ROK FOREIGN MINISTER SONG VISIT TO EIJING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 000769 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2027 TAGS: PREL PGOV CMGT CH KS KN SUBJECT: ROK FOREIGN MINISTER SONG VISIT TO EIJING Classified By: Classified by Political Section External Unit Chief Edga rd D. Kagan. Reasons 1.4 (b/d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Foreign Minister Song Min-soon discussed bilateral relations with high-level Chinese officials and raised growing concerns about the treatment of North Koreans in China in a day-long series of meetings with ROK consular officers in the PRC on his recent visit to Beijing. Our PRC and ROK Embassy contacts express optimism about progressively improving bilateral relations. Increased exchanges between the two nations and growing trade and investment demonstrate the significant changes that have come about in the fifteen years since they established diplomatic relations. Moving forward, Beijing and Seoul seek to sign a consular agreement to solidify normalization of relations and to sign a Free Trade Agreement, though that may be several years in the future. End Summary. ¶2. (C) ROK Foreign Minister Song Min-soon split his recent visit to Beijing between meeting with Chinese officials and meeting with the heads of the ROK's six Consulates in the PRC, ROK Embassy political officer Kim Gunn told Poloff January 29. Song had extended meetings with Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and head of the International Department of the Central Committee (CCID) of the Communist Party Wang Jiarui and paid courtesy calls on State Councilor Tang and Premier Wen Jiabao. In a day-long series of meetings with the consular officials, Song discussed both the issue of North Koreans in China and general "management issues," Kim said. North Koreans in China -------------- ¶3. (C) ROK Foreign Minister Song Min-soon's visit to Beijing January 25-27 was in large part designed to address growing domestic concerns about treatment of North Koreans in China, Kimtold Poloff. Because ROK Six-Party Talks negotiator Chun Young-woo had very comprehensive discussions during his January 23 visit to Beijing, Song only briefly discussed the North Korean nuclear issue, Kim added. Instead, Kim highlighted the recent incident in which an ROK official was recorded responding to relatives of South Koreans who had been held as POWs in North Korea and were seeking assistance by asking how they had gotten his phone number. While this issue was receiving tremendous public attention in South Korea, the media reported a separate incident, which had happened a year before, in which a South Korean fisherman who had been abducted by the North received a similarly brusque response when he approached an ROK official. ¶4. (C) While Kim said that Song called on PRC officials to work more closely with the ROK and not to return individuals to North Korea, MFA Office of Korean Affairs Director Chen Hai told Poloffs January 30 that Song raised this issue but avoided strong criticism of the PRC. Noting that ROK Ambassador Kim had complained in stronger terms immediately before FM Song's visit, Chen said that Song had expressed appreciation for PRC cooperation to date in "managing" the issue of North Koreans in China while stressing the need for even greater cooperation. Kim did not discuss the content of the "internal meetings" Song had with ROK consular officers, the media reported that Song told the consuls that their behavior could be factored into performance evaluations. Diplomatic Relations -------------- ¶5. (C) Song discussed general PRC-ROK relations and the planned visit of Premier Wen Jiabao to the ROK this April in his meetings with FM Li Zhaoxing and Central Committee International Department (CCID) Director Wang Jiarui. During this visit, Wen hopes to initiate a broad strategic dialogue. Seoul hopes to supplement this strategic dialogue with broad policy dialogue at the Vice Ministerial level, Kim told Poloff. Both sides are please with the generally positive trend in bilateral relations, as evidenced by the 2007 Exchange Year to commemorate the fifteen years of diplomatic relations. Trade Relations -------------- ¶6. (C) Beijing and Seoul are seriously studying a Free Trade Agreement and have established a panel of academics, government officials and industry experts to further examine the specifics, both Chen and Kim said. Chen noted that both China and Japan are carefully watching Seoul's ongoing FTA negotiations with Washington to better understand Seoul's willingness to negotiate. In particular, Chen noted that Seoul must decide whether it is willing to trade off BEIJING 00000769 002 OF 002 protection of its agricultural sector for greater market access for its increasingly important high-tech exports to its three largest trading partners. Speaking personally, Chen (who attended Kim Il Sung University and has served at the PRC Embassy in Seoul) said that the ROK "must" move in this direction eventually, but that the process will not be easy and will be made worse because of the upcoming election. He commented that the PRC is studying an "early harvest" to eliminate tariffs and trade barriers in less politically sensitive areas, as it has done with some Southeast Asian neighbors. However, moving forward will require the ROK to address some key PRC concerns on investment issues as well as China's USD 40 billion trade deficit with South Korea. ¶7. (C) Song also discussed a joint "cooperation development vision," Kim told poloff, and PRC officials asked for increased cooperation in energy, environment, telecommunications, and a proposed "train-ferry" between China and South Korea. While Seoul and Beijing had previously discussed expanding bilateral trade to USD 200 billion by 2012, they agreed on this visit to try to achieve this goal within the next couple of years. Chinese officials also asked Song to encourage South Korean companies to invest in China's midwest and northeast. Consular Relations -------------- ¶8. (C) Song asked PRC officials to support the drafting of a formal consular agreement between the two nations, to which they "responded favorably," Kim told Poloff. Working-level Chinese officials are in Seoul during the week of January 29 for a second round of meetings to discuss the details of this agreement. Song also asked for permission to send more officers to work at the ROK Consulate in Shenyang than the current limit of sixteen, which Beijing said they would consider. PRC officials asked for Song's support of an MOU to allow Chinese workers permission to legally work in South Korea, which Song told them he would "study further," Kim said. Chen confirmed that the two countries are holding further discussions on a formal consular agreement and said the PRC understands ROK concerns on this issue. However, Chen stated that Seoul needed to be "realistic" in its goals, saying that it would be "difficult" for the PRC to give more to the ROK than it has in consular agreements with other countries. Other Issues -------------- ¶9. (C) PRC officials raised the "usual issues" with Song, such as Taiwan and Falun Gong, Kim said. They also inquired about the possibility of allowing shuttle flights between Seoul's Gimpo airport and Shanghai's Hongqiao airport. Song asked for PRC support of ROK bids to host the 2012 Expo and the 2014 Winter Olympics. RANDT