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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 SEOUL 000654 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; April 22, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
¶N. Korea Demands More Money for Workers at Kaesong Industrial 
Complex 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
Commander of N. Korean Fleet in West Sea: "There Shouldn't Be Such a 
Thing as PSI. We Must Not Fight Even If We Carry 
a Dagger in Our Heart" 
 
Dong-a Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo, Hankyoreh Shinmun, 
Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun, All TVs 
¶N. Korea: "We Will Reconsider All Special Benefits to ROK Companies 
Operating in Kaesong" 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
The first inter-Korean government-level meeting yesterday in more 
than a year ended after just 22 minutes; the two Koreas spent most 
of the day bickering over the location and format of the talks. 
(All) 
 
At the brief meeting, North Korea reportedly called for the ROK to 
raise the salaries of North Korean workers at the joint Kaesong 
Industrial Complex and to begin paying rent on the complex beginning 
next year, instead of in 2014 as had been previously agreed. The 
North also stated its intention to reconsider all of the special 
benefits to ROK companies operating in the complex. (All) 
 
North Korea, furthermore, voiced strong discontent with the ROK's 
plan to join the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), 
which aims to prevent the transfer of weapons of mass destruction, 
and refused to grant access to the ROK worker who has been detained 
for over 20 days. (All) 
 
The Blue House held a meeting of security-related ministers shortly 
after the inter-Korean meeting ended without results. The Blue House 
is reportedly agonizing over when to announce its decision to join 
the PSI, with the Foreign and Unification Ministries remaining at 
odds over the timing. (Chosun, Dong-a) 
 
 
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 
------------------ 
 
According to the Kyodo News Agency, Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso 
has sent an offering to the controversial Yasukuni shrine which 
honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including 14 top war criminals 
from World War II. The ROK and Chinese governments immediately 
expressed regret over the prime minister's move. (All) 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
-North Korea 
----------- 
 
Inter-Korean Talks 
Yesterday's 22-minute inter-Korean meeting received wide press 
coverage.  The ROK media reported that the meeting was delayed for 
most of the day as the two sides bickered over the location and 
format of the talks. 
 
Media coverage focused on North Korea's demands to raise the 
salaries of North Korean workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex 
and to begin paying rent on the complex beginning next year, instead 
of in 2014 as had been previously agreed to.  The North also stated 
its intention to reconsider all of the special benefits to ROK 
companies operating in the complex and refused to grant access to 
 
SEOUL 00000654  002 OF 006 
 
 
the ROK worker who has been detained for over 20 days, according to 
media reports. 
 
Newspapers carried the following headlines: "N. Korea Demands More 
Cash While Pretending to be Upset over PSI" (Conservative Chosun 
Ilbo); "What N. Korea Wants After All Is Money" (right-of-center 
JoongAng Ilbo); "The North Unilaterally Abrogates Existing 
Agreements, Shifting Responsibility for Crippled Operation of 
Kaesong Complex Onto the South" (conservative Dong-a Ilbo); "N. 
Korea Presses Seoul on Kaesong... Lee Myung-bak's Administration in 
Deep Agony" (moderate Hankook Ilbo); and "Kaesong Industrial Complex 
at Critical Juncture... Now the Ball Is in S. Korea's Court" 
(left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun) 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo, in an editorial titled, "North Korea 
Demands More Money while Holding Kaesong Hostage," argued: "It is 
obvious which side has more need of the Kaesong Industrial Complex. 
... Since North Korea has raised fundamental issues with the joint 
industrial complex, the ROKG should review its North Korea policy 
from scratch."  Moderate Hankook Ilbo's editorial called the North's 
demands "preposterous," because "such demands should have been made 
only after the detained ROK worker was released and the operation of 
the Kaesong Complex resumed." 
 
Six-Party Talks 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo's Chinese Affairs Reporter opined in a 
commentary: "It is true that the Six-Party Talks to resolve the 
North Korean nuclear issue have already failed. ... What China has 
done as the host of the talks was to merely bring a sulky North 
Korea to the table.  I wonder if it is time for us to exclaim: 'We 
will never again attend the Six-Party Talks.  Since the host country 
is incompetent, why not replace it?'" 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
------------------- 
WHY DON'T WE ALSO BOYCOTT THE SIX-PARTY TALKS? 
(Chosun  Ilbo, April 22, 2009, Page 34) 
 
By Chinese Affairs Reporter Park Seung-joon 
 
As it did in 1993, North Korea again proclaimed in 2003 that it 
would possess nuclear weapons after withdrawing from the Nuclear 
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), thereby alarming the international 
community.  This event led to the first round of the Six-Party 
Talks, which were held in Beijing during August of that year. 
 
The Six-Party Talks lasted sixth rounds over six years.  From the 
first to sixth round, North Korea has always acted as it pleased. 
 
