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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 SEOUL 001252 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; August 07, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
 
Chosun Ilbo, Dong-a Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo, 
Hankyoreh Shinmun, Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun, All TVs 
Ssangyong Workers End 77-Day Strike after Labor Union 
and Management Reach Compromise Deal on Layoffs 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
Strike is Tip of the Ssangyong Iceberg; Other Problems Left 
to Solve Include Liquidity, Restarting Production and Hunt 
for a New Owner 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
---------------------- 
 
Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry Spokesman Moon Tae-young, in an 
August 6 regular briefing, said: "It is my understanding that former 
U.S. President Bill Clinton conveyed to North Korea that an ROK 
worker (from the Kaesong Industrial Complex) and crewmen of the 
fishing boat "Yeonan" should be released from a humanitarian 
perspective." (All) 
 
Citing a USG official, U.S. CBS TV also reported yesterday that 
former President Clinton urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and 
other North Korean officials to free ROK and Japanese detainees. 
(Chosun) 
 
 
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 
------------------ 
 
President Barack Obama, in an August 5 interview with MSNBC, 
stressed that the release of the two U.S. journalists held in North 
Korea is a separate issue from improved relations between the U.S. 
and North Korea. (All) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
-N. Korea 
---------- 
All ROK media gave wide attention to President Barack Obama's August 
5 MSNBC interview, in which he stressed that the release of the two 
U.S. journalists held in North Korea is a separate issue from 
improved relations between the U.S. and North Korea.  President 
Obama was widely quoted: "We have said to the North Koreans, there 
is a path for improved relations and it involves them no longer 
developing nuclear weapons and not engaging in the provocative 
behavior that they've been engaging in." 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo carried an inside-page analysis that said 
that the reason why the Obama Administration repeatedly stresses the 
importance of North Korea's denuclearization is that the 
Administration feels that Washington has frequently been deceived by 
North Korea's conciliatory gestures since former President Jimmy 
Carter's visit to Pyongyang in 1994.  The analysis went on to 
observe that the Obama Administration also believes that there is no 
reason to rush to improve ties with the North, since international 
sanctions against the country are working effectively. 
 
Conservative Chosun replayed an August 6 CBS report quoting a USG 
official as saying that former President Bill Clinton, during his 
recent surprise visit to Pyongyang to free the two journalists, 
urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and other North Korean 
officials to free ROK and Japanese detainees. 
 
In a related development, most media quoted Foreign Affairs and 
Trade Ministry Spokesman Moon Tae-young as saying during yesterday's 
 
SEOUL 00001252  002 OF 011 
 
 
regular briefing: "It is my understanding that former President 
Clinton conveyed to North Korea that an ROK worker (from the Kaesong 
Industrial Complex) and crewmen of the fishing boat "Yeonan" should 
be released from a humanitarian perspective.  A senior State 
Department official delivered the message to the ROKG as a token of 
gratitude for supporting the former president's latest trip to the 
North." 
 
Conservative Chosun commented that considerable behind-the-scenes 
efforts by both the ROK and Japanese governments led to Clinton 
raising the issue in Pyongyang. 
 
In a commentary entitled "Was Clinton's North Korea Visit a Private 
Mission?," conservative Chosun Ilbo wrote: "No matter how much the 
Obama Administration stresses that this rescue operation was (former 
President Clinton's) 'private mission,' if North Korea does not feel 
that way, the result will be otherwise. ...  Clinton's visit to the 
North was practically the first meeting between the Obama 
Administration and North Korea.  In this regard, this visit will 
inevitably have considerable influence on resolving issues, such as 
improving ties between the U.S. and North Korea and the North's 
nuclear problem." 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo, in a news analysis titled "Clinton's 
195-Minute 'Examination' of Kim Jong-il... We Should Prepare for 
Change in U.S.-North Korea Relations," observed: "The Obama 
Administration has already presented a comprehensive package of 
incentives, such as diplomatic normalization and economic 
assistance, in return for North Korea's nuclear abandonment.  Mr. 
Clinton probably explained the U.S. position and listened to Kim 
Jong-il's response.  If so, a meaningful adjustment to Washington's 
North Korea policy would be possible even within the framework of 
sanctions on the North.  The problem lies with the ROK. ...  The 
ROK, while being negligent in improving ties with the North, 
cautions against improvement in U.S.-North Korea relations, 
describing it as part of Pyongyang's strategy of promoting exchange 
with the U.S. while blocking off the ROK.  We cannot rule out the 
possibility that, depending on Pyongyang's attitude, improvement in 
U.S.-North Korea relations will go several steps ahead of 
improvement in inter-Korean relations.  This is why we hope that 
President Lee will make a significant proposal to the North on the 
August 15 Liberation Day." 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
-------------------- 
 
