KIWIS OFFER HELP ON NORTH KOREA

S E C R E T WELLINGTON 000665

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
NOFORN

STATE FOR EAP/FO, EAP/K, AND EAP/ANP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2016
TAGS: KNNP KPAO PARM PREL MNUC PTER
SUBJECT: KIWIS OFFER HELP ON NORTH KOREA

REF: A. SECSTATE 136495


B. WELLINGTON 507

C. WELLINGTON 176

D. WELLINGTON 655

Classified By: DCM David J. Keegan,
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C/NF) Summary: New Zealand officials say there is no
direct trade between New Zealand and DPRK but they will
advise GNZ entities to be on the lookout for trade and
financial activities related to North Korea's ballistic
missile programs. New Zealand does not have the means to
identify suspect DPRK entities on its own, so would
appreciate any available U.S. information. The GNZ is also
willing to use NZ diplomats' trips to Pyongyang to help the
U.S. gather information on DPRK companies. NZ officials say
two groups of DPRK officials may visit Wellington over the
coming months. Embassy Wellington recommends Washington add
regular consultations on North Korea to our list of possible
areas for US-NZ bilateral cooperation. End Summary.


2. (C/NF) On August 23, Pol-Econ Couns discussed UNSC
Resolution 1695 per ref A instructions with David Taylor,
Director for North Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Trade (MFAT) and Taylor's Deputy, Wendy Hinton. Taylor
said GNZ would comply fully with UNSC 1695, and said he would
inform NZ Customs and other entities of the resolution's
export requirements. He said he has also requested an MFAT
review to ensure that New Zealand export controls are
adequate for the job. In practice, however, New Zealand has
not had direct trade with North Korea for at least six years.
Said Taylor, "The DPRK sells nothing we want and our
exporters suspect the North Koreans can't pay for New Zealand
products." Some New Zealand consumer products do find their
way into the N. Korean market, but via Chinese trading
companies rather than direct imports. Taylor, who was New
Zealand's Ambassador to North Korea (resident in Seoul)
before taking on his current role, suspects DPRK officials
prefer the PRC trading houses because they offer bribes.


3. (C/NF) Taylor said NZ law is sufficient to deal with
N.Korean financial transactions but GNZ does not have the
means to identify which DPRK companies are involved in
missile-related trade. It would be very helpful if USG
agencies could provide an unclassified list of entities which
GNZ could provide to NZ financial institutions. MFAT would
also appreciate USG background information about the
companies, as NZ diplomats typically meet with North Korean
"showcase" companies when in Pyongyang but have no way to
tell whether the companies are fronts for other activities.
Taylor said MFAT would in turn be glad to report back to us.
He promised to provide Pol-Econ Couns with a memo concerning
a meeting he had with a DPRK company with 70 employees in
China that exports Mercedes to Iran and Iraq.


4. (C/NF) The NZ Embassy is the only Seoul-based western
embassy accredited to Pyongyang that has an officer fluent in
Korean. The officer, an ethnic Korean Kiwi, is a big hit
with her DPRK counterparts when she travels there from Seoul,
according to Taylor. By contrast, embassies based in
Pyongyang are not allowed to employ ethnic Koreans, and only
the UK mission has an officer who speaks very rudimentary
Korean. As a result, all other missions use DPRK-provided
interpreters, who tend to avoid translating anything they
regard as sensitive. Taylor said that use of their own
interpreter allows New Zealand diplomats to deliver stronger
messages to Pyongyang, as new NZ Ambassador Jane Coombs did
when she presented her credentials in June (ref B). Taylor
also said that while other Seoul-based embassies (notably the
Canadians and Scandinavians) visit N. Korea more often than
Kiwi diplomats do, the others tend to see the same people all
the time and never get out of the official circuit.


5. (S/NF) According to Taylor and Hinton, two groups of DPRK
officials may be visiting Wellington over the coming months.
Massey University has been asked by German national Karl
Fell, of German Agro Action, to organize a 10-day tour of the
North Island for five DPRK agriculture officials this
November. Professor Robert McCaa of U. of Minnesota has
asked Statistics New Zealand to invite the Director of the
Population and Health Department of the Central Bureau of
Statistics (CBS-DPRK) to a conference in Christ Church next
year. MFAT has asked Massey and Statistics New Zealand to
keep them informed about these visits.


6. (S/NF) Comment: GNZ officials are under no illusion that
New Zealand has more influence over N. Korea than we do. But
they see themselves as a good conduit for delivering messages
to Pyongyang and share our concerns about N. Korea's nuclear
ambitions and other issues. GNZ was very responsive to our
efforts to shut down insurance for DPRK flags of convenience
(ref C). Embassy recommends Washington add regular
consultations on North Korea to its list of possible areas
for increased US-NZ cooperation (ref D).
McCormick