VZCZCXRO2416
OO RUEHGH
DE RUEHUL #0410/01 0770739
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 180739Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3629
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 8276
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//
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 9343
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5423
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 5530
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0426
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 4052
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 3043
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 6283
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0666
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2051
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1082
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1703

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SEOUL 000410 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; March 18, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Former President of Korea Maritime Institute Arrested for Receiving 
Money from Taekwang Industrial Chairman Park Yeon-cha during 2005 
Parliamentary By-Elections 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
ROKG's Plan to Front-load Budget Spending in First Half Fails to 
Live Up to Public Expectations 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
ROKG Seeks to Integrate Three Military Academies into One School 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
The Executive Above the Legislature?: ROKG Moves to Slash Capital 
Gains Taxes for Multiple Homeowners before Relevant Laws are 
Changed 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Supreme Court Justice Shin Ignores Pressure to Resign for 
Influencing Junior Judges in Trials of Anti-U.S. Beef Protesters 
 
Segye Ilbo 
Per Capita Personal Debt Reaches 16 Million Won 
 
Seoul Shinmun 
No Principles and Procedures in April 29 Parliamentary By-Elections; 
Elections Reduced to a Venue for Former Big Names to Make Political 
Comebacks 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
The ROKG seeks to draft a list of potential sanctions to impose on 
North Korea if it launches a rocket to test a long-range missile. 
The projected list is aimed at stepping up pressure on the North 
under UN Security Council Resolution 1718 and would specify people 
and organizations in the North as targets for major sanctions, 
including a travel ban and financial freeze. (Chosun) 
 
Experts raised the possibility that the "Kwangmyongsong-2" North 
Korea claims it is planning to launch might not be an experimental 
communications satellite but rather a "disguised warhead." 
(JoongAng) 
 
North Korea yesterday fully re-opened the border for ROK citizens 
traveling to and from the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The North also 
allowed ROK citizens to travel to Mt. Kumgang.  It is unclear, 
however, whether the North will keep the border open. (All) 
 
Experts saw this abrupt and unexpected change by North Korea as the 
communist state's old "hit-and-run" tactic to tame the ROKG. 
(Chosun) 
 
 
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 
------------------ 
 
The "Honeymoon" Again between North Korea and China Ahead of a 
Missile Launch by the North: A North Korean delegation led by 
Premier Kim Yong-il visited China yesterday to attend an event 
marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties 
between the two countries. (Hankook, Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul) Rumor 
has it that the visit might also be aimed at discussing a visit to 
China by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. (Hankook, Pressian) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
 
SEOUL 00000410  002 OF 004 
 
 
-North Korea 
----------- 
 
North Korea's re-opening yesterday of the inter-Korean border for 
overland travel in both directions received wide play.  Most of the 
ROK media observed that since March 9, when the ROK and the U.S. 
started their joint military exercises, North Korea has repeatedly 
closed and opened the border, tantalizing ROK business owners at the 
Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North.  Chosun Ilbo, citing 
experts, viewed this abrupt and unexpected move by the North as the 
communist state's old "hit-and-run" tactic to tame the ROKG. 
Hankook Ilbo's headline read: "Is North Korea's Military Alone 
behind Holding Kaesong Industrial Complex Hostage?...  (The Move is) 
North Korean Leader Kim Jong-il's 'Calculated Pressure'" 
 
Most of the ROK media reported that the ROKG has asked businesses in 
the joint industrial complex to refrain from visiting the North 
except for trips by essential staff, because the situation remains 
unstable. 
 
On the North's missile front, Chosun Ilbo front-paged a report 
saying that Seoul seeks to draft a list of potential sanctions to 
impose on North Korea if it launches a rocket to test a long-range 
missile.  The report went on to say that the projected list is aimed 
at stepping up pressure on the North under UN Security Council 
Resolution 1718 and would specify people and organizations in the 
North as targets for major sanctions, including a travel ban and 
financial freeze.  Chosun quoted an ROKG official as saying: 
"Considering the positions of China and Russia, it's not easy to 
reach a new resolution at the UN Security Council...  However, there 
is some consensus that the North's launch of such a projectile would 
constitute a violation of Resolution 1718, even if it is a 
satellite.  A 'realistic alternative' would be to step up sanctions 
according to the resolution, which have so far been nominal." 
 
JoongAng Ilbo, meanwhile, quoted local pundits as raising the 
possibility that the "Kwangmyongsong-2" North Korea claims it is 
planning to launch might not be an experimental communications 
satellite but rather a "disguised warhead." 
 
