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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 SEOUL 001928 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; December 8, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Number of Students who Get Perfect Scores 
on College Entrance Math Test Increases Ninefold This Year 
 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
Senior ROKG Official: "It will be Difficult to Relocate Head Offices 
of Large Companies to Sejong City" 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
"Last Chance to Save the Planet"... Climate Conference 
Opens in Copenhagen 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
ROKG to Present Two Alternative Development Plans 
for Sejong City This Year 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Prosecutors Did Not Summon Former National Tax Service Chief Even 
After Securing Testimony that the Former NTS Chief Received Money 
from Local Shipping Company 
 
Segye Ilbo 
ROKG Seeks Electrification of 19 Railways Nationwide 
 
Seoul Shinmun, All TVs 
Annual College Entrance Exam Results Announced 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
The ROK and the U.S. will hold their first "two-plus-two" meeting 
attended by director-level foreign affairs and defense officials 
from the two countries in Washington early next week in order to 
prepare for next year's ministerial-level "two-plus-two" meeting. 
(Dong-a) 
 
 
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 
------------------ 
 
According to the Dec. 7 issue of Japan's Asahi Shimbun, the ROK, the 
U.S. and Japan have begun drawing up a roadmap for denuclearizing 
North Korea in preparation for the North's return to the Six-Party 
Talks. (Hankook, Segye, Seoul) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
-Ambassador Bosworth's Visit to North Korea 
------------------------------------------ 
Most media gave attention to U.S. Special Representative for North 
Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth's trip to North Korea today. 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo editorialized: "There is concern in the ROK 
that North Korea will not give up its nuclear ambitions and that the 
countries in the Six-Party Talks may move to bury the North's past 
nuclear activities and focus on preventing the North from 
proliferating its current and future nuclear weapons and 
technologies.  Giving tacit approval to the North's past nuclear 
activities or putting the issue on the back burner is like throwing 
the ROK's future into the North's nuclear shade.  ...  Ambassador 
Bosworth should clearly realize this ROK concern before engaging in 
talks with North Korea." 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo editorialized: "We once again urge 
North Korea to express its intention to Ambassador Bosworth to 
 
SEOUL 00001928  002 OF 005 
 
 
return to the Six-Party Talks.  The Six-Party Talks already have a 
venue to discuss the issue of signing a peace treaty (on the Korean 
Peninsula) as requested by North Korea.   Furthermore, the Six-Party 
Talks are prepared to offer North Korea massive economic aid and 
security assurances in return for its denuclearization.  ... If 
North Korea truly intends to abandon its nuclear ambitions, there is 
no better place than the Six-Party Talks from which it can receive 
massive benefits." 
 
Left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun argued in an editorial: "This 
(U.S.-North Korea) dialogue should not end up being a mere venue to 
deliver the U.S.'s position.  The main reason why the Six-Party 
Talks have repeatedly stalled is that the two countries have 
different demands and different motivations for implementing their 
commitments.  This is backed by a deep-seated mutual distrust.   ... 
 Accordingly, trust-building should be one of the big objectives of 
this dialogue." 
 
-Copenhagen Climate Change Conference 
------------------------------------- 
Moderate Hankook Ilbo observed in an editorial: "It remains unclear 
whether countries can agree to a target of reducing greenhouse gas 
emissions, a long-standing issue of contention. ...  The U.S., the 
world's second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, has recently 
shown a change in its attitude, but its reduction target falls far 
short of what other advanced countries, including Europe and Japan, 
may have hoped for.  Furthermore, it is realistically difficult to 
expect China and India, which have emerged as major carbon emitters 
in the future, to make proactive reduction efforts. ... It is high 
time for major world leaders, including President Barack Obama, to 
make a decision." 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
------------------- 
 
BOSWORTH MUST BEAR ROK'S CONCERNS IN MIND 
(Chosun Ilbo, December 7, 2009, Page 35) 
 
U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth 
visits Pyongyang on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Bosworth stopped over in 
Seoul before heading to North Korea and met here with Kim Sung-hwan, 
the Chief Presidential Secretary for National Security, and Wi 
Sung-lac, the ROK's point man in nuclear talks. 
 
"We will focus on listening to what North Korea has to say," 
Bosworth said.  The U.S. government says Bosworth's objective is to 
get North Korea to return to the stalled Six-Party Talks and to live 
up to its pledges signed in the Sep. 19, 2005 statement of 
principles, in which (North Korea would receive) fuel and other 
support in exchange for scrapping its nuclear program. 
 
Iran and North Korea are the two countries clashing with the 
international community due to their nuclear weapons programs.  The 
U.S., EU and even the International Atomic Energy Agency are 
employing various methods to resolve the nuclear standoff with Iran. 
 But it is questionable whether the international community is 
exerting as much effort when it comes to North Korea. 
 
North Korea conducted a second nuclear test on May 25 involving an 
estimated 20 kt of fissile materials.  The first test in 2006 
involved only 0.8 kt.  ROK and U.S. officials believe North Korea 
has enough plutonium to make six to eight nuclear weapons and has 
been operating a uranium enrichment program as well.  North Korea is 
demanding that the international community accept it as a nuclear 
state. 
 
