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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SEOUL 001768 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; November 5, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Top Headlines 
 
Chosun Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo, Segye Ilbo, 
Seoul Shinmun, All TVs 
Alternative Plan for Sejong City to be Presented by January 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
Goals to Revise Sejong City Plan Suggested 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
Possibility of One-Year Delay in Implementing ROK-India Trade Deal 
if National Assembly Fails to Ratify It Next Week 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
President Lee Scraps Original Sejong City Plan to Relocate 
Government Offices to Chungcheong Province 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
President Lee Myung-bak, during a Nov. 4 speech in Seoul, said that 
inter-Korean economic cooperation will be expanded if North Korea 
gives up its nuclear ambitions. (Chosun, JoongAng, Dong-a, Segye, 
Seoul) 
 
According to a local civic group official, North Korea is asking ROK 
civic organizations to provide emergency food aid to the country. 
The North, meanwhile, has yet to respond to the ROKG's offer of 
10,000 tons of corn in aid. (Dong-a) 
 
 
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 
------------------ 
 
According to a source in Washington, the U.S. and North Korea 
reached a 60-70 percent agreement on holding bilateral talks during 
recent contacts between Sung Kim, Special Envoy for the Six-Party 
Talks, and Ri Gun, the North's No. 2 nuclear negotiator. (JoongAng) 
 
According to multiple diplomatic sources, representatives of the 
U.S. think tank, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), will visit 
North Korea this month to explore possibilities for a breakthrough 
in U.S.-North Korea relations. (JoongAng) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
-N. Korea 
--------- 
Right-of-center JoonAng Ilbo carried an inside-page report quoting a 
source in Washington as saying on Nov. 3 that the U.S. and North 
Korea reached a 60-70 percent agreement on holding bilateral talks 
during recent contacts between Sung Kim, Special Envoy for the 
Six-Party Talks, and Ri Gun, the North's No. 2 nuclear negotiator. 
 
In a separate report, JoongAng also quoted multiple diplomatic 
sources as saying yesterday that representatives of the U.S. think 
tank, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), will visit North Korea 
this month to explore possibilities for a breakthrough in U.S. - 
North Korea relations.  The report went on to quote an ROKG source 
as commenting: "This visit, coming at a critical juncture in U.S. - 
North Korea ties, is expected to have a significant impact on the 
direction of U.S. - North Korea dialogue, including a visit to 
Pyongyang by Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen 
Bosworth." 
 
Conservative Dong-a Ilbo wrote in the headline: "Reprocessing of 
Spent Fuel Rods vs. Delayed Decision on Bosworth's Trip to N. Korea; 
 
SEOUL 00001768  002 OF 004 
 
 
¶N. Korea, U.S. Engage in War of Nerves."  Moderate Hankook Ilbo 
editorialized: "The problem is that if this exhaustive tug-of-war 
(between the U.S. and North Korea) is prolonged, the hard-won 
momentum for dialogue to resume the Six-Party Talks may disappear. 
... North Korea needs to consider the position of the Obama 
Administration which faces pressure from hardliners in the U.S.  ... 
 The ROKG should seek ways to facilitate a resumption of the 
Six-Party Talks through inter-Korean relations." 
 
Most ROK media covered yesterday's remarks by President Lee 
Myung-bak, in which he urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to give 
up his nuclear ambitions, saying: "If Kim Jong-il drags out 
negotiations, President Barack Obama will leave office, the ROK and 
Chinese presidents will change.  Then he has to start (the 
negotiations) all over again.  We can't be in negotiations 
forever." 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
-------------------- 
 
MOVES FOR U.S. - N. KOREA DIRECT TALKS CONFUSING 
(Hankook Ilbo, November 5, 2009, page 39) 
 
The U.S. and North Korea are making confusing moves towards 
bilateral talks to restart the Six-Party Talks.  North Korea's 
official Korean Central News Agency said on November 3 that North 
Korea successfully completed reprocessing 8,000 spent fuel rods in 
late August and made remarkable achievements in weaponizing the 
extracted plutonium.  The North issued this statement apparently to 
put pressure on the U.S. as soon as Ri Gun, Director General of 
American Affairs at North Korea's Foreign Ministry wrapped up his 
tour of the U.S. to discuss the prospect of U.S.-North Korea 
bilateral talks.  Just a day earlier, Pyongyang said that if the 
U.S. is not ready to sit down face to face, North Korea will go its 
own way. 
 
