Hankook, Segye,
Seoul, all TVs)
The ROK's top priority with North Korea remains unchanged from the
first meeting in April: secure the release of a detained ROK worker.
North Korea, however, is expected to focus on presenting its
detailed demands for higher wages and land use fees. (Hankook,
Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul, all TVs)
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
--------------
According to an ROKG official, the five veto-wielding Security
Council nations - the U.S., China, Russia, Britain and France - and
Japan and the ROK reached final agreement yesterday on a new
resolution on sanctions against North Korea. The resolution is
expected to be adopted as early as today. (All)
Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea
Policy, said in a June 9 speech at the Korea Society's annual dinner
that the U.S. is willing to hold bilateral talks with North Korea.
He also said that the U.S. has no intention to invade North Korea or
change its regime through force. (Dong-a, Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul,
KBS)
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in a June 9 Senate hearing,
expressed confidence that the U.S. is fully capable of destroying
any North Korean missile heading towards its territory. This remark
may reflect U.S. concerns that North Korea's intercontinental
ballistic missile (ICBM) may pose a real threat to the U.S. (Dong-a)
MEDIA ANALYSIS
--------------
-North Korea
--------------
Yesterday's agreement in the UN Security Council on a new resolution
against North Korea received wide press coverage.
SEOUL 00000924 002 OF 003
According to media reports, the resolution, expected to be adopted
as early as today, consists of three parts: search of ships entering
or leaving North Korea that are suspected of carrying weapons of
mass destruction; ban on weapons trade; and financial sanctions. It
is, in effect, a harsher version of UNSC Resolution 1718, which was
adopted after the North's first nuclear test in 2006, according to
media reports.
Conservative Chosun Ilbo quoted an ROKG official: "The substance of
the sanctions is to choke off North Korea's supply of dollars
through arms deals." In an editorial, Chosun argued: "UNSC
sanctions, however, are not the ultimate solution to North Korea's
nuclear and missile issues. The UNSC has imposed numerous economic
sanctions against North Korea, but none of them has resolved the
issues. The ROK, the U.S., Japan, China, and Russia, the
participants in the Six-Party Talks as well as key players in this
UNSC discussion to sanction North Korea, should look for a
fundamental solution to the North's nuclear and missile issues."
Newspapers carried the following headlines: "China and Russia Also
Wield Stick against North Korea's Nuclear Development" (conservative
Chosun Ilbo); "Stronger UNSC Resolution... N. Korea to be Pressed
Economically" (right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo); "N. Korea's Nuclear
Test Condemned in the Strongest Tone" (conservative Dong-a Ilbo);
Almost All North Korean Weapons and Assets to be Frozen" (moderate
Hankook Ilbo); and "Financial Sanctions against N. Korea Softened to
'Advisory Level;' (the Resolution) is Wider in Scope but Softer on
Language than Resolution 1718" (left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun)
Most media quoted Stephen Bosworth, the Special Representative for
North Korea Policy, as saying during a June 9 speech at the Korea
Society's annual dinner that the U.S. is willing to hold bilateral
talks with North Korea and that the U.S. has no intention to invade
North Korea or change its regime through force.
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS
--------------
UN SANCTIONS MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO STOP N. KOREA
(Chosun Ilbo, June 11, 2009, page 35)
The UN Security Council has agreed on a draft resolution to sanction
North Korea over its second nuclear test. The council is to adopt a
resolution after some last-minute fine-tuning the wording of the
text. The sanctions are stronger and more extensive than Resolution
1718, which the council adopted after North Korea's first nuclear
test in October 2006. If there is evidence that a ship traveling to
and from North Korea is suspected of carrying banned materials, it
faces inspection on the high seas, and no aid to North Korea except
for humanitarian aid is permitted.
The most notable aspect of the latest round of talks in the Security
Council is that China agreed to tough sanctions on North Korea,
which it had opposed after North Korea's launch of a long-range
rocket on April 5. China has now agreed to support even the
inspection of ships entering and leaving North Korea.
The significance of this resolution is that it shows the
international community's determination not to accept a
nuclear-armed North Korea and not to hesitate to punish the
Stalinist country for provocations, such as nuclear tests. UNSC
sanctions, however, are not the ultimate solution to North Korea's
nuclear and missile issues. The UNSC has imposed numerous economic
sanctions against North Korea, but none of them has resolved the
issues. The ROK, the U.S., Japan, China, and Russia, the
participants in the Six-Party Talks as well as key players in this
UNSC discussion to sanction North Korea, should look for a
fundamental solution to the North's nuclear and missile issues.
There is not much time left to prevent North Korea from developing
the capability to launch a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic
missile. If China continues its lukewarm response, then the ROK and
SEOUL 00000924 003 OF 003
Japan would have no choice but to look for their own nuclear
options, prompting the U.S. to strengthen its military presence in
the region and triggering an arms race in Northeast Asia. China must
make a strategic decision whether it will continue to maintain the
status quo when it comes to North Korea.
As long as North Korea insists on using its nuclear and missile
programs as tools for survival and to ensure a successful transfer
of power, the U.S. administration must realize that a few carrots
mixed with sticks will no longer be enough to solve the problem. An
intensive and fundamental review of North Korea policy is needed.
The ROKG must also approach this problem with the firm resolve that
it has the option of acquiring its own deterrents, beyond the limits
in range and capacity of a Seoul-Washington agreement and
international regulations.
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is
identical to the Korean version.)
STEPHENS