North Korea boycotted the Six-Party Talks in September 2004 and 
announced that it possessed nuclear weapons in October 2005.  It 
launched the long-range Taepodong-1 missile in July 2006.  Moreover, 
North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test in October 2006 
and launched a rocket that can cover over 3000km.  It is true that 
the Six-Party Talks to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue have 
already failed. 
 
The Six-Party Talks are covered live by Chinese television and radio 
stations through a nationwide network.  The Chinese watch 
televisions and listen to radios, emotionally engaged, while stating 
that China plays a big role in maintaining the peace and stability 
of the world. 
 
Now we should face reality.  As the Six-Party Talks progress, the 
ROK has increasingly seemed less capable of guaranteeing security 
and military control.  The Six-Party Talks have repeatedly gone 
through ups and downs similar to Sisyphus' rock.  What China has 
done as the host of the talks was to merely bring a sulky North 
Korea to the table.  I wonder if it is time for us to exclaim: 'We 
will never again attend the Six-Party Talks.  Since the host country 
is incompetent, why not replace it?' 
 
 
 
SEOUL 00000654  003 OF 006 
 
 
NORTH KOREA DEMANDS MORE MONEY WHILE HOLDING KAESONG HOSTAGE 
(Chosun Ilbo, April 22, 2009, Page 35) 
 
ROK and North Korean officials met for just 22 minutes in the border 
city of Kaesong on Tuesday, with each side merely informing the 
other of its position.  It was to be expected that the talks would 
not produce any results.  The ROK delegates arrived in Kaesong at 
around 9 a.m. and offered to hold a preparatory meeting to discuss 
the agenda, participants and venue of the talks.  Until they 
arrived, the North Koreans had declined to inform the ROK of who was 
taking part and where the meeting was to take place.  Then they told 
the ROK officials to come over to the North's office in the Kaesong 
Industrial Complex. 
 
It is obvious which side has more need of the Kaesong Industrial 
Complex.  It is not difficult to guess why North Korea acted this 
way.  Its aim was to make the ROK feel small by forcing officials to 
travel to the North, bombard them with scathing criticism over the 
implementation of UN sanctions and Seoul's participation in the 
Proliferation Security Initiative, and threaten the possible closure 
of the Kaesong Industrial Complex.  The North Koreans intended to 
humiliate the ROK while the entire world was watching. By agreeing 
to it, the ROK colluded in its own humiliation. 
 
The ROK officials asked to meet the Hyundai Asan employee who has 
been detained incommunicado by North Korean authorities for 23 days 
now, but North Korea refused.  Pyongyang has demonstrated that it is 
incapable of abiding by even the most basic humanitarian 
principles. 
 
Since North Korea has raised fundamental issues with the joint 
industrial complex, the ROKG should review its North Korea policy 
from scratch.  The problem for the ROK is that it has no choice but 
to deal with such a country.  Our government must stick to its 
principles and pursue genuine dialogue with North Korea instead of 
getting caught up in the results of individual instances.  The ROKG 
must clear up the confusion over whether or not it is going to join 
the PSI and get to work focusing on its overall North Korea policy. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
RATIFICATION OF FTA URGENT 
(Dong-a Ilbo, April 22, 2009, Page 31) 
 
North Korea's rocket launch and inter-Korean tension over the ROK's 
joining of the Proliferation Security Initiative are pending issues 
for the U.S. Washington has blasted the rocket launch as a 
provocative act.  As the ROK expresses its support for U.S. policy, 
the initiative has grown into a matter for the two Koreas. 
Pyongyang has raised tensions while rejecting policies of engagement 
with Seoul and cooperative relations with Washington.  The U.S. and 
the ROK, however, should overcome the challenges posed by the North 
to nurture their "strategic alliance suitable for the 21st century" 
and help each other pursue mutual value and contribute to world 
peace. 
 
In a letter sent to President Obama Monday, Senate Finance Committee 
Chairman Max Baucus and Republican Senator Charles Grassley urged 
the president to move forward with the ROK.  In response to the 
North's launch of its Taepodong-2 missile and announced intent to 
resume its nuclear program, the two senators urged Washington to 
maintain and expand its strong and proven partnership with Seoul. 
Because both allies seek to defuse threats to national security, the 
senators said the U.S. must also work to resolve bilateral economic 
issues for the sake of common prosperity.  Though they reiterated 
previous arguments that disputes over the auto and beef sectors 
should be resolved under principles of the bilateral free trade 
agreement, it is inspiring for them to consider the deal's 
ratification as a measure to strengthen the bilateral partnership. 
 
The Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee of the ROK's 
National Assembly also plans to vote on the agreement's ratification 
 
SEOUL 00000654  004 OF 006 
 
 
today.  Despite strong resistance from anti-U.S. protesters and 
certain politicians, Seoul has made steady progress to keep its 
promise with Washington. Along with the ROK-U.S. Economic 
Conference, the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea submitted a 
recommendation to the Obama Administration and Congress last week to 
ratify the agreement as soon as possible.  The White House should 
consider the moves by the two nations to ratify the deal and make 
more effort to that end. 
 
As part of its global strategic alliances, the Obama Administration 
has made several requests to Seoul, which has proactively responded 
to them. The ROK sent a warship to Somalia to protect ships from 
pirates and is willing to help the U.S. government bring stability 
and peace to Afghanistan.  Obama has begun "smart diplomacy" to 
improve relations with Iran, Cuba and Venezuela.  North Korea's 
provocative threats and the ratification of the free trade deal, 
however, are also urgent matters needing quick resolution.  A 
passive U.S. response could encourage the North to misunderstand 
Washington's intentions.  The U.S. government needs to make more 
efforts to deal with pending issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula 
and move quickly to prove that ROK-U.S. relations are airtight. 
 
President Obama and ROK President Lee Myung-bak held their first 
meeting in London on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit, but it 
just lasted 30 minutes. So their first full-fledged meeting is 
coming up in Washington in June.  The U.S. needs more proactive 
efforts to strengthen its alliance with the ROK to bear more fruit 
at the meeting. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
ASSEMBLY'S RESPONSIBILITY TO RENEGOTIATE THE KORUS FTA 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, April 22, 2009, Page 27) 
 
It looks like the subcommittees for foreign affairs, trade and 
unification will approve the bill to ratify the free trade agreement 
with the U.S. (KORUS FTA) today.  The Democratic Party, saying the 
procedure of putting the matter before a subcommittee vote was 
invalid from the start, intends to abstain, essentially permitting 
the committee's approval. Analysts suggest this will make 
ratification possible whenever the Grand National Party (GNP), which 
holds the majority of seats, wants to push it through the ROK 
legislature. 
 
It seems, however, that revisiting the agreement one way or another 
is inevitable. While the U.S. has not used the word renegotiate, 
U.S. officials have said on more than a few occasions that the deal 
as is needs to be reexamined, making it clear they would like to 
change the content of the agreement.  The U.S. holds the position 
that the deal cannot be ratified unless there is a provision that 
allows the U.S. to gain a greater market share for car sales in the 
ROK, and a relaxation of the 30-month rule that currently does not 
permit the import of U.S. beef from cows older than 30 months at the 
time of slaughter. 
 
At any rate, now is the time for the two nations to open talks on 
the KORUS FTA whether or not they call it a "renegotiation" or a 
meeting for "additional negotiations."  The U.S. is pressuring 
Canada and Mexico to reopen and make concessions on the North 
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a document that is already 15 
years old.  It is overly simplistic to assume the U.S. will accept 
the deal in its current form if South Koreans move with haste and 
get it ratified.  Rather, we should take the opportunity to 
reconsider the whole agreement from the perspective of how well it 
fits our national interests.  Being unwilling to renegotiate the 
deal or thinking that early ratification is a good strategy are both 
out of touch with reality.  One can only hope that we will not make 
the mistake of surrendering all the practical advantages that are to 
be had from the KORUS FTA by insisting on either approach. 
 
What is of greatest concern is that we will commence "additional 
negotiations," after ratifying the KORUS FTA, so as to say we are 
 
SEOUL 00000654  005 OF 006 
 
 
not engaged in "renegotiations," only to capitulate to U.S. demands 
on auto and beef import issues where harmful clauses remain.  In 
other words, we will effectively give away the opportunity to revise 
harmful clauses like the investor-state claim (ISD, Investor-State 
Dispute) procedures, the ratchet clause on market openness (which 
disallows reverting to earlier levels), and the most favored nation 
clause of the KORUS FTA. 
 
The proponents of ratification need to abandon the idea of ratifying 
the KORUS FTA ahead of the U.S.-Korea summit in June.  Haste and 
impatience could make us lose more than we would gain.  When the 
administration hastily announced it was opening the ROK's markets to 
U.S. beef prior to the April 2008 US-Korea summit in order to win 
favor, it faced great opposition by citizens in the form of 
candlelight vigil demonstrations.  The Democratic and other 
opposition parties need to take a clear stance on this issue.  They 
need to strongly demand that the harmful clauses are remedied based 
on national interests.  Otherwise, they will also have to bear the 
responsibility for going through the motions of playing tug of war 
with the ruling party only to let it have its way. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
NORTH KOREA'S DEMANDS PREPOSTEROUS 
(Hankook  Ilbo, April 22, 2009, Page 35) 
 
An official inter-Korean meeting held yesterday at the Kaesong 
Industrial Complex, the first such meeting since the inauguration of 
the Lee Myung-bak Administration, was quite disappointing.  Although 
the ROK and North Korea wrangled over the location and agenda for 
over 11 hours, the actual meeting lasted for only 22 minutes.  At 
the meeting, North Korea allegedly notified the ROK that it will 
punish the detained Hyundai Asan worker, a Mr. Yoo, on charges of 
espionage.  North Korea, however, said it will not indict Mr. Yoo, 
leaving room for future negotiation. 
 
