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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SEOUL 001637 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; October 16, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Ruling Camp Considers Two Scenarios for Sejong City Project: 
Scrapping Government Agency Relocation Plan Altogether 
or Relocating Only Five Government Agencies 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
AMD, the World's Second-Largest Non-Memory Chip Producer, Ready for 
Legal Battle against Microprocessor Leader Intel 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
ROKG to Establish Organization to Deal with Government Employees' 
Labor Unions 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
Ruling Party Seeks to Hold Constitutional Amendment Vote 
and Local Elections Simultaneously Next Year 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Suspicion Persists over Prosecution's Improper Investigation of 
Hyosung Group's Alleged Slush Funds 
 
Segye Ilbo 
Nation's Largest Umbrella Labor Group Pledges Fight 
against ROKG Labor Bills 
 
Seoul Shinmun 
Official Campaigning for Oct. 28 By-Elections Kicks Off 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
The ROK and the EU initialed their bilateral free trade agreement in 
Brussels yesterday. The ROK Foreign Ministry plans to have the trade 
pact signed early next year and put it into effect in July at the 
earliest. (All) 
 
Assistant USTR Wendy Cutler, in an Oct. 14 hearing of the House 
Foreign Affairs Committee, said that, "There has been overwhelming 
support for the KORUS FTA based on public comments, but I would also 
note that there are areas of concern over the auto sector." (Dong-a, 
Hankook, Segye, Seoul, KBS) 
 
According to (ruling GNP) sources, U.S. Ambassador to the ROK 
Kathleen Stephens told GNP lawmakers on Oct. 13 that patience is 
needed for the ratification of the KORUS FTA. (JoongAng) 
 
North Korea's Navy claimed yesterday that ROK combat boats intruded 
into its territorial waters 10 times last Monday alone. It warned of 
military action if such moves continued. (All) 
 
A senior ROKG official said yesterday that if a high-level dialogue 
takes place between the two Koreas, the North Korean nuclear issue 
should be on the agenda. (JoongAng) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
-N. Korea 
---------- 
All ROK media gave attention to North Korea's accusation yesterday 
that the ROK frequently violated its territorial waters.  The North 
Korean Navy was widely quoted as claiming: "Some 16 ROK combat boats 
intruded into our waters 10 times last Monday alone. ... We shall 
not sit idly by.  ROK military authorities should be clearly aware 
that warnings will be followed by action."  The ROK military was 
reported as dismissing the North's claim as "groundless." 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo, in an article titled "Another Threat Ahead 
of Talks," observed that this North Korean warning came only a day 
 
SEOUL 00001637  002 OF 004 
 
 
after Pyongyang offered a perfunctory apology for the death of six 
ROK citizens in a flash flood caused by its sudden discharge of dam 
water.  The article quoted an ROK official as saying: "Even during 
the current dialogue stage, the North is taking both soft and hard 
measures, apparently to make it look as if it's no pushover." 
Another ROKG official was also quoted: "The mixed messages could be 
indications of a tug of war between moderates and hardliners in the 
North." 
 
In commentary regarding a "grand bargain" on North Korea's nuclear 
issue proposed by President Lee Myung-bak, right-of-center JoongAng 
Ilbo opined: "Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama described President 
Lee's proposal as a 'comprehensive' approach to resolve not only the 
North's nuclear and missile issues but also the Japanese abduction 
problem.  ... President Lee's argument-that the 'grand bargain' is 
aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions, not 
bringing North Korea back to the Six-Party Talks-is also quite 
different from China's position of attaching great importance to the 
resumption of the Six-Party Talks. ...  North Korea has dismissed 
the grand bargain proposal as a wild dream, and the U.S. is taking 
an ambiguous attitude.  In order to make the grand bargain proposal 
viable, the ROK should present a 'second grand bargain' by modifying 
its initial proposal calling for the North to abandon its nuclear 
program before receiving economic aid and security guarantees. 
Under the second grand bargain, rewords should be provided to North 
Korea at the same time as the North's nuclear abandonment. " 
 
Japan to End Refueling Mission in Indian Ocean 
Conservative Chosun and moderate Hankook Ilbo carried front- and 
inside-page reports on Japan's formal notification to the U.S. that 
it will end a naval refueling mission backing U.S.-led operations in 
Afghanistan.  Chosun Ilbo, in particular, noted that this Japanese 
move comes in the run-up to the upcoming visits to Tokyo by Defense 
Secretary Robert Gates (Oct. 20-21) and President Barack Obama (Nov. 
12-13).  Chosun wrote in the headline: "Is the New Democratic Party 
of Japan Administration Embarking on Efforts for 'More Equal' 
Relations with the U.S.?" 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
------------------- 
 
ROK, CHINA AND JAPAN ON 'GRAND BARGAIN' WITH N. KOREA: SAME BED, 
DIFFERENT DREAMS 
(JoongAng Ilbo, October 16, 2009, page 47: Excerpts) 
 
By Senior journalist Kim Young-hie 
 
In the trilateral summit involving the ROK, China and Japan, 
President Lee Myung-bak's grand bargain proposal was not heavily 
discussed.  Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao seemed to put more emphasis 
on the talks he had with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (than on 
the summit.)  Wen repeatedly stressed Kim's message that North Korea 
intends to improve relations with the ROK, the U.S. and Japan.  He 
even warned that if relevant countries lose the opportunity for 
better ties with North Korea, such an opportunity may not come 
again.  Chinese Premier Wen said that the countries involved should 
understand that they may have to pour much more energy (into making 
progress on the North Korean issue) if they lose the opportunity 
this time around.  These remarks sound like an ultimatum rather than 
a mere delivery of Kim's message. 
 
