Cablegate: Tokyo Media Reaction - Hamas-Fatah Clash And

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UNCLAS TOKYO 002729

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR,
EAP/J, EAP/P, PM;
USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE;
TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI;
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA;
CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE;
PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA
SUBJECT: TOKYO MEDIA REACTION - HAMAS-FATAH CLASH AND
DPRK

LEAD STORIES: Monday morning's Yomiuri front-paged
remarks Sunday by Assistant Secretary of State Hill in
Ulaanbaatar in which he disclosed South Korean
preparations to send heavy fuel oil to North Korea.

1. "Hamas-Fatah Reconciliation the Only Way Forward" An
editorial in the conservative Sankei stated (6/17):
"Due to internal conflicts between Hamas and Fatah, the
Palestinian Authority (PA) has essentially been divided
into two government bodies in the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank. As things stand, the Palestinian goal of
achieving Middle East peace through statehood and
coexistence with Israel has been rocked. It is
imperative for the two factions to compromise, with the
international community, including the UN and the Arab
League, mediating between them. The internecine
conflict could be called the worst crisis for the PA
since the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords, which set
general principles regarding Palestinian self-rule."

2. "Did Kim Jong Il Roar with Laughter at the Return of
BDA Money?" The business-oriented Nihon Keizai
editorialized (6/17): "We suspect DPRK leader Kim Jong
Il, who is rumored to be in ill health, roared with
laughter over the return of 25 million dollars of DRPK-
linked funds held at Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macau
via the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the
Russian central bank.... We have previously expressed
skepticism about America's reconciliatory approach
toward Pyongyang, and we are forced to conclude that
the US decision to return the money played into the
hands of the DPRK. Although we cannot share the
optimism that the return of money will lead to a
settlement of the nuclear standoff, it is our strong
hope that the North Koreans will comply with US
demonstration of good faith.... In Japan, there is both
skepticism and distrust of US policy toward North
Korea. Has the US move amplified these feelings in
Japan? If North Korea does not show its sincerity, the
US will be forced to again change tack."

SCHIEFFER

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