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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 SEOUL 001357 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; August 24, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Kim Jong-il: "Let's Hold Inter-Korean Summit" 
President Lee: "N. Korea's Abandonment of Nuclear Weapons Should be 
Discussed" 
 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
Kim Jong-il Hopes for Inter-Korean Summit 
 
Dong-a Ilbo, Hankyoreh Shinmun, Segye Ilbo, 
Seoul Shinmun, All TVs 
Nation Bids Solemn Farewell to 
Former President Kim Dae-jung; 
He Was Laid to Rest at National Cemetery 
after Planting Seeds of Reconciliation and Unity 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
¶N. Korean Leader Seeks to Improve Inter-Korean Ties 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
The nation bid farewell to former President Kim Dae-jung at a state 
funeral held at the National Assembly yesterday. (All) 
 
An estimated 20,000 mourners, including President Lee Myung-bak and 
former presidents and delegates from 12 countries, attended the 
70-minute service. A 10-member U.S. delegation, led by former 
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, also took part in the 
service. (All) 
 
President Lee Myung-bak met yesterday with the North Korean 
delegation that came to Seoul Friday to pay respects to the late 
former president. According to Blue House Spokesman Lee Dong-kwan, 
the North's delegation relayed a verbal message from North Korean 
leader Kim Jong-il regarding progress in inter-Korean cooperation. 
(All) 
 
On August 22, chief ROK Delegate to the Six-Party Talks Wi Sung-lac 
met with Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. Special Representative for North 
Korea Policy, who was visiting Seoul as part of the U.S. condolence 
delegation. A senior ROKG official was quoted: "The ROK and the U.S. 
have concluded that there has been no change in North Korea's 
position of rejecting an irreversible denuclearization. The UN 
sanctions against North Korea will continue for the time being. 
(Dong-a, Segye) 
        (Chosun) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
-Korea Bids Farewell to Late Former President Kim Dae-jung 
------------ 
Yesterday's state funeral for former President Kim Dae-jung received 
above-the-fold front-page coverage in most ROK media.  According to 
media reports, an estimated 20,000 mourners, including President Lee 
Myung-bak and former presidents and delegates from 12 countries, 
attended the 70-minute service.  A 10-member U.S. delegation, led by 
former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, also took part in the 
service. 
 
Newspapers carried the following headlines: "Citizens Hope Former 
President's Passing Sows Seeds of Reconciliation and Unity... 
Citizens Mourn as Funeral Motorcade Passes" (Conservative Chosun 
Ilbo); "Madeleine Albright, (Former Chinese State Councilor) Tang 
Jiaxuan and (Former Japanese House of Representatives Speaker) Yohei 
Kono among Foreign Delegates from 12 Countries" (right-of-center 
 
SEOUL 00001357  002 OF 011 
 
 
JoongAng Ilbo); and "Former President Kim Laid to Rest at National 
Cemetery after Planting Seeds of Reconciliation and Unity" 
(Conservative Dong-a Ilbo) 
 
-N. Korea 
--------- 
Yesterday's meeting between President Lee Myung-bak and the North 
Korean delegation that came to Seoul Friday to pay respects to the 
late former president also received wide press coverage.  According 
to media reports, the North's delegation passed on a verbal message 
from North Korean leader Kim Jong-il that indicated he would like to 
meet President Lee Myung-bak. 
 
Blue House Spokesman Lee Dong-kwan was widely quoted as saying: "The 
message was about the need for progress in inter-Korean cooperation 
and expressed a desire for the two sides to 'solve all issues.'" 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo claimed in a front-page report that 
President Lee told the North Korean delegates that Seoul is willing 
to talk at any time and at any level-including a summit-but that in 
order to normalize inter-Korean ties, North Korea should make it 
clear that it will abandon its nuclear weapons program. 
 
Chosun also quoted a senior presidential official: "The Sunday 
meeting led to a consensus between the two Koreas on the principle 
that both sides need high-level government-to-government dialogue. 
But it remains to be seen when and at what level such dialogue will 
be held." 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo, moderate Hankook Ilbo and OhmyNews, an ROK 
online newspaper, cited local experts' views on the North Korean 
delegation's eagerness for contact with ROKG officials as aimed at 
escaping international sanctions, as well as a strategy to persuade 
the U.S. through conciliatory gestures toward the ROK. 
 
