VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUL #0091/01 0200802
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 200802Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2955
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 8016
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC//DDI/OEA//
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI//FPA//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DB-Z//

UNCLAS SEOUL 000091 
 
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 20, 2009 
 
Opinions/Editorials 
 
¶1. ROK-U.S. Cooperation Is Leverage in Resolving North Korean 
Nuclear Issue 
(Dong-a Ilbo, January 19, 2009, Page 31) 
¶2. KORUS FTA and Hillary Clinton's True Intentions 
(Chosun Ilbo, January 20, 2009, Page 27) 
¶3. Obama's Train of Hope 
(Dong-a Ilbo, January 20, 2009, Page 30) 
¶4. The Incoming Obama Administration Opens a New World 
(Seoul Shinmun, January 20, 2009, Page 31) 
¶5. N. Korea's Brinkmanship Is a Ticket to Nowhere 
(Chosun Ilbo, January 19, 2009, Page 31) 
¶6. Pyongyang's Posturing 
(JoongAng Ilbo, January 19, 2009, Page 30) 
¶7. The ROK Government, Military, and People Should Respond Calmly 
and Sternly to North Korea's Threat 
(Dong-a Ilbo, January 19, 2009, Page 31) 
 
 
Top Headlines 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Belated Reshuffle of Lee Myung-bak Administration's 
Economic Team 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
President Lee: "Media Reforms Boost Growth 
and Create High-Quality Jobs" 
 
Dong-a Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo, Hankyoreh Shinmun, All TVs 
President Lee Undertakes Partial Cabinet Reshuffle by Filling 
Positions with Close Aides, an Indication that He Wants a Stronger 
Grip on Governance 
 
Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun 
Former Financial Regulator Yoon Jeung-hyun Named 
New Finance Minister; Korea University Prof. Hyun In-taek 
to Head Unification Ministry 
 
 
Domestic Developments 
 
¶1. President Lee Myung-bak replaced his finance and unification 
ministers and other senior officials yesterday in a Cabinet shakeup 
aimed at reviving the sluggish economy and reestablishing stalled 
ties with North Korea. (All) 
 
¶2. In particular, Hyun In-taek, a political science professor at 
Korea University, will replace Kim Ha-joong as Unification Minister. 
Given that Professor Hyun used to be a key North Korea adviser to 
President Lee during his presidential election campaign in 2007 and 
is widely known for stressing reciprocity in ties with North Korea, 
the Lee Myung-bak Administration will likely further toughen its 
stance on Pyongyang. (All) 
 
¶3. Outgoing President George W. Bush made a farewell phone call to 
President Lee Myung-bak yesterday to say that he enjoyed working 
with President Lee to improve bilateral relations. (JoongAng, 
Dong-a, Hankook, Segye, Seoul) 
 
 
International News 
 
¶1. President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn in on Jan. 21 (local 
time) as the 44th President of the U.S. (All) His first task in 
office is likely to be to boost the sagging U.S. economy and to deal 
with the Iraqi issue. Furthermore, President Obama's policy on North 
Korea is likely to be a compromise between the policies of 
Presidents Clinton and Bush. (JoongAng) 
 
¶2. According to AFP, the White House warned North Korea on Jan. 19 
that new President Barack Obama will stand firm in opposing the 
North's nuclear programs, while dismissing Pyongyang's atomic 
defiance as a childish tantrum. White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino 
was quoted as saying in response to the North's recent threat to 
keep its nuclear arms and to take an "all-out confrontational 
posture" against the ROK: "It is not surprising that they would bang 
their spoons on their high chair to try to get attention." (Chosun, 
Dong-a, Seoul) 
 
¶3. Political observers in the ROK, meanwhile, noted the increasingly 
bellicose rhetoric from North Korea's military, and expressed 
concern that the North Korean military might be wielding 
little-checked power while its leader Kim Jong-il is still 
recovering from a stroke he reportedly suffered last summer. 
(JoongAng) 
 
 
Media Analysis 
 
North Korea 
The North Korean military's Jan. 17 threat to take an all-out 
confrontational posture against the ROK received wide coverage 
yesterday.  A North Korean military spokesman was widely quoted as 
saying: "Now that traitor Lee Myung-bak and his group opted for 
confrontation... our revolutionary armed forces are compelled to 
take an all-out confrontational posture to shatter them."   The ROK 
media also noted a Jan. 17 statement by a North Korean Foreign 
Ministry spokesman that the North will retain its nuclear weapons 
even after it forms diplomatic ties with the U.S.  The ROK media 
reported that the ROK's military has been placed on high alert 
following the North Korean threat and that the ROKG has decided to 
respond calmly. 
 
