VZCZCXRO0627
OO RUEHGH
DE RUEHUL #0818/01 1420606
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 220606Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4416
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 8584
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 9747
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5915
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 6004
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0717
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 4421
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 3398
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 6594
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0990
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2327
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1401
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 2010

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 SEOUL 000818 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; May 22, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo, Dong-a Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo, Segye Ilbo, 
Seoul Shinmun, All TVs 
Top Court Upholds "Die with Dignity" Right 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
ROK Needs Proper Regulations on the Right to Die 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Jurists: "A Ban on Mass Rallies in Downtown Areas Is 
Unconstitutional" 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
Former President Kim Dae-jung said at an international symposium on 
peace and democracy hosted by Hankook University of Foreign Studies 
on May 21, "Once the Obama Administration settles in, it will enter 
into earnest dialogue with North Korea by this fall." (JoongAng, 
KBS, OhmyNews) 
 
A high-ranking military source said on May 21 that the Ministry of 
National Defense plans to increase the number of advanced 
precision-guided weapons, such as the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff 
Missile (JASSM) and the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), in 
order to enhance its response to North Korea's nuclear and missile 
threats. (Dong-a) 
 
 
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS 
-------------------------- 
 
U.S. President Barack Obama, upon receiving credentials from the new 
ROK Ambassador to the U.S. Han Duck-soo, said on May 20 that the 
U.S.-ROK FTA would enhance and promote bilateral ties and prosperity 
between the two allies.. (JoongAng, Dong-a, Chosun, Seoul, Segye) 
 
U.S. Secretary of State Clinton told a Senate Appropriations 
Committee hearing on May 20, "The U.S. will not give North Korea a 
penny of aid unless the North voluntarily returns to the Six-Party 
Talks." (Chosun, Segye, All TVs, VoiceofPeople) 
 
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told Fox News on May 
19 that one of the immediate tasks for the Obama Administration is 
the North Korean nuclear issue, saying, "If we cannot deal with a 
country that has no natural resources that others want, no 
significant trade, totally dependent on its neighbors for supplies, 
then what is the sense of talking of an international system?" 
(Chosun, Dong-a, KBS) 
 
Victor Cha, a Georgetown University professor who has recently been 
appointed to Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and 
International Studies, said in his meeting with Korean 
correspondents in Washington that the Six-Party Talks are not dead 
yet. (Seoul) 
 
China, the ROK and Japan show different responses to the 
appointments of U.S. Ambassadors to each nation: China is pleased; 
the ROK is satisfied; and Japan is sullen. (Chosun) 
 
Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on May 21 that in North 
Korea's constitution, which was revised this past April, it clearly 
described Chairman of the National Defense Commission Kim Jong-il as 
its top leader and further strengthened his power. (Dong-a, Hankook, 
Segye) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
 
SEOUL 00000818  002 OF 005 
 
 
-North Korea 
------------ 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo cited former ROK President Kim 
Dae-jung as saying at a May 21 international symposium hosted by 
Hankook University of Foreign Studies, "Once the Obama 
Administration settles in, it will enter into earnest dialogue with 
North Korea by this fall." 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo quoted ROK and U.S. experts as saying that 
North Korea's recent grandstanding may be motivated by internal 
power struggles over who is to succeed ailing leader Kim Jong-il. 
They said that after Kim's stroke last year, the question of 
succession, for which no preparations had been made, suddenly came 
to the fore.  As a result, it appears that the hardline military 
seized all the power it could and stoked international tensions to 
keep society under control. 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo also carried former 
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's statement on May 19.  He told 
Fox News that one of the immediate tasks for the Obama 
Administration is the North Korean nuclear issue, adding, "If we 
cannot deal with a country that has no natural resources that others 
want, no significant trade, totally dependent on its neighbors for 
supplies, then what is the sense of talking of an international 
system?" 
 
Chosun Ilbo reported that U.S. Secretary of State Clinton told a 
Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on May 20, "The U.S. will 
not give North Korea a penny of aid unless the North voluntarily 
returns to the Six-Party Talks."  The newspaper added that Secretary 
Clinton's "stern" response or "neglect" toward the North is being 
spread all throughout the Department of State. 
 
-Guantnamo Bay Prison 
---------------------- 
Under the headline, "Obama's Humiliation in Guantnamo," JoongAng 
Ilbo reported that as the U.S. Senate voted 90-6 to reject the 
closure of the Guantnamo Bay prison by refusing to finance the 
move, President Obama's leadership has now been put to test. 
 