Newspapers carried the following front-and inside-page headlines: "A 
Change in the 'Sunshine Paradigm' of Unconditional Aid to N. Korea; 
ROK Calls for Nuclear Issue to be Addressed First, while N. Korea 
Demands Economic Cooperation First... Bumpy Road Ahead for Summit 
Talks" (conservative Chosun Ilbo); "N. Korea's Delegation Starts as 
Condolence Delegation but Concludes as 'Special Envoy for Kim 
Jong-il'" (right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo); Lee Myung-bak 
Administration Sticks to Its Principle on N. Korea... Paradigm Shift 
in Sight" (conservative Dong-a Ilbo); and "Drastic Change in N. 
Korea's Attitude... ROKG Busy Understanding N. Korea's Intentions" 
(moderate Hankook Ilbo). 
 
Conservative Dong-a Ilbo reported on an August 22 meeting in Seoul 
between Chief ROK Delegate to the Six-Party Talks Wi Sung-lac and 
Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea 
Policy, who was visiting Seoul as part of the U.S. condolence 
delegation.  The report quoted a senior ROKG official as saying: 
"The ROK and the U.S. have concluded that there has been no change 
in North Korea's position of rejecting an irreversible 
denuclearization.  The UN sanctions against North Korea will 
continue for the time being." 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo editorialized: "If the ROKG have an 
inter-Korean summit in mind, its first priority should be to resolve 
the North Korean nuclear issue.  We no longer need an inter-Korean 
summit that excludes the Korean Peninsula's biggest issue, the North 
Korean nuclear issue." 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo wrote in an editorial: "As long as 
North Korea threatens the ROK and its neighboring countries with 
nuclear weapons, there will inevitably be limitations to progress in 
inter-Korean relations.  President Lee explained the ROKG's 
principles on North Korea policy to Kim Ki-nam, the North's chief 
delegate, and asked him to convey this message to North Korean 
leader Kim Jong-il.  ... We believe that North Korea has understood 
the ROK's intention to maintain and develop inter-Korean relations 
in line with its principles, rather than being bent on just holding 
talks." 
 
 
SEOUL 00001357  003 OF 011 
 
 
Conservative Dong-a Ilbo editorialized: "If North Korean leader Kim 
Jong-il intends to advance inter-Korean cooperation, he should first 
remove obstacles to reconciliation.  Above all, North Korea should 
return to the Six-Party Talks and release ROK fishermen detained in 
the North.  Unless North Korea expresses change through action, this 
meeting (between President Lee and the North Korean delegation) will 
lose its meaning." 
 
Moderate Hankook Ilbo editorial stated: "... The speed of 
restoration of inter-Korean ties should inevitably be linked to some 
progress in the North Korean nuclear dismantlement talks, such as 
the resumption of the Six-Party Talks.  ...  The ROK should not only 
take the initiative in dialogue aimed at resolving inter-Korean 
relations but also push the North to come to the bargaining table. 
If necessary, Seoul should actively consider an inter-Korean summit. 
 North Korea, for its part, should abandon its lingering desire to 
secure nuclear-armed state status and return to the nuclear 
dismantlement talks as early as possible." 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
-------------------- 
 
¶N. KOREA DOES NOT ACCURATELY UNDERSTAND THE U.S. 
(JoongAng Ilbo, August 24, 2009, page 43: EXCERPTS) 
 
By Former Prime Minister Lee Hong-gu 
 
Most U.S. experts believe that the provocative acts that North Korea 
has conducted since the inauguration of the Obama Administration, 
such as a nuclear test and missile launches, are not carefully 
planned diplomatic moves but errors made because the North did not 
correctly understand President Obama. 
 
It is lucky that North Korea handed over two U.S. journalists it had 
convicted as criminals to former President Clinton.  However, this 
North Korean decision is not likely to be seen as Kim Jong-il's 
generous act or a positive sign that it hopes for improvement in 
North Korea-U.S. relations.  Instead, it may serve as an occasion 
that highlights the regime's immorality of using hostages as a 
bargaining chip.  Since the Obama Administration took office, North 
Korea has resorted to provocative acts ()with the intention  to test 
the will of President Obama.  But apparently these provocative acts 
were conducted because the North did not fully understand the U.S. 
frontier spirit and its determination.  The western frontier spirit 
can be seen in a sheriff who, even if held at gunpoint, remains 
steadfast.  North Korea must have been gravely mistaken if it 
thought that President Obama would have committed political suicide 
by easily backing down from North Korean threats and pressure.  We 
hope that diplomatic skirmishes (between North Korea and the U.S.) 
over the past months will prompt North Korea to rectify its 
incorrect perceptions of the U.S. 
 
