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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SEOUL 001152 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; July 22, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo, All TVs 
Ruling GNP Poised to Railroad Disputed Media Reform Bills by Having 
National Assembly Speaker Invoke Authority to Put the Bills to Vote 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
GNP's Final Version of Media Reform Bills Calls for Newspaper 
Companies with Only Less than 25 Percent of the Country's Total 
Readership to be Allowed to Enter Broadcasting Industry 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
ROKG Issues New Unification Education Guidelines Describing N. 
Korea's Political System as "Regressive" 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
Countdown to "Big Clash" at National Assembly 
Opposition DP Lawmakers Threaten to Resign En Masse if Ruling GNP 
Railroads Media Reform Bills 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Ruling Party Bent on Opening the Way for Major Conservative 
Newspapers to Control Broadcasting Industry 
 
Segye Ilbo 
Sources Knowledgeable about N. Korea: "There is Nothing Wrong with 
Kim Jong-il's Health" 
 
Seoul Shinmun 
Signs of Inflation in ROK Asset Markets 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
Officials from the U.S.-based Lockheed Martin and Hyundai Heavy 
Industries said yesterday that they would jointly produce an Aegis 
midsized high-tech guided missile vessel and sell it to a third 
country. (JoongAng, Dong-a, Hankyoreh, Seoul) 
 
 
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 
------------------ 
 
Foreign ministers of the five countries of the Six-Party Talks, 
excluding North Korea, gathered in Phuket, Thailand yesterday for 
the first time since North Korea's second nuclear test to attend the 
ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). The foreign ministers are likely to 
discuss a "comprehensive package" for North Korea's 
denuclearization, which was mentioned in Seoul by Kurt Campbell, 
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific 
Affairs. (JoongAng) 
 
In a related development, a North Korean delegation to the ARF was 
quoted as saying, when asked about whether they would meet with the 
U.S. side, "It will depend on the situation." (JoongAng, Hankook, 
Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
-ASEAN Regional Forum/ N. Korea 
------------------------------- 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo ran an inside-page report noting that 
the July 22-24 ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Phuket, Thailand will 
provide an opportunity for the five countries of the Six-Party 
Talks, excluding North Korea, to come together for the first time 
since the North's second nuclear test.  The report speculated that 
the foreign ministers of the five countries are likely to discuss a 
"comprehensive package" for North Korea's denuclearization, which 
 
SEOUL 00001152  002 OF 002 
 
 
was mentioned in Seoul by Kurt Campbell, U.S. Assistant Secretary of 
State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. 
 
In a related development, most ROK media quoted a North Korean 
delegation to the ARF as saying, when asked about whether they would 
meet with U.S. officials at the ARF, "It will depend on the 
situation." 
 
Moderate Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Shinmun carried a quote from 
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said in a July 20 ABC 
interview that she is "very hopeful" that the two American 
journalists detained in North Korea will be freed.  The newspapers 
interpreted this remark as indicating that behind-the-scenes 
negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea to release the 
journalists may be yielding tangible results. 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
-------------------- 
 
NO MORE RASH OFFERS TO N. Korea 
(Chosun Ilbo, July 22, 2009, Page 27) 
 
Citing comments made in a recent video meeting between the Financial 
Supervisory Commission and U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs, the 
Financial Times reported Tuesday that South Korea is preparing a 
US$40 billion aid fund to lure North Korea back to nuclear 
disarmament talks.  A government official denied the FT report, 
saying no specific plans were mentioned during that meeting, but the 
official added it "marks the start of efforts to draw global 
interest in 'Vision 3000: Denuclearization and Openness.'"  (Vision 
3000] was an election pledge of President Lee Myung-bak that calls 
for boosting North Korea's per capita national income to $3,000 in a 
decade in return for denuclearization and opening. 
 
Kurt Campbell, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and 
Pacific Affairs, said in Seoul earlier this week, "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."  In 
other words, the U.S. government would continue to use pressure and 
sanctions to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and 
missiles, but dialogue must resume at some point to end the nuclear 
standoff; South Korea and the U.S. are considering major incentives 
for North Korea if it complies. 
 
The "Vision 3000" statement contains plans such as: nurturing 100 
North Korean export companies; training 300,000 workers; and 
(constructing] a new highway connecting Seoul and Pyongyang.  These 
projects dwarf all previous South Korean aid to North Korea in terms 
of size and cost.  There is speculation that Lee may announce this 
plan during his speech commemorating Independence Day on Aug. 15. 
 
The government must heed, however, the lessons of past failed 
efforts that used carrots to entice North Korea to abandon its 
nuclear weapons.  Nor can South Korea be left paying 70 percent of 
the costs, as it ended up doing as part of the 1994 Geneva Accords, 
a process to which the South was not even allowed to attend.  What 
is needed is a rational division of costs, involving international 
organizations as well as the other countries in the Six-Party Talks. 
 President Lee said recently, "We gave huge amounts of money to 
North Korea over the past decade, but there are suspicions that the 
money was used to arm North Korea with nuclear weapons, rather than 
helping it open itself to the outside world."  The main reason why 
previous administrations get such criticism is that support for 
North Korea did not result from a widespread public consensus in 
South Korea, and that the process was not transparent.  This 
administration must not repeat those mistakes. 
 
(This translation was provided by the newspaper, and with our edits 
is identical to the Korean version.] 
 
 
STEPHENS