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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 SEOUL 001097 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; July 10, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Security Advisors to President Lee Suffer Attacks by Hackers 
 
JoongAng Ilbo, Dong-a Ilbo, Segye Ilbo, All TVs 
Malignant Codes Used for Latest Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) 
Attacks May Destroy Hard Drives of "Zombie" PCs That Are Connected 
to the Internet and Have Been Compromised by a Hacker 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
No Countermeasures in Sight against DDoS Attackers 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Dong-a Ilbo Owner under Investigation 
for "Unfair Stock Trading" 
 
Seoul Shinmun 
Third Wave of Cyber Attacks Hits ROK 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
----------------------- 
 
The Unification Ministry said yesterday that it will require 
government permission for ROK citizens to carry luxury goods, 
including wine, liquor, cosmetics and furs, into North Korea, in 
compliance with UN Security Council Resolutions 1874 and 1718, which 
ban the transferring and exporting of such items to the North. 
(Hankook, Segye) 
 
 
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 
------------------ 
 
Group of Eight leaders, in a July 9 statement adopted in L'Aquila, 
Italy, urged North Korea to refrain from further violations of 
relevant UNSC resolutions and to engage in dialogue and cooperation. 
(Chosun, Dong-a, Segye, Seoul, all TVs) 
 
According to a senior State Department official, China is preparing 
to impose independent sanctions against North Korea. The official 
also said that North Korean companies are changing their names after 
the imposition of international sanctions. (Chosun) 
 
Prof. Park Han-sik of the University of Georgia, in a July 9 
interview, said that North Korean authorities told him during his 
July 4-8 visit that the two U.S. journalists sentenced to 12 years 
of hard labor in the North last June are staying at a state guest 
house in Pyongyang and that they are well. (JoongAng) 
 
The U.S. Congress Research Service (CRS), in a recent report, said 
that North Korea earns nearly $20 million a year by producing and 
circulating fake $100 bills called "supernotes."  (Dong-a) 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
 
-N. Korea 
--------- 
Most ROK media gave front-and inside-page play to a July 9 G8 
statement adopted in L'Aquila, Italy, in which G8 leaders condemned 
North Korea's nuclear and missile tests as "posing a danger to peace 
and stability in the region and beyond," and urged the North to 
refrain from further violations of relevant UN Security Council 
resolutions and to engage in dialogue and cooperation. 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo cited a senior State Department official as 
saying in a July 8 briefing that China is in the process of 
developing its own measures to implement sanctions against North 
Korea.  Chosun interpreted this to mean that Beijing expressed its 
 
SEOUL 00001097  002 OF 006 
 
 
willingness for cooperation during a recent visit by a U.S. 
delegation led by Philip Goldberg, coordinator for the 
implementation of UNSC Resolution 1874.  The State Department 
official was further quoted as saying that North Korean companies 
are changing their names after the imposition of the sanctions. 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo carried a July 9 interview with Prof. 
Park Han-sik of the University of Georgia, who visited North Korea 
from July 4-8, quoting him as saying that North Korean authorities 
told him that the two U.S. journalists sentenced to 12 years of hard 
labor in the North last June are staying at a state guest house in 
Pyongyang and that they are well. 
 
-Cyber Attacks on U.S. and ROK 
----------------------------- 
The third wave of cyber attacks yesterday by an unidentified group 
of hackers on ROK government and corporate Web sites received top 
press coverage. 
 
Most media reported that the damage seemed relatively limited 
because most of the affected sites' operators braced for the latest 
round of attacks after prior warnings from antivirus companies. 
Officials, however, feared that more attacks may come, according to 
media reports. 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo cited ROK intelligence authorities as 
saying that they have yet to find technical proof but that 
circumstantial evidence shows it is almost certain that North Korea 
is behind the attacks.  The Chosun report also quoted a local 
security software firm as casting doubt on the claim, saying that a 
probe of the IP address tracked the attacker to the U.S. 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo editorialized: "We believe that we 
need to be fully alert for possible cyber attacks from North Korea. 
As recent events have shown, we are clearly vulnerable to hackers. 
A large part of daily life is conducted on the Internet, including 
various types of commercial deals, financial transactions, public 
administration, entertainment and education. ...  It is truly 
terrifying to think that North Korea is running a cyber attack unit 
and trying to find the right time to launch an attack." 
 
