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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SEOUL 001618 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; October 13, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Seoul to Resume Food Aid to N. Korea 
 
JoongAng Ilbo, Seoul Shinmu, All TVs 
¶N. Korea Test-Fires Five Short-Range Missiles 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
ROKG to Form Task Force to Handle 
Controversial Sejong City Project 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
Behind-the-Scenes Dialogue Underway Between Two Koreas 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Economic Stimulus Measures Pushed by ROKG Cause 
Local Government Debts to Jump Four Trillion Won 
 
Segye Ilbo 
Ruling GNP Considers Scaling Down Sejong City Project 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
According to a key ROKG official, Seoul has decided to resume 
humanitarian food aid to North Korea which has been suspended since 
the summer of 2007, and is reviewing the timing and size of such 
aid. (Chosun) 
 
According to Unification Ministry Spokesman Chun Hae-sung, the ROKG 
yesterday proposed to North Korea two separate talks to discuss the 
prevention of flooding at a river that runs across the border as 
well as the resumption of reunions for separated families. (All) 
 
According to a senior ruling party official, behind-the-scenes talks 
are underway between the two Koreas to discuss pending bilateral 
issues, including the resumption of tours to Mt. Kumgang in North 
Korea. (Hankook) 
 
 
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 
------------------ 
 
According to an ROKG source, North Korea yesterday test-fired five 
short-range KN-02 surface-to-surface missiles off its east coast. 
The tests came hours after the ROKG proposed inter-Korean talks on 
humanitarian issues. (All) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
-N. Korea 
---------- 
The ROK media on Monday gave wide attention to Chinese Premier Wen 
Jiabao's press remarks made after an Oct. 10 summit in Beijing with 
the ROK and Japan.  The Chinese premier was quoted as saying: "North 
Korea appeared 'flexible' about the Six-Party Talks.  The North 
wants to improve ties not only with the U.S. but also with the ROK 
and Japan.  This is the chance to hold talks with North Korea." 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo editorialized: "What is important is 
whether any talks that take place can actually persuade North Korea 
to abandon its nuclear weapons and contribute to the prosperity of 
Northeast Asia.  Before the U.S.-North Korea talks, the countries in 
the Six-Party Talks must first come up with a consensus about how 
they want to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.  The success or 
failure of a solution for the nuclear crisis depends on whether the 
ROK, China, Japan and the U.S. can unite behind a feasible solution 
rather than just words." 
 
SEOUL 00001618  002 OF 004 
 
 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo's editorial, meanwhile, argued: "North 
Korea has yet to specifically express its willingness to give up its 
nuclear ambitions. ... China seems to have decided to strengthen its 
mediation role in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue following 
Chinese Premier Wen's visit to Pyongyang.  ... However, it is 
doubtful whether China is making sufficient efforts to live up to 
international expectations." 
 
Citing an ROKG source, all ROK media today reported on North Korea's 
test-firing yesterday of five short-range KN-02 surface-to-surface 
missiles off its east coast.  Most media cited ROK officials as 
viewing the tests as routine military exercises.  Conservative 
Chosun Ilbo, however, speculated that the tests may be the North's 
saber-rattling, given the country's unresolved request for the 
return of North Koreans who recently defected to the ROK by sea. 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo, meanwhile, conjectured that North 
Korea may be aiming to gain the upper hand in the run-up to 
bilateral and multilateral talks on its nuclear program. 
 
-President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize 
-------------------------------------- 
Conservative Dong-a Ilbo editorialized on Monday: "The Norwegian 
Nobel Committee's extraordinary decision may have meant that 
President Obama and the U.S. should understand the dignity and 
significance of Nobel Peace Prize and devote more efforts to world 
peace. ... President Obama's visions noted by the Nobel Committee 
cannot be easily accomplished.  In order to reduce arms in the world 
and to make the world nuclear-free, President Obama should sign a 
follow-on agreement to START-1 with Russia and get North Korea and 
Iran to dismantle their nuclear programs.  These definitely are not 
simple tasks.  The world is expecting bold challenges from President 
Obama." 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
------------------- 
 
