SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; FEBRUARY 8, 2010

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 SEOUL 000182 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; FEBRUARY 8, 2010 TOP HEADLINES -------------- Chosun Ilbo ROKG to Ask for Return of Joseon Dynasty Royal Documents from Japan JoongAng Ilbo Courts Go Light on Violent Protestors; Few Ssangyong Workers Who Occupied Factory are Given Stiff Jail Sentences Dong-a Ilbo The Korean War Remembered; A U.S. Korean War Veteran: "Koreans were Warm and Friendly... I Wanted to Give Them Freedom" Hankook Ilbo Alarm Spreads over Europe's Massive Deficits Hankyoreh Shinmun Various ROKG Regulations Putting Domestic Software Firms at a Disadvantage in Competition with Foreign Counterparts Segye Ilbo Number of Administrative Lawsuits against Large State Projects has Increased Fourfold under Current Administration Seoul Shinmun Senior Chinese Envoy Wang Jiarui Likely to Meet N. Korean Leader Kim Jong-il Today DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS -------------- The two Koreas will hold talks today in the North Korean border city of Kaesong to discuss resuming cross-border tours to the North's Mt. Kumgang. This is the first official meeting of its kind in 21 months. Tours to the scenic mountain were halted after an ROK tourist was shot dead in August 2008. (All) According to a key ROKG source, President Lee Myung-bak "communicates" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il via an intermediary, and if a message is sent in the morning, it reaches the other side in the afternoon the same day. (Chosun) INTERNATIONAL NEWS -------------- Wang Jiarui, head of the Chinese Communist Party's International Department, met in Pyongyang yesterday with his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-il and is expected to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il today to deliver a message from Chinese President Hu Jintao. (All) UN Special Envoy to North Korea Lynn Pascoe will visit Pyongyang from Feb. 9-12 to discuss "all issues of mutual interest and concern in a comprehensive manner." (All) Robert Park, an American missionary who crossed into North Korea on Christmas Day while calling for improvements in the North's human rights situation, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport from China on Feb. 7 and was greeted by his family; he had been held 43 days in North Korea. (All) MEDIA ANALYSIS -------------- -N. Korea -------------- All ROK media covered the ongoing visit to North Korea by Wang SEOUL 00000182 002 OF 005 Jiarui, head of the Chinese Communist Party's International Department, reporting that he met with his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-il yesterday and is expected to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il today to deliver a message from Chinese President Hu Jintao. Most newspapers noted a flurry of diplomatic activities this week surrounding North Korea including the Feb. 9-12 visit to Pyongyang by a special envoy of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and today's inter-Korean talks on the resumption of cross-border tours to Mt. Kumgang. They also noted the Feb. 6 release of Korean-American human rights activist Robert Park, interpreting Park's release as a message of reconciliation to the U.S. Conservative Chosun Ilbo observed that North Korea may be conducting a "diplomatic charm offensive" and that this may be a testimony to the country's dire economic situation. As support for this speculation, Chosun quoted an ROKG source as saying: "North Korea's spring food shortage has something to do with its diplomatic offensive. It's hard to tell when North Korea will return to the Six-Party Talks, but it seems more and more likely that it will return." Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo wrote in the headline on Saturday (Feb. 6): "N. Korea May Intend to Use Robert Park's Release as a Lever to Improve Relations with U.S." Moderate Hankook Ilbo's headline, meanwhile, read: "Speculation Growing that N. Korea's Decision to Return to Six-Party Talks May be Imminent" Left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun editorialized: "The willingness of countries involved in the Six-Party Talks to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through negotiations is stronger than ever. This is a good opportunity for North Korea to ease its security concerns and reestablish its relations with the international community. The North is undergoing an unprecedented economic crisis following international sanctions and its botched currency reform. In this situation, if tensions about its nuclear program continue to escalate, not only North Korean citizens but also the Pyongyang regime itself will face greater difficulties. The quicker the North returns to the Six-Party Talks, the better." OPINIONS/EDITORIALS -------------- A STRONGER ALLIANCE (JoongAng Ilbo, February 6, Page 30) U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made some