VIEWPOINT OF THE SOUTH KOREAN EMBASSY IN TOKYO

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 001331

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2015
TAGS: PARM PREL JA KS KN CH MNNUC
SUBJECT: VIEWPOINT OF THE SOUTH KOREAN EMBASSY IN TOKYO


Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES MICHAEL W. MICHALAK FOR REASONS 1.4 (b
),(d).


1. (C) ROK Deputy Chief of Mission in Tokyo, Choo Kyu-ho,
accompanied by First Secretary Jeong Woon-jin, conveyed his
embassy's viewpoints on North Korea, China, and the status of
Japan-ROK bilateral relations at a March 7, 2005 lunch with
the Charge. DCM Choo presented a rather dismal assessment of
the prospects for improving Japan-ROK relations in this "Year
of Friendship" between the two countries. While 2005 marks
the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic
relations between Japan and the ROK, DCM Choo pointed out
that it is also the 100th anniversary of the Second
Japan-Korea Agreement under which Korea became a protectorate
of Japan. He also mentioned President Roh Moo-hyun's speech
marking this year's anniversary of the March 1, 1919
Independence Movement in which Roh made an explicit
comparison between the DPRK's abduction of Japanese citizens
in the 1970s, and the forced relocation of Korean citizens by
Japan during the period of annexation and occupation by
Japan. DCM Choo went on to cite a bill recently submitted to
the Shimane Prefectural Assembly in Japan that would
designate a "Takeshima Island Day" in Japan (an island
claimed by the ROK) and the upcoming April release of a new
middle school history textbook in Japan as major further
barriers in the relationship. He confirmed that as a result
of these irritants, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon had
postponed his March 11, 2005 visit to Japan. DCM Choo said
there was now even some doubt over an exchange of summit
visits this year between Prime Minister Koizumi and President
Roh. "It will now be a much tougher year in bilateral
relations between the ROK and Japan," Choo said. He added
that people-to-people interchange will continue to grow, but
said he is now "very much concerned about the status of
state-to-state relations."

Unhappy with Tokyo's Approach to FTA
--------------


2. (C) DCM Choo was highly critical of the Japanese
government's current proposal for negotiating a Japan-ROK
Free Trade Agreement. Prime Minister Koizumi and President
Roh agreed last year that Japan and South Korea would
conclude an FTA by the end of 2005, but DCM Choo said that
negotiations have not even begun. He said that is because
the Japanese government has proposed across-the-board tariff
reductions of 50 percent or less. He said this would require
only minor concessions by the Japanese, making it impossible
for the ROKG to sell such an FTA to the South Korean
industrial sector. DCM Choo said METI Minister Nakagawa had
recently asked to meet with ROK Trade Minister Kim Hyun-jong
in an attempt to break the impasse, but that Kim had refused
to meet with him until the Japanese government expresses some
willingness to negotiate a "real FTA;" one that would
significantly lower tariffs and expand trade.

DPRK, China, and the United States
--------------


3. (C) During his discussion with the Charge, DCM Choo also
expressed his "personal views" regarding the security
situation on the Korean peninsula. On the DPRK nuclear
issue, DCM Choo said he believes Kim Jong-il is a contrarian
by nature, and that even if a Six-Party negotiation is
undertaken, "it will be very difficult to get to CVID." DCM
Choo said that the eventual collapse of the DPRK will be
impossible for South Korea to control. He called this the
ROK's "agony." Finally, he said, although many view
President Roh as being pro-Pyongyang, the truth is there have
been no meaningful contacts between North and South Korea
since former president Kim Dae-jung traveled to Pyongyang in
June 2000. As a result, Choo said, "President Roh has grown
very cool towards the North." DCM Choo predicted that "a
certain level" of people-to-people exchange and economic
activity will continue between North and South Korea, but
said "no major breakthrough is likely."


4. (C) Finally, when asked about China's role on the
peninsula, DCM Choo stated that there is a big gap in
relations between Japan and China, and between Japan and the
two Koreas, but also noted that a large gap has opened up
between China and South Korea over the "Kingdom of Kogoryo"
issue. For that reason, he said, "the ROK needs a moderate,
benign power like the United States" to help assure its
future.
MICHALAK