Carrying the headline, "The 'Honeymoon' Again between North Korea 
and China Ahead of a Missile Launch by the North," Hankook Ilbo 
reported that a North Korean delegation led by Premier Kim Yong-il 
visited China yesterday to attend an event marking the 60th 
anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two 
countries.  The report went on to say that the North Korean Premier 
is expected to meet today with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao to 
discuss issues such as the North's planned rocket launch.  The 
report also quoted a diplomatic source as speculating that this 
North Korean visit might be designed to discuss a visit to China by 
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
------------------- 
 
ROK-EU FTA Expected To Curb Trade Protectionism 
(Munhwa Ilbo, March 17, 2009, Page 31) 
 
The ROK-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to be officially 
concluded in the eighth round of talks scheduled to take place from 
March 22 to 23.  This adds momentum to an overall 'FTA network' 
strategy.  Lee Hye-min, chief negotiator for a free trade agreement 
with the EU said on March 17 that both sides are negotiating ways to 
strike a deal in time for the G20 Financial Summit to be held on 
April 2 in London, England.  He added that the ROK-EU FTA will carry 
significance in that major trading partners, the ROK and the EU will 
proclaim the importance of free trade, not protectionist trade. 
 
A year and 10 months have passed since both sides officially 
announced their negotiations in Seoul on May 6, 2007.  In fact, the 
ROK and the U.S. signed the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS 
FTA) on June 30, 2007.  The KORUS FTA however has not been ratified 
by legislators of both countries. Therefore, great headway in 
 
SEOUL 00000410  003 OF 004 
 
 
negotiations between the ROK and the EU may pave the way for the 
KORUS FTA to make rapid progress.  If the ROK-EU FTA and the KORUS 
FTA take effect, it will create a new market worth 30 trillion 
dollars in terms of GDP. 
 
If the ROK-EU FTA is reached at the G20 Financial Summit in London, 
it will become an opportunity to prove the ROK's commitment to an 
open world and will bring actual benefits to the nation.  We take 
note again that when the Group of 20 finance ministers and central 
bankers adopted the 8-point joint statement, they accepted strong 
demands from Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun and Bank of Korea 
Governor Lee Seong-tae and declared in the first provision of the 
statement that "we commit to fight all forms of protectionism and 
maintain open trade and investment."  Around the same time reports 
surfaced concerning an imminent conclusion to the ROK-EU FTA talks, 
U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens said, "The ROK-U.S. FTA 
has the potential to offer much to citizens of both our countries. 
I urge our Korean friends to give our new team in Washington some 
time to get in place." 
 
Once again, we point out to opponents of the ROK-U.S. FTA that 
missing an opportunity to establish the FTA network is the same as 
losing an opportunity for economic revival. 
 
 
FEATURES 
-------- 
 
Seoul Mulling List of Targets for N. Korea Sanctions 
(Chosun Ilbo, March 18, 2009, Front Page) 
 
By Reporter Lim Min-hyuk 
 
The South Korean government is considering drafting a list of 
targets for sanctions in North Korea in case the North launches a 
long-range missile.  The projected list is aimed at stepping up 
pressure on the North under UN Security Council 1718. 
 
The list would specify people and organizations in North Korea as 
targets of major sanctions.  When Resolution 1718 was adopted after 
North Korea conducted a nuclear test in 2006, no list was made out 
of political consideration. 
 
A government official said, "Considering the positions of China and 
Russia, it's not easy to reach a new resolution at the UN Security 
Council if the North keeps insisting that the projectile it plans to 
launch is a satellite.  But there is some consensus that the North's 
launch of such a projectile would itself constitute a violation of 
Resolution 1718, even if it is a satellite."  He said a "realistic 
alternative" would be to step up sanctions according to the 
resolution, which have so far been nominal. 
 
Resolution 1718 obliges all UN member countries to impose an arms 
embargo, travel ban and financial freeze on North Korea.  Of the 
three kinds of sanctions, arms embargo and financial freeze 
particularly oblige the member countries to specify "target 
individuals and organizations" under Article 12 (e) of the 
resolution.  But political considerations including 
Washington-Pyongyang negotiations over the resumption of the 
Six-Party nuclear talks in 2006 meant no country made such a list of 
targets. 
 
A diplomatic source said it would be possible to put considerable 
pressure on the North without having to take separate measures 
because a list of targets including senior North Korean officials 
would have "an enormous substantial and symbolic impact on the 
North." 
 
Some countries such as Japan are reportedly enthusiastic about the 
idea, but much depends on the position China and Russia take. 
Another diplomatic source said, "No full list was made even after 
the North's nuclear test back then, so any countries can make such a 
list to respond to the North's launch of a long-range missile if 
they join efforts with the U.S." 
 
SEOUL 00000410  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
STEPHENS