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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 SEOUL 001148 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; July 21, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo, Hankyoreh Shinmun, Segye Ilbo, Seoul 
Shinmun, All TVs 
Police Enter Ssangyong Motor Factory Occupied by Fired Unionized 
Workers; Unionists Respond Strongly by Firing Slingshots 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
Bad Debt at Banks Falls to 1.19 Percent; Huge Write-offs and Better 
Conditions at Smaller Firms Contribute to Recovery 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
Court: "If the Deadlock Continues at Ssangyong Motor, Planned Debt 
Workout for Ssangyong May be Suspended" 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
Kurt Campbell, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and 
Pacific Affairs, in a July 20 breakfast meeting in Seoul with senior 
journalists, said that the U.S. will not prepare a "comprehensive 
package" for North Korea's denuclearization unilaterally but through 
discussions with the ROK, China and Japan. (Chosun, Dong-a, 
Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul, MBC, VoiceofPeople) 
 
According to a senior (ROK) diplomatic official, 
the comprehensive package (mentioned by the Assistant Secretary) 
would include all elements for a complete and verifiable 
denuclearization (of North Korea), and, if the North takes the grand 
step of denuclearization, normalization of U.S.-North Korean 
relations would be possible. (JoongAng, Hankook) 
 
 
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 
------------------ 
 
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a July 20 ABC interview 
broadcast from India, likened North Korea's behavior to that of 
unruly teenagers. She was quoted: "What we've seen is this constant 
demand for attention. Maybe it's the mother in me, or the experience 
that I've had with small children and unruly teenagers, and people 
who are demanding attention. Don't give it to them. They don't 
deserve it."  (Chosun, JoongAng, Segye, all TVs) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
-N. Korea 
--------- 
 
-  Secretary Clinton's Remarks in India 
 
Most ROK media gave attention to Secretary of State Hillary 
Clinton's July 20 ABC interview broadcast from India, in which she 
likened North Korea's behavior to that of unruly teenagers. 
Secretary Clinton was quoted as saying: "We are not going to give 
the North Koreans the satisfaction they are looking for, which is to 
elevate them to center stage.  What we've seen is this constant 
demand for attention.  Maybe it's the mother in me, or the 
experience that I've had with small children and unruly teenagers, 
and people who are demanding attention.  Don't give it to them. 
They don't deserve it." 
 
 
-  Assistant Secretary of State Campbell's Visit to ROK 
 
Coverage of Assistant Secretary Kurt Campbell's visit to Seoul was 
extensive in the ROK media. Most media quoted him as saying during a 
July 20 meeting with senior journalists that if North Korea decides 
to take irreversible steps toward a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, 
the other members of the Six-Party Talks are prepared to send a 
 
SEOUL 00001148  002 OF 006 
 
 
"comprehensive package" to the North and that the U.S. will not 
prepare for the comprehensive package unilaterally but through 
discussions with the ROK, China and Japan. 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo and moderate Hankook Ilbo, in a 
related development, cited a senior (ROK) diplomatic official as 
saying: "The comprehensive package (mentioned by the Assistant 
Secretary) would include all elements for a complete and verifiable 
denuclearization (of North Korea), and, if the North takes the grand 
step of denuclearization, normalization of U.S.-North Korean 
relations would be possible." 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo editorialized: "If (Washington's) new 
approach to North Korea is to be successful, the international 
community, especially China, should participate in sanctioning North 
Korea with firm resolve.  Furthermore, the sanctions against North 
Korea should continue sufficiently long enough (to bring the North 
back to the dialogue table.)  If these two factors are not observed, 
the Obama Administration will repeat the failure of its 
predecessor." 
 
 
- U.S. Journalists Detained in N. Korea 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo, cited analysis from Washington to 
report that North Korea wants political heavyweights, such as former 
Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, as special envoys to 
Pyongyang to negotiate the journalists' release.  According to the 
analysis, Washington fears, however, that sending a special envoy to 
Pyongyang may set back implementation of UN Security Council 
sanctions against North Korea, which is proceeding smoothly backed 
by international cooperation.  Since the continued detention of the 
two journalists will be burdensome for the USG, Washington would 
likely compromise with Pyongyang on sending a working-level 
official, such as Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for 
East Asian and Pacific Affairs, according to the analysis. 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
-------------------- 
 
How U.S. Strategy over N. Korea Can Succeed 
(Chosun Ilbo, July 21, 2009, Page 31) 
 
Kurt Campbell, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and 
Pacific Affairs, said on Saturday, "If North Korea is prepared to 
take serious and irreversible steps, the U.S., South Korea, Japan, 
China and others will be able to put together a comprehensive 
package that would be attractive to North Korea."  At the same time, 
Campbell said, "We believe there have to be consequences. We're 
looking at a full range of particular steps designed to put pressure 
on North Korea."  Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the 
State Department Philip Crowley, on Friday called these policies a 
"new approach" to North Korea. 
 
