VZCZCXRO6647
OO RUEHGH
DE RUEHUL #1676/01 2950606
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 220606Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5998
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 9303
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC//DDI/OEA//
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI//FPA//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DB-Z//
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0425
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 6814
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 6881
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 1403
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 5192
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 4147
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 7357
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1645
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2955
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 2034
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 2641

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SEOUL 001676 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; October 22, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Although ROKG Denies Negotiating Inter-Korean Summit with N. Korea, 
Something Seems to be Afoot between Two Koreas 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
94 Percent of Principals Surveyed Willing to Receive Evaluations 
from Teachers and Parents 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
Two Family Members of an ROK Prisoner of War, 
who had been under Protection of ROK Consul General in Shenyang, 
China, after Fleeing 
¶N. Korea, Forcibly Repatriated to the North 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
86 Percent of Lawmakers 
on National Assembly's Education and Science Committee Favor 
Abolishing Foreign Language High Schools 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Land Ministry Seeks to Shift Part of Costs of Four-River Restoration 
Project onto Local Governments 
 
Segye Ilbo 
List of Hospitals Performing Illegal Abortions to be Released 
 
Seoul Shinmun 
ROKG "Reluctant" to Disclose Details of 
Next Year's Budget Plan 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Seoul yesterday for 
the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) today with his ROK 
counterpart. (All) The two countries are expected to put in writing 
measures to defend the ROK under the concept of "extended 
deterrence." (Chosun, Dong-a, Hankook, Segye, Seoul) 
 
The Defense Secretary said during a meeting with U.S. and ROK 
service members: "Korea's international military contributions 
should be seen as what they are - something that is done to benefit 
your own security and vital interests." (All) 
 
There are signs that something is going on between the two Koreas, 
although ROKG officials say that there is no need to rush an 
inter-Korean summit. First of all, the ROKG has formed a task force 
to deal with inter-Korean relations and to prepare for an 
inter-Korean summit. Second, when Kim Yang-gon, Director of the 
United Front Department at the North's Workers' Party, recently 
visited China, Won Dong-yon, an expert on the ROK, accompanied him. 
Third, Seoul plans to provide North Korea with optical cables and 
other equipment worth 900 million won to modernize an inter-Korean 
military communication line. (Chosun) 
 
 
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 
------------------ 
 
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in an Oct. 21speech at the U.S. 
Institute of Peace, said that the U.S. will not lift sanctions on 
North Korea nor normalize ties unless the North takes irreversible 
steps toward denuclearization. (Dong-a, all TVs) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
 
SEOUL 00001676  002 OF 004 
 
 
-N. Korea 
--------- 
Conservative Dong-a Ilbo and all TV networks gave attention to 
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Oct. 21 speech at the U.S. 
Institute of Peace, in which she said that the U.S. will not lift 
sanctions on North Korea nor normalize ties unless the North takes 
irreversible steps toward denuclearization. 
 
U.S. Defense Secretary Gates' Visit to Seoul 
All ROK media covered Defense Secretary Robert Gates' arrival in 
Seoul yesterday for the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) 
today with his ROK counterpart.  According to media reports, the two 
countries are expected to put in writing measures to defend the ROK 
under the concept of "extended deterrence, " which uses the full 
range of American military might - from the nuclear umbrella to 
conventional strike and missile defense capabilities. 
 
Most coverage highlighted the Defense Secretary's remarks during a 
meeting with U.S. and ROK service members, in which he said: 
"Korea's international military contributions should be seen as what 
they are - something that is done to benefit your own security and 
vital interests."  Most media viewed this remark as intended for the 
ROK's deployment of troops to Afghanistan.  Right-of-center JoongAng 
Ilbo wrote in the headline: "Gates Did Not Raise Afghan Issue, but 
Tone of His Speech was Indirect but Strong; Isn't It a Roundabout 
Way of Requesting Troop Dispatch?" 
 
 
FEATURES 
-------- 
 
GATES DID NOT RAISE AFGHAN ISSUE, BUT TONE OF HIS SPEECH WAS 
INDIRECT BUT STRONG; ISN'T IT A ROUNDABOUT WAY OF REQUESTING TROOP 
DISPATCH?" 
(JoongAng Ilbo, October 22, 2009, Page 3) 
 
By Military Affairs Reporter Kim Min-seok 
 
A close look at U.S. Defense Secretary Gates' speech at Yongsan 
Military Base 
 
Indirect but strong tone... He emphasized the role of ROK troops, 
rather than boosting the morale of U.S. servicemen. 
 
It was unprecedented.  The speech that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert 
Gates gave to U.S. servicemen at Yongsan military base on October 21 
was starkly different from his previous ones.  His speech was not 
designed to cheer up U.S. soldiers, who are serving in a country far 
away from their hometowns.  It was mainly about a call for the 
expansion of the role of the ROK military. 
 