Conservative Dong-a Ilbo argued in an editorial: "The National 
Intelligence Service is blaming Pyongyang for good reason.  North 
Korea's propaganda agency, the Committee for the Peaceful 
Unification of the Fatherland, effectively heralded cyber terrorism 
through a spokesman's statement June 27. ...  The fact that only ROK 
and U.S. Web sites have been attacked also supports the North Korea 
link.  Furthermore, the U.S. has also pointed to the North as the 
mastermind of the cyber attacks." 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
-------------------- 
Irresponsible Attacks 
(JoongAng Ilbo, July 10, 2009, Page 42) 
 
Simultaneous cyber attacks are hitting key government agencies, 
including the presidential Blue House.  These attacks are being 
mounted, according to previous plans, in a very organized way, which 
is adding to the seriousness of this incident.  The attacks seem to 
be aimed at paralyzing the entire ROK society, in which cyber life 
is an essential part of daily life.  In addition, the National 
Intelligence Service (NIS) has aroused further controversy by 
raising the possibility that the cyber attacks may have originated 
in North Korea. 
 
If it is true that North Korea or its sympathizers are behind the 
attacks, this incident has revealed a hole in national security. 
Although there is yet no clear evidence showing that North Korea is 
the source of the attacks, the probability is high enough. 
Therefore, we should be fully prepared for a possible North Korea 
link and cope with this situation accordingly.  Long ago, on the 
instructions of leader Kim Jong-il, North Korea installed an 
"electronic warfare unit" in the Office of Chief of the General 
 
SEOUL 00001097  003 OF 006 
 
 
Staff of the Korean People's Army, a unit at the same level as a 
biochemistry unit or a missile guidance unit. This unit has prepared 
for cyber attacks on the ROK and other nations.  Chances are slim 
that this unit is for self defense because there is almost no 
possibility of the North itself being hit by a cyber attack. This is 
because North Korea is running an Intranet, which is isolated from 
the outside world.  Furthermore, since North Korea's cyber life is 
not as active as ours, a possible cyber attack against the North 
would not do much damage. 
 
As recent events have shown, we are clearly vulnerable to hackers. 
A large part of daily life is conducted on the Internet, including 
various types of commercial deals, financial transactions, public 
administration, entertainment and education.  But Internet security 
is not sufficient, and those who use such services are not aware of 
the possible dangers.  The current spate of cyber attacks have been 
relatively small in scale so no serious damage has been done, but 
this cannot yet be confirmed.  It is truly terrifying to think that 
North Korea is running a cyber attack unit and trying to find the 
right time to launch an attack. 
 
Apart from these problems, we also need to point out the problems 
with the NIS analysis.  As the national agency admits itself, 
tracking down the source of cyber attacks takes a tremendous amount 
of effort and a great deal of time.  Still, the NIS pointed to North 
Korea first, without having any concrete evidence.  Although it 
cannot be said that there is no circumstantial evidence to support 
their suspicions, the NIS should have announced their suspicion that 
the North was behind the attacks only when someone from the outside, 
whether a legislator or someone else, asked the question.  If it 
had, the opposition party would not have been able to say that the 
authorities are fabricating the case or trying to use it for 
political gain.  The NIS's sloppy response has triggered an 
unnecessary controversy. 
 
More serious, however, are the Democratic Party's accusations toward 
the NIS.  Recently, the North has been confronting us, the U.S. and 
Japan.  The DP itself admitted numerous times that the North's 
nuclear test and missile launches threaten peace on the Korean 
Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.  North Korea cannot be excluded as 
a suspect behind the recent cyber attacks.  But saying that the 
authorities invented the case for political reasons is not the right 
attitude for a responsible political party to take when it has a 
larger responsibility to protect the national interest. 
 
(We have compared the English version on the website with the Korean 
version and replaced the first two paragraphs with our own 
translation to make them identical.) 
 
 
The Cyber Terrorism Threat is Real 
(Dong-a Ilbo, July 10, 2009, Page 42) 
 
As cyber attacks targeting the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae, 
the Defense Ministry and the U.S. White House continued for the 
third day, a mutated malicious code emerged to expand the targets of 
the attacks.  Experts warn that since the technology used in cyber 
terrorism is so well orchestrated and thorough, it is difficult to 
estimate the damage.  South Korea is in a dire situation that is 
tantamount to cyber war.  The government, investigators and private 
think tanks are scrambling to handle the situation but are having a 
hard time. 
 
South Korea's main spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, 
told the parliamentary intelligence committee Wednesday, "The 
attacks are believed to have been waged by North Korea or pro-North 
Korea groups."  The North, which is conducting nuclear weapon 
development and missile tests, is apparently trying to acquire the 
means to wage a high-tech cyber war.  This is another threat to 
South Korea's national security.  But the main opposition Democratic 
Party raised suspicion of Seoul's intelligence agency, saying "We 
suspect the accusation is the government's tactic to exploit its 
confrontation with the North."  The party also boycotted the 
committee meeting yesterday.  The backbone of the country's computer 
 
SEOUL 00001097  004 OF 006 
 
 
network is in a chaotic situation due to cyber terrorism, but the 
opposition party insanely seeks to use the crisis for political 
gain. 
 
