SEOUL DEBATES PSI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 003720 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT PASS TO ISN, T AND EAP E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2016 TAGS: PARM PREL MNUC KNNP KS KN SUBJECT: SEOUL DEBATES PSI REF: A. SEOUL 2989 ¶B. STATE 131944 ¶C. SEOUL 2779 Classified By: DCM BILL STANTON. REASONS: 1.4 (b/d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The ROK government and National Assembly are engaged in a sharply divided debate over whether to increase support for the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI),and if so with what caveats. Post expects a decision soon, but nearly all sides appear to agree that regardless of the eventual level of ROK participation in PSI, South Korea should not risk confrontation with the North by allowing, or participating in, the direct interdiction of DPRK vessels within Korean waters. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) The Government of South Korea sent a three-person inter-agency team to observe the October 29-31 LEADING EDGE PSI exercise in the Persian Gulf. Led by Kim Jae-woo, Deputy Director of the Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT),the team included representatives from the Maritime Police Agency and National Intelligence Service. Although Seoul made the decision to send an observer team back in August 2006, their presence in Bahrain this week generated front page headlines in Korean newspapers. That is because the question of whether the ROK should join PSI has become a hotly contested domestic political issue in the aftermath of the October 9, 2006 North Korean nuclear test. Comments about possible South Korean participation in PSI -- delivered by the Secretary during both her October 14-15 visit to Seoul and SIPDIS October 25 speech at the Heritage Foundation -- and echoed during an October 27 speech the Ambassador gave at Yonsei University's journalism school, have served to keep the issue on the front pages in South Korea under headlines such as: "US Urges Seoul to Join PSI (The Korean Times Saturday/Sunday October 28-29). ¶3. (C) Park Chul-min, Director of MOFAT's Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division confirmed to the POL-MIL Chief on October 30 that there has been no change as yet in ROK policy toward PSI, but it was possible the ROK might increase its support for the nonproliferation initiative in the near future because Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon had revealed to him that the issue was "under very active review" within the ROK government. ¶4. (C) Blue House contacts have independently told the Embassy there have been heated interagency discussions over the past few days -- some chaired by President Roh -- over ROK participation in PSI. The latest such meeting occurred on Sunday October 29, according to Park. He said a final interagency decision has yet to be made, but added he believed it would be made before long. Park said his division had been busy this week working to overcome what he described as the misunderstandings of some parliamentary members and media figures about the true nature of PSI. ¶5. (C) The main stumbling block to Seoul's full participation is strong opposition from ruling Uri Party legislators in the National Assembly. Post believes the Blue House is trying to convince these legislators that South Korea must be more forthcoming on PSI participation, but opponents appear to be putting up a vigorous fight over concerns voiced by Deputy Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan at an October 27 parliamentary hearing that PSI operations in waters around the Korean Peninsula have a high probability of sparking armed conflict with the DPRK. ¶6. (C) Taking the pulse of Uri Party members at the National Assembly on October 30, POL Internal Chief heard that Yu's statement reflected the Uri Party's strong stance that it could not support South Korea's full participation in PSI. Leading Uri members Choi Jae-cheon and Song Yong-gil said that while they could not support full participation, they might be able to support increased participation of some sort in view of the DPRK nuclear test. While many conservative Grand National Party members are calling for full participation in PSI, reform-minded GNP representative Won Hee-ryong echoed a similar view to that voiced by the Uri Party. Senior Presidential Security Advisor Song Min-soon appeared to be trying to address such concerns when he assured the National Assembly on October 27 that the Government of South Korea would decide what steps to take to expand its role in the PSI "under the position that it will never take a measure leading to a sea blockade of North Korea." VERSHBOW