WAS CLINTON'S NORTH KOREA VISIT A PRIVATE MISSION? 
(Chosun Ilbo, August 7, 2009, page 29) 
 
By Senior political reporter Kang In-sun 
 
It was moving to see Euna Lee and Laura Ling embrace their families 
as they came out of an airplane upon returning home after their 
142-day detention in North Korea.  Their relief was palpable.  And 
it was dramatic to see a former U.S. president fly into a hostile 
country to win their release on a plane provided by a long-time 
associate. 
 
The rescue operation was a spectacle enacted by professional actors 
of presidential caliber.  President Barack Obama, ex-president Bill 
Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a former first lady who 
challenged Obama in the 2008 presidential election, and 2000 
Democratic Party presidential candidate Al Gore all played their 
respective roles well.  Clinton and Gore took the stage, Obama and 
Hillary stood in the wings. 
 
Yet the Obama Administration claims that the operation was an 
"individual" and "humanitarian" action that has nothing to do with 
political issues between the U.S. and North Korea, including the 
nuclear problem.  That is, Clinton's visit was motivated by purely 
humanitarian considerations at the request of his former vice 
president, as he has devoted himself to charity work since leaving 
office, and thus it should not be interpreted in any other way. 
 
SEOUL 00001252  003 OF 011 
 
 
 
But the virtual special envoy role Clinton suddenly took on cannot 
possibly be the action of a charitably inclined individual, 
especially if his wife happens to be the top U.S. diplomat.  Why 
does the Obama Administration nonetheless package Clinton's North 
Korea visit as private and humanitarian?  It must be a desperate 
effort to tell the international community and the American people 
that the operation does not mean a change in the basic direction of 
North Korea policy. 
 
The U.S. has maintained a firm stance of sanctioning Pyongyang over 
its long-range missile launches and two nuclear tests.  Pushing 
ahead with independent sanctions in addition to UN Security Council 
sanctions, the U.S. acted as though it would no longer be tricked 
into rewarding the North for provocations or vague denuclearization 
gestures.  But Clinton's Pyongyang visit is incompatible with that 
firm posture and can easily be interpreted as a sign that the U.S. 
is changing its mind.  It is to prevent such an interpretation that 
the Obama Administration is protesting that the visit was a private 
effort. 
 
Clinton seldom smiled during his 20-odd-hour stay in Pyongyang, 
perhaps in reflection of the sentiment.  Had he smiled in the 
pictures along with the broadly smiling Kim Jong-il, it would no 
doubt have been seen as signifying a mood of reconciliation. 
 
Kim knew that he could not resume dialogue with the U.S. while 
detaining two American journalists and condemning them to hard 
labor.  The problem was how to get them back home.  He solved the 
difficult question by asking for Clinton, a man not unlike former 
president Jimmy Carter, who visited North Korea 15 years ago and 
helped break the standoff at the time. 
 
Now the Obama Administration continues to send more or less stern 
warnings to the North, as if nothing happened.  But are the two 
issues really separate? 
 
In relations between countries, everything is tit for tat.  No 
matter how much the Obama Administration stresses that this rescue 
operation was (former President Clinton's) 'private mission,' if 
North Korea does not feel that way, the result will be otherwise. 
Kim Jong-il would hardly have spent more than three hours with 
Clinton just to eat. 
 
Clinton's visit to the North was practically the first meeting 
between the Obama Administration and North Korea.  In this regard, 
this visit will inevitably have considerable influence on resolving 
issues, such as improving ties between the U.S. and North Korea and 
the North's nuclear problem. 
 
 
ROK SHOULD PREPARE FOR A GAME BETWEEN U.S AND NORTH KOREA 
(JoongAng Ilbo, August 7, 2009, page 33) 
 
By Yoon Young-kwan, Professor of Seoul National University 
 
Bill Clinton's visit to Pyongyang duly drew sufficient international 
attention.  He is the former President and the husband of the 
incumbent Secretary of State.  He also considered visiting Pyongyang 
in 2000 while in office.  These all indicate the significance of his 
visit.  It is not unreasonable that many people expect to see a 
breakthrough in U.S. and North Korea relations. 
 
