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RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
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UNCLAS SEOUL 000134
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KMDR KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - MEDIA REACTION
Subject: Media Reaction; Seoul
State of the Union Address
"SABER-RATTLING WILL GET N. KOREA NOWHERE"
Conservative Chosun Ilbo editorialized (01/29): "North Korea has
been employing a two-track strategy toward the ROK and the U.S.
since late last year by aggressively seeking economic cooperation
and humanitarian aid on one hand while heightening military tension
on the other. ... The reason why North Korea continues to make
provocations, such as the latest artillery fire near the Northern
Limit Line (NLL), is that it is caught in an obsolete mindset that
threats and appeasement are the most effective way to elicit aid
from the ROK and the U.S. President Barack Obama, in his state of
the Union address, said that 'North Korea now faces increased
isolation and stronger sanctions (due to its nuclear ambitions).'
Only if North Korea stops its nuclear development and provocations
and returns to the Six-Party Talks and inter-Korean dialogue will
the door open for economic aid for the North."
"OBAMA'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS FAILS TO SHOW (U.S.'S ) GLOBAL
LEADERSHIP"
Left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun editorialized (01/29): "President
Obama's speech ran 71 minutes but only nine minutes were devoted to
international affairs. ... It is said that a State of the Union
Address, in recent years, has never treated international affairs as
lightly as this one. ... There are many international issues that
cannot be resolved without active U.S. efforts; It is still
important for America to play an appropriate role in the
international community. ... Since the launch of the Obama
Administration, North Korea has advocated a resolution of its
nuclear issue through dialogue, increasing the possibility of a
breakthrough on the nuclear issue, depending on the U.S.'s attitude.
It is high time for a more forward-looking role from the U.S."
STEPHENS