Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TOKYO2095
2006-04-18 08:55:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:  

SOUTH KOREAN AMBASSADOR ON TERRITORIAL DISPUTE

Tags:  PREL PHUM EWWT KS KN JA 
pdf how-to read a cable
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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKO #2095/01 1080855
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 180855Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL IMMEDIATE 7995
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1108
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1830
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA
RHMFISS/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA SEOUL KOR
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 002095 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2031
TAGS: PREL PHUM EWWT KS KN JA
SUBJECT: SOUTH KOREAN AMBASSADOR ON TERRITORIAL DISPUTE
WITH JAPAN

Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer. Reasons:1.4(b/d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 002095

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2031
TAGS: PREL PHUM EWWT KS KN JA
SUBJECT: SOUTH KOREAN AMBASSADOR ON TERRITORIAL DISPUTE
WITH JAPAN

Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer. Reasons:1.4(b/d).


1. (C) Summary: During an April 18 meeting with the
Ambassador, South Korean Ambassador to Japan Ra stated that:

-- Seoul would adamantly oppose Japanese plans to map the
area surrounding the disputed Tokdo/Takeshima islands;

-- South Korea and Japan could come to blows if bilateral
frictions were not resolved;

-- the United States would be drawn into a conflict between
Japan and South Korea;

-- South Korea would begin to focus on the DPRK kidnapping
issue;

-- Japanese political leaders were to blame for the currently
difficult bilateral relations.

End Summary.

Territorial Dispute
--------------


2. (C) On April 18 in a previously scheduled lunch South
Korean Ambassador Ra Jong Yil asserted to the Ambassador that
the South Korean government would adamantly oppose Japanese
plans to conduct maritime mapping of undersea topographical
features near the disputed Tokdo/Takeshima Islands (known in
the United States as the Liancourt Rocks). Ambassador Ra
related that in a recent meeting, Japanese VFM Yachi had told
him that if South Korea would desist from raising the naming
of the sea bottom at an upcoming meeting of a relevant
international organization, then Japan would pull back its
plans to explore the area. However, noted Ra, if Japan had
wanted an amicable settlement, it would not have mentioned
this offer to the media, making it difficult for South Korea
to back off. (Note: septel reports POL M/C's meeting with
MOFA Asian Affairs DDG Umeda on this issue. End note.)


3. (C) Ambassador Ra averred that South Korea's claims to
the Tokdo Islands were a strongly emotional issue for the
South Korean people, but only a minor matter for Japan. The
South Korean people would not allow any government, no matter
how strong, to enter into negotiations on the issue. Should
the troubled bilateral relationship continue to drift along
its present course, hostilities would inevitably follow, Ra
insisted. Observing that the region was not stable enough to

deal with the increasing tensions between Japan and South
Korea, Ra opined that the United States would be drawn into
the dispute, noting that many in South Korea believe Japan
can only afford to act in such an "arrogant" manner because
of its alliance with the United States. He stated that if
the matter came to "blows," North Korean leader Kim Jong Il
would be the ultimate beneficiary as it would enable him to
play the nationalist card.


4. (C) Asserting that Japan could "easily" show flexibility
on the issue by retracting its maritime mapping plans,
Ambassador Ra said "serious" bilateral discussions could
follow when the atmosphere had improved. He expressed hope
for improved bilateral relations once PM Koizumi completes
his term of office in September. Ambassador Schieffer stated
that both Japan and South Korea were good friends and allies
of the United States, and that we sought to promote good
relations between the two countries.

DPRK Kidnapping
--------------


5. (C) Awareness of the DPRK kidnapping issue is growing in
South Korea, Ambassador Ra observed. Having made a
significant emotional investment in the sunshine policy of
engagement with North Korea, South Korea found it difficult
to confront North Korean human rights issues, but the crimes
of the Pyongyang regime could no longer be ignored and South
Korea will begin to focus on the kidnapping issue. At an
upcoming ministerial meeting with the North, Seoul will offer
economic assistance to Pyongyang in exchange for the release
of all the South Koreans held by the DPRK, including some 500
kidnapping victims and another 500 prisoners of war.
Ambassador Ra said he had strongly urged the South Korean
participant in the talks to press North Korea to resolve the
Japanese kidnapping issue as well. Ambassador Schieffer
replied that such help would undoubtedly be welcomed by Japan
and related the strongly supportive and emotional Japanese
reaction to his recent visit to a kidnapping site in Niigata.


South Korea/Japan Relations
--------------


6. (C) South Koreans should be the first to empathize with
the Japanese people over the kidnapping issue, Ra opined,
having suffered greatly themselves at the hands of the DPRK.
However, he noted, the Japanese political leadership had
created a lot of friction in the bilateral relationship. Ra
recalled that when he accepted his appointment as Ambassador
to Japan, President Roh had told him he wanted sound
relations with Japan. Roh promised to hold twice yearly
summit meetings with PM Koizumi and not to raise history
issues. At first, President Roh kept his word, but
nationalist statements by Japanese leaders, the Prime
Minister's Yasukuni shrine visits, the Tokdo islands dispute,
and troublesome wording in Japanese history textbooks had
been too provocative. Japan does not understand the depth of
feeling of all those who were hurt by the Japanese prior to
1945, he stated.


7. (C) Asked what South Korea would find as an acceptable
solution to the dispute over Yasukuni Shrine, Ambassador Ra
replied that Seoul's minimal position was a commitment by the
Prime Minister, Chief Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Minister
not to visit the war-related shrine. He noted that South
Korea felt it had an understanding with Japan that the
government would seriously consider the establishment of a
national war memorial that Japanese leaders (and even foreign
visitors) could visit instead of Yasukuni shrine. However,
the Koizumi administration did not even include funds in the
budget to study the proposal, he lamented.
SCHIEFFER