In a related development, most of the ROK media today replayed an 
AFP report citing the White House as dismissing Pyongyang's atomic 
defiance as a childish tantrum.  White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino 
was quoted as saying: "It is not surprising that they would bang 
their spoons on their high chair to try to get attention." 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo, meanwhile, carried an inside-page 
report quoting ROK political analysts as commenting: "Given the 
increasingly bellicose rhetoric from North Korea's military, the 
North Korean military may be wielding little-checked power while its 
leader Kim Jong-il is still recovering from a stroke he reportedly 
suffered last summer." 
 
The ROK media gave wide play today to President Lee Myung-bak's long 
anticipated Cabinet reshuffle yesterday.  Most of the ROK media, in 
particular, noted President Lee's nomination of Hyun In-taek, one of 
his hawkish North Korea policy adviser, as Unification Minister. 
The ROK media saw this nomination as suggesting that the Lee 
Myung-bak Administration would further toughen its stance on 
Pyongyang, regardless of the communist state's increasingly 
bellicose threats. 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo editorialized: "Given that Obama's key 
officials have said that the incoming administration's top foreign 
policy priorities would be problems in Afghanistan and the Middle 
East,  North Korea's unexpected military statement smells like a bid 
to put itself higher on the U.S. priority list.  If that was the 
aim, it would be self-defeating.  U.S. Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice said last month that only a fool would trust North 
Korea.  If North Korea engages in any military confrontation on the 
Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea as the spokesman warned, 
it will only cement in the minds of the Obama Administration the 
impression that it is a difficult country to trust and negotiate 
with.  That will make it more difficult for North Korea to realize 
its desire to sit down face-to-face with senior U.S. officials." 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo's editorial stated: "North Korea 
appears to be testing bolder brinkmanship to draw attention from 
Seoul and the incoming Obama Administration.  However, it needs to 
be aware that the world has become weary of its game of 
brinkmanship.  Pyongyang may still have room for gains in its 
nuclear strategy.  However, that kind of maneuvering would be just a 
waste of time and do little to help its dismal economic state.  It 
is obvious from the record that North Korea has long been a 
beneficiary of international support, but failed to use the 
resources to improve its economy.  So once again we are forced to 
emphasize that the fundamental remedy to its economic woes would be 
to abandon its nuclear ambitions and to guarantee nuclear-free 
security." 
 
Conservative Dong-a Ilbo editorialized: "North Korea's intentions 
are evident.  It intends to return inter-Korean ties to a decade 
ago, when the ROK provided it with 'generous handouts.'  It also 
aims to create divisions and chaos in ROK society by provoking 
internal conflicts in the ROK.  With the launch of the Obama 
Administration drawing nearer, the North may also aim to obtain a 
better position in nuclear talks by taking preemptive actions.  Its 
threat also seems intended to distract the attention of North 
Koreans from Chairman Kim Jong-il's ill health to external factors. 
Since the North Korean regime is beyond common sense, we cannot rule 
out the possibility, either, of a military provocation from the 
North in the worst-case scenario.  Only when the ROK and the U.S. 
make it clear that they will not tolerate North Korea's provocation 
against the ROK and its nuclear possession under any circumstances 
can they prevent the North from acting imprudently." 
 
The Launch of the Obama Administration 
The ROK media gave wide attention to President-elect Barack Obama's 
Jan. 20 (local time) inauguration as the 44th President of the U.S. 
In particular, right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo predicted that 
President Obama's first task in office is likely to be to boost the 
sagging U.S. economy and to deal with the Iraqi issue and that his 
policy on North Korea is likely to be a compromise between the 
policies of Presidents Clinton and Bush.   Moderate Seoul Shinmun 
editorialized: "At her Senate confirmation hearing, Secretary of 
State-designate Hillary Clinton said that the U.S. alone cannot 
resolve difficult challenges around the world, nor can the world 
resolve them without the U.S, indicating her willingness to depart 
from (the Bush Administration's) unilateral diplomacy.  We urge the 
incoming Obama Administration not to resort to diplomacy based on 
unilateralism and power in order to resolve conflicts around the 
world.  The Bush Administration called North Korea an 'axis of 
evil,' but failed to deal with the communist regime.  Unlike its 
predecessor, the Obama Administration should make substantial 
progress on the nuclear issue through close cooperation with the 
ROK." 
 
