UNIFICATION MINISTRY ON JULY 11-13 INTER-KOREAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 002362

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR CHA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/18/2015
TAGS: PREL MNUC EAID KS KN
SUBJECT: UNIFICATION MINISTRY ON JULY 11-13 INTER-KOREAN
MINISTERIAL


Classified By: A/DCM Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b),(d).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) On July 14, Assistant Unification Minister Lee
Kwan-sei provided a readout of the July 11-13 inter-Korean
ministerial to the A/DCM and emphasized that South Korean
government used the meetings to urge the DPRK to return to
the Six Party Talks and convey strong ROK regret about the
DPRK missile launches. Unable to get the South to discuss
anything other than Six Party Talks and missiles, which the
North claimed were not appropriate issues for the ministerial
talks, the DPRK delegates grew frustrated and left a day
early. Asked why the North showed up at the talks, Lee
speculated that the North might have wanted to see whether
there was any room for ROK flexibility and seeing none,
returned home. Lee said there were no dates for further
inter-Korean talks. The ROK remained committed to
inter-Korean dialogue, but would assess next steps after
seeing the results of the PRC diplomatic mission to
Pyongyang, events at the United Nations and elsewhere. END
SUMMARY.
.
STAYING ON MESSAGE
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2. (C) The Assistant Minister for Unification Policy and
Public Affairs, Lee Kwan-sei, on July 14 requested a meeting
with the A/DCM to provide a readout of the 19th round of
inter-Korean ministerial talks, held July 11-13 in Busan,
South Korea. Recalling that the Ministry of Unification
(MOU) on July 12 had provided the Ambassador with a summary
of Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok's keynote speech, A/MOU
Lee said that in all plenary and one-on-one sessions the ROK
stressed that the DPRK should return to the Six Party Talks,
begin implementing the Joint Statement, and cease missile
launches. The South also told the North that if the DPRK did
not show flexibility, then Tokyo, Washington, and others
would have no reason to change course at the United Nations.
Seoul also warned that should the DPRK launch another
missile, the South would not be held responsible for the
grave "consequences."


3. (C) The North tried to steer the conversation to rice and
fertilizer assistance, but the South stuck to its message,
adding that it had warned that a missile launch would imperil
ROK aid. The North countered that Six Party Talks and
missiles were not the appropriate topics of the inter-Korean
ministerials. In one exchange, the North Korean side claimed
that its "military first" policy had helped protect South
Korea. Unification Minister Lee shot back that such comments
were nonsensical; no one in South Korea had asked for such
North Korean "assistance"; and that a North Korean decision
to return to the Six Party Talks and to refrain from missile
launches were the type of help Seoul was requesting. The
North Korean side walked out of the talks, only to return
about ten minutes later. In the end, the North apparently
decided that there was nothing else to discuss, so it
returned home.
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TOUGH MESSAGE DELIVERED
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4. (C) Lee said that Seoul's objective for the inter-Korean
talks was to deliver a tough message, and to convey ROK, USG,
and international concerns about North Korean nuclear and
missile activities directly to North Korea. The ROK knew
that the North Korean delegates at the talks had no authority
or even awareness of nuclear or missile activities. Still,
Lee assured us, the points were made and they would certainly
reach the intended audience in Pyongyang.


5. (C) Lee stated that the Unification Ministry was still
trying to assess why the North decided to attend the
ministerials when they should have known they would not
secure food assistance. He speculated that the North Koreans
might have thought they would be able to finesse some ROK
flexibility, but seeing none, returned home without any joint
statement and without any agreement on another round of

ministerial talks.
.
NEXT STEPS: WAIT AND SEE
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6. (C) Lee confirmed that ROK food and fertilizer aid to
North Korea had now stopped. The ROKG had instructed Hyundai
Asan to halt issuing any new land leases for operations in
the Kaesong Industrial Complex for the time being. The ROKG
remained committed to maintaining dialogue with North Korea,
but Seoul would wait to see the results of the PRC diplomatic
mission to Pyongyang and how events unfolded at the United
Nations Security Council and elsewhere before considering
next steps.
VERSHBOW