 
INTER-KOREAN GOVERNMENT-LEVEL TALKS SHOULD LEAD TO NUCLEAR 
RESOLUTION 
(JoongAng Ilbo, August 24, 2009, page 42: EXCERPTS) 
 
In the past, North Korea has argued that its nuclear issue is a 
matter that only concerns the U.S., not the ROK spurning talks with 
the ROK.  This (attitude), however, only gave the ROK's doves on 
North Korea little room to maneuver.  It also made it difficult for 
the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun Administrations to pursue 
consistent North Korea policies.  Few ROK people will buy North 
Korea's absurd argument (that the nuclear issue has nothing to do 
with South Korea.) .  As long as North Korea threatens the ROK and 
its neighboring countries with nuclear weapons, there will 
inevitably be limitations to progress in inter-Korean relations. 
 
President Lee explained the ROKG's principles on North Korea policy 
to Kim Ki-nam, the North's chief delegate, and asked him to convey 
this message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.   The message 
presumably indicated that the ROK will proactively seek to provide 
aid to North Korea if there is improvement in the North Korean 
 
SEOUL 00001357  004 OF 011 
 
 
nuclear issue.  We believe that North Korea has understood the ROK's 
intention to maintain and develop inter-Korean relations in line 
with its principles, rather than being bent on just holding talks. 
 
 
 
WHAT N. KOREAN LEADER KIM SHOULD DO FOR PROGRESS IN INTER-KOREAN 
COOPERATION 
(Dong-a Ilbo, August 24, 2009, Page 31; Excerpts) 
 
If North Korean leader Kim Jong-il intends to advance inter-Korean 
cooperation, he should first remove obstacles to reconciliation. 
Above all, North Korea should return to the Six-Party Talks and 
release ROK fishermen detained in the North.  Unless the North 
expresses change through action, the meeting (between President Lee 
and the North Korean delegation) will lose its meaning. 
 
The ROKG should not repeat the mistake of the previous two 
administrations, which accepted North Korea's proposal for a loose 
form of federated unification and ignored North Korea's nuclear 
ambitions, the biggest pending issue, during the inter-Korean 
summits.  It has already been proved that the ROK cannot change the 
North Koreans by providing "unconditional handouts" aimed at 
preventing their provocations.  The ROKG, excited by contact with 
the North Korean delegation, must ensure that it does not lose its 
consistency (in its North Korea policy) or cause a crack in 
international cooperation in pressuring the North to abandon its 
nuclear ambitions through sanctions. 
 
 
¶S. KOREA'S RESPONSIBILITY TO MOVE INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS FROM 
CONFRONTATION TO COOPERATION 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, August 24, 2009, page 31) 
 
President Lee Myung-bak met with the North Korean mourning 
delegation at the Blue House (the ROK presidential residence) 
yesterday, and received a verbal message from North Korean leader 
Kim Jong-il delivered  by  one of the envoys.  In response, 
President Lee conveyed a message of his own.  This was the first 
indirect contact between the two leaders since the start of the Lee 
Administration.  The high-level meeting the day before between 
Unification Minister Hyun In-taek and Kim Yang-gon, director of the 
United Front Department of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party of 
Korea (WPK), was also a first.  It is said that during the two 
exchanges, inter-Korean relations and pending issues were 
comprehensively discussed, and the overall mood was good.  North 
Korea and South Korea now stand at a different starting point to end 
the deadlock in inter-Korean relations. 
 
North Korea's active intention towards talks is worth noticing.  Kim 
Ki-nam, a secretary of WPK and head of the North Korean mourning 
delegation, showed a willingness to meet with anyone for the purpose 
of holding frank discussions, while Kim Yang-gon said he thought 
inter-Korean relations needed to be improved immediately.  Although 
North Korea's full-scale move towards improving inter-Korean 
relations might be intended as a tactic for creating a mood 
conducive to dialogue with the U.S. and out of need for regime 
stability, how inter-Korean relations are handled ultimately depends 
on the ROKG's efforts. 
 
The Lee Administration appeared hesitant to meet with the 
delegation.  Government officials had been saying that the purpose 
of the delegation was nongovernmental and referenced North Korea's 
initial contact with representatives from the Kim Dae-jung Peace 
Center.  They also said that if North Korea wanted to have 
government-to-government talks, they should have made direct contact 
with the ROKG. 
 
This sentiment was indicated by the fact that contact between the 
North Korean mourning delegation and Lee and Hyun first took the 
form of courtesy calls.  In addition, the meeting with Lee was 
concluded after only 30 minutes, an insufficient amount of time 
given the heap of pending inter-Korean issues.  These run counter to 
the sentiment outlined in the presidential address delivered on 
 
SEOUL 00001357  005 OF 011 
 
 
Independence Day, where Lee said his administration was always ready 
to resume inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation on all issues, 
regardless of time and level. 
 