 
Opinions/Editorials 
 
ROK-U.S. Cooperation Is Leverage in Resolving North Korean Nuclear 
Issue 
(Dong-a Ilbo, January 19, 2009, Page 31) 
 
By Park Yong-ok, Former Vice Minister of National Defense, Professor 
of Hallym Institute of Advanced International Studies 
 
An easy resolution to the U.S.-North Korea conflict over the North 
Korean nuclear issue is unlikely, even after the launch of the Obama 
Administration.  The incoming administration should address the 
nuclear issue with North Korea, even while North Korea insists that 
the two nations hold bilateral disarmament talks.  In line with its 
stance that stresses alliance, a multilateral approach and rejects 
unilateralism, the Obama Administration should receive cooperation 
from Six-Party Talks participants when it intends to impose military 
and economic sanctions on North Korea. 
 
Against this backdrop, we urgently need a strengthened U.S.-ROK 
alliance.  Only when the alliance is on a firm footing can 
cooperation between the U.S., ROK and Japan gain momentum.  It (a 
strengthened U.S.-ROK alliance) can also encourage China and Russia 
to join the collaborative relationship.  In the past, the Korean 
government put more emphasis on cooperation between the two Koreas 
than on the U.S.-ROK alliance, resulting in North Korea conducting a 
nuclear test on October 9, 2006.  The Obama Administration, for its 
part, should not follow in the footsteps of the Bush Administration 
that negotiated with North Korea in advance and informed South Korea 
of the results. 
 
Both ROK and the U.S. should not brush aside possible military 
provocation at the time of the launch of the Obama Administration. 
The chief of the General Staff of the North's Korean People's Army 
on Saturday said, "As Lee Myung-bak Administration has chosen the 
road to confrontation, we have no other choice but to assume a full 
confrontational stance."  It also stressed that it would act to 
maintain its territory in the West Sea.   In response, the Korean 
government should be fully prepared for possible military conflicts 
in the West Sea. 
 
Korean security will be extremely vulnerable in the next few years, 
faced with the North Korean nuclear crisis, an economic downturn and 
North Korea's military provocation.  The Korean government should 
rethink whether it is desirable to dismantle the ROK-US Combined 
Forces Command (CFC) in this precarious situation. 
 
 
KORUS FTA and Hillary Clinton's True Intentions 
(Chosun Ilbo, January 20, 2009, Page 27) 
 
By Suh Jin-kyo, Director of Trade and Investment Policy at the Korea 
Institute for International Economic Policy 
 
Observers in the ROK have different interpretations of U.S. 
Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton's recent remarks about 
the ROK-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at her Senate confirmation 
hearing.  Some experts said that she expressed an "intention to 
renegotiate" the deal.  With regard to the ROK-U.S. FTA, however, 
the ROK government and political circles should go beyond a 
political ideology and carefully view the deal from the perspective 
of the national interests. 
 
The key to Clinton's statement seems to be that the U.S. has a great 
deal of interest in the auto and beef issues, and "if the ROK 
wants," it will discuss those issues with the ROK again in order to 
find a solution which is satisfactory to both sides and does not 
undermine the friendship and alliance between the two nations. 
 
Thus far, the U.S. has not made an official request for 
renegotiating the ROK-U.S. FTA.  For now, the U.S. is seeing which 
way the wind is blowing in the ROK and around the world before 
determining its final stance. 
 
Therefore, we now should make it clear to the U.S. that 
renegotiations (of the ROK-U.S. FTA) are impossible.  It is 
particularly important to remind the U.S. that a demand for 
renegotiations would undermine the friendship and alliance between 
the ROK and the U.S. and do more harm to the U.S. (than to the 
ROK.) 
 
In this context, it would be meaningful if the ROK National Assembly 
ratifies the FTA at an earlier date.  In addition, it is important 
to sign the free trade pact with the EU and implement it as early as 
possible.  The ROK also needs to initiate FTA talks with China in 
order to remind the U.S. again that the ROK is an important ally for 
the U.S.'s foreign policy and security interests. 
 
The ROKG should, of course, be prepared for a possible request for 
renegotiation from the U.S.  It will be possible to conduct 
renegotiation of the trade pact, leaving its (main) substance 
intact.  The ROK and the U.S. can reach an agreement in the U.S.-ROK 
annual trade meeting or through voluntary consultation between 
business circles. 
 
 
Obama's Train of Hope 
(Dong-a Ilbo, January 20, 2009, Page 30) 
 
By Editorial Writer Kwon Sun-taek 
 
The inauguration of the U.S. President has been held Jan. 20 since 
1937, when Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-45) began his second term. 
Except for George Washington and other presidents whose predecessors 
died in office, most chief executives were sworn in March 4.  The 
inauguration in January is the result of the ratification of the 
21st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which stipulates that the 
term begins at noon Jan. 20.  This was to alleviate fears that the 
President-elect must wait for more than three months after his or 
her election.  In 1985, Ronald Reagan had to be sworn in at Capitol 
Hill due to a cold wave.  A parade was also canceled. 
 
