SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; FEBRUARY 16, 2010

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 SEOUL 000238 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; FEBRUARY 16, 2010 TOP HEADLINES -------------- Chosun Ilbo Ruling GNP Begins Work to Develop Unified Position on Sejong City Revision JoongAng Ilbo ¶N. Korea to Appoint New Ambassador to China for First Time in 10 Years Dong-a Ilbo, All TVs ROK Speed Skater Lee Seung-hoon Surprises with 5,000-Meter Silver; Lee Becomes First Asian to Win Olympic Medal in Long Track Speed Skating Hankook Ilbo Signs of Full-blown Conflict on Sejong City among Ruling GNP Lawmakers Loyal to President, Pro-Park Geun-hye GNP Lawmakers, and Opposition Parties Hankyoreh Shinmun Survey of100 Economic Experts: "What is Most Important Task for Next Bank of Korea Governor is to Secure Central Bank's Independence on Monetary Policy" Segye Ilbo Today Marks First Anniversary of Death of Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan Seoul Shinmun ROK to Take Lead in Launching "Super Applications Store" INTERNATIONAL NEWS -------------- As North Korea's Chief Nuclear Negotiator Kim Kye-gwan returned home on Feb. 13 after a visit to China, relevant countries are expected to step up efforts to coordinate their positions on resuming the Six-Party Talks. (JoongAng) According to a source knowledgeable about North Korean affairs, China has decided to invest about $10 billion in North Korea, and the decision was made when senior Chinese Envoy Wang Jiarui visited Pyongyang last week. (Hankook, Segye, Seoul, KBS, Pressian, DailyNK) MEDIA ANALYSIS -------------- -N. Korea -------------- Most newspapers on Saturday (Feb. 13) carried reports quoting a diplomatic source in Beijing as saying on Feb. 12 that North Korea's Chief Nuclear Negotiator Kim Kye-gwn is seeking a visit to the U.S. in March for bilateral talks and that Kim conveyed this intention to Chinese officials during his recent visit to Beijing. Conservative Dong-a Ilbo, in a related development, wrote in the headline: "Kim Kye-gwan's Visit to U.S. Is Being Delayed by U.S.'s Procrastination in Authorizing His Visa." Its sub-heading read: "U.S. Likely to Demand N. Korea's Fundamental Change in Position on Terms to Return to Six-Party Talks." Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo, meanwhile, expected that relevant countries will step up efforts to coordinate their positions on resuming the Six-Party Talks, since the chief North Korean nuclear negotiator has returned to Pyongyang after a five-day visit to Beijing. Citing a source knowledgeable about North Korean affairs, most ROK media reported that North Korea has succeeded in attracting Chinese SEOUL 00000238 002 OF 006 investment worth $10 billion, which amounts to nearly 70 percent of its gross domestic product estimated at $15 billion. According to media reports, the source said that in-depth discussions were held on the Chinese investment when senior Chinese Envoy Wang Jiarui visited Pyongyang last week. Moderate Hankook Ilbo analyzed that this Chinese investment may be an "inducement" to draw North Korea back to the Six-Party Talks and that the countries in the Six-Party Talks, including the U.S., may have given tacit approval to the Chinese investment. Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo today gave front-page play to a report quoting multiple sources in Beijing as saying yesterday that North Korea will replace its ambassador to China for the first time in 10 years and will also change the deputy chief of mission. According to the report, in particular, the current vice foreign minister-level ambassador will be replaced by a (lower ranking) director general-level diplomat, a move that breaks with the North's "60-year-long practice" of appointing a vice foreign minister-level official to the post. JoongAng speculated that this appointment may be intended to promote a generational change to prepare for the resumption of the Six-Party Talks or may be an expression of the North's discontent with China's insufficient aid to North Korea. OPINIONS/EDITORIALS -------------- ROK MUST BE ALLOWED TO REPROCESS SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL (Chosun Ilbo, February 16, Page 31) U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens said in a recent interview that the reprocessing of spent fuel rods from ROK nuclear reactors was a pending issue in upcoming talks to revise the ROK-U.S. Atomic Energy Agreement and promised to consider Seoul's aspirations to reprocess nuclear fuel as well as international concerns over proliferation. Seoul and Washington are in talks to revise the agreement, which was signed in 1973 and expires in March ¶2014. The main sticking point in the talks is whether to let the ROK reprocess spent fuel rods. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Ellen Tauscher last year said Washington sees no need to revise the Soul-Washington nuclear cooperation agreement to allow the ROK reprocess nuclear fuel, and the U.S. Senate voiced strong suspicion over the country's intentions. The latest comments by Stephens suggests that Washington may change its stance. Operating 20 nuclear power plants, the ROK ranks among the world's top five countries when it comes to the use of nuclear energy. Each year, the ROK uses 4,000 tons of uranium as energy, which leads to around 700 tons of spent fuel rods. Some 10,000 tons of spent rods from nuclear plants in Gori, Wolseong, Yeonggwang and Uljin have been stored in temporary water tanks, and there will be no room left by 2016. When reprocessed, 94 percent of the spent fuel rods can be reused, while the amount of waste materials will decrease to 1/10 of the original amount. If the ROK gains the ability to reprocess its own spent rods, it will be able to reduce the amount of radioactive waste it has to store and boost