Nonetheless, what is most important is how the situation is handled 
from this point on.  While both sides agree that there must be 
dialogue, they still greatly differ on direction and substance. 
First, North Korea must cleanly settle the matter of the detained 
crew of the ROK fishing boat Yeonan-ho and the Mt. Kumgang tourism 
issue.  Of course, North Korea should not hold inter-Korean 
relations hostage for some other objective it possesses.  It must 
also sincerely listen to the justified concerns of the international 
community on several issues. 
 
The ROK government for its part needs to readjust its North Korea 
policy.  The view in certain circles that the ROK's hard-line North 
Korea policy is leading to changes in North Korea is shortsighted 
and has no consideration of changes in the geopolitical situation 
surrounding the peninsula.  First, the ROK must escape the trap that 
has been set by predicating improvement in inter-Korean relations 
related to the nuclear issue.  Inter-Korean relations and the 
nuclear issue should be part of the same positive cycle, but 
progress in inter-Korean relations is highly valuable in its own 
right.  Moreover, it must not just engage in rhetoric regarding the 
October 4 and June 15 statements, and make clear its intention to 
execute those agreements.  In the future, it cannot position the 
execution of inter-Korean agreements as collateral.  The government 
should be consistent and firm in its principles that it speaks about 
and not cease in putting them into practice by referring to existing 
policy. 
 
It is true that even if there are no guarantees, a golden 
opportunity to improve inter-Korean relations has been presented to 
North and South Korea, and only proper policy and active realization 
will bring about positive results.  We hope the government bears in 
mind (the people's) voice in resolving the nuclear issue and that 
both inter-Korean relations and peace on the Korean peninsula depend 
on how it leads. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
EVEN THOUGH A BREAKTHROUGH FOR INTER-KOREAN DIALOGUE HAS BEEN 
MADE... 
(Hankook Ilbo, August 24, 2009, Page 35; Excerpts) 
 
It is too early to anticipate the complete normalization of 
inter-Korean relations.  This is because it is not clear why the 
North has suddenly veered toward active dialogue, and above all, it 
is difficult to say whether North Korea is sincere about restoring 
its relations with the South.  This may be the reason why the ROKG 
did not willingly embrace but took an equivocal attitude toward the 
North Korean delegation's (about-faced) efforts (for resuming 
inter-Korean dialogue) and the recent five-point agreement between 
Hyundai Group and North Korea. 
 
The current situation, where the international community maintains 
sanctions and pressure on the North, also leaves the ROKG with 
little wiggle room.  The speed of restoration of inter-Korean ties 
should inevitably be linked to some progress in the North Korean 
nuclear dismantlement talks, such as the resumption of the Six-Party 
Talks.  It is undesirable, however, for the ROK be dragged along, 
rather than take a leadership role, in dialogue with the North.  The 
ROK should not only take the initiative in dialogue aimed at 
resolving inter-Korean relations but also push the North to come to 
the bargaining table.  If necessary, Seoul should actively consider 
an inter-Korean summit.  North Korea, for its part, should abandon 
its lingering desire to secure nuclear-armed state status and return 
to the nuclear dismantlement talks as early as possible. 
 
 
SEOUL MUST NOT WAVER IN THE FACE OF N. KOREAN OVERTURES 
(Chosun Ilbo, August 24, 2009, page 35) 
 
SEOUL 00001357  006 OF 011 
 
 
 
President Lee Myung-bak on Sunday met a delegation of high-ranking 
North Korean officials who came to the ROK for the funeral of former 
president Kim Dae-jung.  It was the first time since Lee's 
inauguration that a meeting with a North Korean official took place 
at the Blue House (the ROK presidential residence).  Lee said, "I 
hope South and North Korea can cooperate and resolve all our 
problems" and asked that his administration's "consistent and firm 
North Korea policy" be conveyed to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, 
according to Blue House spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.  The North Koreans 
had also delivered a message from their leader, but the presidential 
office did not disclose details citing its "sensitivity." 
 
The delegation delivered a message from North Korean leader Kim 
Jong-il which said, "I want to meet President Lee Myung-bak," a 
government official said.  The president met with Kim Yang-gon, a 
North Korean Workers' Party director in charge of inter-Korean 
relations, who traveled to Seoul in s-e-c-r-e-t in September 2007 to 
fine-tune the preparations for the summit between Kim Jong-il and 
then president Roh Moo-hyun that year.  In his speech on August 15 
Liberation Day, Lee said, "Our government is ready to hold dialogue 
and cooperate with North Korea at any time and at any level about 
all inter-Korean issues." 
 