President-elect Barack Obama left Philadelphia with selected 
"ordinary Americans" at noon Saturday to attend his inauguration 
Tuesday.  Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his wife joined him at 
Wilmington, Delaware, and a welcoming ceremony was held in 
Baltimore.  For this reason, the train took six and half hours to 
get to Washington, 220 kilometers away from Philadelphia.  Though 
the name of the train was the "Obama Express," its speed was not. 
 
Obama's train was "The Georgia 300," a private rail car owned by 
First Coach Rail Inc.  It was first manufactured in the 1930s and 
 
renovated.  It has a bedroom, dining room and kitchen with a 
hotel-like interior.  George Bush used the train in 1992, Bill 
Clinton in 1996 and Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry in 
his 2004 campaign.  Obama also used the train in his campaign trail 
in April last year. 
 
The route Obama chose to enter Washington in by train is reminiscent 
of the 1861 inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, Obama's political role 
model.  It took Lincoln 12 days to reach Washington from 
Springfield, Illinois, and he took a train from Philadelphia to 
Washington.  In the Lincoln era of no airplanes, a train was the 
best option. Obama's train trip to Washington at a time when a 
private jet has become commonplace must have been intended to invoke 
the image of Lincoln's black-white integration.  Will Obama's train 
become the train of hope that revives the United States? 
 
* This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version. 
 
 
The Incoming Obama Administration Opens a New World 
(Seoul Shinmun, January 20, 2009, Page 31) 
 
The international community has been plagued by conflicts around the 
world.  The Bush Administration sought to resolve the conflicts by 
the logic of power, but it only   complicated the situation in Iraq. 
 At her Senate confirmation hearing, Secretary of State-designate 
Hillary Clinton said that the U.S. alone cannot resolve difficult 
challenges around the world, nor can the world resolve them without 
the U.S, indicating her willingness to depart from unilateral 
diplomacy.  We urge the incoming Obama Administration not to resort 
to diplomacy based on unilateralism and power in order to resolve 
conflicts around the world. 
 
The Bush Administration called North Korea an 'axis of evil', but 
failed to deal with the communist regime.  Unlike its predecessor, 
the Obama Administration should make substantial progress on the 
nuclear issue through close cooperation with the ROK.  In addition, 
the two nations should take a wise approach to the KORUS FTA so that 
the controversial trade deal does not lead to a conflict between the 
two nations. 
 
 
¶N. Korea's Brinkmanship Is a Ticket to Nowhere 
(Chosun Ilbo, January 19, 2009, Page 31) 
 
In an unusually strong statement broadcast on state television on 
Saturday, North Korea's military called ROK President Lee Myung-bak 
a "traitor" and accused him of rejecting reconciliation and 
cooperation efforts between the two Koreas, leaving the North forces 
no choice but to enter a phase of "total confrontation."  It was the 
first time a North Korean Army spokesman appeared on television in 
full dress uniform.  It was also the first time in 10 years that a 
North Korean military officer announced a position on the ROK. 
 
The North Korean military spokesman referred to the Northern Limit 
Line, the UN-designated de facto sea border and vowed to abide only 
by a boundary it drew unilaterally in 1999.  It repeated the same 
statement on Sunday. 
 
The threat was completely unexpected.  Lee in his New Year's address 
said he was prepared at all times to talk with North Korea and 
cooperate with it as a partner.  In November last year, the 
Unification Ministry said it would respect the spirit of the June 15 
and Oct. 4 declarations and hold talks over their implementation. 
Lee, who said during his election campaign that he would reexamine 
the Oct. 4 Declaration, has demonstrated the greatest possible 
degree of flexibility.  But North Korea calls him a "traitor" and 
says he will clearly see how everything will be "shattered to 
pieces."  What kind of response would North Korea have shown if an 
ROK officer in full dress uniform appeared on TV and threatened to 
destroy North Korea with high-tech weapons, calling Kim Jong-il a 
traitor? 
 
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration is just around the 
corner.  Obama's key officials have said on many occasions that its 
top foreign policy priorities would be problems in Afghanistan and 
the Middle East.  North Korea's unexpected military statement smells 
like a bid to put itself higher on the list of U.S. priorities. 
 
If that was the aim, it would be self-defeating.  U.S. Secretary of 
State Condoleezza Rice last month said only a fool would trust North 
Korea.  If North Korea engages in any military confrontation on the 
NLL as the spokesman warned, it will only cement in the minds of the 
Obama Administration the impression that it is a difficult country 
to trust and negotiate with.  That will make it more difficult for 
North Korea to realize its desire to sit down face-to-face with 
senior U.S. officials. 
 