The primary focus of the Sep. 19 statement, which Bosworth will ask 
North Korea to live up to, involves freezing and disabling the 
nuclear programs and facilities.  The main focus is to prevent North 
Korea from making nuclear arms. 
 
The North is required to voluntarily report its plutonium stockpiles 
and nuclear warheads.  Considering the limitations in its missile 
 
SEOUL 00001928  003 OF 005 
 
 
and nuclear technology, the North's achievements so far may not pose 
a serious threat to the U.S., and China and Russia may believe North 
Korea will not aim its missiles at them.  Japan is sensitive to 
North Korea's nuclear arsenal for geographic and diplomatic reasons, 
but does not face the same threat as the ROK. 
 
There is concern in the ROK that North Korea will not give up its 
nuclear ambitions and that the countries in the Six-Party Talks may 
move to bury the North's past nuclear activities and focus on 
preventing the North from proliferating its current and future 
nuclear weapons and technologies. 
 
Giving tacit approval to the North's past nuclear activities or 
putting the issue on the back burner is like throwing the ROK's 
future into the North's nuclear shade.  If the Six-Party Talks fail 
to address them, the ROK will have no choice but to look at a range 
of fundamental measures to overcome the nuclear imbalance. 
Ambassador Bosworth should clearly realize this ROK concern before 
engaging in talks with North Korea. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
BUILDING TRUST IN THE N. KOREA-U.S. BILATERAL DIALOGUE 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, December 8, 2009, Page 35) 
 
Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North Korea 
policy, visits North Korea today as a special envoy of U.S. 
President Barack Obama.  This marks 10 months since the launch of 
the Obama Administration, and four months since former U.S. 
President Bill Clinton visited North Korea.  Since sufficient time 
has passed for preparations for this dialogue, we are hoping for 
positive results. 
 
The U.S. and ROK governments say the agenda for the talks is to 
press for resuming Six-Party Talks and ensure the execution of the 
September 19, 2005 Joint Statement of the Fourth Round of the 
Six-Party Talks.  They have also drawn a line, saying this is not a 
"bilateral negotiation" as demanded by North Korea.  This claim 
(that it is not a bilateral negotiation) is reasonable since, if the 
U.S. and North Korea were to conduct give-and-take negotiations when 
North Korea has not clearly expressed its intention to return to the 
Six-Party Talks, it could obscure the future of the Six-Party Talks 
and the North Korea nuclear issue as a whole. 
 
This (U.S.-North Korea) dialogue should not end up being a mere 
venue to deliver the U.S.'s position.  The main reason why the 
Six-Party Talks have repeatedly stalled is that the two countries 
have different demands and different motivations for implementing 
their commitments.  This is backed by a deep-seated mutual distrust. 
  It would be difficult to hope for smooth progress, even if the 
Six-Party Talks restart, if basic trust cannot be secured at this 
time.  Accordingly, trust-building should be one of the big 
objectives of this dialogue. 
 
More than anything, Bosworth must convincingly present North Korea 
with what it could hope to gain.  Even if actual talks do not resume 
until later, only when the two sides are able to create a consensus 
about the big picture will it be likely that North Korea will decide 
to return to the Six-Party talks.  In addition, in regards to the 
related issues of signing a peace treaty and building a peace regime 
on the Korean Peninsula, as discussed recently by North Korea, we 
hope that these are not aimlessly delayed as some future task. 
Indeed, we hope, instead, that the U.S. presents its ideas and draws 
in North Korea's agreement. 
 
North Korea must know that now is the right time to return to the 
Six-Party Talks.  Ever since President Obama has pledged a "world 
without nuclear weapons," the will of participating nations to 
denuclearize is higher than ever.  The Obama Administration is also 
more open to negotiations on the North Korea nuclear issue than any 
previous U.S. administration.  Moreover, the international community 
will be watching what attitude North Korea adopts and deciding 
 
SEOUL 00001928  004 OF 005 
 
 
whether to continue with sanctions. 
 
Some quarters are predicting that following this dialogue the two 
sides will meet one more time and will raise the level of the 
bilateral talks.  Even if there ends up being such a need, the two 
sides must use this time to conduct conversations sufficient enough 
to draw out a framework.  Also, relevant nations, of course, 
including ours, must actively cooperate to ensure that the two 
countries' dialogue is productive. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
¶N. KOREA MEETS BOSWORTH; ITS ONLY CHOICE IS SIX-PARTY TALKS 
(JoongAng Ilbo, December 8, 2009, Page 38) 
 
U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth 
and his team will visit Pyongyang today in order to persuade the 
North to rejoin the Six-Party Talks, which were stalled last 
December, and to urge the communist state to fulfill its 
denuclearization promise.  Ahead of Ambassador Bosworth's visit to 
Pyongyang, however, the North is talking nonsense, stressing through 
The Choson Sinbo that a peace treaty between the U.S. and North 
Korea is the biggest pending issue.  As the ROKG is also concerned 
that the North may raise the issue of signing the U.S.-North Korea 
peace treaty, Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan recently proclaimed, "A 
peace treaty should be signed by the ROK and the North, with the 
U.S. and China participating as the parties to the armistice." 
Although this is the first time in a year that the nuclear issue 
will be discussed with North Korea) the related countries are 
engaging in an intensive war of nerves even before the start of 
dialogue. 
 
