MOFA NORTHEAST ASIA DIVISION DIRECTOR PESSIMISTIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 001632 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2016 TAGS: PREL KN JA SUBJECT: MOFA NORTHEAST ASIA DIVISION DIRECTOR PESSIMISTIC ABOUT NORTH KOREA TALKS Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) Summary. During a March 27 meeting with the DCM, MOFA Northeast Asia Division Director Naoki Ito: -- expressed deep appreciation for the Ambassador's March 16 visit to Niigata, -- was pessimistic about a bilateral with North Korea in the near-term, -- hoped for high-level U.S. participation at an upcoming Track Two dialogue (NEACD),and -- shared that North Korean Deputy Director of North American Affairs, Chong Tae-yang, may participate in NEACD. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Tadamichi Yamamoto, Ambassador for Counterterrorism Cooperation, Reconstruction Activities in Iraq and North Korea Nuclear Issues, met with DCM Donovan on March 27. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Northeast Asia Division Director Naoki Ito and First North American Affairs Division Director Takeo Mori also attended. ¶3. (C) Northeast Asia Affairs Division Director Naoki Ito expressed deep appreciation for Ambassador Schieffer's March 16 visit to Niigata, and for his supportive remarks about the Government of Japan's efforts to resolve the abduction issue. He noted that Japan would welcome a visit to Japan by Ambassador Lefkowitz, U.S. Special Envoy on Human Rights in North Korea. When asked if he anticipated a bilateral with North Korea soon, Ito expressed pessimism. North Korea has been insincere in the last round of bilateral negotiations and no progress has been made. Japan cannot afford to repeat the same kind of meeting again, he stressed. Ito noted a planned Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue (NEACD) Track Two dialogue in Tokyo on April 10-11 and indicated hopes for high-level participation from the United States. He said he had just received word that North Korean Deputy Director of North American Affairs, Chong Tae-yang, may participate. SCHIEFFER