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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 SEOUL 000762 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; May 13, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Seoul National University Ranked First in Korea in Four Academic 
Categories in an Asian University Assessment Conducted by Chosun 
Ilbo and QS; Tokyo University Tops 
the List of Asian Universities in All Academic Categories 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
A Year and Four Months after Lee Myung-bak Administration Granted 
Greater Autonomy to Universities, 
University Presidents Still Dissatisfied 
 
Dong-a Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo, Segye Ilbo, All TVs 
Prosecution: "Former Taekwang Industrial CEO Wired $400,000 to 
Former President Roh's Daughter at the President's Request. The 
Funds are Separate from the $1 Million the Former President's Wife 
Admitted Receiving from Taekwang CEO" 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Judges to Gather as Early as Today to Denounce Supreme Court Ethics 
Committee's Lenient Decision on 
Justice Shin's Involvement in a Trial Interference Scandal 
 
Seoul Shinmun 
Gyeongsangnam-do Province Governor to be Summoned 
This Week for Taking Huge Amount of Money from Former Taekwang 
Industrial CEO 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
According to a ROKG source, the USG is sounding out the ROKG about 
deploying ROK troops, including a unit of military engineers, to 
Afghanistan. The Afghan aid issue is likely to emerge as an issue 
ahead of next month's ROK-U.S. summit. (Hankook, Segye, Seoul, 
VoiceofPeople) 
 
According to the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), the U.S. 
Department of Defense recently reaffirmed that the transfer of 
wartime operational control from the U.S. to the ROK will take place 
in 2012 as planned. (Chosun, Dong-a, Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul, 
VoiceofPeople) 
 
Chosun Ilbo featured an article comparing U.S. Special 
Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth with former 
Chief U.S. Delegate to the Six-Party Talks Christopher Hill. The 
article said that the two officials have nothing in common, except 
that they like sundubu jjigae (soft tofu stew)." 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
 
-Bosworth's Visit to the Region 
------------------------------- 
Left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun carried an inside-page report 
evaluating U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy 
Stephen Bosworth's latest visit to Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo.  The 
report stated that Ambassador Bosworth has won agreement from Seoul 
and Tokyo over "direct talks between the U.S. and North Korea," 
broadening Washington's "room for maneuver" (in dealing with North 
Korea). 
 
The report also speculated that the U.S. and North Korea might reach 
a "big deal" if the two countries enter into negotiations, a deal 
similar to the October 12, 2000 U.S.-North Korea Joint Communiqu 
under the Clinton Administration.  The report went on to say that 
the U.S. might need "some time" to achieve this end. 
 
 
SEOUL 00000762  002 OF 006 
 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo featured an article comparing Ambassador 
Bosworth with former Chief U.S. Delegate to the Six-Party Talks 
Christopher Hill.  According to the article, Ambassador Bosworth 
gives priority to listening to what other countries' nuclear envoys 
say over setting forth his own opinions, while Ambassador Hill liked 
to present his own ideas and aggressively tried to sell them to 
envoys from other countries.  Chosun headlined its article: 
"Bosworth, Hill Have Nothing in Common, Except That They Like 
'Sundubu Jjigae (soft tofu stew)'" 
 
-Afghanistan 
------------ 
 
- ROK Troop Deployment 
Citing an ROKG source, moderate Hankook Ilbo reported that the USG 
is sounding out the ROKG about deploying ROK troops, including a 
unit of military engineers, to Afghanistan.  The ROK media viewed 
this Afghan aid issue as likely to emerge as an issue ahead of next 
month's ROK-U.S. summit. 
 
 - Change in US Military Leadership 
Newspapers carried the following headlines: "Replacement of U.S. 
Military Leadership in Afghanistan Signals a Change in U.S. Afghan 
Strategy" (left-leaning Hankyoreh); and "U.S. Afghan Strategy Likely 
to Turn into Obama Style Putting Emphasis on Hearts and Minds of 
Afghan People over Combat" (moderate Hankook Ilbo) 
 
 
FEATURES 
-------- 
 
"BOSWORTH, HILL HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON, EXCEPT THAT THEY LIKE 
SUNDUBU JJIGAE" 
(Chosun Ilbo, May 13, 2009, Page 8) 
 
By Reporter Lim Min-hyuk 
 
The only thing U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy 
Stephen Bosworth and Washington's former North Korea point man 
Christopher Hill have in common "is that they like sundubu jjigae 
(spicy, soft tofu stew)," a diplomat said half in jest after 
Bosworth visited South Korea on May 8-11. 
 