KIM JONG-IL'S CONDITIONAL RETURN TO SIX-PARTY TALKS 
(Dong-a Ilbo, October 13, 2009, Page 38; Excerpts) 
 
By Han Seung-joo, former Foreign Minister and current Korean 
University Professor 
 
At a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, which was held during 
the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-North Korea 
diplomatic ties, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pocketed many 
benefits.  He was promised economic aid from China, raised the 
possibility of bilateral talks with the U.S., and enhanced his own 
standing and authority over the communist state.  What is most 
noteworthy is, however, that Pyongyang shifted the attention of 
other nations away from the North's denuclearization and 
international sanctions against the North for its nuclear possession 
and tests to the Six-Party Talks. 
 
However, the reason why the Six-Party Talks itself became a 
bargaining chip for the North is that other Six-Party nations 
stressed the importance of the multilateral talks and showed an 
obsession with the talks, thereby increasing the price for 
Pyongyang's return to it.  By declaring its resumption of nuclear 
activities and boycott of the Six-Party Talks, North Korea created a 
situation where Six-Party countries had to focus their diplomatic 
efforts on persuading the North to return to the Six-Party Talks. 
When North Korean leader Kim mentioned the Six-Party Talks during 
the recent meeting with the visiting Chinese Premier, it appeared as 
if there was a diplomatic progress. 
 
Kim not only succeeded in raising the price of the Six-Party Talks 
but also set conditions for the North's return to the talks.   Now 
it is the North that decides if there is any result from bilateral 
dialogue.  With no clear criteria for judging whether a certain 
outcome is satisfactory or not, even if the North drags its feet 
over rejoining the Six-Party Talks, other Six-Party nations, such as 
the U.S. and China, will have no countermeasure against the North's 
 
SEOUL 00001618  003 OF 004 
 
 
stalling tactics.  In addition, if an outcome of U.S.-North Korea 
bilateral dialogue is not satisfactory, the North now has an excuse 
to pass the responsibility for the collapse of the talks to the 
U.S. 
 
Now that Pyongyang has succeeded in making other Six-Party nations 
seek the Six-Party Talks, there is little chance that the North is 
denuclearized.  Even if the North rejoins the Six-Party Talks, it 
does not necessarily mean the resolution of the North Korean nuclear 
issue, that is, the complete denuclearization of the North.  This is 
because, even if the North returns to the talks and reaches an 
agreement, it will slice up bargaining trade-offs into thin slices 
to gain as many concessions as possible and postpone taking an 
important step.  Breaking this vicious cycle of 
"crisis-negotiation-agreement-abrogation" is the goal of the "grand 
bargain" or "comprehensive package," which is pursued by the ROK and 
the U.S. 
 
What the Six-Party nations, excluding the North, can do at this 
moment is to devise a joint strategy for resolving the North Korean 
nuclear issue and to closely cooperate to implement it under the 
basic principle of a nuclear-free North. 
 
 
ROK'S RETRIEVAL OF WARTIME OPERATIONAL CONTROL FROM U.S. IS FOOLISH 
 
(JoongAng Ilbo, October 13, 2009, page 47: Excerpts) 
 
By Senior journalist Moon Chang-geuk 
 
The Roh Moo-hyun Administration underscored "self-reliance."  This 
position meant dismantling the alliance between the ROK and the U.S. 
with the goal of retrieving wartime operational control from the 
U.S.  Few Koreans will voice opposition to self-reliant defense.  It 
is so natural for us to defend our territory with our own power. 
The question is whether the ROK has such a capability. 
 
Presidents of the ROK and the U.S. hold the position as 
commanders-in-chief (of their nation's armed forces.) However, in 
the U.S., many professional military officers state their personal 
opinions (even if they oppose the President.)  Examples include 
Supreme Commander MacArthur who stepped down due to conflicts with 
President Truman during the Korean War, other generals who withdrew 
from their duties due to their opposition to the U.S. government's 
Iraq operation, and recently Commander General McChrystal who openly 
objected to President Obama's Afghan policy.  Armed forces 
professionals should shoulder the responsibility to protect the 
security of their country.  Did the ROK defense minister and 
military leaders live up to their professional obligations when they 
signed on to an agreement to dismantle the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces 
Command despite their awareness that the ROK will not be fully 
prepared to transfer wartime operational control until April 2012? 
 
