A/S SHANNON'S KOREAN CONSULTATIONS ON LATIN AMERICA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 001298

SIPDIS

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/18/2015
TAGS: PREL ETRD ECON KS
SUBJECT: A/S SHANNON'S KOREAN CONSULTATIONS ON LATIN AMERICA

REF: SEOUL 969

Classified By: POL M/C Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b),(d).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) Visiting WHA Assistant Secretary Shannon on April 12
reviewed with ROKG officials U.S. objectives for enlisting
strategic partners, like Seoul and Tokyo, to play a key role
in promoting democracy, free markets, and economic prosperity
in Latin America. ROKG officials welcomed consultations with
Washington on ways to cooperate to make Latin America more
secure and stable and detailed South Korean efforts to
increase its political and economic ties to the region.
Seoul mentioned that in late April, South Korean, Japanese,
and Chinese officials were planning to hold a trilateral
meeting in Beijing to discuss the political and economic
situation in Latin America. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) WHA Assistant Secretary Thomas Shannon visited Seoul
February 11-12, meeting separately with Cho Tae-yong,
Director General for the North American Affairs Bureau in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Han Byung-kil,
Director General of MOFAT's Latin American and Caribbean
Affairs Bureau; and Deputy Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.
Shannon was accompanied to MOFAT meetings by Executive
Assistant John Creamer, POL Minister-Counselor Joseph Yun,
and poloffs. Shannon also participated in a roundtable at
the Korea Institute of International Economic Policy to meet
with academics, diplomats, and journalists. END SUMMARY.
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NORTH AMERICAN AFFAIRS BUREAU
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3. (C) DG Cho Tae-yong began his meeting by noting that he
wanted to widen his Bureau's cooperation with Washington.
His Bureau had once been called the American Affairs Bureau,
but after then-President Kim Yong-sam visited Latin America
in 1996, MOFAT established a Latin American and Caribbean
Affairs Bureau separate from the North American Affairs
Bureau. On Canada, Cho said that Seoul and Ottawa were
engaged in negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with
the fifth round of FTA talks to be held April 24-27 in
Ottawa. Although Venezuela was outside of his portfolio, Cho
asked for an update on USG policy. In addition, he noted
that from time-to-time South Korea had received inquiries
from Cuba about commercial opportunities, but Seoul had
decided against normalizing relations in deference to USG
preferences.


4. (C) A/S Shannon said that Washington, especially since
the September 11 attacks, had taken steps to emphasize the
link between security and trade issues. There was a need to
work with Canada and Mexico to enact measures to improve
security among the North American Free Trade Agreement
partners. Canadian Prime Minister Harper met with President
Bush and Mexican President Fox in Cancun in March, and Harper
intended to visit the United States in June.


5. (C) Shannon said that the United States has had a long
relationship with Venezuela, particularly in the energy
sector, and wanted to continue to work with the country.
Unfortunately, President Chavez sought confrontation with the
United States in the belief that such an approach
strengthened his domestic and regional standing. Chavez had
(1) weakened democratic institutions in Venezuela appealing
to an authoritarian temptation; (2) promoted state-centered
economics in the region although the Venezuelan economic
model with its oil revenues provided a poor model for its
neighbors; and (3) sought to cut off South American
integration from North America in part by promoting conflict
with Washington. To counter Chavez, Shannon said the United
States was promoting a positive message urging Latin America
to rediscover the link between democratic development and
economic prosperity. He said like-minded countries, such as
Korea and Japan, should emphasize to Latin leaders the
importance of representative government and free markets in
building a more prosperous, democratic, and secure
hemisphere.
.
LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN AFFAIRS BUREAU
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6. (C) Providing an overview of American policy and
objectives toward Latin America, A/S Shannon emphasized to DG
Han that by year-end there would be elections and new
governments in 10 countries in the region. The USG sought to
maintain strong cooperation with its neighbors, but relations
were complicated by the emergence of populist leaders who
were trying to meet new demands from often radical
constituencies. Shannon had traveled in Latin America, as
well as Europe, to encourage efforts to bolster democracy in
Latin America and to link it to economic development.
Consultations in Korea and Japan were designed to enlist
strategic partners to play a key role in guiding Latin
American governments to make the right decision to promote
democracy and free markets. His next stop was Beijing where
he would discuss Chinese views of the region.