The different styles of the two negotiators on North Korean nuclear 
policy are evident.  A South Korean government official was quoted 
as saying, "In addition to the fact that Hill served in a permanent 
post at the State Department while Bosworth is in a part-time 
position (Bosworth concurrently works as dean of the Fletcher School 
at Tufts University), they differ quite noticeably from each other 
in every respect. ". 
 
According to officials, Bosworth gives priority to listening to what 
other countries' nuclear envoys say over setting forth his own 
opinions.  During his latest visit to South Korea, he did not 
present any particular ideas.  By contrast, Hill liked to present 
his own ideas and aggressively tried to sell them to envoys from 
other countries.  The idea of North Korea's showy blow-up of the 
cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear facility last year was 
conceived by Hill.  He suggested various ideas even when the 
Six-Party Talks were in a deadlock due to differences over the 
North's alleged uranium enrichment program.  Another South Korean 
government official commented, "Hill's ideas sometimes helped find a 
breakthrough in a creative way, but many of them turned out to be 
somewhat reckless and irrational." 
 
The two men are also different in their dealings with journalists. 
Bosworth mostly shuns the press.  Although crowds of journalists 
were waiting at Incheon International Airport last Friday, he left 
after saying he would not respond to each and every statement or 
activity by North Korea. 
 
Bosworth spent a mere eight minutes in a press interview at the 
Foreign Ministry building that evening and gave no answers to 
reporters' questions when he visited former president Kim Dae-jung 
 
SEOUL 00000762  003 OF 006 
 
 
last Saturday.  By contrast, Hill enjoyed talking with journalists 
so much that he talked at least 30 minutes whenever a microphone was 
put in front of him.  He went so far as to try to induce reporters 
to keep hurling questions at him by asking them, "Don't you have any 
more questions?" This happened despite his staff's attempt to end 
the press conferences.  Hill was sometimes criticized as being 
addicted to the limelight. 
 
Bosworth talks cool-headedly, even bluntly, and in a matter-of-fact 
way that leaves little room for diplomatic rhetoric.  But the 
impatient Hill cracked many jokes and favored metaphorical 
expressions and grand gestures.  A South Korean official said, "When 
we had dinner together, I found Bosworth a scholar but Hill a 
negotiator."  Hill, a big baseball fan, liked to compare each phase 
of the Six-Party Talks to a baseball game.  A diplomat said, "During 
his latest visit here, when Bosworth was asked how to prevent the 
North from conducting another nuclear test, he said, 'There aren't 
many things we can do.' Hill would never have said that." 
 
(We have compared the English version on the website with the Korean 
version and changed the headline to make them identical.) 
 
 
USG SOUNDS OUT ROKG ABOUT TROOP DEPLOYMENT 
(Hankook  Ilbo, May 13, 2009, Page 6) 
 
ROK's additional aid to Afghanistan is emerging as an issue ahead of 
U.S-ROK bilateral talks scheduled for next month. 
 
Reportedly, the USG is sounding out the ROKG about troop deployment 
of various kinds, including a unit of military engineers, to 
Afghanistan.  The ROKG said it has not considered this, denying that 
it received any official request (from the U.S.).  However, 
observers say that ahead of next month's ROK-U.S. summit, it is very 
likely that (the ROK's) additional aid to Afghanistan will emerge as 
an issue. 
 
An ROKG source said on May 12 that at working levels, the U.S. 
raised the issue of whether the ROK could dispatch a unit of 
military engineers to Afghanistan.  The source added that (the U.S.) 
is also discussing various ways to support Afghanistan. 
 
When asked whether this means the U.S. made an official request for 
the ROK's troop deployment, the ROKG source denied it, saying that 
consultations are underway only at working levels.  The source noted 
that there could be other options such as dispatching the medical 
unit, security unit, and police in addition to the unit of military 
engineers.  The U.S. notes that the ROK's Zaytun Unit in Iraq played 
a remarkable role in rebuilding efforts within the country even 
though it did not directly engage in combat.  The U.S., in apparent 
consideration of the negative response from among ROK media outlets 
(about a possible request for a ROK troop deployment to 
Afghanistan), has not officially requested the ROK to deploy troops. 
 
