PROPOSED 2006 APEC LEADERS' DECLARATION ON NORTH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 003880 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR EAP/EP AND APEC COORDINATOR AMBASSADOR MICHALAK E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/08/2016 TAGS: MNUC KNNP PREL KN APECO SUBJECT: PROPOSED 2006 APEC LEADERS' DECLARATION ON NORTH KOREA REF: SECSTATE 183537 Classified By: POLMC JOSEPH Y. YUN. REASONS. 1.4 (b/d) ¶1. (C) Lee Yong-joon, Director General for North Korean Nuclear Affairs at the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) met with POLMC on November 9, 2006 to provide the Republic of Korea's response to the proposed 2006 APEC Leaders' Statement on North Korea. DG Lee said the ROK "totally supported" the statement (as conveyed in reftel). However, he cautioned that China was likely to try and block or weaken the statement. He noted that in previous years, the PRC had adopted a similar position opposing written statements at APEC on the North Korean nuclear issues, preferring that topic be addressed only in the oral statement delivered by the APEC chair. Lee further cautioned that the ROK supported the statement as is, but that if the statement were weakened, the South Korean government would prefer no statement be issued, rather than putting out a weak one. ¶2. (SBU) Post also presented ref demarche along with State 187154 APEC demarche (food defense workshop and USG support for ROK candidate to head Counter Terrorism Task Force) to MOFAT Regional Cooperation Director Sung Moon-up on November ¶8. Sung had no immediate response but also asked whether the U.S. sought a stand-alone statement, rather than a paragraph in the overall leaders' declaration. VERSHBOW