Secretary Gates did not directly mention the ROK's troop dispatch to 
Afghanistan.  He used indirect but strong words.  While talking 
about (Seoul's) troop deployments to Iraq and Vietnam, he said that 
the ROK's international military contributions are beneficial to the 
country's security and vital interests.  In other words, Seoul's 
military contributions are not for the sake of the U.S. or the 
ROK-U.S. alliance but for the ROK's global stature.  He seemed to 
stress that in order to achieve the Lee Myung-bak Administration's 
"Global Korea" plan, the ROK should make a voluntary contribution to 
the international community. 
 
Judging from his language, Secretary Gates appeared to be mindful of 
a previous discord over the ROK's troop dispatch to Iraq.  In 2003, 
the U.S. requested the ROK to send troops to Iraq, but it was not 
until two years later that the ROK was able to deploy the Zaytun 
Unit to the region.  At that time, the argument that the ROK's troop 
dispatch would contribute to the ROK-U.S. alliance backfired in the 
ROK.  It stirred up a lot of controversy. 
 
It is also notable that he mentioned the role of ROK troops at a 
regional and global level.  He said, "The recent announcement of a 
new, specialized peacekeeping unit in the ROK military is especially 
welcome."  Secretary Gates went on to say that future ROK forces 
 
SEOUL 00001676  003 OF 004 
 
 
"will be not just more capable of defending the Korean Peninsula, 
but be a contributor to regional and global security as well."  In 
an unusual remark, he also stressed that ROK political leaders 
should make an investment in defense. 
 
Secretary Gates pledged to provide extended deterrence against North 
Korea's nuclear threat.  Gates said that North Korea is pursuing 
nuclear weapons while engaging in proliferation of nuclear 
technology and ballistic missiles.  He added that the peril posed by 
North Korea has become destabilizing not only to the Korean 
Peninsula but also to the Pacific Rim and the world.  The defense 
secretary noted that the U.S. is committed to deter the North's 
threat through the nuclear umbrella, and conventional strike and 
missile defense capabilities. 
 
Secretary Gates hinted that the transfer of the wartime operational 
control of ROK troops from Washington to Seoul will take place as 
planned in 2012.  He said that the plan is "the culmination of a 
series of shifts toward greater responsibility," adding that "these 
shifts have reflected the evolution of the U.S. role - from 
protector of (the ROK) to the role of a full partner."  Gates noted 
that the U.S. and the ROK should cooperate in the future on security 
issues such as non-proliferation, ballistic missile defense and 
(Northeast Asia) regional security cooperation including Japan. 
 
 
2 KOREAS 'PREPARING FOR SUMMIT' 
(Chosun Ilbo, October 22, 2009, pages 1, 2: Excerpts) 
 
By Reporters Ahn Yong-hyun and Lim Min-hyuk 
 
A senior government source on Wednesday admitted that North Korea 
"now wants an inter-Korean summit."  But when asked about details, 
he added, "No comment." 
 
When an assistant U.S. defense secretary last week told reporters 
that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il invited President Lee Myung-bak 
to a summit, both Cheong Wa Dae and the White House denied it.  But 
something seems to be afoot. 
 
There is speculation about behind-the-scenes meetings between the 
two Koreas.  Kim Yang-gon, the director of the North Korean Workers 
Party's United Front Department, took Won Dong-yon, a ranking member 
of the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, along on a visit to China on 
Oct. 15-20, which was uncommon. 
 
Won was among working-level officials who drafted the declaration 
after the second inter-Korean summit in 2007.  He also drafted an 
agreement signed by the prime ministers of the two Koreas that year 
and has worked behind the scenes of major inter-Korean talks over 
the past 20 years. 
 
Prof. Kim Yong-hyun of Dongguk University said, "The fact that Kim 
Yang-gon, the North Korean official in charge of ROK affairs, was 
accompanied by Won suggests that Won was given some duties connected 
with inter-Korean relations." 
 
A government official familiar with inter-Korean affairs said a 
taskforce has been launched to deal with entire inter-Korean 
relations and prepare for an inter-Korean summit, apparently 
consisting of civilians as well as government officials.  Another 
source said the National Intelligence Service, the Unification 
Ministry and the Foreign Ministry are giving support to the 
taskforce. 
 
Yet government agencies including Cheong Wa Dae have unanimously 
denied rumors about behind-the-scenes inter-Korean meetings, or have 
said that no government officials have attended such meetings. 
 
Meanwhile, the government Wednesday said it will give materials and 
equipment worth W850 million (US$1=W1,179) to North Korea for the 
modernization of inter-Korean military communication cables, calling 
it "essential" for overland passage between the two Koreas. 
 
 
SEOUL 00001676  004 OF 004 
 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
STEPHENS