U.S. President Barack Obama said that former President Clinton's 
mission was only to secure the release of two U.S. journalists, who 
had been held in North Korea.  However, there is a great likelihood 
that former President Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il 
sought to create an atmosphere to resolve the North Korean nuclear 
issue.  This seems to be the biggest concern regarding this visit. 
The U.S. successfully freed the journalists, while North Korea won 
the chance to turn things around to start bilateral talks with the 
U.S., and is using this visit as propaganda internally and 
externally. 
 
 
SEOUL 00001252  004 OF 011 
 
 
But few people believe that Clinton's visit will easily lead to a 
settlement of the North Korean nuclear issue.  What North Korea 
wants runs counter to what the U.S. wants.  North Korea aims to 
obtain economic assistance or improve relations through dialogue 
with the U.S., while it still pursues nuclearization.  North Korea 
intends to follow the path of India and Pakistan, both of which have 
made their nuclear possessions an established fact and then sought 
to patch up relations with the U.S. 
 
The U.S. will continue to seek economic sanctions and pressure 
unless North Korea makes a strategic decision to abandon its nuclear 
ambition.  The Obama Administration has made denuclearization the 
top priority in its foreign policies.  Moreover, the U.S. government 
is concerned that it may send the wrong message to Iran.  A 
high-ranking U.S. government official emphasized privately that the 
North Korean issue and the Iranian issue are closely related and the 
Iranian government is keenly watching how the U.S. deals with the 
North Korean nuclear issue. 
 
A former U.S. official from the Bush Administration, who I met in 
Washington three weeks ago, predicted that UN sanctions against 
North Korea this time will yield considerable effects.  The official 
said that the UN sanctions will have effects several times greater 
than the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) sanctions imposed in 2005.  U.S. 
Treasury Department officials, who led the sanctions at that time, 
even expressed their surprise at the effects the UN sanctions have 
been producing recently.  North Korea, which had rejected dialogue, 
proposed to hold bilateral talks with the U.S. when UN sanctions 
started to be enforced. 
 
Since both sides have contradicting positions, it seems that they 
will wage a time-consuming tug-of-war.  The U.S. will push for 
economic sanctions and take proactive measures.  The U.S. will also 
hold out positive incentives and leave the door of dialogue open. 
North Korea will delay dismantling its nuclear program amid economic 
sanctions and seek to extract necessary aid from the outside world. 
Moreover, North Korea has to engage in the game amid political 
instability stemming from Kim Jong-il's ill health, power 
succession, and North Korea's economic hardship.  Therefore, it 
won't be an easy game for the North. 
 
In the end, North Korea will send a signal to the U.S. to give up 
its nuclear program and come back to the negotiating table.  There 
is some probability that North Korea will be compelled to choose 
strong incentives in the face of harsh pressures.  In this process, 
tedious negotiations will take place.  The ROKG should actively move 
to come up with strong incentives while intensifying pressure on 
North Korea.  We also should bolster international coordination. 
 
The U.S. has engaged in a nuclear game with North Korea for 20 years 
in a cycle of crisis, negotiation, and some progress.  This time, 
the game will be different from the ones in the past.  This nuclear 
game will be much more complicated and difficult.  Such a game will 
not be repeated forever and will come to an end (some day.)  Whether 
the game ends with a soft landing or a hard landing, the ROK should 
take the lead to prepare for the time when the game is over.  The 
end may be approaching faster than we expect. 
 
 
RELYING ON ROK-U.S. COOPERATION IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO RESOLVE PENDING 
INTER-KOREAN ISSUES 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, August 7, 2009, page 31) 
 
Looking at our government's attitude concerning former U.S. 
President Bill Clinton's visit to Pyongyang, we are beginning to 
sense that something is not right.  Perhaps this is because Lee 
Administration officials have been busy minimizing the visit's 
significance while failing to take the measures they themselves need 
to take in regards to inter-Korean relations. 
 
