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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SEOUL 001408 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; September 2, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
 
Three Cities in Gyeonggi Province Seek 
to Merge to Gain More Influence 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
ROKG Seeks to Construct "Great Train Express" (GTX) that will Enable 
Users to Travel from Dongtan to Gangnam 
in 20 Minutes 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
Bill on Public Teacher Evaluation Likely to be Passed during Current 
Parliamentary Session 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
ROKG Urged to Address Confusion Caused by Delayed Construction of 
"Sejong Multifunctional Administrative City" 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Trial over Deaths of Tenants during January Clash with Riot Police 
in Yongsan Crippled, with Prosecutors Refusing to Disclose 
Investigation Report 
 
Segye Ilbo 
ROKG Measures to Protect Temporary Workers Ineffective 
 
Seoul Shinmun 
Busan to Host Meeting of World Churches 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
According to a senior official from the ruling camp, President Lee 
Myung-bak told the North Korean delegation that came to pay respects 
upon the death of former President Kim Dae-jung that his North Korea 
policy differs from that of his predecessors and that he is prepared 
to aid North Korea if it gives up its nuclear weapons. (Chosun, 
JoongAng, Dong-a) 
 
Gyeonggi Province decided yesterday to provide North Korea with 
2,500 tons of corn worth 1 billion won. (Dong-a) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
-N. Korea 
--------- 
Citing a senior official from the ruling camp, conservative Chosun 
Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo and right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo reported that 
President Lee Myung-bak told the North Korean delegation that came 
to pay respects upon the death of former President Kim Dae-jung that 
his North Korea policy differs from that of his predecessors and 
that he is prepared to aid North Korea if it gives up its nuclear 
weapons. 
 
Conservative Dong-a Ilbo ran a front-page report on Gyeonggi 
Province's decision to provide North Korea with 2,500 tons of corn 
worth 1 billion won.  The report noted that there is speculation 
that the aid may be related to North Korea's recent release of an 
ROK worker and four fishermen held in the country, because the aid 
decision came shortly after their release. 
 
-Japan Elections 
---------------- 
Commentary continues to flow about the Democratic Party of Japan 
(DPJ)'s election victory.  Conservative Chosun Ilbo editorialized: 
"The DPJ's emphasis on Asia should be seen as related to China's 
sudden rise (as a global economic and political power.) ... If China 
and Japan once again engaged in fighting for hegemony in Asia, it 
 
SEOUL 00001408  002 OF 004 
 
 
would have direct repercussions for the Korean Peninsula. ... 
Japan's move to end its dependence on the U.S. and to carry out an 
independent Asia strategy may lead to the country's rearmament and a 
revival of Japanese militarism." 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
------------------- 
 
NEW JAPANESE GOVERNMENT HERALDS CHANGES FOR KOREA 
(Chosun Ilbo, September 2, 2009, Page 35) 
 
"The era of U.S.-led globalism is coming to an end and... we are 
moving away from a unipolar world towards an era of multipolarity," 
Japan's next Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama wrote in an article for 
the New York Times last Thursday.  The comments immediately fueled 
accusations in the United States that Hatoyama was anti-American. 
He vehemently denies that, but it is unprecedented for a Japanese 
leader after World War II even to incur the charge. 
 
Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan already made it clear in the 
election campaign that it would speak its mind and say no to the 
U.S. if necessary.  The party is trying to revise a U.S.-Japan 
agreement to reduce the number of American troops in Okinawa even 
further.  It is also seeking to stop refueling of U.S.-led 
multinational forces in the Indian Ocean in January of next year. 
The U.S. State Department said it has "no intention whatsoever" of 
changing the existing U.S.-Japan agreement.  The DPJ will undergo a 
reality check once it comes to power, but it is undeniable that 
scenes hitherto unimaginable in U.S.-Japan relations are unfolding 
before our eyes. 
 
The DPJ is pushing ahead with its "Asia-focused" policy goals 
instead.  The concept of an "East Asian community" sought by 
Hatoyama is centered on close ties with Japan's regional neighbors 
including South Korea and China.  But the DPJ's emphasis on Asia 
should be seen as related to China's sudden rise (as a global 
economic and political power.)  In a few years, China will overtake 
Japan in terms of economic size.  It is not difficult to guess the 
response from the Japanese public and its leadership when the 
country loses its prized status as the world's second-largest 
economy.  If China and Japan once again engaged in fighting for 
hegemony in Asia, it would have direct repercussions for the Korean 
Peninsula. 
 
While opposing a nuclear-armed North Korea, the DPJ has hinted at 
the possibility of negotiating directly with the North.  Depending 
on circumstances, Japan could offer North Korea massive amounts of 
money.  If changes happen in U.S.-Japan, China-Japan, China-North 
Korea and Japan-North Korea relations, South Korea too will see 
fundamental shifts in its national objectives. 
 