We cannot buy into North Korea's allegation of Mr. Yoo's espionage 
as it is.  North Korea has held him in custody for 20 days without 
guaranteeing basic access rights.  It is widely known that 
investigation results produced in a coercive atmosphere are not 
objectively reliable. 
 
During the meeting, North Korea did not accept the ROK's strong 
request for access to Mr. Yoo.  His safety and early release are 
very important in a humanitarian aspect.  Furthermore, this matter 
is directly related to (the prospect) of developing the Kaesong 
Industrial Complex with stability.  If North Korea uses the 
detention to its advantage, it will breed doubts about the 
sustainability of the Complex.  Therefore, North Korea should 
release him to safety without delay. 
 
North Korea may intend to link Mr. Yoo's detention with the ROKG's 
full participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), 
which aims to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction.  The 
ROKG has delayed announcing its full participation in the PSI three 
times, showing its sincere intention to avoid straining inter-Korean 
relations.  Nonetheless, if North Korea maintains an inflexible 
stance, the tide may turn in a totally different direction.  Even 
now, there is a scathing criticism within ROK society that the ROKG 
is being influenced by North Korea. 
 
Moreover, North Korea outrageously announced that it will adjust the 
salaries of North Korean workers (at the Kaesong Industrial Complex) 
upwards and reconsider the special benefits accorded to (ROK 
companies operating in) the complex.  These demands should have been 
made only after the detained ROK worker was released and the 
operation of the Kaesong Complex resumed.  North Korea's ulterior 
motives behind these preposterous and unilateral demands are very 
dubious.  North Korea should wisely consider what exactly would 
benefit the country. 
 
 
 
SEOUL 00000654  006 OF 006 
 
 
WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR HARM INTERNET DOES 
(JoongAng  Ilbo, April 22, 2009, Page 42) 
 
Where is the line between freedom of expression and responsible 
behavior in cyberspace?  A Seoul district court found Park Dae-sung, 
also known as Minerva, not guilty on charges of criticizing the 
government's economic policies.  This ruling should be a starting 
point for drawing out a social consensus.  Because the prosecutors 
announced their plans to immediately file an appeal, we will 
carefully watch what decision the higher court will render. 
Moreover, serious social discussions should be conducted on how to 
minimize the side effects of irresponsible cyberspace postings.  If 
necessary, the National Assembly should set out to rectify any legal 
deficiencies. 
 
The court said that it was difficult to prove that Minerva had 
posted the writings with full knowledge that his information was 
false and with a clear intent to cause public harm.  The prosecutors 
seem to have strictly interpreted the Telecommunications Act.  The 
aftermath of this ruling will be problematic.  Established media 
such as newspaper, publication and broadcasting outlets routinely 
censor false reports or claims based on related regulations and 
company rules or take rigorous after-measures.  They take 
responsibility commensurate with freedom of the media and freedom of 
expression.  Accordingly, the Shindonga reporters who sparked the 
'Minerva scandal' were subjected to harsh disciplinary action 
including dismissal.  Anonymously posting demagogic arguments on the 
internet, which is used by 80% of the public over the age of 10, 
could inflict great damage.  Is it just that this action is left 
unpunished? 
 
The Telecommunications Act that was applied to Mr. Park was 
implemented in 1984, 10 years before the start of widespread 
internet service.  The charge of engaging in false communication to 
harm the public interest still remains the same even though the 
fines were raised.  Therefore, it seems that the prosecutors had 
insufficient grounds to apply the outdated law and the court faced 
considerable difficulty in making a ruling.  Consequently, new norms 
to keep pace with the rapidly evolving internet environment are 
required.  These days, it is much faster and more effective to 
communicate through the internet than established media. 
 
However, emphasizing responsibility may foolishly lead to the 
suppression of expression and media, which are guaranteed in the 
Constitution.  The smooth operation of the Internet should not 
suffer because of powerful groups such as government organizations. 
 
Now is the time to actively discuss the issues of freedom and 
responsibility in cyberspace.  We need to establish a 'red-line,' 
which guarantees the merits of internet and freedom of expression, 
while also holding people responsible for their actions. 
Irresponsible internet postings can harm everyone.  Therefore, 
political interests have no place in these discussions. 
 
 
STEPHENS