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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SEOUL 000101 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; JANUARY 27, 2010 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
-------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
ROK North Korean Rights Groups to File Petition with International 
Criminal Court against the North's Alleged Human Rights Violations 
 
JoongAng Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun, All TVs 
¶N. Korea Declares "No-Sail" Zones in Yellow Sea 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
Head of Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union Participated in 
Minor Opposition Democratic Labor Party's Policy Decisions as Member 
of the Party 
 
Hankook Ilbo, Segye Ilbo 
Beginning This Year, Foreign Language and International High Schools 
to Select Students Based on Middle School English Grades and 
Interviews 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
ROKG's Plan to Build History Museum Faces Opposition 
for Alleged History Distortion 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
According to an ROK military official, North Korea has declared two 
areas in the waters south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the 
Yellow Sea, the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas, to 
be "no-sail" zones from Jan. 25 until March 29. (All) 
 
ROK military authorities have activated close surveillance to see if 
the North's declaration is part of its winter military training or a 
preparation to test-fire short-range missiles. (All) 
 
According to the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry, an employee at 
the North Korean Embassy in Ethiopia defected to the ROK last 
October seeking asylum. (All) 
 
The Foreign Ministry will form a task force in the first half of 
this year to help North Korean defectors staying in foreign 
countries enter the ROK. (Seoul) 
 
According to Defense Ministry officials, the ROK will dispatch 
hundreds of troops to quake-hit Haiti next month as part of UN 
peacekeeping operations. (KBS, Yonhap) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
-N. Korea 
--------- 
All ROK media covered North Korea's Jan. 25 declaration of two areas 
in the waters south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow 
Sea, the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas, to be 
"no-sail" zones from Jan. 25 until March 29. 
 
Most media noted that it is the first time that North Korea included 
the ROK waters in the no-sail zones, and interpreted this as a 
possible indication that Pyongyang is attempting to challenge the 
disputed naval border using a new tactic. 
 
According to media reports, ROK military authorities have activated 
close surveillance to see if the North's declaration is part of its 
winter military training or a preparation to test-fire short-range 
missiles. 
 
-Afghanistan 
------------ 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo, in an inside-page article entitled 
 
SEOUL 00000101  002 OF 002 
 
 
"U.S., U.K. Make Conciliatory Gestures toward Taliban," reported 
that U.S. and U.K. military leaders indicated the possibility of 
peace talks with the Taliban.  The report quoted Gen. David 
Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, as telling The Times: 
"The concept of reconciliation, of talks between senior Afghan 
officials and senior Taliban or other insurgent leaders, perhaps 
involving some Pakistani officials as well, is another possibility." 
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in 
Afghanistan, was also quoted as saying when asked whether he would 
be content to see Taliban leaders in a future Afghan government: "I 
think any Afghans can play a role if they focus on the future, and 
not the past." 
 
Left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun filed a similar report, writing in 
the headline: "'Sticks and Carrots' to Taliban... U.S. Sets in 
Motion Afghanistan Exit Strategy." 
 
 
STEPHENS