Chosun Ilbo also carried the same story headlined "Obama 'Confined' 
to Guantnamo Prison."  The newspaper replayed a New York Times 
story that according to an unreleased Pentagon report, 74 of the 534 
prisoners already transferred abroad from the detention center in 
Guantnamo Bay are engaged in terrorism or militant activity. 
 
Left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun headlined its story, "Clash between 
Obama and Congress over Closure of Guantanamo," and Dong-a Ilbo 
headlined its story: "Obama In a Dilemma about Closure of 
Guantanamo." 
 
-Iran's Missile Launch 
---------------------- 
Under the headline, "Iran Test-fires Missile, Possibly Sparking Arms 
Race in Middle East," Hankyoreh Shinmun reported that Iran's success 
in test-firing a new mid-range missile could provoke hardliners in 
Israel, and the U.S. also expressed concerns.  Seoul Shinmun 
headlined its story: "Iran's Missile Launch Upsets Balance in Middle 
East... Is This a Prelude to an Arms Race?" 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
------------------- 
 
SEOUL'S NEARSIGHTED VIEW OF THE NORTH 
(JoongAng Ilbo, May 22, 2009, Page 43) 
 
By Kim Young-hie, senior columnist of JoongAng Ilbo 
 
President Lee should focus on implementing the joint declaration by 
the two countries. 
 
The bizarre state of inter-Korean relations represented by what is 
happening to the Kaesong Industrial Complex remind me of the French 
 
SEOUL 00000818  003 OF 005 
 
 
philosopher Blaise Pascal's axiom, "A meridian decides the truth." 
 
Pascal wrote that "three degrees of latitude reverse all 
jurisprudence; ... A strange justice that is bounded by the river!" 
Truth on this side of the Pyrenees, he concluded, is false on the 
other side.  The difference in the meridian between Seoul and 
Pyongyang is no more than one degree.  Nonetheless, what is right in 
the South is wrong in the North.  The South thinks it has extended 
its hand for reconciliation, while North Korea thinks the Lee 
Myung-bak Administration is clinging to overtly hostile policies. 
 
It is true that the stalemate in inter-Korean relations, including 
those issues related to Kaesong and Mount Kumgang, have resulted 
from North Korea's domestic problems, which have been caused by Kim 
Jong-il's medical condition and his regime's unreasonable attempt to 
tame the Lee Administration.  However, if we only keep blaming the 
North, the inter-Korean stalemate will not be resolved and the two 
will not be able to coexist and prosper together.  Inevitably the 
Kaesong Industrial Complex will close down.  The Lee Administration 
must reverse its methods of resolving problems related to those 
issues. 
 
Seoul wants to resolve the Kaesong Industrial Complex issue by 
having negotiations to release a worker of Hyundai Asan, who has 
been detained inside the complex.  Then it wants to keep its 
mechanism for resolving problems going in order to ease strained 
South-North relations.  The government's strategy stems from its 
nearsighted view of finding the root of the problems of Kaesong in 
the industrial complex itself. 
 
The Kaesong Industrial Complex issue is only a small part of 
inter-Korean relations.  North Korea earns $30 - $40 million 
annually from the complex.  Let's suppose that North Korea's demands 
are met and the annual income (from the complex) increases to $100 
million.  This is, of course, not a small sum when considering the 
North's tight finances.  However, it is a very small amount compared 
with South Korea's project to maintain business ties with (or 
provide aid to) North Korea, signed and agreed to by former 
President Roh Moo-hyun and Kim on October 4, 2007.  That project is 
worth $11.8 billion.  And here we find a clue to the whole issue. 
 
The North demands that the Lee Administration put into practice the 
June 15 Joint Declaration that presented a vision of cooperation 
between the South and the North, and the October 4 agreement that 
detailed how to implement the joint declaration.  The demand is not 
only about the economy but also North Korea's pride.  The North 
attaches enormous meaning-much more than we can imagine-to the fact 
that the June 15 Joint Declaration and the October 4 agreement are 
the only two documents that Kim had signed.  In his speech to the 
National Assembly last year, President Lee said the South and the 
North should discuss how the joint declaration and the agreement 
would be implemented.  North Korea is unlikely to change its stance 
against the South, no matter how big the temptation to make money in 
Kaesong may be, before President Lee puts the joint declaration and 
the agreement into practice. 
 