 
In this regard, an ROKG official said that the U.S. has put great 
energy into rebuilding Afghanistan since the inauguration of the 
Obama Administration.  The official added that apart from sending 
troops, the ROK is compelled, from the perspective of bettering the 
ROK-U.S alliance, to consider the various ways it can provide aid to 
Afghanistan.  However, the ROKG is reportedly not considering 
deploying a combat unit even if it goes ahead with a military 
contribution. 
 
Therefore, ahead of ROK President Lee Myung-bak's visit to the U.S. 
and the U.S.-ROK summit, the ROKG is expected to address its 
additional aid to Afghanistan.  ROK-U.S. defense ministries will 
hold the Security Policy Initiative (SPI) meeting in Washington on 
May 14 and 15.  Also, both countries will hold a defense ministerial 
meeting in Singapore on May 30.  It would be noteworthy to see 
whether or not they will try to coordinate something prior to the 
bilateral summit. 
 
On May 6, the ROKG finalized its first plan on aid (for Afghanistan) 
 
SEOUL 00000762  004 OF 006 
 
 
which calls for providing equipment worth 5 million dollars, such as 
ambulances, and increasing the number of Provincial Reconstruction 
Team (PRT) personnel to 85. 
 
 
U.S-NORTH KOREA DIRECT TALKS WIN AGREEMENT FROM SEOUL AND TOKYO 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, May 13, 2009, Page 4) 
 
The U.S. has more maneuvering room. 
The U.S. may reach a "big deal" after taking some time. 
China's increased role draws attention. 
 
Ambassador Bosworth, the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea 
Policy, wrapped up his visit to the Korea, China and Japan in Tokyo 
on May 12. 
 
During his meeting with ROK Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on May 8, 
Ambassador Bosworth said, (referring to North Korea), that "many 
things have happened but apparently little has changed."  Since the 
adoption of the UN Presidential Statement condemning North Korea's 
rocket launch on April 5, the Obama Administration has been 
extending a "welcoming hand for dialogue" but North Korea continues 
to shake its fist.  The U.S. has reaffirmed that it would like to 
restart the Six-Party Talks but North Korea considers this 
multilateral framework a "broken bowl."  It seems that a wide gap 
remains between both sides.  Still, Ambassador Bosworth's tour is 
seen to have narrowed this gap in some aspects. 
 
For one, his tour was a process of winning agreements from the ROK 
and Japan over direct talks between the U.S. and North Korea.  On 
May 24, during a telephone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister 
Aso Daro, U.S. President Obama received agreement from Japan for 
direct U.S.-North Korea talks in return for urging North Korea back 
into the Six-Party Talks.  Also, during an interview with the 
Financial Times on May 7, the ROK's Chief Delegate to the Six-Party 
Talks Wi Sung-lac expressed support for U.S-North Korea bilateral 
talks.  Wi said that U.S.-North Korea and China-North Korea talks 
are likely to take place and these bilateral talks could be 
beneficial if they lead to resumption of the Six-Party Talks. 
Apparently, this broadened Washington's room to maneuver. 
 
, China's role (is also noteworthy).  U.S. President Obama sent 
Ambassador Bosworth to China and also had a telephone conversation 
with Chinese President Hu Jintao on May 6.  During this 
conversation, President Obama expressed concerns about North Korea's 
recent moves.  This might be interpreted as an indication that the 
U.S. wants China to take action.  In response to the UN Presidential 
Statement on April 14, North Korea boycotted the Six-Party Talks 
through its foreign ministry statement.  Therefore, the U.S. should 
take a new approach of dialogue instead of reviving the Six-Party 
Talks.  A senior U.S. government official who visited the ROK last 
month is quoted as saying that the U.S. should discuss North Korean 
issues including the nuclear issue through new multilateral 
consultation rather than pursuing bilateral talks with North Korea. 
This is seen as a tripartite structure involving North Korea, the 
U.S. and China.  Therefore, it is important what consultations 
Ambassador Bosworth had with China, even though details have not 
been revealed. 
 
