VIETNAM PRESIDENT'S VISIT TO KOREA

C O N F I D E N T I A L HANOI 002114 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/11 TAGS: PREL ETRD KS VM ASEAN SUBJECT: VIETNAM PRESIDENT'S VISIT TO KOREA REF: A. SEOUL 4639 B. HANOI 481 ¶1. (U) CLASSIFIED BY: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES DENNIS CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 HANOI 02114 281005Z HARTER, REASON: 1.5 (B) AND (D) ¶2. (C) PRESIDENT TRAN DUC LUONG'S VISIT TO THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA RECEIVED EXTENSIVE AND USUALLY FRONT PAGE COVERAGE IN THE VIETNAM PRESS, ADDING TO THE GENERALLY FEEL-GOOD EMPHASIS IN BILATERAL RELATIONS THAT HAS BEEN INCREASINGLY EVIDENT OVER THE PAST HALF- DECADE. REF A PROVIDED AN EXCELLENT ACCOUNT OF HIS MAJOR ACTIVITIES, AS WELL AS THE TEXT OF THE JOINT STATEMENT. ¶3. (C ) ROK EMBASSY POLITICAL COUNSELOR LEE YONG JOON PROVIDED POL/C WITH SOME ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS INTO THE PLANNING AND OBJECTIVES OF THE VISIT ON AUGUST 24. HE CONFIRMED THAT THE VISIT WAS MORE AIMED AT PROTOCOL THAN SUBSTANCE. PERHAPS THE TRICKIEST PART OF THE PLANNING, HE SAID, WAS THE REFERENCE TO A "COMPREHENSIVE PARTNERSHIP." VIETNAMESE OFFICIALS INITIALLY WERE NERVOUS THAT THIS TERM WOULD ALIENATE THE NORTH KOREANS AND COMPLICATE RELATIONS WITH PYONGYANG, BUT EVENTUALLY CONCLUDED IT WAS WORTH THE RISK. LEE CLAIMED THAT KIM DAE JUNG'S EXPRESSION OF "CONDOLENCES" FOR LOSS OF LIFE DURING THE WAR WAS KIM'S OWN INITIATIVE, OUT OF A MISREADING THAT THE VIETNAMESE SOUGHT SUCH AN EXPRESSION OF REMORSE. (COMMENT: THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THE KOREANS HAVE MADE A "SPONTANEOUS" AND "UNILATERAL" STATEMENT REGARDING THE WAR. END COMMENT) HIS OWN INTERPRETATION FROM HIS PLANNING DISCUSSIONS HERE IS THAT THE VIETNAMESE SIDE TRULY WISHED TO SIDESTEP THE HISTORICAL ISSUE ENTIRELY, PROBABLY OUT OF CONCERN CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 HANOI 02114 281005Z THAT ITS OWN TREATMENT OF PRISONERS-OF-WAR COULD BE USED AGAINST IT. HE NOTED THAT PRESIDENT LUONG HAD NOT EVEN RESPONDED TO KIM'S STATEMENT. ¶4. ( C ) LUONG'S DELEGATION WAS SOMEWHAT UNUSUAL GIVEN ITS INCLUSION OF A LARGE NUMBER OF VIETNAMESE BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES; THEIR PARTICIPATION ONLY CAME UP SOMEWHAT LATE IN THE PREPARATORY PROCESS, LEE SAID. THEIR PRESENCE AND THE NUMBER OF BUSINESS- RELATED EVENTS ON HIS SCHEDULE WERE A CLEAR INDICATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE COMMERCIAL ASPECTS OF THE RELATIONSHIP. LEE NOTED THAT KOREAN COMPANIES INCREASINGLY VIEWED VIETNAM AS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASIAN SITE FOR OFFSHORE INVESTMENT FOR KOREA'S ECONOMIC FUTURE, IN PARTICULAR TO COMPETE OVER THE NEXT FIFTY YEARS WITH CHINA. HE CLAIMED THAT KOREAN FIRMS REALIZE THAT SHORT-TERM PROFITS MAY BE NON- EXISTENT OR FEW BUT HAD DECIDED THAT IT WAS ESSENTIAL FOR KOREAN BUSINESSES TO GET IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR. HARTER CONFIDENTIAL