 
Let's assume that the wartime operational control has been 
transferred to the ROK.  How will the ROK respond to any attack by a 
nuclear-armed North Korea?  The ROKG realized that, based on the 
2007 simulation results conducted by the National Emergency Planning 
Commission, a nuclear bomb attack could cause 500,000 to a million 
casualties in Seoul.  Despite this knowledge, did the ROK think that 
it could achieve self-defense only by taking over wartime control? 
We will end up being a permanent hostage to North Korea.  We should 
keep our eyes more wide-open.  Look at China, which grew as the 
world's second largest military power. We should ask ourselves 
whether this small country neighboring China could protect itself 
only by calling for self-defense.  Why are we so impatient to 
destroy the established walls of security?  We should "hold onto" 
the U.S. until at least the North Korean nuclear issue is resolved 
and, from the long perspective, collective security takes hold so 
that Northeast Asian  countries can trust one another.  We should 
not stick to the goal of misplaced self-reliance any longer.  The 
ROK should enter into renegotiations (with the U.S.) over the 
transfer of wartime control. 
 
 
SEOUL 00001618  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
OBAMA WINS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 
(Dong-a Ilbo, October 12, 2009, page 35) 
 
The world showed mixed reactions to U.S. President Barack Obama' 
designation as this year's Nobel peace laureate.  Critics say that 
he is not fully qualified to win the prize because he has been in 
office less than nine months and his visions assessed by the 
Norwegian Nobel Committee have not yet been accomplished.  The 
Norwegian Nobel Committee's extraordinary decision may have meant 
that President Obama and the U.S. should understand the dignity and 
significance of Nobel Peace Prize and devote more efforts to world 
peace. 
 
Announcing the award, the Nobel Committee said that President Obama 
gave the world "hope for a better future."  Elected the first black 
president in U.S. history, he sent a strong message to the world to 
ease racial and religious conflicts.  His visions, including "a 
nuclear free world," are gaining momentum as a global task.  In 
response to the Committee's decision, Obama rightly said that he 
"would accept it as a "call to action" to work with other nations to 
solve the problems of the 21st century." 
 
President Obama redefined the way the U.S. deals with international 
issues in a new manner even though he has not yielded tangible 
results in a short time.  Unlike his predecessors, Obama is gaining 
high support for trying to jointly tackle issues with countries 
concerned through dialogue and cooperation, without resorting to 
unilateralism. 
 
The Norwegian Nobel Committee also said, "Obama has as President 
created a new climate in international politics.  Multilateral 
diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role 
that the United Nations and other international institutions can 
play.  Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for 
resolving even the most difficult international conflicts." 
President Obama and the U.S. should make more efforts to promote 
this model for resolving international issues. 
 
President Obama decided to close down the controversial Guantnamo 
Bay prison and returned to the process of concluding a climate 
change treaty, from which former President George W. Bush withdrew. 
This course of action is appropriate in light of universal values of 
humanity, regardless of controversy in the U.S. over President 
Obama's Nobel Peace prize.  He has consistently sent North Korea and 
Iran a message that their nuclear weapons will not be tolerated. 
North Korea should bear in mind the fact that the Nobel Committee 
thought highly of President Obama's vision for a 
nuclear-weapons-free world. 
 
President Obama's visions noted by the Nobel Committee cannot be 
easily accomplished.  In order to reduce arms in the world and to 
make the world nuclear-free, President Obama should sign a follow-on 
agreement to START-1 with Russia and get North Korea and Iran to 
dismantle their nuclear programs.  These definitely are not simple 
tasks.  The world is expecting bold challenges from President Obama. 
 
 
 
STEPHENS