Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SEOUL1089
2006-04-03 08:48:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Seoul
Cable title:  

S/E LEFKOWITZ'S REMARKS ON KAESONG PROMPT

Tags:  PREL PGOV PHUM EAID KN KS 
pdf how-to read a cable
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FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7100
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0420
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 7227
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0508
RUEHUM/AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR 1151
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J2 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J5 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA SCJS SEOUL KOR
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 001089 

SIPDIS

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NSC FOR CHA

AFTER KOREAN REUNIFICATION

E.O. 12958: DECL: (###)
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM EAID KN KS
SUBJECT: S/E LEFKOWITZ'S REMARKS ON KAESONG PROMPT
UNUSUALLY STRONG REACTION FROM ROKG

Classified By: CDA JOSEPH Y. YUN. REASONS 1.4 (B, D).

SUMMARY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 001089

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR CHA

AFTER KOREAN REUNIFICATION

E.O. 12958: DECL: (###)
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM EAID KN KS
SUBJECT: S/E LEFKOWITZ'S REMARKS ON KAESONG PROMPT
UNUSUALLY STRONG REACTION FROM ROKG

Classified By: CDA JOSEPH Y. YUN. REASONS 1.4 (B, D).

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) Recent South Korean press reports drew attention to
Special Envoy Jay Lefkowitz's March 30 remarks at the
American Enterprise Institute (AEI) calling for independent
monitoring of labor conditions at the Kaesong Industrial
Complex (KIC),and the subsequent response from Assistant
Unification Minister Lee Kwan-sei, who asserted that the
Special Envoy's remarks were "inappropriate" and
"misleading." Lee, in an impromptu March 31 press
conference, strongly argued that labor conditions at KIC
fully met standards set by the International Labor
Organization (ILO) and that wages paid to the North Korean
workers at KIC were greater than those prevailing in the
DPRK. A Ministry of Unification official confirmed to poloff
on April 3 that press coverage of Lee's comments were
accurate, and represented a deliberate, considered effort to
rebut SE Lefkowitz's remarks. He added that visiting ROK
officials from the Blue House and MOU would raise the issue
again with U.S. counterparts during their April 17-19 visit
to Washington. COMMENT: Assistant Minister Lee's remarks
are undoubtedly the most explicit criticism of a U.S.
official from the ROKG that we have encountered in recent
years. The ROKG considers the Kaesong Industrial Complex as
the centerpiece of its engagement policy with the DPRK and
will react strongly to any perceived criticism of the
project, however legitimate. END COMMENT AND SUMMARY.

PRESS COVERAGE OF S/E LEFKOWITZ'S AEI REMARKS
--------------


2. (U) Several South Korean media outlets focused on Special
Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Jay Lefkowitz's comments
on the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) in his March 30
remarks at the America Enterprise Institute (AEI). The ROK
press reported that the Special Envoy -- stressing that North
Korean workers at KIC received less than USD 2 per day in
wages, and that the DPRK regime confiscated large portions of
their wages -- argued in favor of having the International
Labor Organization (ILO) or other independent parties monitor
the labor conditions at KIC and report their findings to the
UN.

REACTION FROM MOU STRESSES GOOD WORKING CONDITIONS
-------------- --------------


3. (U) Subsequently, on April 1, the press reported that Lee
Kwan-sei, Assistant Minister for Unification Policy and
Public Affairs, Ministry of Unification (MOU),stated in a
March 31 press conference that the ROKG regretted Lefkowitz's
"inappropriate" and "misleading" remarks, and that the
remarks could undermine the ROK's goal of influencing the
DPRK to open and transform its economy through continued
engagement with the DPRK. The news reports quoted Lee
saying, "an important figure of the U.S. Government has made
comments that can harm the image of our companies operating
in the KIC without confirming, but rather distorting, the
facts about North Korean workers' ages and working
conditions." According to the press, Lee also pointed out
that the monthly wages of USD 57.50 paid to each North Korean
worker at KIC was substantially higher than that paid
anywhere else in the DPRK, and competitive with the wages of
industrial workers in other socialist countries in Asia. He
added that working hours and paid leaves and other working
conditions had all met ILO standards.

ROKG TO RAISE ISSUE IN WASHINGTON APRIL 17-19
--------------


4. (C) On April 3, Kim Jung-ro, Deputy Director of
International Cooperation, MOU, told poloff that press
coverage of Lee's remarks were accurate. Noting that
Minister of Unification Lee Jong-seok and other high-level
MOU officials had gathered immediately after Lefkowitz's
remarks at AEI to discuss the next steps for the ROKG, Kim
said senior officials ultimately decided it would be
inappropriate for Minister Lee to comment directly on the
issue. Assistant Minister Lee Kwan-sei, therefore, called an
impromptu press conference on March 31 to state unequivocally
the ROKG's position. Kim, reminding poloff of the planned
April 17-19 visit to Washington of Cho Myung-gun, Secretary
to the President for National Security Policy and Director
General Koh Gyung-bin of the KIC Project Office, said Cho and
Koh would vigorously attempt to dispel misperceptions
concerning KIC and its role in inter-Korean affairs in
meetings with USG officials and at the April 18 conference
hosted by the Korea Economic Institute (KEI).

YUN