Lee is said to have told the North Korean delegation that Pyongyang 
should involve the ROK in discussing the nuclear issue with the 
United States, and that this will help resolve it more easily.  He 
called the meeting "the start of a new beginning" in inter-Korean 
relations and said, "There is no issue the South and the North 
cannot resolve if they talk with sincerity."  Yet Lee also said a 
"paradigm shift" was necessary in inter-Korean relations based on 
international principles.  In other words, he views inter-Korean 
relations from an international perspective rather than as a special 
relationship between the Korean people. 
 
North Korea was sanctioned by the UN Security Council this year for 
conducting a second nuclear test and launching a series of missiles. 
 If the international community is to recognize North Korea as a 
normal state and offer it support, the North must first give up its 
nuclear program and its missiles.  And if Seoul intends to develop 
relations with the North based on international standards, then it 
should start by convincing the North to abandon its nuclear weapons 
and missiles. 
 
The reason previous inter-Korean summits caused so much conflict in 
the ROK and drew so much concern from the international community 
was that they avoided the North Korean nuclear problem.  Previous 
ROK administrations saw inter-Korean summits as their crowning 
achievement and were reluctant to include such a thorny issue on the 
agenda for fear of drawing North Korea's ire.  If the ROKG has an 
inter-Korean summit in mind, its first priority should be to resolve 
the North Korean nuclear issue.  We no longer need an inter-Korean 
summit that excludes the Korean Peninsula's biggest issue, the North 
Korean nuclear issue. 
 
North Korea's stance has been that the nuclear issue needs to be 
resolved with the U.S. The North Korean delegation is said to have 
reiterated that position.  Everyone knows that the North is trying 
to get the upper hand on the peninsula by talking only with 
Washington and excluding Seoul.  But the U.S. cannot guarantee North 
Korea's survival.  Pyongyang may believe that going straight to 
Washington would prompt the ROK to offer more money and goods to 
stay in the picture, but that is a miscalculation. 
 
Realistically, the ROK is the only country that can be hit by a 
North Korean nuclear attack, and it is the only country that can 
provide vital food and other aid to North Korea.  If Lee intends to 
hold a summit with Kim, he needs to make this very clear to the 
North Korean leader and let the North revise its survival strategy. 
 
 
Seoul was active in efforts by the UN Security Council in July to 
adopt Resolution 1874 and impose fresh sanctions on North Korea, and 
the international community has been implementing them.  On Sunday, 
 
SEOUL 00001357  007 OF 011 
 
 
when Lee met the North Korean delegation, Philip Goldberg, the U.S. 
envoy for sanctions against North Korea, arrived in Seoul.  His 
visit sent a clear signal.  Seoul must make sure that its relations 
with Pyongyang do not conflict with the international sanctions. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
FEATURES 
--------- 
 
TWELVE NATIONS SEND CONDOLENCE DELEGATION TO KIM'S FUNERAL 
(JoongAng Ilbo, August 24, 2009, Page 6; Excerpts) 
 
By Reporters Sun Seung-hye and Kim Min-sang 
 
The U.S. sent a ten-member delegation to the funeral of former 
President Kim Dae-jung.  The delegation was led by former Secretary 
of State Madeleine K. Albright, who had previously met with North 
Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang right after the inter-Korean 
summit in October 2000.  (Shortly thereafter, she also met with 
former ROK President Kim.)  (During her visit to North Korea,) she 
helped create a conciliatory mood between the two Koreas in the 
final days of the Clinton Administration. 
 
Former U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Donald P. Gregg, who was also a 
part of the delegation, had a deep relationship with the late 
President.  When former President Kim was sentenced to death by the 
new ROK military authorities in 1980, Gregg reportedly delivered the 
U.S.'s opposition to then-ROK President Chun Doo-hwan.  In his 
capacity as Chairman of the Korea Society, Gregg also visited 
Severance Hospital of Yonsei University to comfort Lee Hee-ho, wife 
of the former President, on August 13. 
 
Also on the list of the delegation were U.S. Ambassador to the ROK 
Kathleen Stephens and her predecessors James Laney and Thomas C. 
Hubbard, and Korean-American Harold Koh (Korean name Koh Hong-ju), 
the Legal Advisor of the U.S. Department of State. 
 
