GOM UNIMPRESSED WITH NORTH KOREANS

C O N F I D E N T I A L LILONGWE 000047 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/S GABRIELLE MALLORY STATE FOR INR/AA E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/18/2011 TAGS: PGOV MI KN SUBJECT: GOM UNIMPRESSED WITH NORTH KOREANS REF: LILONGWE 32 Classified By: Political Officer Tyler Sparks for reasons 1.4 b and d. ¶1. (C) Summary: The North Korean delegation discussed in reftel left the GOM unimpressed, and future serious collaboration looks doubtful. While their aim was allegedly to explore funding development projects, in the end the North Koreans could offer nothing tangible to the GOM. This led GOM officials to believe that the true purpose of the visit was to elicit Malawian support at the United Nations. End Summary. ¶2. (C) In a follow up to last week's news that a North Korean delegation had made a surprise visit to Malawi (reftel), PolOff met with Director of International Cooperation Joseph Chiteyeye. Chiteyeye had organized the North Korean visit for the GOM, and gave PolOff a summary of the various meetings. ¶3. (C) According to Chiteyeye, the North Korean Embassy in Pretoria had communicated their desire to visit Malawi to discuss development projects. The GOM was told that North Korea was particularly interested in water and energy projects, and was open to funding a large water development project in southern Malawi. As reported (reftel),the GOM asked the North Koreans to delay their visit for a number of months, and were thus surprised when they "showed up at the airport." ¶4. (C) Once they had arrived, the GOM made the decision to refuse requests to meet with high level GOM officials. Instead, the North Korean delegation (consisting of two Embassy Pretoria officials) met with GOM officials at the director level and below in the Ministries of Water and Irrigation, Defense, Health and the Department of Energy. It quickly became apparent to the GOM that North Korea could not fund development projects, and in general had "little to offer," according to Chiteyeye. Instead of large scale infrastructure projects, North Korea offered to send doctors and engineers to Malawi, but only if Malawi paid for travel, housing, and a $1,200 monthly salary. They also offered to organize "study tours" for Malawians to travel to North Korea--but again on Malawi's dime. ¶5. (C) Chiteyeye said that the delegation's true purpose became clear to him at a final dinner, on Wednesday January 18th. After "a few glasses of wine" and boasts about their nuclear program, among other things, the North Koreans asked Chiteyeye for Malawi's support at the United Nations. The North Koreans had apparently interpreted Malawi's failure to vote on a non-proliferation issue in the recent United Nations General Assembly as a sign of potential support. Apologizing for their lack of resources (i.e. development dollars),the North Koreans said that this was just their first meeting, and hoped more would follow. They also asked Chiteyeye to extend an invitation to the Minister of Foreign affairs to visit North Korea in April. Chiteyeye said he's highly doubtful the Minister would take them up on their offer. ¶6. (C) Comment: In all, the GOM seemed unimpressed with the North Koreans. Chiteyeye commented that the GOM had deemed it "not worth the risks" to work with them, especially when they had "nothing to offer." He said they would maintain their diplomatic relations, but that he doubted anything else would come out of the visit. In addition to the failure to vote against non-proliferation at the U.N., Malawi's firm support for Taiwan could have made it stand out as a potential ally for the North Koreans. However, due in part to Malawi's heavy reliance on international aid from the West, at this point there seems to be little motivation to form any significant relationship with North Korea. End Comment EASTHAM