North Korea said Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il held 
frank discussions about pending North Korea-U.S. issues, and that 
the two agreed to resolve matters through dialogue.  Moreover, U.S. 
President Barack Obama says he will meet with Clinton to hear what 
 
SEOUL 00001252  005 OF 011 
 
 
was discussed.  It is almost as though an indirect summit has taken 
place between Obama and Kim.  Despite this, ROK government officials 
are reiterating that Clinton's visit was a private mission, the U.S. 
will not agree to direct talks with North Korea, and that ROK-U.S. 
cooperation is going well.  This administration now seems to be 
twisting even objective reality into far-fetched stories in order to 
rationalize their hardline North Korea policy. 
 
Of course, this attitude will make resolving pending issues more 
difficult.  In order to secure the release of two reporters, the 
U.S. coordinated a visit by a former president to North Korea, while 
all our government has done concerning the Hyundai Asan employee, 
who was detained at roughly the same time, is to bring up the issue 
a few times and slam North Korea during working-level talks on the 
Kaesong Industrial Complex.  Like the U.S., many people have been 
calling for the issue of the detainee to be resolved separately from 
other pending issues with North Korea, but the administration is 
pretending not to listen.  Indeed, it has also chosen to wait as a 
response to the detention of the fishing boat crew that crossed the 
NLL last week.  The government has abandoned its most basic duty to 
protect its citizens. 
 
The pending issues are naturally connected with North Korea policy 
as a whole. Accordingly, a change in North Korea policy is important 
for its own sake, but it is also necessary to resolve these pending 
issues more effectively.  Meanwhile, North Korea is hoping to resume 
talks with the U.S., and appears to have worked hard during 
Clinton's visit.  To refuse to change, while demanding it from North 
Korea is the worst choice that the ROK could make, and will only 
aggravate pending issues and isolate us from transformations 
occurring in the geopolitical landscape around us. 
 
The administration talks as if ROK-U.S. cooperation is the 
resolution to all of its problems.  It is almost as though it is 
espousing the logic that if Seoul relies on Washington to continue 
placing pressure on North Korea, all problems can be solved.  If 
this unrealistic attitude is not abandoned, the situation will not 
improve.  The government could free itself from the yoke it has made 
to start anew in order to resolve pending issues and play a lead 
role in transforming the geopolitical situation. So why is it just 
trying to read other country's minds? 
 
 
FEATURES 
-------- 
 
CLINTON'S 195-MINUTE "EXAMINATION" OF KIM JONG-IL... WE SHOULD 
PREPARE FOR CHANGE IN U.S.-KOREA RELATIONS 
(JoongAng Ilbo, August 7, 2009, Page 2) 
 
By Senior Columnist Kim Young-hie 
 
News Analysis 
 
Does Clinton's visit to North Korea serve as an opportunity to 
improve U.S.-North Korea relations?  The USG draws a clear line, 
saying that the North Korean nuclear issue is separate from the 
release of the journalists.  The U.S. appears to be trying hard to 
give the impression that the case is closed with regards to the 
journalists' return.  This is because, if Clinton's visit is aimed 
at not only winning the release of the journalists, but also 
resolving the nuclear standoff and finding a breakthrough in 
U.S.-North Korea relations, it could risk upsetting U.S.-led 
sanctions against the North. 
 
The meeting between Kim Jong-il and Clinton lasted 3 hours and 15 
minutes, including a 75-minute talk and a two-hour dinner.  This was 
a long meeting.  Ahead of this meeting, the two sides had reached an 
agreement in principle, through the New York (UN) channel, to the 
release of the journalists.  The remaining issue was to send someone 
of high enough stature to save North Korea's face and bring the 
journalists back home.  North Korea wanted Clinton to come. 
Logically, it was not unreasonable.  Clinton was the very person 
that reached the Geneva Agreement with North Korea in 1994 and sent 
 
SEOUL 00001252  006 OF 011 
 
 
then-Secretary of State Albright to Pyongyang in October 2000, to 
discuss his own possible visit to the North at the end of that year. 
 Despite some criticism that Clinton's status is too high for such a 
visit, he headed for Pyongyang. 
 
The picture of the Kim-Clinton meeting showed a smiling Kim Jong-il 
and a dour-looking Clinton.  Clinton, in accordance with President 
Obama's wishes, looked as if he tried to caution against reading too 
much into his visit to North Korea.  This, however, does not weaken 
the meaning of the Kim-Clinton meeting.  Both Kim and Clinton must 
have had their respective goals.  For Kim Jong-il, Clinton's visit 
was a golden opportunity to publicly say to its people that the 
former U.S. President and husband of the current U.S. Secretary of 
State visited Pyongyang to ask for mercy and to apologize for the 
two journalists' illegal entry into the North. 
 