A quid-pro-quo approach swapping an irreversible dismantling of the 
North's nuclear facilities for a comprehensive package is nothing 
new.  The Bill Clinton administration pursued that option a decade 
ago.  The reason why the North Korean nuclear issue could not be 
resolved over the past 16 years is that North Korea was not 
interested in scrapping its nuclear program, while forging and 
breaking promises with the international community.  The USG also 
used rewards to appease North Korea again and again. 
 
Like the George W. Bush Administration, the Barack Obama 
Administration is demanding the "complete, verifiable and 
irreversible dismantlement" of North Korea's nuclear weapons.  The 
"new" component is that the Obama Administration does not intend to 
reward North Korea for returning to Six-Party nuclear talks and keep 
pressuring Pyongyang until it demonstrates a willingness to change. 
 
 
North Korea has admitted to possessing nuclear weapons as part of a 
plan to become a "powerful nation" by 2012 and is seeking to 
 
SEOUL 00001148  003 OF 006 
 
 
transfer power from Kim Jong-il to his son.  There is no way Kim's 
successor will give up nuclear weapons, which are the fruits of his 
father's reign, so any negotiations to get North Korea to abandon 
its nuclear weapons must happen while Kim Jong-il is alive.  Unless 
North Korea's nuclear weapons program is scrapped within the next 
two or three years, the U.S. and China would end up effectively 
condoning a nuclear-armed North Korea.  This could lead to a nuclear 
arms race in the region. 
 
To resolve the nuclear issue through dialogue, North Korea must be 
made to return to the negotiating table.  Military options aside, 
the only other choice is to use a mixture of diplomatic persuasion 
and pressure involving political, economic and social means, 
including financial sanctions.  If (Washington's) new approach to 
North Korea is to be successful, the international community, 
especially China, should participate in sanctioning North Korea with 
firm resolve.  Furthermore, the sanctions against North Korea should 
continue sufficiently long enough (to bring the North back to the 
dialogue table.)  If these two factors are not observed, the Obama 
Administration will repeat the failure of its predecessor. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
 
FEATURES 
-------- 
 
U.S. Seeks Cooperation for Comprehensive N. Korea Solution 
(Chosun Ilbo, July 21, 2009, Page 5) 
 
By Reporter Lim Min-hyuk 
 
A comprehensive solution to the North Korean nuclear problem 
envisioned by the U.S. will be prepared in coordination with South 
Korea, China and Japan, Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State 
for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, promised Monday. 
 
Assistant Secretary Campbell, on his visit to the ROK, said during a 
breakfast meeting with senior journalists yesterday, "If Pyongyang 
decides to take an irreversible measure to return to a nuclear-free 
Korean Peninsula, the other members of the Six-Party Talks will be 
ready to send a comprehensive package." 
 
A Blue House official told reporters, "The idea for a comprehensive 
package deal was first suggested by President Lee Myung-bak during 
the Seoul-Washington summit last month.  The U.S. expressed sympathy 
with this suggestion by using the term 'grand bargain.'" 
 
Campbell said that there would be new and attractive elements in the 
package, but they would not come for free.  He said under the 
current circumstances, there is no reason to step back from 
sanctions or pressure against the North, and that his administration 
and several Asian governments have promised not to be swayed again 
by the North's psychological games. 
 
Turning to China, Campbell said that Beijing officials he had met 
recently seemed to be persuaded that a new approach suitable for the 
current situation is needed.  China seemed to be gathering its 
thoughts over what approach it should take, he added. 
 
Regarding the recent statement by President of the Supreme People's 
Assembly of North Korea, Kim Yong-nam, that "the Six-Party Talks are 
over for good," Campbell stated that whether or not to suspend the 
Six-Party Talks is not up to North Korea, and the best way to deal 
with North Korea is for the remaining five nations to display a 
strong partnership. 
 