7. (C) DG Han expressed his appreciation for the Assistant
Secretary's visit, adding that he shared the same point of

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view. He had recently visited Tokyo to meet his counterpart,
where he noted that although the South Korean economy was
one-tenth the size of Japan's, its trade with Latin America
was just over half the size. Chinese trade with Latin
America was $50 billion, Japanese trade was $40 billion, and
Korean trade was $22 billion.


8. (C) Seoul was stepping up its involvement in Latin
America, said Han. In March 2006, Foreign Minister Ban
visited Argentina and Peru, in part to seek regional support
for his UNSYG candidacy. Seoul, however, looked to
sub-regional groups, such as the Caribbean Community and
Common Market (CARICOM) and the Andean Community, to increase
its ties to the region because it only had 16 embassies to
cover more than 30 nations. The ROK was also a member of the
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and had observer status
in the Organization of American States (OAS). With Japan a
full member of the Economic Commission for Latin America and
the Caribbean (ECLAC),Seoul would like to join too. Seoul
has been in discussions about joining the Central American
Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI),but after expressing
its interest, the entry fee reportedly was raised
significantly.


9. (C) Han said South Korea also participates in the Forum
on East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean (FEALAC).
FEALAC groups 15 Asian and 17 Latin American countries and
provides a useful venue for dialogue. Still, the Latin
countries do not push concrete initiatives within the forum,
and the group lacks any real achievements. Korea would
prefer that the group play a more active role, and hoped that
Japan might take the initiative in this regard.


10. (C) Han said South Korean officials were also in touch
with counterparts in Tokyo and Beijing about sharing
perspectives on Latin America. On April 25, Korea, Japan,
and China intended to hold a director-general-level
trilateral in Beijing to talk about the political and
economic situation in the region. Han opined that the
Chinese economic role was expanding quite fast in the region,
but asserted that Beijing seemed to have less influence than
its trade figures might suggest. The rising level of Chinese
trade, however, might lead to more competition with Japan for
markets and status. His Japanese counterparts had recently
suggested developing an undefined "joint project" in Latin
America, perhaps to address the rising Chinese presence. Han
would keep us informed on any resulting developments.


11. (C) On Venezuela, Han said Korea shared our view that
President Chavez was a disruptive force in the region.
Korea's Ambassador in Caracas had reported that Chavez wanted
to visit Asia in the near future. Han said he would keep us
posted on developments.
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LUNCHEON WITH DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER YUN
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12. (C) A/S Shannon suggested to Deputy Foreign Minister Yun
that the South Korean experience with democratization and
economic development could be a helpful example for Latin
America. He reviewed Venezuela's efforts to provoke adverse
relations with the United States, including recent
GOV-orchestrated attacks on the U.S. Ambassador in Caracas.
Nevertheless, Shannon stressed that the USG relationship with
Latin America would not be defined by Venezuela; Washington
was looking for partners to advance the agenda for promoting
democracy and economic prosperity. In this regard,
Washington appreciated the South Korean decision to support
the Guatemalan candidacy for the UN Security council.


13. (C) Yun emphasized that UN reform was at stake, so it
would be a problem if Venezuela secured a UNSC seat. The
Human Rights Council was another example of UN reform, even
though, he said, he understood the U.S. position. The UN
needed the next Secretary General to be a good manager,
reformer, and bridge builder. This was why Seoul put forward
the candidacy of Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon. Han added
that Minister Ban had received positive responses on the
UNSYG issue during his trip to Argentina and Peru (ref A).


14. (C) Yun reported that the initial South Korean
experience with its FTA with Chile was beneficial for both
countries. Korea was continuing discussions with other
countries, like Mexico, to undertake more trade agreements.
South Korean businesses were working to improve their
competitiveness, and products like Hyundai cars, LG
televisions, and Samsung phones were proving successful.
Echoing earlier comments, Yun said that Seoul was looking to
take advantage of international bodies, such as the Community
of Democracies (CD),to reach out and establish more
connections with Latin America. President Roh had already
made two trips to the region, and South Korean ministers
stood "ready to fly" for more opportunities.
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ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION AT KIEP
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15. (C) In the afternoon, A/S Shannon visited the Korea
Institute for International Economic Policy to address a
roundtable on USG priorities and policies in Latin America.
The KIEP academics and outside experts, including the
Brazilian Ambassador, generally raised questions about USG
policy toward individual counties, like Venezuela and Cuba,
as well as China's role in the region. Shannon reiterated
the need for like-minded countries to coordinate efforts to
make the Western Hemisphere more democratic, more prosperous,
and more secure.
VERSHBOW