the efficiency of its nuclear power facilities. But the U.S. has blocked the ROK's ability to (reprocess fuel rods) out of f ear that Seoul could use the plutonium to produce nuclear weapons. The suspicion stems from the ROK's s-e-c-r-e-t attempt back in the 1970s to develop its own nuclear bomb, plus growing calls here to achieve "nuclear self-sufficiency" in the face of the North Korean threat. But after 15 years of tortuous talks to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program and watching the Stalinist country grow poorer and more isolated from the international community due to its SEOUL 00000238 003 OF 006 nuclear ambitions, there is very little chance that the ROK would want to walk down that path. Yet the ROK's alliance with the U.S. could come under strain if Washington stubbornly insists on blocking the ROK from reprocessing. The ROK-U.S. Atomic Energy Agreement must be revised so that the ROK has the ability to reprocess spent fuel rods for peaceful purposes. (This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is identical to the Korean version.) FEATURES -------------- CAMPBELL SAYS ROK-U.S. RELATIONS HAVE NEVER BEEN BETTER THAN NOW (JoongAng Ilbo, February 16, Page 6) By Reporter Kang Chan-ho When asked to describe the current ROK-U.S. relations, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, who visited the ROK from February 2 to 4, said that they have never been better than now. Campbell once depicted the ROK-U.S. relations of February 2006 under former President Roh Moo-hyun as "king and queen who are about to be divorced." U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg reportedly made similar remarks to ROK officials who visited the U.S. this year. ROK Ambassador to the U.S. Han Duck-soo, who came to the ROK to attend a meeting of overseas diplomatic mission chiefs, said during a February 11 briefing that Washington thinks that the current ROK-U.S. relations are the best they've ever been. According to ROK diplomatic sources, immediately after his tour to the ROK, China and Japan in November last year, President Obama said that the visit to the ROK was his favorite. ROK officials believe that President Obama was impressed by President Lee's "frank" diplomacy. During his meeting with President Obama on November 19, President Lee said, "When I was a child, I eagerly lined up to get old clothes from U.S. missionaries. But I had to turn back because they ran out so quickly. The ROK, which was in such difficult straits, has developed to this (great) extent. " President Lee reportedly said that, even though the U.S. suffers a trade deficit with the ROK, the deficit seems to be offset by (a surplus generated by) Korean students studying in the U.S. and travel income from Koreans. Regarding changes in the Northeast Asia situation such as strained U.S.-Japan relations, President Lee also emphasized that the ROK will maintain its good friendship with the U.S. According to an (ROK) diplomatic source, President Obama showed great empathy toward President Lee who reaffirmed his unchanging friendship by giving a frank account of his difficult past and describing the trade imbalance between the ROK and the U.S. with specific numbers. In particular, when President Obama asked about the situation in the ROK regarding "education reform," one of his key concerns, President Lee said something to the effect: "My mother was also very enthusiastic (about education,) but these days, Korean parents' enthusiasm for education is enormous," adding, "Since they are particularly asking for more native English instructors to improve their children's command of English, we are struggling to meet the demand." After listening to his answer, sources said, President Obama was obviously deeply impressed by the entire nation's enthusiasm for education. Since returning home, President Obama has praised the ROK's enthusiasm for education more than five times. ROKG officials noted, "Since President Lee spoke candidly of education based on his personal story, rather than talking about abstract things, President Obama developed a strong trust in President Lee." U.S. AMBASSADOR STEPHENS SAYS (U.S.) WILL REFLECT ROK'S POSITION IN REVISING ATOMIC ENERGY AGREEMENT (Chosun Ilbo, February 13, Front page) SEOUL 00000238 004 OF 006 By Reporters Kang In-sun and Cheong Wu-sang U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens said on February 12 that when the U.S. and the ROK revise their bilateral Atomic Energy Agreement which expires in 2014, they will "move towards finding an agreement," considering the ROK's "aspirations" and international concerns over nuclear proliferation. In an exclusive interview with Chosun Ilbo, Ambassador Stephens said, "The U.S. recognizes the growing importance of civilian use of nuclear energy. At the same time, we are very mindful of addressing proliferation concerns. That is the kind of approach we take." Stephens noted that the U.S. will consider changes that have occurred "in the intervening years since (both countries) first made the agreement." The ROK-U.S. Atomic Energy Agreement, which was signed in 1965 and amended in 1973, will expire March 2014. (Some) people in ROK's political and academic circles have recently argued that, when revising the (ROK-U.S. Atomic Energy) Agreement, the ROK should ensure that it will be able to reprocess the spent nuclear fuel (that remains) after uranium is enriched and used as a nuclear fuel, saying that this will pave the way for the country to become a major atomic power. The U.S. has been opposed to this idea. U.S. Under Secretary of State Ellen Tauscher told a Senate confirmation hearing that the U.S. will not permit the ROK to reprocess spent nuclear fuel. A recent report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) also raised concerns over the ROK's call to establish a nuclear fuel cycle. A (U.S.) think tank observed that, unless the North Korean nuclear issue is resolved, (the U.S.) will not allow the ROK to reprocess spent nuclear fuel when the two countries revise the Atomic Energy Agreement. Ambassador Stephens said, "Spent fuel has become a much more immediate issue," ahead of the revision of the Agreement. The ROK and the U.S. recently discussed the feasibility of pyro-processing. This is a new recycling technology which cannot be diverted to develop nuclear weapons. The Ambassador said that the U.S. is well aware of "some of the challenges of pyro-processing." Ambassador Stephens said, "We want an agreement that reflects the strong alliance we have, that takes into account the huge importance of nuclear energy in Korea, Korea's aspirations for playing a larger role in the export market, concerns about spent fuel and any proliferation concerns." AMBASSADOR STEPHENS: "BMD PLAN IS BEING DISCUSSED WITH THE ROK" (Chosun Ilbo, February 13, 2010, Page 5) By Reporters Kang In-sun and Chung Woo-sang With regard to the Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) plan, U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens said during a February 12 interview with Chosun Ilbo, "The ROK and the U.S. are in the early stage of discussions," which is different from the denial of the discussions by the ROK Ministry of National Defense. Ambassador Stephens noted, "One of the missile threats that the world faces is the North Korean missile program, and, therefore, we started to discuss (the BMD) because we think that both the U.S. and the ROK are interested in it (the North Korean missile threat)." The BMD is the U.S.'s missile defense system designed to intercept a long-range ballistic missile in midair. The Ballistic Missile Defense Review Report, which was released by the Pentagon on February 5, classified the ROK as a nation interested in the BMD, and said, "The United States and ROK are working to define possible future BMD requirements." The ROK defense ministry, however, said in its official commentary, "We are not consulting with the U.S. regarding the BMD." The reason why the ROKG denied having discussions with the U.S. on the BMD seems to be that, although Seoul recognizes the need of the BMD system to counter a missile attack from the North, the ROKG is SEOUL 00000238 005 OF 006 (also) mindful of China's position which considers the BMD as a threat by the U.S. towards China. During the interview, however, Ambassador Stephens described a North Korean missile as one of the world's major missile threats and said, "We are talking about what the ROK needs and what it should strengthen in order to address the North Korean missile threat," confirming that discussions are ongoing between the ROK and the U.S. As to the transfer of wartime operational control scheduled for 2012, Ambassador Stephens said, "I heard from USFK Commander General Sharp this morning that work on the OPCON transfer in 2012 is continuing prudently and properly," adding, "Under no circumstances will the U.S. commitment to the ROK security lessen." Excerpts from the interview are below. ¶Q. Some observers recently pointed out that President Obama may not put a priority on (resolving) the North Korean nuclear issue due to the U.S.'s (more pressing) domestic issues, such as health insurance reform, as well as problems in Afghanistan. "President Obama faces many domestic issues, including economic challenges. However, the U.S., as a global power, has managed to, and should do, a number of things at different locations around the world, all at the same time. It is a misunderstanding to think that President Obama is not paying attention to North Korea and its nuclear issue. We do not accept the notion that North Korea should possess a nuclear weapons program. We are just patient, but that does not mean standing still. We are patient actively and strategically. We are in consultation with related countries and are stressing that there are serious consequences for North Korea if it does not give up its nuclear ambitions." ¶Q. The ROK National Assembly's Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Unification Committee passed the North Korean Human Rights Act on February 10. What do you think about it? "I welcome it since the ROK, as a member of the international community, is not simply concerned about the North Korean human rights issue but is making an effort to improve the human rights situation in North Korea." ¶Q. The ROK joined the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, and it has turned from a beneficiary to a benefactor. "I have been very impressed by what I have seen. Recently, I had an opportunity to talk about the KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency)'s activities. The ROK has been doing very well in areas like information technology and women's education. Its overseas volunteer programs are focused on very practical skills, such as how to drive. The ROK took a cultural approach, teaching people taekwondo." ¶Q. The ROKG is pushing for the deployment of a Provincial Reconstruction Team to Afghanistan, but controversy is continuing at the National Assembly. What would you like to say to people opposed to the deployment? "Over 40 countries are helping improve the situation in Afghanistan in various ways. I respect that the ROK National Assembly has its own democratic process. However, the ROK had successful experience in Iraq and provided some hope to locals." ¶Q. Could you send a New Year's message to Chosun Ilbo readers? "This year is the Year of the Tiger. As the tiger carries a lot of deep symbolism in Korea, the year of 2010 seems to be a particularly important year for Korea with the hosting of the G-20 summit. I wish all of your readers health and happiness, and I hope that we take ROK-U.S. relations to an even higher level." SEOUL 00000238 006 OF 006 STEPHENS