Discussions on the North Korean nuclear issue made progress on two 
occasions: the 1994 Geneva Agreed Framework between the U.S. and 
North Korea and the September 19, 2005, Joint Statement by the 
Six-Party Talks.  However, each agreement fell apart in the middle. 
In the meantime, North Korea staged two nuclear provocations, and 
the international community pressured the North by adopting the UN 
Security Council resolution sanctioning North Korea.  Now, the 
international community is calling on North Korea to return to the 
Six-Party Talks.  However, it is unclear whether Bosworth's visit to 
Pyongyang will pave the way for the North to rejoin the Six-Party 
Talks.  Even Ambassador Bosworth is not optimistic about the outcome 
of the bilateral talks, saying no one knows how North Korea will 
respond. 
 
We once again urge North Korea to express its intention to 
Ambassador Bosworth to return to the Six-Party Talks.  The Six-Party 
Talks already have a venue to discuss the issue of signing a peace 
treaty (on the Korean Peninsula) as requested by North Korea. 
Furthermore, the Six-Party Talks are prepared to offer North Korea 
massive economic aid and security assurances in return for its 
denuclearization.  These are stipulated by the September 19 Joint 
Statement. (Participants of the September 19 Joint Statement) 
include the U.S., Northeast Asia powers, such as Japan, China and 
Russia, and the ROK which has the greatest interest in the North's 
nuclear dismantlement.  The Six-Party Talks are the framework that 
can satisfy the North's demands if they are reasonable.  If North 
Korea truly intends to abandon its nuclear ambitions, there is no 
better place than the Six-Party Talks from which it can receive 
massive benefits. 
 
 
FEATURES 
-------- 
 
U.S. SAYS IT IS REVIEWING KORUS FTA AND ROK CALLS FOR HASTENING ITS 
RATIFICATION 
(Korea Economic Daily, December 8, Page 4) 
 
By Reporter Yu Seung-ho 
 
 
SEOUL 00001928  005 OF 005 
 
 
Wendy Cutler, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan, Korea 
and APEC Affairs, said on December 7 that the U.S. is reviewing the 
Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), adding that the USG 
will work together with the U.S. Congress and various interested 
parties to draw the broadest support for the deal.  She reaffirmed 
the U.S.'s previous position that it needs to renegotiate some parts 
of the deal, including auto clauses. 
 
Cutler participated in a forum discussing the change in world trade 
after the (economic) crisis which was hosted by the Korea 
International Trade Association and the U.S.-based Peterson 
Institute for International Economics.  She said that there has been 
an intense debate over the KORUS FTA since it was signed and that 
the Obama Administration has been reviewing the pact. 
 
Cutler noted that the U.S. is reviewing the KORUS FTA due to 
concerns raised by interested parties including the auto industry 
and the U.S. congress.  She said that U.S. and ROK leaders are 
greatly committed to ratifying the FTA.  Cutler emphasized that the 
U.S. intends to move the trade deal forward swiftly by discussing 
issues of concern with the ROK in a constructive and creative 
manner. 
 
Asked if a delay in the effectuation of the ROK-U.S. FTA is causing 
damage to U.S. companies, Assistant USTR Cutler answered, "Some 
industries are concerned," adding, "At least, we hope that the 
ROK-U.S. FTA will take effect around the same time as the ROK-EU 
FTA, so that U.S. companies will not be put at a disadvantage over 
European companies." 
 
In this regard, Lee Hye-min, the ROK's Deputy Minister for Trade and 
Chief FTA Negotiator, emphasized a need for an early ratification of 
the (ROK-U.S.) FTA without direct mention of renegotiating the pact. 
 He remarked, "Since the ROK-U.S. FTA will bring practical benefits 
for both nations, we should waste no time ratifying the deal." 
Saying, "I hope that the ROK-U.S. FTA and the ROK-EU FTA will be 
ratified almost at the same time," he explained, "The ROK's 
comprehensive FTAs can play a role in supplementing the World Trade 
Organization's efforts at multilateralism."  He went on to say, 
"Early next year, we plan to launch a feasibility study on an FTA 
between the ROK, China, and Japan." 
 
(Editor's note:  The same story was also carried by JoongAng Ilbo 
under the headline, "Assistant USTR: 'The USG Is Collecting Opinions 
of U.S. Auto Industry on KORUS FTA.'"  The article reports: 
"Regarding the ratification of the ROK-U.S. FTA, Assistant U.S. 
Trade Representative Wendy Cutler said on December 7, "The USG is 
currently collecting concerns and opinions of interest groups, 
including the auto industry," adding, "We will discuss with the ROK 
and move forward (on this issue) as quickly as possible."  She also 
noted, "We are reviewing whether there is any difference between the 
ROK-EU FTA and the ROK-U.S. FTA, and whether an earlier effective 
date for the ROK-EU FTA would have any impact on the U.S.") 
 
 
 
STEPHENS