ROH CONFIDANTE AHN HEE-JONG MEETS NORTH KOREANS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 001151 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2027 TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KS SUBJECT: ROH CONFIDANTE AHN HEE-JONG MEETS NORTH KOREANS Classified By: A/DCM Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Roh Moo-hyun longtime confidante Ahn Hee-jung contacted North Korean officials in Beijing on October, 20 2006 in an unofficial attempt to start a communication channel with the North. Ahn's contact was a violation of the Inter-Korean cooperation and exchange law, but Roh has publicly defended Ahn, saying it was necessary to personally dispatch Ahn to try to move North-South relations forward by any means. The opposition Grand National Party said a formal investigation of the alleged illegal contact was necessary. To force an investigation, one-third of the National Assembly members must vote to investigate. Since this contact was unearthed by OhMyNews in a December 9 article, the Roh administration has had to explain its policy of emphasizing informal contact with the North through non-traditional channels. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Ahn met with Ri Ho-nam from the North Korean Embassy in Beijing for 30 minutes on October 20, 2006, without making the required report of the contact to the Ministry of Unification. According to Ahn, the meeting occurred because a South Korean businessman told the presidential office that the North wanted a special envoy following the October nuclear test. Ahn said this turned out to be false information. In an interview on April 16, Ahn said that the North Korean officials asked Ahn why he was there and Ahn said he was "embarrassed" by the situation since he expected the North to offer a proposal to him. ¶3. (C) ROK FM Song Min-soon said in a press briefing on April 13 that Ahn's contact was simply to find out if there was a useful communication channel available and not to plan for a North-South summit, as many claim. Roh has been widely criticized for attempting to arrange a North-South summit through non-transparent means in order to influence the December presidential elections. Roh told the press that his instructions on any unofficial contacts with North Koreans were part of the president's inherent authority. ¶4. (C) Kim Dang, the political reporter from OhMyNews who first uncovered the contact, told poloffs on April 16 that the Ahn case would blow over since there was nothing more to the story. Since Roh acknowledged the meeting occurred it would be difficult for any investigation and difficult to make it into any bigger issue, Kim noted. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) While opposition politicians hope to attack Roh's North Korea policy because of this secretive attempt to start dialogue, the fact is that former President Kim Dae-jung used informal channels to prepare the 2000 summit and many Koreans think that a variety of methods should be attempted to get North-South dialogue back on track. Some are even viewing the February 13 Initial Actions agreement as tangible results of Roh's initiative. The risky political decision that Roh took to pursue back-channel communication, along with the decision to push the KORUS FTA to conclusion, has boosted Roh's popularity rating up to 36 percent in recent polls. While none of this support has rubbed off on any of the non-GNP presidential hopefuls, it may signal the reemergence of Roh as a political force. STANTON