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TAGS: KPAO PGOV PREL MARR ECON KS US
SUBJECT: PRESS BULLETIN - January 23, 2009 
 
Features 
 
¶1. Report Urged U.S. to Center on Japan and China 
(JoongAng Ilbo, January 23, 2009, Page 4) 2 
¶2. U.S. Ambassador Urges the ROK to Give Washington Some Time 
Regarding FTA 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, January 23, 2009, Page 2) 
 
 
Top Headlines 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Fears of "Negative Growth:" ROK Economy Shrank 3.4 Percent 
Year-on-Year in Fourth Quarter of 2008 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
A Senior Member of the National Alliance of Squatters Suspected of 
Involvement in Sit-in at Yongsan Construction Site 
 
Dong-a Ilbo, Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun, All TVs 
ROK Economy Tumbling Much Deeper and Faster than Expected: 
Fourth-Quarter GDP Drops 5.6 Percent from a Quarter Earlier, the 
Worst Performance Since 1998 Asian Financial Crisis 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
ROK Economy in a "Nosedive" 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Prosecutors Arrest Five Protesters for Fire that Killed Six People 
in Police-Tenant Standoff, but Hint at Exempting Police from Charges 
as the Tragedy Occurred while on Duty 
 
 
International News 
 
¶1. The Senate confirmed Hillary Clinton overwhelmingly as Secretary 
of State on Jan. 21 (Washington time) in a 94 to 2 vote. (JoongAng) 
 
¶2. The White House declared on its Web site yesterday that the Obama 
Administration will eliminate North Korea's nuclear programs through 
"tough and direct diplomacy," a development seen as presaging bold 
nuclear negotiations with North Korea. (Dong-a, Hankook, Segye, 
Seoul, all TVs) 
 
¶3. According to a report written by Kurt Campbell, the Obama 
Administration's Designee for Assistant Secretary of State for East 
Asian and Pacific Affairs, Japan should be considered a major 
cornerstone in Washington's new diplomatic efforts in the 
Asia-Pacific region, and it is time for the U.S. to reshape its 
policy toward China in a way that recognizes it as a superpower 
rather than a distant foe. The report went on to say that 
uncomfortable relations between former Presidents George W. Bush and 
Roh Moo-hyun raised questions about the ROK-U.S. alliance but that 
it is time to restore the bilateral alliance. (JoongAng) 
 
 
Media Analysis 
 
The Launch of Obama Administration 
Most of the ROK media reported that President Barack Obama's first 
public act in office started with "diplomacy toward the Middle 
East."  White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs was quoted as saying: 
"President Obama called the leaders of Israel, the Palestinian 
Authority, Egypt and Jordan as soon as he entered the Oval Office on 
Wednesday, and the talks with the leaders underlined his commitment 
to active engagement in pursuit of Arab-Israeli peace from the 
beginning of his term." 
 
Most of the ROK media also reported that the White House declared on 
its Web Site on Jan. 21 (Washington time) that the Obama 
Administration will eliminate North Korea's nuclear programs through 
"tough and direct diplomacy."  Moderate Hankook Ilbo viewed this as 
presaging bold nuclear negotiations with North Korea. 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo gave attention to a report written by 
Kurt Campbell, the Obama Administration's Designee for Assistant 
Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, which called 
for Japan to be considered a major cornerstone in Washington's new 
diplomatic efforts in the Asia-Pacific region and for China to be 
recognized as a superpower rather than a distant foe.  JoongAng saw 
this message as breaking from the Bush Administration's diplomacy 
that stressed alliances with Japan and the ROK while sidestepping 
China.  The report was further quoted as saying: "Uncomfortable 
relations between former Presidents George W. Bush and Roh Moo-hyun 
raised questions about the ROK-U.S. alliance, but it is time to 
restore the bilateral alliance."  Kim Hyon-wook, professor at the 
Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, was quoted as 
saying: "Given that the Obama Administration has stressed 
cooperation, departing from (its predecessor's) unilateral 
diplomacy, the new administration is likely to continue to place 
great value on the U.S.-Japan alliance, while underscoring 
cooperation with China.  Under this situation, the ROK should 
promptly formulate the direction of a new ROK-U.S relationship and 
encourage the U.S. to pursue it." 
Features 
 