After becoming the head of the DPJ in May last year, Hatoyama's 
first overseas visit was to Korea.  He also pledged not to visit the 
militarist Yasukuni Shrine.  Although his position does not differ 
much from the Liberal Democratic Party when it comes to sovereignty 
over Korea's Dokdo islets, differences between South Korea and Japan 
may abate.  But the DPJ is full of lawmakers whose views on Japan's 
wartime history do not differ from the views of LDP members. 
 
Japan may soon be overshadowed by China, but its economy is twice 
the size of the U.K.'s and France's.  It also has 75 percent of the 
world's cutting-edge core technologies.  And now, Japan has embarked 
on its first-ever transfer of power in more than 50 years.  The new 
leadership is trying to shift its diplomatic focus from the 
traditional reliance on the U.S. to its Asian neighbors.  Japan's 
move to end its dependence on the U.S. and to carry out an 
independent Asia strategy may lead to the country's rearmament and a 
revival of Japanese militarism.  Korea is dependent on China for 
exports and on Japan for technology.  The launch of the new Japanese 
administration is a signal that Korea must waste no time in defining 
its mid- and long-term national strategies. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
 
SEOUL 00001408  003 OF 004 
 
 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
FEATURES 
-------- 
 
"NK FIRST OFFERED RELEASE OF FISHING BOAT AND CREW" 
(Dong-a Ilbo, September 2, 2009, Front Page) 
 
By Reporter Koh Ki-jung 
 
A North Korean delegation that visited Seoul to honor the late 
former President Kim Dae-jung late last month first proposed the 
release of four South Korean crew members aboard a detained fishing 
boat, a source said yesterday. 
 
A senior official of the ruling camp said the delegation's leader 
Kim Ki-nam, Secretary of the North's ruling Workers` Party, offered 
the release of the crew and ship "with a very polite attitude" at a 
meeting with President Lee Myung-bak. 
 
After the meeting, the South Korean presidential office of Cheong Wa 
Dae said no discussion took place on specific issues, including the 
release of the boat. 
 
President Lee reportedly responded by telling the North's delegates 
that Pyongyang should make a fair decision under international law 
rather than try to do the South a favor.  This comment seems to have 
prevented the delegation from making demands in return for the 
release. 
 
The president stressed that the delegates should clearly convey his 
message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il that the Lee 
Administration differs from its predecessors.  President Lee said 
his government will adhere to principles but stay flexible on 
inter-Korean matters, unlike previous governments, which drew flack 
for being either too tough or too soft on the North. 
 
President Lee is said to have emphasized several times in a soft 
tone that Pyongyang must decide whether to abandon its nuclear 
program to normalize relations with the South.  He also reportedly 
asked Kim Ki-nam through his staff to inform him of Kim Jong-il's 
response to the meeting`s results. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
LEE "TOLD N. KOREANS OF NEW WIND BLOWING IN CHEONG WA DAE" 
(Chosun Ilbo, September 2, 2009, Front Page) 
 
By Reporter Hwang Dae-jin 
 
President Lee Myung-bak sent a clear message to North Korea that he 
is different from previous administrations.  Lee reportedly told a 
North Korean delegation who visited Cheong Wa Dae on August 23 he 
was different than the governments that led South Korea "in the past 
10 years and even the past 20 years before that.  Make this point 
very clear" to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. 
 
The delegation, led by Kim Ki-nam, a secretary of the Workers' Party 
Central Committee, was in Seoul to attend the funeral of former 
President Kim Dae-jung. 
 
A senior source in the ruling Grand National Party on Tuesday 
claimed Lee also told the delegation, "Take a look at how fast the 
world is changing.  North Korea must change.  If North Korea 
demonstrates a willingness to change, we will offer support."  Lee 
made those comments after receiving a message from the North Korean 
leader stressing the need for talks. 
 
He was referring to the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun 
Administrations, which pursued unconditional engagement with North 
Korea, while the "past 20 years before that" appears to be a 
 
SEOUL 00001408  004 OF 004 
 
 
The source claimed Lee told the North Koreans that the South was 
ready to hold talks at any level, including a summit, but stressed 
the North must understand that denuclearization is a prerequisite to 
major support from the South and the normalization of ties. 
 
The delegation told Lee that North Korea would free the South Korean 
fishermen who had been towed to the North at a date the South 
preferred.  But Lee reportedly told them to handle the matter 
favorably and according to international regulations.  A 
ruling-party source said the government "clearly showed its resolve 
not to be swayed by North Korea's attempts to use hostages to 
influence our policies." 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
TOKOLA