In a joint statement wrapping up the summit and during a press 
conference by leaders from the three countries, Premier Wen did not 
mention the grand bargain, let alone show his support for it. 
During the joint press conference, Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama 
described President Lee's proposal as a "comprehensive" approach to 
resolve not only the North's nuclear and missile issues but also the 
Japanese abduction problem.    Hatoyama fell short of fully 
supporting the grand bargain, however.  As expected, Hatoyama added 
a dish of the Japanese abduction issue to the nuclear negotiating 
table.  He also focused a great deal on North Korean ballistic 
missiles, which pose a direct threat to Japan.  We want to ask the 
Blue House whether the grand bargain really includes the Japanese 
 
SEOUL 00001637  003 OF 004 
 
 
abduction issue.  President Lee's argument-that the "grand bargain" 
is aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions, 
not bringing North Korea back to the Six-Party Talks-is also quite 
different from China's position of attaching great importance to the 
resumption of the Six-Party Talks. 
 
What the three leaders only agreed upon was that they will seek to 
denuclearize the Korean Peninsula peacefully through dialogue and 
negotiation.  Few would object to resolving the North Korean nuclear 
issue peacefully.  However, there is a big loophole in the three 
leaders' agreement.  The agreement calls for denuclearizing the 
Korean Peninsula peacefully through dialogue, not denuclearizing 
just North Korea.  Doesn't this mean that the North  intends to 
change the current North Korean nuclear negotiation to nuclear 
disarmament talks that would include denuclearization of the entire 
Korean Peninsula and specifically (the withdrawal of) the U.S. 
nuclear umbrella?  This move is based on the alarming premise that a 
nuclear North Korea is an established fact. 
 
North Korea has dismissed the grand bargain proposal as a wild 
dream, and the U.S. is taking an ambiguous attitude.  In order to 
make the grand bargain proposal viable, the ROK should present a 
"second grand bargain" by modifying its initial proposal calling for 
the North to abandon its nuclear program before receiving economic 
aid and security guarantees.  Under the second grand bargain, 
rewords should be provided to North Korea at the same time as the 
North's nuclear abandonment. The ROK also needs to make its position 
clear regarding how to pursue the nuclear negotiation while seeking 
to better inter-Korean relations. 
 
 
EARLY RATIFICATION OF KORUS FTA AS WELL AS ROK-EU FTA IS IMPORTANT 
(Dong-a Ilbo, October 16, 2009, Page 35; Excerpts) 
 
Even if a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is signed, it is meaningless 
without legislative approval.  The ROK-U.S. FTA was signed in June 
2007, but it has not been ratified by either legislature.  Rep. 
Edward Royce, a pro-ROK Republican, recently criticized Congress, 
saying that failure to ratify the KORUS FTA "is a huge slight to our 
ally, to South Korea, not to mention a missed economic opportunity" 
for U.S. businesses.  We hope that the Barack Obama Administration 
and the U.S. Congress will be more active in the ratification of the 
FTA, which will contribute to trade and friendship between the ROK 
and the U.S.  The ROK National Assembly should also speed up efforts 
to approve the KORUS FTA, which managed to go through the National 
Assembly Committee on Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Unification but is 
still pending at the National Assembly due to objection by some 
opposition parties. 
 
 
FEATURES 
--------- 
 
U.S. AMBASSADOR: "PATIENCE IS NEEDED FOR KORUS FTA" 
(JoongAng Ilbo, October 16, 2009, Page 10) 
 
By Reporter Koh Jung-ae 
 
"Hints in the future Trade Policy Review (TPR) are important." 
 
U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens reportedly made a 
statement regarding the prospects of the U.S. Congress ratifying the 
ROK-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during an October 13 meeting 
with ruling Grand National Party (GNP) lawmakers, including Rep. 
Chung Mong-joon. 
 
According to several officials, Ambassador Stephens made the 
statement in response to one attendant's remarks that "State 
Department officials have said that if the TPR includes expressions 
such as 'FTAs are frozen at the existing level' or 'more focus is 
placed on multilateral negotiations like the World Trade 
Organization (WTO),' it will become virtually difficult for the U.S. 
Congress to ratify the KORUS FTA."  Ambassador Stephens reportedly 
noted, "It is not time yet for ratification.  We should have 
 
SEOUL 00001637  004 OF 004 
 
 
patience."  The TPR, a report on the direction the Obama 
Administration will take in regard to trade policy, had been set to 
come out in early November but its release is being delayed.  GNP 
Rep. Hong Jung-wook, who met with U.S. officials during his recent 
visit to the U.S., also commented, "I got the feeling that the fate 
of the KORUS FTA will be based on what is in the TPR.  Most U.S. 
officials say that they are 'hopeful but skeptical' or 'despite 
difficulties, (we should) not give up.'" 
 
 
STEPHENS