(Editor's Note:  This same story has also been carried by other 
newspapers.  The Dong-a Ilbo reported: "The U.S. delegation, made up 
of ten prominent pro-ROK figures, arrived in Osan on a U.S. military 
plane on August 22, a day before the funeral.  The delegation 
included a number of former U.S. officials who were in charge of 
foreign policy toward the ROK."  The Chosun Ilbo reported: "During 
the meeting with ROK President Lee Myung-bak, former Secretary 
Albright said, 'Not only Koreans but also people in Northeast Asia 
and around the world share grief.  Members of the delegation who 
attended here had ties with former President Kim, and U.S. President 
Barack Obama sent the delegation.'  Former Secretary Albright, along 
with U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen 
Bosworth, met with ROK Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan for a 
breakfast meeting on August 23 and discussed the North Korean 
nuclear issue."  The Hankyoreh Shinmun reported: "After laying a 
wreath, former Secretary Albright put both hands together and 
expressed her condolences to the bereaved family.  Former U.S. 
Ambassador to the ROK Donald P. Gregg, who, as the CIA's Seoul 
Bureau Chief, spearheaded an effort to save former President Kim 
when he was abducted in Tokyo in 1973, also bowed before Kim's 
portrait."  The Hankook Ilbo reported: "Former U.S. Ambassador to 
the ROK James Laney played a role in realizing former U.S. President 
Jimmy Carter's visit to the North during the first North Korean 
nuclear crisis in 1994.") 
 
 
NORTH ENVOYS MEET WITH LEE FOR FIRST TIME 
(JoongAng Daily, August 24, 2009, page) 
 
By Reporter Yoo Jee-ho 
 
Blue House stresses need for dialogue in resolving inter-Korean 
tensions 
 
 
SEOUL 00001357  008 OF 011 
 
 
ROK President Lee Myung-bak yesterday met with the North Korean 
delegation, which came to Seoul Friday to pay respects to the late, 
former ROK President Kim Dae-jung, to exchange views on the future 
of inter-Korean relations. 
 
It was the first time Lee had come in direct contact with North 
Korean officials since he took office in February of last year. 
 
Blue House spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said the meeting started at 9 
a.m., an hour earlier than scheduled, and lasted for 30 minutes. 
The North Korean delegation relayed a verbal message from the North 
Korean leader Kim Jong-il "regarding progress in inter-Korean 
cooperation." 
 
The Blue House didn't disclose the detailed content of Kim's 
message, citing its sensitivity.  But a source told the JoongAng 
Ilbo that a North Korean official said on Saturday that Kim Jong-il 
wants to hold a summit with Lee Myung-bak. 
 
According to the source, Kim Yang-gon, a senior Workers' Party 
official, said Saturday that an inter-Korean summit would be 
necessary to resolve problems facing the two Koreas. 
 
"We'd like to tell President Lee about Kim Jong-il's wishes for a 
third inter-Korean summit," Kim said, according to the source.  The 
two previous summits were held in 2000 and 2007.  "If we miss this 
opportunity, it would be difficult to create another chance." 
 
In yesterday's meeting, Lee said the ROK president insisted on 
Seoul's "consistent and steadfast principles" on Pyongyang and asked 
the North Korean officials to convey this message back to Kim. 
 
According to the spokesman, Lee Myung-bak also thanked the North 
Korea officials for their visit and said the Koreas can resolve any 
problems through dialogue if they approach them with sincerity.  Lee 
Dong-kwan called the mood at the meeting "serious and calm." 
 
Lee Myung-bak received other delegations that flew in to extend 
their condolences for Kim, who died last Tuesday at age 85.  Lee was 
accompanied by Unification Minister Hyun In-taek and Blue House 
senior foreign affairs secretary Kim Sung-hwan.  North Korea was 
represented by Kim Ki-nam, a senior secretary for the ruling 
Workers' Party, Kim Yang-gon, an influential figure on inter-Korean 
affairs at the Workers' Party, and Won Tong-yon, an official with 
the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, which handles inter-Korean 
businesses. 
 
When asked if this meeting would be a turning point in inter-Korean 
relations, an official at the Blue House cautioned that "there's no 
need to get ahead of ourselves." 
 
"As President Lee said, there's nothing we can't resolve through 
dialogue," the official said.  "But we can't do this work alone. We 
have to have a counterpart here." 
 
"The North-South relationship is a special one because we are, after 
all, one people," the official continued.  "But we have to look past 
that and develop a relationship that is internationally acceptable 
and appropriate in order to take the next step." 
 