This North Korean attitude contrasts with the U.S. State 
Department's positive assessment of U.S.-North Korea contact.  A 
U.S. foreign affairs magazine also carried a positive report that 
North Korea agreed to hold two rounds of bilateral talks with the 
U.S. before rejoining the Six-Party Talks when Ri Gun and Sung Kim, 
Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks met in New York.  But it seems 
that they could not iron out differences on some key issues, drawing 
ire from North Korea. 
 
However, this maneuver by North Korea will unlikely cast a gloom 
over ongoing U.S. efforts to hold bilateral talks with the North and 
resume the Six-Party Talks.  (However,) North Korea's claim on the 
reprocessing of spent fuel rods and weaponization of extracted 
plutonium is likely to have limited repercussions because the North 
already made the same statement in a letter it sent to the UN 
Security Council in September.  This is why the U.S. and the ROK are 
responding cautiously, while criticizing the North for violating 
UNSC Resolutions 1718 and 1874.  It seems that North Korea's 
hard-line behavior is a strategic decision aimed at gaining the 
upper hand in negotiations. 
 
The problem is that if this exhaustive tug-of-war (between the U.S. 
and North Korea) is prolonged, the hard-won momentum for dialogue to 
resume the Six-Party Talks may disappear.  The U.S. wants to enter 
into bilateral talks after receiving firm assurances from the North 
that it will rejoin the Six-Party Talks and give up its nuclear 
program.  However, if North Korea responds by playing the "nuclear 
card" such as by increasing uranium enrichment, it will make things 
worse.  North Korea needs to consider the position of the Obama 
Administration which faces pressure from hardliners in the U.S. 
Even if the ROKG has little to do amid the tug-of-war between the 
U.S. and North Korea, it should not just sit on its hands.  The ROKG 
should seek ways to facilitate a resumption of the Six-Party Talks 
through inter-Korean relations. 
 
 
FEATURES 
 
SEOUL 00001768  003 OF 004 
 
 
-------- 
 
WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF CALLS FOR CAUTIOUS APPROACH TO KORUS FTA 
 
(JoongAng Ilbo, November 5, 2009, page 14) 
 
By Washington correspondent Kim Jeong-wook 
 
The Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) issue has been 
discussed for the first time at a White House Cabinet-level meeting 
since the inauguration of the Obama Administration.  With senior 
advisors, secretaries and deputy secretaries participating in the 
meeting, which took place at the end of last month, the U.S. State 
of Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) 
argued that (the USG) should actively move towards ratification of 
the KORUS FTA.  However, a diplomatic source in Washington said on 
November 4 (local time) that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel 
called for a cautious approach to the KORUS FTA, putting a brake on 
the progress of the trade pact. 
 
The source said that, ahead of President Obama's visit to the ROK, 
the KORUS FTA was discussed as a main topic at the Cabinet-level 
meeting, adding that this was the first Cabinet-level meeting that 
has dealt with the issue since President Obama took office.  The 
source quoted the State Department and the USTR as saying that the 
USG should take (positive) action towards ratification of the KORUS 
FTA.  According to the source, however, Emanuel, who was absent from 
the meeting, conveyed a message through his aide that the USG should 
be cautious (in moving forward) with the KORUS FTA and, therefore, 
no conclusion was reached in the meeting.  The ROK Embassy in the 
U.S. reported (on the outcome of the meeting) to the Blue House and 
the ROK Foreign Ministry. 
 
The fact that the KORUS FTA was discussed for the first time at the 
Cabinet-level meeting carries great significance in two respects. 
First, this shows that the Obama Administration has begun to 
coordinate the issue (of ratifying the KORUS FTA) at all government 
levels while recognizing the importance of the trade deal.  The 
KORUS FTA had been put on the back burner due to health care reform 
and other issues.  However, it seems that the USG is attaching a new 
importance to this issue.  The Cabinet-level meeting is the second 
highest ranking meetings among the four types of meetings inside the 
White House.  It ranks right below the top-level meeting attended by 
the President and discusses only selected important items. 
Therefore, a diplomatic source said, "The ROK-U.S. FTA, which was as 
good as dead, seems to be reviving." 
 