provocative remarks at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee last Wednesday. He said that as the U.S. military is deeply involved in Iraq and Afghanistan, it will not be able to come to the ROK in a timely manner, and that the Navy and Air Force will fill the vacuum left by a delay in committing ground forces in Korea in case of an emergency. Under "Operations Plan 5027," a scenario for a war of aggression against North Korea, Washington is committed to dispatching some 690,000 ground troops to the peninsula within two months after a war breaks out. However, the Secretary of Defense publicly announced that ground troops will not be deployed as scheduled. He insisted that, for the time being, the U.S. will be unable to properly handle any emergency situation in the early stages, even if a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, some of his comments may be considered provocative, given the fact that they may be misleading to North Korea. The reason why Gates's remarks received special attention is mainly due to the chaotic situation in the North. Amid an atmosphere in which people (in North Korea) have become even more dissatisfied and agitated with the currency reform there, signs of conflict between the army and the Communist Party have also appeared. Some experts say that there may be difficulties with the command and control systems in the seat of power due to Kim Jong-il's poor health and SEOUL 00000182 003 OF 005 the succession issue. Against this backdrop, it seems that the U.S. Army has told the North that they should take advantage of this golden opportunity to invade the ROK while the U.S. is tied up in the Middle East. However, the ROKG insists that this is not a serious problem. The spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense is busy trying to convince people of this, saying that Secretary Gates insisted that the U.S. Army has the capacity to respond to emergency situations with support from the U.S. Navy and Air Force, although the commitment of ground forces to Korea would be delayed. But should we really be so relaxed? North Korea has 70 percent of its entire force stationed near the border with the ROK, and has 8,000 long-range artillery systems along the military demarcation line, presumably for a surprise attack against the ROK. If the U.S. Army is delayed in its response to such a situation, can our army respond effectively to any assault by North Korea? The ROK is slated to assume wartime operational control of its military forces in April 2012. However, there is not as yet a detailed operational plan for the Korean-led force. The process of developing "Concept Plan 5029" into an operational plan to prepare for any kind of emergency in North Korea is currently underway. In that case, U.S. armed forces could be withdrawn from the Korean Peninsula at any time. In addition, reform of the ROK military continues at a snail's pace due to budgetary constraints, and a vacuum is growing within our nation's defense capabilities. We should prepare ourselves for the worst-case scenario, keeping in mind that our greatest enemy is "hopeful expectation." The government should help the nation prepare for all emergency situations. Needless to say, it is of great importance to propel the Korea-U.S. alliance to a new level. If we had no problems with the alliance with the U.S., these words would not have come out of the lips of Defense Secretary Gates. (This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is identical to the Korean version.) ¶N. KOREA SHOULD NOT HESITATE TO REJOIN SIX-PARTY TALKS (Hankyoreh Shinmun, February 8, Page 31) Recently, we have been seeing more and more news about North Korea. There have been two main currents in the news. One has had to do with the difficulties within North Korea, and the other with efforts to bring North Korea back to the Six-Party Talks in order to reach a resolution on the nuclear issue. Aspects of both of these issues could change depending on the attitude shown by the North Korean government. This is a time when (North Korea) especially needs the resolve to return to Six-Party Talks. It appears that things are headed in the direction of resuming the Six-Party Talks. To begin with, Wang Jiarui, director of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is currently visiting North Korea. Following upon the heels of another visit two months ago by U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth, this is part of an effort to clear the way for resuming the talks. The first-ever visit by a special envoy for the United Nations, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. In addition, North Korea made the decision a few days ago to free Robert Park, a Korean-American human rights activist who was caught entering the country illegally across the Tumen River on Dec. 25. Inter-Korean working-level talks are also set to begin in Kaesong today to discuss the resumption of tourism projects at Mt. Kumgang and Kaesong. Additionally, recently noted