The official added that President Lee and the visiting North Koreans 
hadn't discussed the fate of the four ROK fishermen detained in the 
North.  The fishermen were captured by the North Koreans on July 30, 
when their fishing boat crossed the maritime border after their 
satellite navigation system malfunctioned. 
 
The meeting came about after North Korean officials told Unification 
Minister Hyun on Saturday that they had a message from Kim Jong-il 
to deliver to the Blue House. 
 
Initially, however, the ROK presidential office was lukewarm to the 
suggestion.  A government official said late Saturday afternoon that 
"it was going to be difficult" to arrange the meeting between Lee 
and the North Koreans on Saturday. 
 
SEOUL 00001357  009 OF 011 
 
 
 
The delegation was scheduled to depart for Pyongyang at 2 p.m. on 
Saturday but instead left at 12:10 p.m. yesterday.  North Korean 
officials met with ROK counterparts throughout Saturday. 
 
So far in August, there have been indications that deteriorated 
relations will improve. 
 
Earlier this month, Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of Hyundai Group, 
paid a visit to Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang and secured the release of 
a detained ROK worker. 
 
Following that encounter, Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and Hyundai 
Group agreed to resume suspended tourism programs to Mt. Kumgang and 
to arrange reunions for Korean families in the fall. 
 
The ROK proposed talks this week with the North to discuss setting 
up reunions before Chuseok, Korea's Thanksgiving, on October 3.  No 
inter-Korean family reunions have taken place since 2007. 
 
STATE FUNERAL HELD FOR FORMER PRES. KIM DJ 
(Dong-a Ilbo, August 24, 2009, Front page) 
 
By Reporters Cho Soo-jin and Shin Min-gi 
 
The state funeral for former President Kim Dae-jung was held 
yesterday at a plaza in front of the National Assembly in Seoul's 
Yeouido district. 
 
President Lee Myung-bak and First Lady Kim Yoon-ok, former 
Presidents Kim Young-sam and Chun Doo-hwan, domestic politicians and 
foreign delegates from 11 countries attended the ceremony. 
 
The foreign delegates included former U.S. Secretary of State 
Madeleine Albright, former Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, 
and former Japanese House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono. 
 
In Korea's largest state funeral in history attended by more than 
24,000 people, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo offered the eulogy. 
Religious services and floral tributes followed. 
 
Following the funeral, the motorcade carrying the body of the late 
president headed for Seoul National Cemetery in the city's southern 
region, passing through Seoul Plaza and Seoul Station.  It also 
dropped by Kim Dae-jung's home in Seoul's Donggyo district and the 
Kim Dae Jung Peace Center. 
 
When the motorcade passed Seoul Plaza, the late president's widow 
Lee Hee-ho got out of her car and told mourners, "My husband 
sincerely wants you all to pursue reconciliation and forgiveness, 
the values my husband cherished for life, and love, peace and care 
for the underprivileged.  This is my husband's will." 
 
President Lee met the foreign delegates attending the funeral. 
 
Deputy presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye quoted him as saying, 
"Former President Kim devoted his entire life to promote democracy 
and improve inter-Korean relations," adding, "I thank you all for 
coming here to pay tribute to the late president." 
 
After the burial ceremony, tens of thousands of people visited Seoul 
Plaza and the National Assembly, where altars were set up, to pay 
their respects to the late former President Kim Dae-jung. No 
anti-government demonstrations occurred, however. 
 
With fairness questioned in the process of deciding on a state 
funeral for him, the government will face pressure to come up with 
clear principles and standards on if a former president gets a state 
or people's funeral. 
 
According to the state funeral preparation committee, more than 
600,000 people visited 182 altars nationwide to bid farewell to the 
late president Tuesday through yesterday. 
 
 
SEOUL 00001357  010 OF 011 
 
 
The six-day official mourning period provided a rare opportunity for 
national unity and inter-Korean reconciliation.  This has led to 
hope that Kim Dae-jung's death will pave the way for resolution of 
geographical, ideological, class, and factional conflicts and 
confrontations. 
 
Politicians also say his death will help warm relations between the 
ruling and opposition parties, which have soured since the ruling 
Grand National Party railroaded media reform bills through 
parliament last month. 
 
The ruling party will reportedly urge the main opposition Democratic 
Party to return to parliament without precondition to discuss 
pending issues, including those related to the people's livelihood. 
 