 
Report Urged U.S. to Center on Japan and China 
(JoongAng Ilbo, January 23, 2009, Page 4) 
 
By Chae Byeong-geon 
 
Japan should be considered a major cornerstone in Washington's new 
diplomatic efforts in the Asia Pacific region, and it is time for 
the United States to reshape its policy toward China in a way that 
recognizes it as a superpower rather than a distant foe, according 
to a report written by Kurt Campbell, the Obama Administration's 
designated Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific 
Affairs. 
 
The report, published last June, has not yet been covered in the 
Korean press.  It holds clues on Washington's future policies on the 
Asia-Pacific region, including the Korean Peninsula. 
 
Campbell, formerly Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense under Bill 
Clinton, has been named to replace Christopher Hill to lead 
Washington's diplomatic efforts in the region. 
 
The paper also gave signs that South Korea may lose some of its 
diplomatic leverage in the region as the U.S. is poised to form a 
stronger political triangle with Japan and China. 
 
Published on the Web site of the Center for a New American Security, 
the report said the U.S. may put more emphasis on cementing ties 
with Japan, calling it the "foundation stone" for U.S. diplomacy in 
the region.  It gave the highest priority to Japan in the 
Asia-Pacific region, followed by Korea, Australia, India, Taiwan and 
Singapore. 
 
"Japan is a fundamental component of American engagement with the 
region, both militarily and economically," said the 100-page report. 
 "Tokyo and Washington should consider drafting a new joint security 
statement that moves beyond the 1996 accord toward a more 
forward-looking horizon for security cooperation." 
 
The overall tone of the paper underscored the growing need for 
Washington to recognize China's increasingly apparent status as an 
international superpower and stressed the importance of forming even 
closer ties with Beijing. 
 
The message breaks from the Bush Administration's diplomacy that 
stressed alliances with Japan and Korea while sidestepping China. 
 
"First, China's political and cultural predominance in the 
Asia-Pacific region should be accepted as a fact of life, long true, 
with which American policy needs to contend," said the report. "A 
good China policy will require a careful balancing of the sweet and 
sour in constructing a coherent overall strategy." 
 
The report also urged the new president to "seriously consider 
visiting China by the end of his first year in office," and to 
invite Chinese President Hu Jintao to visit the U.S. to cement 
stronger relations. 
 
The report said that uncomfortable relations between former 
Presidents George W. Bush and Roh Moo-hyun raised questions about 
the ROK-U.S. alliance but that it is time to restore the bilateral 
alliance. 
 
Kim Hyon-wook, professor of the Institute of Foreign Affairs & 
National Security, said, "The Korean government, for its part, 
should encourage the U.S. to pursue a newly built ROK-U.S 
relationship suggested by the Korean government." 
 
* We have compared the English version on the website with the 
Korean version and made some changes to make them identical. 
 
 
U.S. Ambassador Urges the ROK to Give Washington Some Time Regarding 
FTA 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, January 23, 2009, Page 2) 
 
By Reporter Lee Je-hoon 
 
In reference to the ratification of the ROK-U.S. Free Trade 
Agreement (FTA) on January 22, U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen 
Stephens said, "I urge our Korean friends to give our new team in 
Washington some time to get in place, and suggest that in the 
meantime, we resist the temptation to politicize this situation." 
 
Ambassador Stephens attended the 103rd CEO Forum of the National 
Academy of Engineering of Korea, which was held at the Shilla Hotel 
in Seoul this afternoon, and said, "Ratifying a large trade 
agreement like this is a complex process, in both our countries. 
That process is further complicated by the current global economic 
slowdown, as well as the historic turmoil in the U.S. auto industry 
right now." 
 
 
Stephens 
1