For Kim Jong-il, who is seeking to transfer power to his son, 
loyalty and support from the military and the party is just a 
necessary condition, not a sufficient one.  If being accepted as a 
normal member of the international community is one of the 
sufficient conditions for the North, the first step is to improve 
the relations with the U.S.  The fact that North Korea's First Vice 
Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju - an influential figure in U.S.-North 
Korea relations - attended both the meeting and the dinner indicates 
that the purpose of the Kim-Clinton meeting is beyond just the 
release of the journalists.  It is also noteworthy that Kim 
Yang-gon, Director of the United Front Department of the Workers' 
Party of Korea, who is in charge of North Korea' s policy toward the 
ROK, also attended both the meeting and the dinner.  The ROKG 
briefed Clinton on the current stalemate in inter-Korean relations 
and asked for cooperation, including on the issues regarding an ROK 
employee detained at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the ROK 
fishermen held by the North.  If Clinton had explained to Kim 
Jong-il that improvements in inter-Korean relations and U.S.-North 
Korea relations are like the two sides of the same coin, it would 
have been most desirable.  However, Clinton may have focused on 
emphasizing that an absolute precondition for improvement in 
U.S.-North Korea relations is (North Korea's) verifiable and 
irreversible nuclear abandonment. 
 
Clinton's visit was a good opportunity to catch a glimpse into the 
stances of North Korea's government, military, and party, which are 
entangled in Kim Jong-il's health problems and power transfer.  The 
Obama Administration has already presented a comprehensive package 
of incentives, such as diplomatic normalization and economic 
assistance, in return for North Korea's nuclear abandonment. 
Clinton probably explained the U.S. position and listened to Kim 
Jong-il's response.  If so, a meaningful adjustment to Washington's 
North Korea policy would be possible even within the framework of 
sanctions on the North. 
 
The problem lies with the ROK.  The ROKG is optimistic that the U.S. 
will not ease sanctions unless the North returns to the Six-Party 
Talks and implements its obligations of nuclear abandonment.  But 
things change.  Sanctions, which started strong, could lose momentum 
for any small reason before they bring the North to its knees, and a 
demand made to the North regarding nuclear abandonment could be 
softened to a certain level of nuclear freeze.  This is actually 
what the 1994 Geneva Agreement is about.  After Clinton's visit, 
U.S.-North Korea relations and the North Korean nuclear issue may 
develop in a different way.  There is also a possibility that the 
ROK and the U.S. may be at odds over what is the resolution of the 
nuclear issue.  The ROK, while being negligent in improving ties 
with the North, cautions against improvement in U.S.-North Korea 
relations, describing it as part of Pyongyang's strategy of 
promoting exchange with the U.S. while blocking off the ROK.  We 
cannot rule out the possibility that, depending on Pyongyang's 
attitude, improvement in U.S.-North Korea relations will go several 
steps ahead of improvement in inter-Korean relations.  This is why 
we hope that the President will make a significant proposal to the 
North on the August 15 Liberation Day. 
 
 
CLINTON 'URGED N. KOREA TO FREE S. KOREANS, JAPANESE TOO' 
 
SEOUL 00001252  007 OF 011 
 
 
(Chosun Ilbo, August 7, 2009, page 6) 
 
By Reporter Lim Min-hyuk 
 
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton urged North Korean leader Kim 
Jong-il and other officials there to free ROK and Japanese 
detainees, CBS quoted a U.S. government official as saying. 
 
During his surprise visit to Pyongyang on Tuesday to free two U.S. 
reporters, the official said Clinton "made it clear to the North 
Koreans that he was on 'purely a private humanitarian mission' aimed 
solely at the release of the journalists and was separate from other 
issues on the table between the North and the U.S. and other 
countries," according to CBS.  Clinton "also pressed very hard" on 
the release of ROK detainees and people abducted from Japan, it said 
quoting the official. 
 
Here, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Moon Tae-young told reporters 
Clinton "demanded that the detained ROK worker in Kaesong and the 
crew of the Yeonan be freed on humanitarian grounds."  The Yeonan is 
a fishing boat that strayed across the Northern Limit Line and was 
towed to the North on July 30.  "A senior official at the U.S. State 
Department delivered the message to the ROK government as a token of 
gratitude for supporting his latest trip to the North," Moon added. 
 