 
For its part, the Democratic Party, which has boycotted the National 
Assembly in protest of the passage of the media bills, is expected 
to decide its course of action after gathering opinions from its 
members. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
EXPERTS URGE CAUTION OVER FRIENDLY SIGNS FROM N. KOREA 
(Chosun Ilbo, August 24, 2009, page 4: EXCERPTS) 
 
By Reporter Choi Gyeong-un 
 
North Korea's sudden charm offensive has met with a cautious welcome 
from experts but also calls for a careful analysis of the North's 
intentions and tactics.  On Sunday, President Lee Myung-bak, in the 
first high-level inter-Korean meeting of his presidency, spoke with 
a delegation from North Korea who was in the ROK to attend the 
funeral of former President Kim Dae-jung. The delegation also met 
separately with Unification Minister Hyun In-taek. 
 
"It's a positive signal," said a researcher at a state-run think 
tank.  "But it seems highly likely that it's part of a tactic by 
North Korea to get out of the corner it has been driven into by 
international sanctions" imposed over its latest nuclear test. 
 
Prof. Yoo Ho-yeol of Korea University also welcomed "the momentum to 
break the deadlock" in inter-Korean relations, including the 
possibility of official government-level talks, given that the North 
Koreans delivered a message from Kim Jong-il acting as de facto 
special envoys to President Lee Myung-bak. 
 
But Suh Jae-jean, the president of the Korea Institute for National 
Unification, warned the visit was "a tactic to persuade the U.S. by 
creating a conciliatory inter-Korean atmosphere at a time when the 
international community is enforcing sanctions." 
 
Prof. Nam Joo-hong of Kyonggi University said the North may be 
attempting to create a sense of nostalgia in the ROK for Kim 
Dae-jung's "Sunshine Policy" of unconditional engagement with the 
North at a time when international sanctions are biting. 
 
Experts advise the government to proceed slowly depending on what 
North Korea does next, especially watching whether its position on 
denuclearization improves, whether the crew of the ROK fishing boat 
800 Yeonan, who were towed to the North, are released swiftly, and 
whether the North finally apologizes for the fatal shooting of an 
ROK tourist at Mt. Kumgang in 2008. 
 
Prof. Kim Sung-han of Korea University said improvements in 
relations "should be sought in such a way as to find a solution to 
the nuclear issue.  The government should maintain certain 
principles in terms of denuclearization" in devising its policy. 
 
Experts also agreed that cooperation between Seoul and Washington is 
vital. "Improvements in inter-Korean relations should be sought 
within the framework of joint ROK-U.S. efforts to persuade the North 
 
SEOUL 00001357  011 OF 011 
 
 
to abandon its nuclear weapons and return as a regular member of the 
international community," Suh said.  "An emotional approach to such 
issues that ignores this principle would only mean falling for North 
Korea's tactics." 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
INTER-KOREAN TALKS HINT AT 'PARADIGM SHIFT' IN TIES 
(Chosun Ilbo, August 24, 2009, page 4: EXCERPTS) 
 
By Reporter Ahn Yong-hyun 
 
A senior ROK official on Sunday spoke of a "paradigm shift" in 
inter-Korean relations after President Lee Myung-bak met a senior 
North Korean delegation that extended its stay after paying respects 
to the late former President Kim Dae-jung. 
 
The Lee Administration has charted a different course in North Korea 
policy compared to the previous two administrations under Kim and 
Roh Moo-hyun and intends to continue that way.  "The previous 
administrations put priority on the exceptional nature of the 
inter-Korean relations and put the rules of normal international 
relations aside," he said.  "They were grateful when North Korea 
just responded to requests for dialogue. That will no longer 
happen." 
 
The remarks show that the Lee Administration is determined to stick 
to principles in trying to persuade North Korea to give up its 
nuclear weapons program.  The fact that Lee said he would be willing 
to hold a summit if it can help denuclearization of the Korean 
Peninsula supports this view. 
 
The "paradigm shift" was evident in the run-up to the meeting. 
Seoul did not make it easy for the North Koreans to meet Lee after 
the North had initially informed them-not the ROKG but a private 
channel, the Kim Dae Jung Peace Center-that the delegation was 
coming.  Seoul insisted that the North use official government 
channels. 
 
And although Kim Yang-gon, the director of the North's United Front 
Department, said he came with a message from North Korean leader Kim 
Jong-il, Seoul did not jump to arrange a visit to the Blue House, 
and the North Korean delegates had to postpone their return and stay 
in Seoul for another day. 
 
During the last two administrations, senior North Korean high 
ranking officials met the ROK president eight times, and they never 
had to wait.  Lee Jo-won, professor in politics and diplomacy at 
ChungAng University, said, "The key point is the reaction from North 
Korea to the changes in the ROKG." 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
TOKOLA