ROK GENERALLY UPBEAT ON STRONGER TIES WITH NATO,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 001789 SIPDIS SIPDIS NOFORN CIA FOR HAGEN, NSC FOR CHA E.O. 12958: DECL: AFTER KOREAN REUNIFICATION TAGS: PREL PINR PINS AS JA NZ KN KS SUBJECT: ROK GENERALLY UPBEAT ON STRONGER TIES WITH NATO, BUT SENSITIVE TO DPRK'S PERCEPTION Classified By: POL M/C Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b, d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) According to officials from South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT),the ROK was generally positive toward strengthened cooperation with NATO and eager to participate in global efforts to maintain peace and stability. The underlying concern for Seoul in assessing areas for cooperation with NATO was whether North Korea would react negatively to stronger NATO-ROK ties. Hence, South Korea would decide on NATO issues on a case-by-case basis. "Horizontal" cooperation with fellow U.S. allies in East Asia (Australia, Japan, New Zealand) was predicated on whether doing so was consistent with the U.S.-ROK alliance and the state of Korea's bilateral relations with those countries. (COMMENT: We believe our contacts' views on future NATO-ROK cooperation are fully consistent with the ROK's history of approaching multilateral security arrangements, and that South Korea will cooperate with NATO in most areas except those that directly involve the DPRK. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT.) ¶2. (C) Poloff met on May 25 with Kang Jeong-sik, Director, Security Policy Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT),and Assistant Director Nam Ki-wook, Security Policy Division, to discuss the ROKG's position on its relations with NATO. According to Kang, South Korea generally supported stronger relations between NATO and East Asian countries, recognizing that NATO would naturally become more interested in regions outside Europe in the post-Cold War environment. As demonstrated by Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon's December visit to NATO headquarters, Seoul was ready -- in the global context -- to cooperate with NATO to help maintain peace and stability at "any time and any place." DPRK'S SUSPICION TOWARD ROK-NATO THE BIGGEST CONCERN -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) For South Korea, having a bigger role in maintaining global security commensurate with its current economic and military prowess was, by itself, a positive incentive for strengthening its ties with NATO, said Kang. The concern for Seoul, he noted, was that many East Asian countries -- particularly the DPRK -- continued to have Cold War-era prejudices against multilateral security arrangements and would regard overt diplomatic outreach by NATO as part of a broader conspiracy for containment. As a matter of policy, Seoul had to consider carefully whether increased cooperation with NATO would drive Pyongyang further away from reconciliation with South Korea and opening itself to the outside world. The ROKG would, therefore, approach its relations with NATO in a way that would neither arouse suspicion from Pyongyang nor complicate other sensitivities in the region. Kang declined to speculate on the extent to which the ROK was willing to expand cooperation with NATO without first knowing NATO's own ideas. Seoul would, however, cooperate in such areas as peacekeeping in Iraq and Afghanistan, counter-terrorism, natural disasters, et cetera. ROK MORE UPBEAT ON GLOBAL COOP THAN ON BILATERAL/REGIONAL -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) On the issue of whether the ROK would cooperate with Australia, Japan, and New Zealand on NATO initiatives, Kang said South Korea's cooperation with those countries depended largely on whether doing so was consistent with the U.S.-ROK alliance, and whether Korea's bilateral relations with those countries made it awkward to have "horizontal" cooperation. Citing the current difficulties in the ROK-Japan bilateral relationship, Kang said it was unrealistic to expect Seoul and Tokyo to engage in any NATO-driven partnership involving only Korea and Japan. If part of a global initiative, however, the ROK would have no problem cooperating with any of those countries, including Japan. Kang predicted that a strengthened relationship between NATO and U.S. allies in East Asia would prompt a variety of reactions from Southeast Asian countries, ranging from resentment to suspicion. The suspicion among Southeast Asian countries would not, however, measure up to that of China and North Korea. VERSHBOW