As for the ROK, the government must be fully prepared to deal with 
any threat posed by the North, whatever its intentions. 
 
* This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version. 
 
 
Pyongyang's Posturing 
(JoongAng Ilbo, January 19, 2009, Page 30) 
 
As the year begins, North Korea is appearing edgy and its policies 
uncoordinated. 
 
In an apparent message to the incoming U.S. administration, North 
Korea's Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Tuesday, said 
denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula cannot take place unless 
bilateral ties with the United States are normalized. 
 
But three days later it issued a contradictory statement, saying, 
"Even if bilateral ties normalize, we won't surrender our nuclear 
weapons while the nuclear threat from the U.S. exists." 
 
Then on Saturday, the North's military launched a threat against the 
ROK, declaring it will take an "all-out confrontational posture." 
This stance does not square with their position to let the Kaesong 
Industrial Complex keep running. 
 
North Korea appears to be testing bolder brinkmanship to draw 
attention from Seoul and the incoming Obama Administration. 
 
It inevitably has to resort to such maneuvering as it is quickly 
running out of cards to play against the Western world. 
 
For the last 20 years, the North has maintained the same old 
threatening disposition.  But it needs to be aware that the world 
has become weary of its game of brinkmanship. 
 
Pyongyang may still have room for gains in its nuclear strategy.  It 
can intensify its threat and get what it wants, such as financial 
support through North Korea-U.S. relations or the Six-Party Talks. 
 
But that kind of maneuvering would be just a waste of time and do 
little to help its dismal economic state.  It is obvious from the 
record that North Korea has long been a beneficiary of international 
support, but failed to use the resources to improve its economy. 
 
So once again we are forced to emphasize that the fundamental remedy 
to its economic woes would be to resolve to abandon its nuclear 
ambitions and guarantee nuclear-free security.  Through its senior 
spokesman, the North Korean military openly came out and threatened 
the South in December by restricting business at the Kaesong 
Industrial Park. Now it has done the same. 
 
Its actions may be associated with a change in the power structure 
in Pyongyang.  We need to be at full alert and keep close watch on 
the North's internal affairs to read its future steps. 
 
And importantly, we need to be in perfect coordination with the U.S. 
in order not to be swept away by North Korea's persistent strategy 
to seek deals with Washington while keeping Seoul in the dark. 
 
* This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version. 
 
 
The ROK Government, Military, and People Should Respond Calmly and 
Sternly to North Korea's Threat 
(Dong-a Ilbo, January 19, 2009, Page 31) 
Last weekend, North Korea launched a series of verbal attacks 
against the ROK and the U.S.  The spokesman for the (North) Korean 
People's Army warned the ROK, "Our revolutionary armed forces will 
take an all-out confrontational posture."  The spokesman for the 
North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that normalization of 
North Korea-U.S. diplomatic relations and the nuclear issue are 
entirely different issues, and that its status as a nuclear state 
will never change as long as the U.S. nuclear threat remains even a 
bit. 
 
North Korea's intentions are evident.  It intends to return 
inter-Korean ties to a decade ago, when the South provided it with 
"generous handouts."  It also aims to create divisions and chaos in 
ROK society by provoking internal conflicts in the ROK.  With the 
launch of the Obama Administration drawing nearer, the North may 
also aim to obtain a better position in nuclear talks by taking 
preemptive actions.  Its threat also seems intended to distract the 
attention of North Koreans from Chairman Kim Jong-il's poor health 
to external factors.  Since the North Korean regime is beyond common 
sense, we cannot rule out the possibility, either, of a military 
provocation from the North in the worst-case scenario.  We are also 
concerned about North Korea's saber-rattling or missiles launches 
off the west coast. 
 
Although we should fully brace ourselves for any possible 
provocation, we have no reason to be restless.  If we are anxious 
even a little bit or act hastily, it would be tantamount to our 
being implicated in North Korea's scheme.  The ROK government, 
military, and people should stand united and respond to North 
Korea's threat in a calm and stern manner.  If we take a 
conciliatory attitude toward North Korea for fear of frayed ties 
between the two Koreas, we will give in to North Korea's typical 
threat. 
 
Since Pyongyang is taking advantage of the transition period in the 
U.S. to intensify its offensive, the ROK should forge close 
cooperation with the Obama Administration in its initial days.  Only 
when the ROK and the U.S. mae it clear that they will not tolerate 
North Korea's provocation against the South and its nuclear 
possession under any circumstances can they prevent the North from 
acting imprudently. 
 
 
Stephens 
1