INDONESIAN OUTBRIEF ON KOREAN MEDIATION MISSION

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 002316

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/21/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV KNUC MARR KN KS ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIAN OUTBRIEF ON KOREAN MEDIATION MISSION

REF: JAKARTA 1452

Classified By: Amb. B. Lynn Pascoe, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Indonesian Special Envoy Amb. Nana Sutresna
briefed representatives of the nations participating in the
Six Party talks on his travels to Pyongyang and Seoul earlier
in the month. Sutresna, following the instructions of
President Yudhoyono (SBY) urged the North Koreans to resume
participation in the talks, offered to host a bilateral
Defense Ministers' meeting between the two Koreas in Bandung,
and invited Kim Jong Il to Indonesia. The North Koreans
complained that American "financial sanctions" and South
Korean participation in bilateral military exercises with the
U.S. constituted "obstacles" to participation in the
Six-Party Talks. They provided no specific response on a
possible Defense Ministers' meeting. SBY plans to visit the
two Koreas. Sutresna provided the group with no specific
follow-up plans to his trip, but privately told the
Ambassador after the meeting that SBY wants Sutresna to
consult with U.S. officials on possible future steps. End
Summary


2. (C) Indonesian Special Envoy Amb. Nana Sutresna briefed
the heads of mission of the Six-Party Talks nations on Feb.
20 about his visits to Pyongyang and Seoul to attempt to
arrange a meeting between the Defense Ministers of the two
Koreas in Bandung. During his Feb. 4-7 visit to Pyongyang he
met with North Korean President Kim Yong Nam, Foreign
Minister Paek Nam Sun and Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Yong
Il. Sutresna reported that he delivered a letter from SBY
urging resumption of the Six-Party Talks and offering Bandung
as a venue for a possible meeting between the two Korean
Defense Ministers. The Indonesians suggested Bandung due to
its symbolic importance in the creation of the NAM. SBY
invited Kim Jong Il to visit Indonesia, reaffirmed Indonesian
support for the peaceful reunification of the two Koreas, and
expressed his desire for strengthened bilateral relations.
North Korean officials neither accepted nor rejected the
proposal for a Defense Ministers' meeting, but reiterated an
invitation for SBY to visit North Korea. Sutresna judged
that the North Koreans were waiting first for the outcome of
a meeting between senior generals of the two Koreas late this
month or in early March.


3. (C) Sutresna said that the North Koreans asked the
Indonesians to use their influence to remove what Pyongyang
termed as "obstacles" to the Six-Party Talks. They cited
U.S. "financial sanctions" and South Korean participation in
joint bilateral military exercises with the United States.
Sutresna replied that the North Koreans could address the
financial issues directly with the Americans, but the North
Koreans complained that the U.S. had not agreed to a place or
time for such discussions.


4. (C) Sutresna spoke little about his visit to Seoul Feb.
8-10, saying simply that he had met with the Ministers of
Foreign Affairs, Reunification and Defense as well as the
Minister in charge of security and foreign affairs in the
Presidency, and briefed them on his discussions in Pyongyang.
He reported them as expressing appreciation for SBY's rapid
action in sending an envoy to the two Koreas.


5. (C) Sutresna did not have specific follow-up plans to
share. He said that further Indonesian steps would depend on
instructions he receives from SBY. The President plans to
visit both Koreas, but no date has been set. Privately,
after the meeting, Sutresna told the Ambassador that he had
been instructed by SBY to consult with the U.S. before
proceeding further. Presidential adviser Dino Djalal, who
accompanied Sutresna to Pyongyang, told the Ambassador
separately that the trip to North Korea did not accomplish
much with the possible Defense Ministers' meeting dependent
upon the results of discussion between military leaders.

PASCOE