(We have compared the English version on the website with the Korean 
version and added some paragraphs to make them identical.) 
 
 
ROK and U.S. Are Ready to Negotiate for Comprehensive Package with 
 
SEOUL 00001148  004 OF 006 
 
 
North Korea 
(Hankook Ilbo, July 21, page 2; Excerpts) 
 
By Reporter Chong Sang-won 
 
A high-ranking ROK official, who met with Kurt Campbell, Assistant 
Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said that the 
comprehensive approach mentioned by Campbell is the antithesis of a 
gradual and partial one.  The official added that the comprehensive 
package would include all elements of the Joint Statement of 
September 19, 2005 to resolve the North Korean nuclear issues at one 
time. 
 
The ROKG views that the February 13 and October 3 agreements under 
which (the U.S.) promised to provide economic and energy assistance 
in the amount of 1 million tons of heavy oil in return for North 
Korea's disabling of the Yongbyon nuclear facilities were based on a 
partial, not comprehensive approach, and were taken advantage of by 
Pyongyang.  Therefore, the U.S. and other Six-Party members are 
considering normalizing diplomatic relations or building a peace 
regime on the Korean Peninsula in return for North Korea dismantling 
its nuclear weapons and programs.  However, it is uncertain whether 
North Korea will return to the negotiating table.  Also, since the 
U.S. has just begun to discuss ways to reward North Korea for its 
denuclearization with China and Japan, there surely will be a bumpy 
road ahead. 
 
 
"(U.S.) Will Prepare Comprehensive Package through Coordination with 
ROK, China and Japan" 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, July 21, page 4; Excerpts) 
 
By Reporter Lee Yong-in 
 
Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and 
Pacific Affairs, emphasized a "two track" strategy based on 
sanctions and dialogue when he explained a "comprehensive package." 
Campbell said that under the current situation, there is no need to 
back away from pressure or sanctions against North Korea.  He said 
that it is important to make sure that there have to be consequences 
for North Korea's provocations. 
 
On the morning of July 20, before having a full discussion with 
Assistant Secretary Campbell, the ROK's Chief Delegate to the 
Six-Party Talks Wi Sung-lac said in an opening statement that (Kurt 
Campbell) paid a visit to the ROK at a critical time.  He added that 
(the U.S.) should make sure that North Korea fully implements UN 
Security Council resolution while at the same time considering ways 
to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table. 
 
On July 22, Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan will hold bilateral talks 
with Japan, the U.S., China, and Russia, separately to discuss 
bilateral diplomatic issues and ways to address the North Korean 
nuclear issue. 
 
 
Campbell: "(U.S.) Will Coordinate with ROK, China and Japan in 
Preparing Comprehensive Package" 
(Seoul Shinmun, July 21, page 2; Excerpts) 
 
By Reporters Kim Mi-gyeong, Kim Jeong-eun 
 
A high-ranking ROK official said on July 20 that Assistant Secretary 
of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell once 
served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and is expected to 
devise a "strict and principled" strategy for North Korea based on 
security.  Once Campbell establishes a North Korea policy, Special 
Representative for North Korea Policy Steven Bosworth and Special 
Envoy to the Six-Party Talks Sung Kim will hold negotiations with 
North Korea under the so-called "two-track strategy." 
 
An ROKG official said that the comprehensive package will include 
comprehensive roadmaps for denuclearization, the normalization of 
U.S.-North diplomatic relations and economic assistance to North 
 
SEOUL 00001148  005 OF 006 
 
 
Korea. 
 
 
Assistant Secretary Campbell: "If North Korea Takes a Grand Step for 
Denuclearization, Diplomatic Normalization with the U.S. Would Be 
Possible" 
(JoongAng Ilbo, July 21, 2009, Page 12; Excerpts) 
 
By Reporters Chae Byung-kun, Namgoong Wook, and Lee Choong-hyung 
 
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs 
Kurt Campbell met with the ROK's Chief Negotiator to the Six-Party 
Talks Wi Sung-lac at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 
Seoul on July 20.  A high-ranking foreign policy official noted, 
"They shared the view that the two nations should deal with the 
North Korean nuclear issue based on close bilateral cooperation, but 
need to take a different approach (to the issue.)"  By a "different 
approach," the official meant a comprehensive package. 
 
