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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SEOUL 001910 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; December 4, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook Allegedly Received Tens of 
Thousands of Dollars from 
Former Korea Express President 
 
JoongAng Ilbo, Dong-a Ilbo, Hankyoreh Shinmun, 
Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun 
Rail Workers Call Off Strike After Eight Days, Burdened 
by Strong ROKG Response and Deteriorating Public Opinion 
 
Hankook Ilbo, All TVs 
ROKG, Ruling Party and Representatives of Labor and Management Near 
Agreement on Labor Union Rules 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
----------------------- 
 
U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens, in a Dec. 3 forum 
organized by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said that 
Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth's 
trip to Pyongyang is aimed at resuming the Six-Party Talks. 
(JoongAng, all TVs) 
 
According to a Defense Ministry source, on Dec. 2, shortly before 
President Barack Obama's announcement on troop escalation in 
Afghanistan, the USG informed the ROKG that there will be no 
deployment of USFK troops to Afghanistan. (JoongAng, Dong-a, 
Hankook, Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun, KBS, MBC) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
-N. Korea 
--------- 
Conservative Dong-a Ilbo carried an inside-page article on U.S. 
Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth's 
Dec. 8 trip to North Korea.  It argued that the key (to the success 
of Ambassador Bosworth's visit) is whether North Korea will return 
to the Six-Party Talks and that there will be a long way to go 
before the Six-Party Talks get back on track.  The article also 
conjectured that if North Korea presents conditions for returning to 
the Six-Party Talks, the U.S. may seek bilateral talks with North 
Korea and the Six-Party Talks at the same time.  Dong-a wrote in the 
headline: "N. Korea: 'Peace Treaty Is the Issue of Greatest Concern' 
vs. U.S.: 'Denuclearization First'" 
 
In a related development, right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo and all TV 
networks quoted U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens as 
saying in a Dec. 3 forum organized by the Korea Institute for 
Defense Analyses that Ambassador Bosworth's trip to Pyongyang is 
aimed at resuming the Six-Party Talks. 
 
-U.S. Afghanistan Strategy 
-------------------------- 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo and moderate Hankook Ilbo carried 
reports noting that the day after President Obama unveiled his plan 
to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan in July 2011, top 
U.S. administration officials told Congress that any timetable for a 
troop pullout is still flexible.  Hankook Ilbo's headline read: 
"Faced with Fire from Congress, Obama's Afghan Strategy Becomes 
'Shaky' Just One Day after Its Announcement" 
 
 
FEATURES 
-------- 
 
 
SEOUL 00001910  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶N. KOREA: 'PEACE TREATY IS THE ISSUE OF GREATEST CONCERN' VS. U.S.: 
'DENUCLEARIZATION FIRST' 
(Dong-a Ilbo, December 4, Page 10: Excerpts) 
 
By Reporter Kim Young-shik 
 
Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth will 
visit North Korea on December 8 following his stop in the ROK on 
December 6. 
 
Will Bosworth's visit be a starting point for "grand bargain" 
negotiations? 
 
The moment North Korea pledges to return to the Six-Party Talks will 
mark a starting point for "grand bargain" negotiations.  However, 
there will be a long way to go before the Six-Party Talks get back 
on track.  An ROKG official emphasized that a resumption of the 
Six-Party Talks does not mean a resolution of the North Korean 
nuclear issue. 
 
To make the "grand bargain" negotiations successful, it is necessary 
that North Korea dismantle its core nuclear programs.  The ROK and 
the U.S. maintain their position that they will continue to pursue a 
two-track approach of dialogue and sanctions until the North takes 
substantial steps toward nuclear dismantlement.  However, North 
Korea has not changed its attitude. 
 
Will the U.S. negotiate with the North? 
 