Considerable behind-the-scenes efforts by both the ROK and Japanese 
governments reportedly led to Clinton raising the issue in 
Pyongyang. 
 
Seoul urged the U.S. to raise the issue because it was concerned 
about North Korea maneuvering to hold dialogue only with the U.S. 
while shutting out the ROK. 
 
A government official said North Korea's detention of South Koreans, 
including the fishing crew and a Hyundai Asan staffer who has been 
held there incommunicado for some 130 days "is similar to that of 
the American women journalists.  The ROK's issue is quite different 
from the question of Japanese detainees, given that the North has 
completely denied the existence of some Japanese detainees or 
claimed that others are dead." 
 
The Japanese were abducted as part of a bizarre drive by the North 
in the 1970s and '80s to acquire trainers for spies. 
 
But a diplomatic source said it is questionable how much stress 
Clinton placed on the Korean and Japanese detainees, "a side issue 
at a time when his main goal was to win the freedom of the American 
female journalists." The source added it was "highly likely" that he 
paid mere lip service to the matter as a courtesy to U.S. allies. 
 
 
FREED JOURNALISTS 'TREATED WELL' DURING CAPTIVITY IN N. KOREA 
(Chosun Ilbo, August 7, 2009, page 6) 
 
By Reporter Lee Hye-un 
 
Lisa Ling, an award-winning investigative journalist and the elder 
sister of Laura Ling, one of the two American journalists released 
from North Korea on Tuesday, said her sister was fed rice containing 
rocks during her 142-day detention in the communist country. 
 
Laura Ling was arrested with Korean-American Euna Lee for illegally 
entering North Korea and the two were sentenced to 12 years of hard 
labor.  They were granted amnesty after former U.S. president Bill 
Clinton traveled to Pyongyang and met with the country's leader Kim 
Jong-il. 
 
The two journalists have so far remained silent about their 
experience in captivity.  According to the Associated Press, Lisa 
said that Laura is "a little bit weak" and that "she's really, 
really anxious to have fresh fruit and fresh food."  "There were 
rocks in her rice. Obviously, it's a country that has a lot of 
economic problems." 
 
 
SEOUL 00001252  008 OF 011 
 
 
Lisa said that after their trial the two women were sent to a guest 
house rather than to a labor camp.  CBS reported on Wednesday that 
Laura suffered from an ulcer and was allowed regular visits by a 
doctor, while Lee lost 15 pounds during the detention. 
 
The two journalists reportedly were treated relatively well during 
their ordeal.  According to some reports, they stayed in a luxury 
guest house in Pyongyang and were served American-style meals such 
as eggs and toast with milk.  The Daily NK reported that North Korea 
seems to have allowed them special treatment in a calculation of the 
consequences of their future return to the U.S. 
 
The women were mostly kept apart after their capture, which is why 
they hugged and were happy to see each other at their trial on June 
4, Lisa said.  She said that Laura had four telephone conversations 
with her family in the U.S. while she was held by the North. 
 
Unlike previous occasions, North Korea did not demand money for the 
release of the journalists, Radio Free Asia reported on Wednesday, 
quoting an official at the U.S. State Department.  In 1994 when 
releasing chief warrant officer Bobby Hall, a helicopter pilot with 
the U.S. Forces in Korea who strayed into North Korean territory 
during a low-altitude flight, Pyongyang demanded US$10,000 for the 
cost of international calls.  In 1996, when releasing Evan Hunziker, 
an American civilian arrested by the North on espionage charges 
after he swam across the Apnok (or Yalu) River, the communist 
country demanded US$100,000 in fines. 
 
 
CLINTON SOUGHT RELEASE OF DETAINED SOUTH KOREANS 
(JoonAng Daily, August 7, 2009) 
 
By Reporter Ser Myo-ja 
 
U.S. maintains North policy has not changed following a 'private' 
visit 
 
During his meetings with the North Korean leadership to free two 
Americans, former U.S. President Bill Clinton also sought the 
release of five South Koreans being detained by Pyongyang, the Lee 
Myung-bak Administration said yesterday. 
 
Pyongyang's reaction, however, was not immediately known. 
 