As important as the format of dialogue is, "what will be discussed 
and what issues should be resolved" between North Korea and the 
U.S., as The Choson Shinbo, a North Korean mouthpiece published in 
Japan, pointed out on May 11, is also important.  The newspaper 
asked, "What (type of) dialogue does (the U.S.) want when it 
considers the (recent) rocket launch a provocation and has responded 
to it in a hostile manner?"  The North Korean Foreign Ministry 
Spokesman's statement on May 8 that "nothing can come out of our 
sitting down with a counterpart that is continuously hostile toward 
us" should also be interpreted ironically.  A key ROKG official 
said, "We are not aware of specific moves regarding (North Korea's) 
nuclear test."  As The Choson Sinbo put it, Pyongyang is demanding 
that a "new diplomatic scene should be created."  This means that 
the U.S. should give an answer, but as the ROKG official points out, 
the problem is that "(North Korea) paints too large a picture." 
 
SEOUL 00000762  005 OF 006 
 
 
 
In that sense, if the U.S. and North Korea enter into negotiations, 
they will likely reach a "big deal," which is similar to the October 
12, 2000, U.S.-North Korea Joint Communiqu under the Clinton 
Administration.  Meanwhile, Bosworth told reporters after arriving 
in Tokyo, "A visit to North Korea is something we will be 
considering over the next few weeks." 
 
 
BRUCE KLINGNER OF THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: "TROOP DISPATCH TO 
AFGHANISTAN REQUIRES CAREFUL APPROACH... IT SHOULD NOT BE LINKED 
WITH ROK-U.S. SUMMIT" 
(Dong-a Ilbo, May 13, 2009, Page 8) 
 
By Reporter Kim Young-sik 
 
Bruce Klingner, Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation 
 
"If U.S. President Barack Obama asks the ROK to deploy troops to 
Afghanistan at the ROK-U.S. summit in June and President Lee 
Myung-bak agrees to it, it will be the worst-case scenario. 
President Lee will be criticized by the people, and another 
controversy similar to that over (U.S.) beef imports could occur." 
 
Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, 
made the statement during a May 12 interview with Dong-a Ilbo, 
adding, "Troop deployment to Afghanistan requires a careful and 
thorough approach."  The Korean Peninsula expert, who served at the 
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Defense Intelligence 
Agency (DIA) for 20 years, visited Seoul to discuss U.S. foreign 
policy under the U.S Department of State's Speaker Program. 
 
- With the ROK-U.S. summit approaching, controversy over troop 
dispatch is arising in the ROK. 
 
"The best way is for the U.S. to s-e-c-r-e-t-l-y convey its interest 
in the ROK's troop deployment to Afghanistan.  (The troop dispatch) 
should not be directly linked to the ROK-U.S. summit.  Since he was 
a presidential candidate, President Obama has urged Asian allies to 
make more contributions.  However, he made clear that it will not be 
by coercion." 
 
- North Korea is making a series of provocations, including 
launching a long-range rocket and threatening to conduct a nuclear 
test. 
 
"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the U.S. "does not 
intend to offer North Korea economic aid and additional incentives," 
which is a very good policy.  This is because the U.S. leaves the 
door open for dialogue at the same time.  Although it is important 
to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table, it is also 
important to ensure that the North abides by international rules." 
 
- Many people are concerned that North Korea may push for a nuclear 
test. 
 
"In the past, North Korea gained some rewards by adjusting the pace 
of its brinkmanship tactics over the course of several months. 
However, now, while North Korea continues to make provocations, the 
pace (of its brinkmanship tactics) has become surprisingly fast.  At 
the current stage, North Korea appears interested in acquiring 
nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capabilities 
rather than negotiating. 
 
- Why do you think North Korea is not willing to abandon its nuclear 
weapons programs? 
 
"A series of provocations are creating an increasingly pessimistic 
and skeptical atmosphere in Washington.  North Korea seems to want 
to go all-in to take the entire pot, instead of gradually raising 
the stakes as it did in the past.  This move could be designed for 
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who is suffering from health 
problems, to gain something swiftly, or the move could have been 
made by Kim in consideration of (North Korea's) succession issue. 
 
SEOUL 00000762  006 OF 006 
 
 
 
 
- North Korea is rebuffing U.S. Special Representative for North 
Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth. 
 
"Some U.S. advocates of engagement policy say that due to North 
Korea's rejection, (Washington) should choose a higher-ranking 
official because Bosworth is serving as a part-time special envoy 
and is not a high-level official.  However, even if Washington 
chooses a figure agreeable to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the 
message being sent by the North will still remain the same.  The 
problem is North Korea." 
 
 
 
STANTON