A South Korean politician said we can cling to some hope, as, even 
though it expresses a hardline stance against the South, North Korea 
has not dispatched spy submarines or staged a clash in the Yellow 
Sea-.  North Korea refrains from physical provocation; probably 
because it is aware that the United States is watching.  President 
Lee ordered the defense minister to be prudent when making remarks 
about North Korea and postponed participating in the Proliferation 
Security Initiative as suggested by the foreign and unification 
ministers.  That is probably because Lee saw a possibility of easing 
relations with the North. 
 
It is encouraging that the president has much more flexible thinking 
on North Korea issues than his aides.  We expect President Lee to 
make a bold resolution. 
 
(August 15 marks)  Liberation Day (in Korea).  That will be a good 
chance (for President Lee) to give a historic speech accepting the 
June 15 Joint Declaration and the October 4 agreement fully and to 
 
SEOUL 00000818  004 OF 005 
 
 
state his will to implement them.  The conservative camp is likely 
to protest but the president must overcome it with his political 
power and a Messianic sense of duty as the country's leader. 
 
South Korea's economy is 40 times larger than North Korea's.  An 
argument that the South is under the North's thumb is thus flimsy, 
unless North Korea (decides to flaunt) its nuclear weapons.  In 
order to prevent this from happening, inter-Korean dialogue must be 
maintained no matter what.  I hope that President Lee will give a 
great Liberation Day speech while Kim Jong-il is still in power. 
That is the right way to implement pragmatism. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
FEATURES 
-------- 
 
WHAT OBAMA'S ASIAN AMBASSADOR PICKS REVEAL 
(Chosun Ilbo, May 22, 2009, Page 8) 
 
By Washington Correspondent Lee Ha-won 
 
As U.S. President Barack Obama completes his appointment of 
ambassadors to major countries, stark contrasts are becoming 
apparent among the officials chosen to represent the United States 
in Korea, China and Japan. 
 
Obama evidently set the greatest store by the appointment of the 
ambassador to China.  As he appointed Governor Jon Huntsman of Utah 
on Saturday, Obama said the position was "as important as any" 
ambassadorial post because of the wide range of issues concerning 
the U.S. and China.  Obama said working with China was a 
prerequisite to dealing effectively with the global challenges of 
the 21st century.  And he chose a figure with a substantial level of 
expertise.  Huntsman even has a Chinese name, "Hong Bopei," and is 
considered pro-Chinese, having adopted a daughter from China.  He is 
naturally favored by Beijing.  Huntsman is also a heavyweight in the 
Republican Party, being mentioned as a possible presidential 
candidate in 2012.  He is expected to maintain a direct line with 
Obama when he takes up the job. 
 
In Korea, Kathleen Stephens is a career diplomat already appointed 
to the job by former President George W. Bush.  She has no direct 
ties to Obama, but her abilities were recognized when she 
successfully handled Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to 
Seoul just after Clinton took office.  Her other strengths are her 
experience as a Peace Corps volunteer back in the 1970s, when Korea 
was still a backward country, and her fluency in the language, which 
have led Koreans to welcome her.  But critics point out that she 
needs more diplomatic skills should a sensitive issue arise 
comparable to the deaths of the two schoolgirls under the wheels of 
a U.S. military vehicle in a 2002 accident. 
 
In stark contrast, John Roos, Obama's pick as ambassador to Japan, 
is an unexpected choice due to his background as a corporate lawyer 
specializing in mergers and acquisitions.  There are Japanese media 
reports that say officials in Japan's Foreign Ministry are dismayed 
at the appointment.  Clinton is believed to have favored Harvard 
University professor Joseph Nye, who had contributed to 
strengthening U.S.-Japan relations during his tenure as assistant 
secretary at the State Department. 
 
But Obama apparently awarded the ambassadorship to Roos for his 
efforts in raising large sums of money for the presidential election 
campaign last year.  And it seems Obama's picks for ambassadors to 
Germany and the U.K. were made along the same considerations. 
 
Louis Susman, who is to go to London, is a 71-year-old former Vice 
President of Citigroup.  His skill at hoovering up campaign funds 
for Obama earned him the nickname the "vacuum cleaner" by the 
Chicago Tribune.  And Phil Murphy, a strong candidate for ambassador 
to Germany, is a former executive at Goldman Sachs and also played a 
 
SEOUL 00000818  005 OF 005 
 
 
large role in fundraising for Obama, according to German weekly Der 
Spiegel. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
STANTON