He said, "(The comprehensive package) includes all elements needed 
for complete and verifiable denuclearization," adding, "If (North 
Korea) takes a big step toward denuclearization, the communist state 
can even expect diplomatic normalization with the U.S."  Thus far, 
(the relevant parties) have taken a step-by-step and partial 
approach toward the North Korean nuclear issue.  Under this 
approach, if North Korea moves toward nuclear dismantlement in 
stages, it will be provided with corresponding rewards in every 
stage.  However, according to the official, the comprehensive 
package breaks with a repeated past pattern of "reaching an 
agreement with the North ? providing the North with rewards ? facing 
opposition from Pyongyang ? persuading the North ? reaching another 
agreement with the North" and settles the nuclear issue at a stretch 
with all bargaining chips - complete dismantlement of weapons of 
mass destruction, such as nuclear weapons and missiles, economic 
assistance to the North, and the diplomatic normalization between 
the North and the U.S.-placed on the table at the same time. 
 
The "comprehensive package" also coincides with the ROKG's approach 
to the North Korean nuclear issue.  During the ROK-U.S. summit in 
Washington on June 16, President Lee Myung-bak proposed that they 
should break the past pattern of rewarding Pyongyang for its bad 
behavior and that the five parties, except North Korea, should come 
up with a package deal which links substantial nuclear dismantlement 
with rewards. 
 
 
(Editor's Note: The same story was also carried by the Dong-a Ilbo 
under the headline, "Assistant Secretary Campbell: 'The 
Comprehensive Package Is Attractive But Does Not Come For Free.'" 
The article reports: "A high-ranking ROKG official explained, 'The 
comprehensive package is not the past's step-by-step partial 
negotiation but a deal which addresses not only North Korea's 
nuclear weapons but also its delivery vehicle, missiles,' adding, 
'Under the package deal, rewards for North Korea's denuclearization, 
including U.S.-North Korea diplomatic normalization, will also be 
provided comprehensively.'  Assistant Secretary Campbell met with 
Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and Unification Minister Hyun In-taek 
on July 20 to discuss ways to cooperate on the North Korean issue, 
before leaving for Thailand to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum.") 
 
 
Beware of Fraudulent Web sites Charging Fee for Cost-Free ESTA 
Approval 
(Chosun Ilbo, July 21, 2009, Page 10) 
 
By Reporter Kang In-sun 
 
A businessman surnamed Kim visited the U.S. this past June under the 
Visa Waiver Program (VWP).  He found the Web site of the Electronic 
System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) via an Internet portal, put 
his personal information into the Web site, paid the fee of 30,000 
won online, and gained travel authorization through an e-mail. 
Curious about why he had to pay the fee for a simple travel 
approval, he made an inquiry to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.  The 
 
SEOUL 00001148  006 OF 006 
 
 
Embassy responded, "We do not charge a fee for travel 
authorization."  The Web site that Kim used was the one of a private 
agency, which is not related to the USG. 
 
Under the VWP, which started last November, travelers who are 
seeking to travel to the U.S. can get travel approval for free after 
inputting their basic information, such as names, passport numbers, 
and addresses, into the ESTA Web site (http://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/). 
These are the same as the information written on an 
Arrival/Departure Card.  Agencies are pocketing 20,000 to 30,000 won 
by providing names, passport numbers, and responses to simple 
questions on behalf of travelers. 
 
These sites appear on the top of result lists on internet portal 
sites when search words such as the VWP and ESTA are entered.  The 
sites are easily misunderstood as official because they demonstrate 
themselves as sites for ESTA applications. 
 
The U.S. Embassy in the ROK posted a notice on its homepage saying 
that an unauthorized third party created a Web site that provides 
information on ESTA and receives fees for an ESTA application.  The 
notice denies any relation to the USG and warns against damage.  The 
Foreign Ministry said that there have been increasing cases of 
damage and that it requested the National Police Office Cyber 
Investigation Unit to investigate the matter.  The Ministry, though, 
added that it is hard to crack down on these Web sites since they 
claim that they provide agency services.  The Ministry noted that it 
plans to promote the real site more actively.  However, the Ministry 
has not exactly assessed the number of pseudo-sites and the scale of 
damage. 
 
According to the U.S. Embassy, from last November when the VWP 
started to early July this year, about 200,000 people applied for 
ESTA and more than 99 percent were approved. 
 
 
STEPHENS