"It's my understanding that Clinton had conveyed to the North that 
an ROK worker (from the Kaesong Industrial Complex) and crewmen of 
the fishing boat Yeonan should be released as a demonstration of 
humanitarianism," Moon Tae-young, spokesman of the ROK's Foreign 
Ministry, said yesterday at a press briefing.  "We expect to see 
progress in this matter as soon as possible." 
 
A senior State Department official confirmed that Clinton addressed 
the issue during his meetings, according to Moon.  Asked if Seoul 
made a specific request to Clinton in advance to persuade the North 
to release the detainees, Moon only said, "When Clinton left (for 
the North), he had enough understanding about the matter." 
 
A senior U.S. administration official said in a background briefing 
in Washington on Tuesday that "(Clinton) also discussed and we know 
pressed very hard - and we heard this from our debrief, our short 
debrief from the plane - he did press very hard on the positive 
things that could flow from the release of the ROK detainees and 
entering into talks and to really - seeking the release of Japanese 
abductees, so I can tell you with confidence that both those issues 
were raised." 
 
A Hyundai Asan engineer who worked at the joint industrial complex 
in Kaesong, just north of the inter-Korean border, has been detained 
by the North for 130 days for allegedly criticizing the country's 
political system. 
 
Since March 30, Seoul made repeated calls to discuss the worker's 
fate, but Pyongyang has snubbed the request. 
 
 
SEOUL 00001252  009 OF 011 
 
 
On July 30, the fishing boat 800 Yeonan strayed north of the border 
on the east coast and was tugged away by a North Korean patrol boat. 
 
 
The North's military has only told the ROK that a probe is being 
conducted on the incident. 
 
Following Clinton's dramatic trip and the subsequent release of the 
two jailed American reporters, the Lee Administration faced demands 
from politicians that it should also consider sending a special 
envoy.  However, Chun Hae-sung, unification ministry spokesman, 
repeated yesterday that such an option is not being considered at 
this time. 
 
The Lee Administration also dismissed concerns that Pyongyang has 
resumed a negotiation strategy of sidestepping Seoul and dealing 
directly with Washington.  Moon rejected the view that Seoul will 
eventually be left out if bilateral talks resume between the North 
and the United States. 
 
"The U.S. government has informed us again that Clinton went to 
North Korea on a private, humanitarian mission," Moon said.  "Our 
position for the Six-Party nuclear disarmament talks remains 
unchanged. Pyongyang must return to the negotiation table as soon as 
possible." 
 
State Department spokesman Robert Wood also said that Washington had 
briefed its Six-Party Talks partners, including Seoul, in advance 
about Clinton's trip. 
 
Shortly after the reporters' return, the U.S. government again drew 
a line in the sand that the Clinton trip and the nuclear issue are 
separate matters and that Pyongyang will have to work harder to 
improve its ties with Washington. 
 
"We were very clear that this was a humanitarian mission.  President 
Clinton was going on behalf of the families to get these young 
journalists out," U.S. President Barack Obama told NBC News in an 
interview yesterday.  "We have said to the North Koreans there is a 
path for improved relations, and it involves them no longer 
developing nuclear weapons and not engaging in the provocative 
behavior that they've been engaging in." 
 
Obama, however, did not deny that the Clinton trip will have an 
influence over his administration's North Korea policy.  "You know, 
I suspect that President Clinton will have some interesting 
observations from his trip, and I will let him provide those to me. 
I won't speculate," Obama said. 
 
Clinton has remained tight-lipped about his mission.  He was a rare 
foreigner allowed to hold a face-to-face meeting with the North's 
"Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il, believed to have suffered a stroke a year 
ago. Observers have speculated that Kim has other complications. 
 
Clinton met with Kim for a 75-minute discussion and a two-hour 
dinner on Tuesday. 
 
"I think it'll be very interesting," Republican Senator John McCain 
said to Reuters.  "He's the first Westerner to see Kim since his 
reported stroke and other problems.  I think former President 
Clinton will have some interesting information." 
 
According to news reports, Clinton's personal physician, Roger Band, 
accompanied him to the North. 
 
 
OBAMA TELLS NK `NO NUKE DISMANTLEMENT, NO DIALOGUE` 
(Dong-a Ilbo, August 7, 2009, Front page: EXCERPTS) 
 
By Correspondent Lee Ki-hong 
 
U.S. President Barack Obama yesterday ruled out talks with North 
Korea if Pyongyang does not give up its nuclear program, despite 
North Korea's release of two American journalists. 
 