The National Intelligence Agency is blaming Pyongyang for good 
reason.  The Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the 
Fatherland, North Korea's propaganda agency that targets the South, 
effectively acknowledged cyber terrorism as an option through a 
spokesman's statement June 27.  Calling Seoul's bid to participate 
in Cyber Storm, a U.S.-led cyber war drill, as "an act of aggression 
that shows (the South's) ambition to attack the North," the 
committee said, "We are prepared for any type of high-tech war." 
Another reason to suspect Pyongyang is that only Web sites of South 
Korea and the U.S. have been attacked.  The U.S. has also blamed the 
North as the mastermind of the cyber attacks. 
 
Nevertheless, the Democratic Party is accusing Seoul of pointing its 
finger at Pyongyang to exploit its confrontation with North Korea. 
Does this mean the party does not care that the cyber attacks were 
committed by the North?  This illustrates that the party still holds 
the same perception toward the North as the two previous leftist 
governments.  It is a pity to see the party's lack of recognition of 
security vigilance since it suspects the South's intelligence before 
being wary of the North.  How will the party react if and when 
evidence is found linking the North to the attacks? 
 
If the opposition party recognizes the importance of national 
security, it should go to the National Assembly first and listen to 
what the national intelligence agency has to say.  Even if the North 
wages a full-fledged war, simultaneously with cyber attacks, the 
party's role is to check and discuss whether the nation's backbone, 
computer and the military online networks for operations, are 
working properly. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
Kim Jong-il's Poor Health and Possible Emergency in N. Koreas 
(JoongAng Ilbo, July 10, page 42) 
 
The image of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, which was featured in 
yesterday's newspapers, has led us to many thoughts.  Kim Jong-il 
looked gaunter than before when he showed up at Pyongyang Gymnasium 
for a memorial event commemorating the 15th anniversary of Kim 
Il-sung's death.  In video-recorded footage from (North Korea) 
Korean Central Television, he appeared to have considerably less 
hair and his lips looked a bit twisted.  He seemed to walk with a 
limp when he entered the venue and he looked much weaker than three 
months ago during his last public appearance.  Looking at him in ill 
health gave us mixed feelings.  He may have suffered from a stroke, 
diabetes or kidney failure, but experts say none of this can be 
determined with just his picture.  However, what is clear is that 
based on these images Kim Jong-il is no longer as healthy as he 
appeared during the inter-Korean talks in 2000 and 2007.  The laws 
of nature regarding birth, old age, sickness and death seemingly do 
not elude him.  We realize that his ill health may suddenly bring an 
unexpected change in the situation. 
 
North Korea's direction toward a third-generation of 
hereditary-power succession, and a series of provocations, such as 
its second nuclear test and missile launches, are naturally 
considered to be associated with his health problem.  North Korea 
aspires to become a prosperous and powerful country in 2012, but Kim 
Jong-il is in poor health and it seems that North Korea must feel 
anxious.  In a dictatorship like North Korea, Kim Jong-il's death 
will signal a change in the regime.  A prolongation of his ill 
health would intensify internal confusion over the succession 
structure and stoke instability in the regime. 
The ROK should prepare for all possibilities and take every 
countermeasure against any possible emergency in North Korea.  The 
ROK should also make sure that it can respond to an emergency most 
effectively through close consultations not only with the U.S. but 
also its neighbors and related countries.  Thorough preparation will 
 
SEOUL 00001097  005 OF 006 
 
 
allow a challenge to turn into an opportunity. 
 
 
FEATURES 
--------- 
U.S. Journalists Are Staying at State Guest House in Pyongyang 
(JoongAng Ilbo, July 10, page 1) 
 
By Reporter Jeong Yong-sik 
 
Professor Park Han-sik recently visited North Korea 
 
North Korea reportedly has not yet executed its punishment of the 
U.S. journalists who were sentenced in June to 12 years of hard 
labor. 
 
During his July 4-8 visit to North Korea, Professor Park Han-sik of 
the University of Georgia said that North Korean authorities told 
him that the two U.S. journalists are staying at a state guest house 
in Pyongyang and that they are well. 
 
Professor Park observed that North Korea's failure to execute 
punishment hints at the possibility that North Korea may release 
them through dialogue with the U.S.  He added that the U.S. 
reporters may be released early depending on a "U.S. gesture." 
 