The (decision to actively discuss the trade agreement)  appears to 
have been affected by the upcoming ROK-U.S. summit on November 19, 
when President Lee Myung-bak is expected to raise the prompt 
approval of the KORUS FTA with President Obama.  An official at the 
ROK Embassy in Washington said, "The Obama Administration or the 
Congress will likely lose the momentum to address the KORUS FTA 
starting next summer, when campaigns for the U.S. mid-term elections 
in November will be in full swing," adding, "The top priority is to 
place the KORUS FTA among Washington's priority issues late this 
year or early next year, when the (debate) about the healthcare 
reform bill is wrapped up." 
 
It is also noteworthy that we have learned about the stumbling block 
inside the Obama Administration.  Observers say that unless Emmanuel 
and the (members of) Congress who are passive about the KORUS FTA 
change their stances, the situation will not get better.  Emmanuel 
reportedly supports a multilateral cooperation regime rather than a 
bilateral agreement, such as the ROK-U.S. FTA.  Emanuel, who was 
elected to Congress representing Chicago in 2002 and forged a 
relationship with then-Senator Obama of the same state, is a 
hard-line politician befitting his nickname "Rambo." There is a 
famous anecdote about him.  Early this year, when a Congressman made 
a phone call to him, he said, "I am too busy to talk," and passed 
the call to President Obama, who was with him.  Emmanuel is 
considered to be the most powerful White House Chief of Staff in 
history. 
 
 
SEOUL 00001768  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶N. KOREA, U.S. ENGAGE IN WAR OF NERVES 
(Dong-a Ilbo, November 5, 2009, Page 5) 
 
By Reporter Kim Young-sik 
 
Reprocessing of Spent Fuel Rods vs. Delayed Decision on Bosworth's 
Trip to N. Korea 
 
The U.S. and North Korea are engaging in a tense war of nerves over 
U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen 
Bosworth's visit to Pyongyang.  Despite the (seemingly improved) 
atmosphere for dialogue between the North and the U.S., the North is 
bragging about progress in its nuclear development, and the U.S. is 
delaying a decision on Bosworth's visit to the North. 
 
Most observers say that the conditions now seem to be ripe for 
Bosworth's visit.  An ROKG official said, "So far, the U.S. has 
taken the position that U.S.-North Korea contact is only possible 
when Bosworth is able to meet with North Korea's First Vice Foreign 
Minister Kang Sok-ju or a higher-level official."  On this matter, 
Foreign Policy (magazine) reported on November 3, "The second 
condition put forth by the U.S. was that Ambassador Stephen 
Bosworth, who has been invited repeatedly to Pyongyang, would be 
able to meet with Kang Sok-ju, North Korea's First Vice Foreign 
Minister.  According to the official, the North Koreans also had no 
problem with that."  This means that a primary hurdle has been 
cleared. 
 
The problem is, however, that the USG is concerned about the 
possibility that demonstrable progress will not be made during 
Bosworth's visit.  A diplomatic source explained, "Some officials in 
the Obama Administration are concerned that if a contact with the 
North does not produce results, some conservatives may use it to 
launch a counterattack."  Due to the possibility that Bosworth's 
meeting with North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kang may not 
lead to Pyongyang returning to the Six-Party Talks, the U.S. is not 
able to make a decision on Bosworth's visit. 
 
For the North, since North Korean leader Kim Jong-il already said 
that he would consider rejoining the multilateral talks, depending 
on the outcome of the U.S.-North Korea bilateral talks, 
working-level negotiators find it difficult to change their position 
(regarding the visit.)  The November 2 statement by a North Korean 
Foreign Ministry spokesman - "If the U.S. is not ready to sit down 
face to face with us, we will go our own way" - also seems to be 
designed to urge the U.S. to change its stance. 
 
At present, it is not easy to foresee how the war of nerves between 
the two nations will pan out.  A high-ranking ROKG official noted on 
November 4, "At the moment, the North is focused on a meeting and 
dialogue with the U.S. while the U.S. is expecting to get some 
results (the North's return to the Six-Party Talks) from a meeting 
with the North."  In other words, there is no common ground yet. 
 
Meanwhile, regarding Pyongyang's claim that it has reprocessed 8,000 
spent fuel rods, State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly urged the 
North to refrain from further provocations, saying, "I think 
everybody should be careful and ratchet down the rhetoric and not 
take any actions that would contribute to tension in the region." 
 
 
STEPHENS