SEOUL 00001252  010 OF 011 
 
 
 
"We were very clear that this was a humanitarian mission," he told 
NBC in an interview.  "We have said to the North Koreans there is a 
path for improved relations, and it involves them no longer 
developing nuclear weapons and not engaging in the provocative 
behavior that they've been engaging in." 
 
The Obama Administration has apparently put particular emphasis on 
this principle to prevent sending the wrong message to North Korea 
or disrupting international efforts for sanctions against the 
communist country. 
 
On the question of whether former President Bill Clinton's visit to 
North Korea might lead to a breakthrough in engagement with North 
Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also told NBC, "It's 
not something we're counting on." 
 
She said she hopes Pyongyang will "make the right choice." 
 
The White House and the State Department also gave news briefings in 
the same tone, saying there is no change in the dire situation. 
 
One informed source said, "Sending a special envoy for the 
journalists' release had been discussed since before the ASEAN 
(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Regional Forum in mid-July. 
 The Obama Administration's position has been consistent since that 
time." 
 
Experts, however, say strained Pyongyang-Washington relations could 
soon see a thaw.  Signs have appeared that the North Korean 
leadership has sought bilateral dialogue for several weeks. 
Washington also believes that Pyongyang's typical cycle is to commit 
provocation after provocation, followed by dialogue and then by 
further provocations. 
 
What Bill Clinton will bring to Obama is fueling speculation. 
Administration officials told the Wall Street Journal that Bill 
Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il discussed many issues, 
including incentives to get Pyongyang to resolve the fates of South 
Koreans and Japanese being held in North Korea. 
 
The possibility that Kim suggested a summit with Obama also cannot 
be ruled out. 
 
Obama also told a news conference that Bill Clinton would have made 
interesting observations while in Pyongyang. 
 
Administration sources told the Wall Street Journal that while Obama 
will reject giving compensation to North Korea for belatedly keeping 
its promises, he can allow high-level direct contact to deal with 
the nuclear issue. 
 
 
U.S.'S N. KOREA POLICY REMAINS UNOFFICIALLY UNCHANGED SINCE 
CLINTON'S VISIT 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, August 7, 2009, page 6: EXCERPTS) 
 
By Correspondent Kwon Tae-ho and reporter Lee Je-ho 
 
Officials say Clinton pressed for release of South Korean and 
Japanese individuals while asking for pardon of two U.S. 
journalists 
 
The U.S. government is officially suggesting it will maintain the 
current tenor of its North Korea policy.  It appears, however, to be 
quietly and carefully considering changes in North Korea policy 
based on the results of former President Bill Clinton's visit. 
 
In an interview with NBC on Wednesday (local time), U.S. President 
Barack Obama said the U.S. has been telling North Korea there is a 
way to improve relations with Washington, and this way includes not 
developing nuclear weapons and not engaging in provocative acts.  He 
also said former President Clinton's mission to secure the return of 
the two U.S. journalists was a personal one, and did not signify an 
 
SEOUL 00001252  011 OF 011 
 
 
easing of international pressure on North Korea.  He did say, 
however, that he planned to have a meeting with Clinton, whom he 
said would tell him all the interesting things he observed during 
his trip. 
 
The U.S. State Department is also maintaining that any negotiations 
that took place during Clinton's trip to North Korea are separate 
from the nuclear talks.  U.S. State Department's deputy spokesman, 
Robert A. Wood, said in a briefing that while they hoped North Korea 
would respect its international obligations for nuclear 
dismantlement, all the U.S. could do is wait and see, and that it 
was too early to tell if Pyongyang was returning to nuclear talks. 
 
During his trip to North Korea, it has been confirmed that Clinton 
pressed Pyongyang to release South Korean and Japanese individuals 
who are also being detained.  ROK Foreign Ministry Spokesman Moon 
Tae-young said in a briefing Thursday that he understood Clinton 
conveyed to the North Koreans that the Hyundai Asan employee being 
held in Kaesong and the crew of the Yeonanho needed to be freed from 
a humanitarian perspective.  Moon also said nothing has been 
communicated to him in regards to North Korea's response, and that 
all information comes from a high-ranking U.S. State Department 
official. 
 
 
 
STEPHENS