efforts aimed at an inter-Korean summit are raising the likelihood of changes in inter-Korean relations. SEOUL 00000182 004 OF 005 It is too early for optimism, however. North Korea has continued to state that it will only return to the Six-Party Talks if the sanctions against it are lifted and headway is made in discussions on a peace agreement. It also wants to receive a substantial amount of international aid necessary to relieve its current economic difficulties. These demands are a long way from the positions of other participant nations, which feel that the talks must resume prior to agreeing to these conditions. Of course, the potential exists for both sides to find some common ground. One way would be to officially agree to resume talks after agreeing upon on a broad schedule for discussions on denuclearization and a peace agreement. Even if the decision to end sanctions against North Korea, which requires UN-level discussions, is put off until after the talks resume, humanitarian aid could at least be provided prior to resuming talks. The precondition for aid would be securing North Korea's intent to denuclearize. The international community will only undertake concrete action once it can in some way confirm North Korea's intentions. The willingness of countries involved in the Six-Party Talks to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through negotiations is stronger than ever. This is a good opportunity for North Korea to ease its security concerns and reestablish its relations with the international community. The North is undergoing an unprecedented economic crisis following international sanctions and its botched currency reform. In this situation, if tensions about its nuclear program continue to escalate, not only North Korean citizens but also the Pyongyang regime itself will face greater difficulties. The quicker the North returns to the Six-Party Talks, the better. (This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is identical to the Korean version.) FEATURES -------------- MORE KOREANS CHOOSE INVESTMENT OPTION FOR U.S. GREEN CARDS (Chosun Ilbo, February 8, Page 2) By Reporters Kim Sang-min and Kwon Seung-jun At an information session for U.S. immigration through investment held at a hotel in Gangnam, Seoul on February 7, an employee from an immigration consulting agency in the ROK said, "You can get a green card within a year by investing just US$500,000 (590 million won). About twenty attendants aged 30 to 50 listened carefully. An information session for EB-5 investment which, two or three years ago, took place once a month, is now being held each week. An increasing number of Koreans are immigrating to the U.S. through an investment program since the U.S. has loosened immigration restrictions in order to boost its economy which was hit hard by the global economic crisis. In 1990 the U.S. government began granting permanent residency, or green cards, to immigrants who invest over US$1 million in the country, and in 1993 it introduced an immigrant investment program dubbed "Regional Center EB-5 Program" which offers green cards to those who invest at least US$500,000. The number of agencies which file applications for the immigration program on behalf of clients tripled to around 60 to 70 last year from 23 worldwide in 2008. This increase in agencies led to an increase in the number of information sessions for U.S. immigration through investment. Ms. Seong, whose husband works for a big company, said, "I'm thinking of immigrating to the U.S. through investment because my son, a high-school student, has not adapted to school life." Immigration through investment is a popular option especially among parents seeking to have their children educated in the U.S., as the parents and all children aged 21 or under are able to receive green cards. Various benefits come with permanent residency, such as SEOUL 00000182 005 OF 005 lower tuition fees for U.S. residents. Between 2006 and 2008, 1,454 Koreans obtained green cards via the program, the highest number among 67 countries that participated. China topped the list last year with 1,979, but the ROK was in second place with 903, which was a 30 percent increase from 693 in ¶2008. Over US$1 billion was invested in the U.S. through the program in 2008, with Koreans estimated to have contributed at least $400 million or 40 percent of the total. "I decided to apply for the immigration program with the children's education in mind, although we still live in the ROK," said a mother who obtained a green card last July. "I tell other people that immigration through investment is the easiest and quickest way to get a green card." According to immigration agencies, two thirds of Koreans who have applied for the program do not live in the U.S. but rather travel between there and the ROK for business. (This is a translation prepared by the newspaper. We have compared the English version on the website with the Korean version and added some sentences to make them identical.) STEPHENS