One of the greatest concerns is whether Ambassador Bosworth will 
negotiate with North Korea during his three day visit to Pyongyang. 
Leon Segal at the Social Science Research Council said that it is 
unlikely that the U.S. will be able to persuade North Korea to 
return to the Six-Party Talks without negotiating with the North. 
In particular, the U.S. will be in a difficult position if North 
Korea demands bilateral negotiations with the U.S. as preconditions 
for rejoining the Six-Party Talks. 
 
In fact, the U.S. has not been consistent in its position.  During 
the G20 summit in London in April, President Obama made sure that 
the U.S. has no interest in holding direct talks with the North. 
However, the U.S. said later that U.S.-North Korea bilateral talks 
will take place within the (framework of the) Six-Party Talks. 
 
 North Korea is bent on signing a peace treaty (with the U.S.) 
 
The Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan, 
reported on December 2 that establishing a peace regime on the 
Korean Peninsula will top the agenda at North Korea-U.S. bilateral 
talks.  The peace treaty issue is expected to be hotly debated 
during Bosworth's trip to Pyongyang. 
 
North Korea has been saying that its nuclear development resulted 
from the U.S.'s antagonistic North Korea policy.  The North claims 
that a peace treaty (with the U.S.) would allow U.S. forces in the 
ROK to be withdrawn, paving the way for the resolution of the North 
Korean nuclear issue.  Clearly, North Korea intends to trade 
denuclearization for a peace treaty. 
 
The ROK and the U.S. say that North Korea should take steps toward 
denuclearization first and that the peace treaty should be discussed 
between the ROK and North Korea.  U.S. Ambassador to the ROK 
Kathleen Stephens said on December 3, "I think we've always been 
clear that when we talk about a peace regime or a peace treaty or a 
peace agreement, the issue of the U.S.-ROK alliance is not on the 
table.  That is a lasting commitment we have." 
 
 
U.S. AMBASSADOR STEPHENS: "THE PURPOSE OF AMBASSADOR BOSWORTH'S 
VISIT TO PYONGYANG IS TO FACILITATE THE EARLY RESUMPTION OF THE 
SIX-PARTY TALKS" 
(JoongAng Ilbo, December 4, 2009, Page 12) 
 
By Reporters Ye Young-joon and Lee Young-jong 
 
SEOUL 00001910  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
Ambassador Stephens: "(The Six-Party process) is the best mechanism 
to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula." 
 
U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens said on December 3, 
"U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth 
will visit Pyongyang .... with the purpose of facilitating the early 
resumption of the Six-Party Talks and with the purpose of securing 
North Korea's reaffirmation of the September 2005 Joint Statement 
principles."  Ambassador Stephens made the statement during a 
defense forum hosted by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses 
(KIDA) at Hotel Shilla.  She added, "We continue to believe that the 
Six-Party process is the best mechanism to achieve these goals." 
 
Ambassador Stephens went on to say, "In the September 2005 Joint 
Statement principles, the commitment made by the parties is that 
with the verified dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program, 
the other parties would seek to establish a lasting peace agreement 
and normalize relations."  This remark appears to reaffirm U.S. 
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's November 19 statement that if 
North Korea recommits to denuclearization, "the U.S. would explore 
... normalization of relations, a peace treaty, and economic 
development assistance."  Ambassador Stephens also said, "I think 
we've always been clear that when we talk about a peace regime or a 
peace treaty or a peace agreement, the issue of the U.S.-ROK 
alliance is not on the table.  That is a lasting commitment we have. 
 That is not on the table." 
 
Prior to this, Scott Snyder, Director of the Asia Foundation's 
Center for U.S.-Korea Policy, said that North Korea puts the issue 
of replacing an armistice with a peace treaty front and center, and 
after Ambassador Bosworth's visit on December 8, it plans to decide 
whether to rejoin the multilateral talks. 
 
Snyder, who visited Pyongyang at the end of last month, stressed 
during his interview with Voice of America on December 3, "The 
feeling that I got in Pyongyang this time is that there is a wide 
difference of opinion between the U.S. and the North over the 
nuclear issue." 
 
 
 
STEPHENS