 
"North Korea Will Soon Officially Nominate Kim Jong-il's Successor" 
(JoongAng Ilbo, July 10, 2009, Page 13) 
 
By Reporter Chung Yong-soo 
 
Professor Park Han-sik of the University of Georgia observes the 
current state of North Korea. 
 
North Korea is making serious moves.  North Korea has been 
ratcheting up tensions through a nuclear test and missile launches. 
The succession issue of Chairman of the National Defense Commission 
Kim Jong-il is drawing attention from neighboring countries. 
Regarding recent developments in North Korea, Kim Young-hie, 
JoongAng Ilbo's senior editor specializing in international affairs 
interviewed Professor Park Han-sik of the University of Georgia, who 
visited Pyongyang from July 4 to 8. 
 
Failure to execute the punishment of the U.S. journalists hints at 
North Korea's intention to have dialogue with the U.S. 
 
North Korea's recent series of missile launches are aimed at 
flaunting its capability to sink a warship... They are not related 
to the succession issue. 
 
¶Q. There is much interest in North Korea's succession issue.  What 
is the atmosphere in Pyongyang? 
 
"I got a sense that the succession issue will be officially raised 
in the near future.  I heard those who had hesitated to mention the 
succession issue saying, 'The party and the people will officially 
have (a new leader) in the near future.'  Considering that a number 
of people said the same thing, there seemed to be a consensus in the 
leadership." 
 
¶Q. Many people are now mentioning National Defense Commission 
Chairman Kim Jong-il's third son Jong-un as a likely successor. 
 
"I think so, too.  During the recent visit, however, I did not hear 
a decision as to who is going to be the successor.  State control 
according to Kim Il-sung's dying wishes has taken root in the North. 
 We cannot think of a Kim Jong-il era without Kim Il-sung.  We 
should say that in the North, every sector has its fixed policy 
line.  Therefore, it would not be a big problem even if his 
successor does not weigh policy decisions to a great extend or does 
not have much wisdom or knowledge." 
 
¶Q. Some people view the recent series of missile launches as being 
 
SEOUL 00001097  006 OF 006 
 
 
linked to the succession issue. 
 
"I heard some people say that North Korea's missile firings are 
related to the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI).  (The North 
Koreans) protest that it is an act of piracy for a Navy warship to 
search a North Korean merchant vessel.  It can be said that North 
Korea flaunted its capability to sink a warship with a missile 
(through its missile tests.)" 
 
¶Q. The U.S. is taking a very hardline stance.  Doesn't the U.S. 
intend to take full care of the situation this time? 
 
"We need to take a careful look (at the situation.)  For war 
industry officials, who have much influence over policy decisions in 
the U.S., North Korea is absolutely needed.  As evidence, they cited 
North Korea as the most threatening country in their report. 
However, since President Obama is a new figure in politics, he is 
distant from the interest of the war industry.  The Obama 
Administration emphasizes reform, opening, democracy, and human 
rights.  It also exercises the principle of embracing diversity with 
flexibility.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton takes the middle 
ground.  On the other hand, neoconservatives argue that we should 
attack the North.  There is some confusion as to whether we should 
seek dialogue or confrontation." 
 
¶Q. Did you exchange views (with the North Koreans) about the issue 
of U.S. female journalists? 
 
"They are reportedly fine and staying in a guesthouse.  (The North 
Koreans) were furious that the journalists tried to make a program 
to tarnish North Korea's image.  They also seemed to be displeased 
that the U.S. did not stake out its stance.  I got the feeling that 
the issue can be fully resolved politically." 
 
¶Q. There is strong criticism that Pyongyang did not send a 
condolence delegation for the late President Roh Moo-hyun and pushed 
ahead with a nuclear test. 
 
"The nuclear test seemed to have been planned a long time ago. 
Since President Roh passed away right before the test, Pyongyang 
appeared to have been perplexed.  North Korea looked to have 
seriously thought about sending a delegation.  (The North Koreans) 
said that in a situation in which inter-Korean relations were cut 
off, they would not be able to do something that required the 
approval of the ROKG.  When Chung Ju-yung (founder and former 
chairman of the Hyundai Group) and Chung Mong-hun (former chairman 
of the Hyundai Asan) died, it was easy for them to raise the issue 
with the ROK because the two Koreas had a good relationship at that 
time, but that is not the case now." 
 
¶Q. What is your outlook on inter-Korean ties? 
 
"Pyongyang seems to be taking the extreme position that it will not 
have anything to do with the Lee Myung-bak Administration.  It seems 
to have expectations for the next ROKG.  If an administration which 
has the same North Korea policy as the current administration comes 
into power in the next election, a strain in inter-Korean ties will 
be prolonged." 
 
 
STEPHENS