RUSSIA-SOUTH KOREA RELATIONS: NO FRICTION, BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 004433

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PARMS MNUC KS RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIA-SOUTH KOREA RELATIONS: NO FRICTION, BUT
THE NORTH TO WORRY ABOUT


Classified By: Political M/C Alice G. Wells. Reasons 1.4 (B/D).



1. (C) Summary. GOR officials characterized the August
30-31 Moscow visit by the South Korean Foreign Minister Song
Min-Soon as "excellent" with no notable problem areas
requiring serious negotiation, except the shared concern for
North Korea's nuclear programs. FM Lavrov summarized the
Russia-South Korea relationship as one that is "on the rise
in every sphere in an intensive, regular and trusting
partnership." The denuclarization of the North dominated the
foreign ministers' meeting, while economic issues remained
key questions on the bilateral front. End summary.

Six-Party Momentum
--------------


2. (C) At an August 31 press conference following the
meeting with FM Song, FM Lavrov emphasized the partnership
between the two countries, which are bound by regional
security interests and mutual trade/investment. Presidents
Putin and Roh Moo-Hyun met on September 9 on the margins of
the Sydney APEC Summit. MFA Korea Desk Senior Counselor Oleg
Davydov underlined that Song's visit, although hastily
arranged as a short stop on his way back from the Middle
East, was important for both countries, as the Six-Party
Talks are at a momentous turning point. According to the MFA
and the Korean Embassy, the two foreign ministers agreed to
help create an environment through the Six-Party process for
eventual U.S.-DPRK diplomatic normalization.


3. (C) Korean Embassy Political Counselor Kim Chang-Gyu
stressed that preparations for the Beijing Plenary could
begin only after all Working Groups (WG) met. The last
WG--Japan-DPRK bilat meeting--ended on September 6. South
Korea, which had backed the U.S. push for a September
Six-Party Ministerial, had reluctantly accepted Russia's
insistence on a later meeting. With China's objection to a
Russian proposal to hold the Ministerial at UNGA in
September, the two agreed on an October gathering of
Six-Party foreign ministers in Beijing. FM Song solicited
the GOR's help with South Korea's proposal for confidence
building measures, which South Korea circulated for the
August 20-21 Russia-chaired WG on the North East Asia Peace
and Security Mechanism and failed to garner support.

Bilateral Cooperation: Economics First
--------------


4. (C) FM Lavrov welcomed the release of the Korean hostages
from Afghanistan and supported the South-North October 2-3
Summit. In turn, FM Song secured Lavrov's support for South
Korea hosting the 2014 EXPO in YoSoo. However, Kim affirmed
that economic cooperation was the main bilateral issue. The
two ministers discussed ways to introduce leading Korean
firms to the Russian economy and joint energy and space
projects, with the particular South Korean interest in
Sochi-Olympic related infrastructure projects. FM Lavrov
also announced that the two governments were making efforts
to bring North Korea to "trilateral" projects such as
connecting the Trans-Korea with Trans-Siberian railways.
(Note: The project has been under consideration since 2000
but we have seen little progress. End note) The South Korean
government was seeking to involve Korean companies in the
modernization of the North Korean side of the railway.


5. (C) A gas pipeline from Russia through North Korea to
South Korea is a distant but real possibility, the ministers
agreed. The joint space program comprises two projects:
training of a Korean cosmonaut in the Gagarin Center, which
will put the first Korean in orbit later this year, and
Korean import of a small size satellite launching system.

Comment
--------------


6. (C) While Russia's relationships both with China and
Japan are complicated, Russia-South Korea relations seem to
be paranoia-free. For most Russians, Korea does not loom as
a future strategic threat as the other two may. How the GOR
and ROK manage North Korea will further shape the
relationship.
Burns