PRESIDENT ROH MAGNANIMOUS ON US-ROK RELATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 002482

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: AFTER KOREAN UNIFICATION
TAGS: PREL MARR KS
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT ROH MAGNANIMOUS ON US-ROK RELATIONS

Classified By: Classified by CDA Bill Stanton. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
.

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Summary
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1. (C/NF) In an August 16 Blue House meeting following the
ceremony honoring Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
General Peter Pace, ROK President Roh Moo-hyun detailed the
many positive advances in U.S.- ROK relations accomplished
during his term in office, including the relocation of U.S.
Forces, the Free Trade Agreement, and progress on Korean
participation in the Visa Waiver Program. In language
clearly intended to revise his reputation as less than
friendly to the United States, Roh distanced himself from his
own previous anti-U.S. rhetoric during the 2002 presidential
election about the accidental deaths of two Korean
schoolgirls struck by a U.S military vehicle, and said he had
always doubted allegations about U.S. military responsibility
for the 1980 Gwangju massacre. Roh expressed his fondness
for President Bush, and eagerness to meet with POTUS on the
margins of the upcoming APEC Summit. In addition, he
conveyed his appreciation for U.S. contributions to
establishing international order and peace across the globe,
and contrasted the Korean mind set toward casualties overseas
with American fortitude. Praising the efforts of General
Pace and U.S. Forces to maintain peace in Korea, Roh said
most Alliance issues had been solved and he hoped that the
realignment of American forces would make the lives of our
service members better. Noting that the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) and the Ministry of National
Defense (MND) had supported the U.S. position on the return
of U.S. bases, Roh also pointed out the criticism he had
received from NGOs and the opposition of his Minister of
Environment. End summary.

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An Improved Alliance
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2. (C/NF) On August 16, President Roh Moo-hyun presented
General Peter Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, with the Tongil Medal of National Merit for his
service in support of Korea's security. Following the brief
ceremony at the Blue House, General and Mrs. Pace, U.S.
Forces Korea Commander General Bell, and the Charge sat down
with President Roh and members of his staff for what was
expected to be a brief chat but turned into an hour-long
meeting as Roh privately reflected on the progress made
across a wide range of bilateral issues.


3. (C/NF) Roh opened by expressing appreciation for all that
General Pace and other U.S. military commanders had done for
the security of Korea. Thanking President Roh, General Pace
said he had accepted the honor the President had bestowed on
behalf of all the U.S. service members who had been guests of
Korea and served side by side with Korean forces. President
Roh endorsed this view, adding that we should not forget all
those who had served in Korea. We appreciate the U.S. forces
in Korea, Roh said; they were important to Korea and
continued to do a lot of good work. Roh said he sincerely
hoped that the realignment and relocation of U.S. forces
would make the lives of our service people better. Roh added
that the previous day he had received a report on the
preparation of the Jikdo aerial practice range, noting that
when that particular issue was resolved in the near future,
all of our military alliance issues would be behind us.
General Pace responded that while there were always issues
that might arise, we remained friends, allies and partners.


4. (C/NF) Reiterating his view that Alliance problems were
behind us, President Roh suggested that unlike five years
ago, when both the U.S. and the ROK &shared great
difficulties8 over the transformation of the U.S. military
presence in Korea, now all the difficult issues between our
militaries had been resolved. He recalled in particular in
2002, when he was a candidate for the Presidency, the
"unfortunate incident" in which two Korean schoolgirls were
killed (accidentally stuck by a U.S. military vehicle) and
the subsequent debate over the relocation of U.S. bases. Roh
said he thought it was safe to say that with the relocation
of U.S. bases, there was very little basis for any conflict
between U.S. forces and the Korean people. To get to this
point, he said, U.S. military commanders had endured great
difficulties and made enormous efforts. Roh added that while
there had been and still were some Koreans who were critical
of the U.S. and had targeted the U.S. military presence in
Korea, the focus had now shifted to the import of U.S. beef
and this had taken some pressure off the U.S. military. The
beef issue was easier to deal with, he concluded with a
smile.


5. (C/NF) General Pace responded that in a democracy, there
were always differences of opinion but the value of the
friendship between our countries was such that we would work
hard to maintain the bonds that went back decades. Recalling
that as a young lieutenant, he had served side-by-side with
Koreans in Vietnam, the General said it was unfortunate when
there were problems, but as good friends, we would always
find solutions.

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Roh's Changed View of the Alliance
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6. (C/NF) President Roh responded that he had to admit that
at one time he thought the ROK-U.S. relationship was
one-sided and that it meant more to Korea than to the U.S.
He had the opportunity to visit the United States, however,
and had been surprised and touched to find that our Alliance
meant a great deal to Americans. He had also at one time
felt that Koreans were fonder of the American people than
Americans were of Koreans but he had found to the contrary
that there was great affection in America for the Korean
people. Especially when he had visited the Korean War
memorial in Washington, he had been touched by those he met.
Korean War veterans in particular had great affection for
Korea. They were followed by those who had had an
opportunity to live and work in Korea.

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Roh Looks Forward to Meeting POTUS
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7. (C/NF) Noting that he had met with President Bush at the
beginning of the week, General Pace conveyed the President's
best wishes. President Roh said he understood he would be
meeting President Bush on the margins of APEC when they would
have a great deal to discuss. "I like President Bush," he
said; "he's very likeable." Over time, Roh continued, they
had built a degree of trust between themselves as they worked
together on many issues. Roh proudly speculated that among
Korean presidents he had met the U.S. President more often
than any of his predecessors. Together, he and President
Bush had "completely revamped the Alliance." He cited in
particular "taking care of the U.S. Embassy and Residence"
(presumably a reference to our agreement to eventually move
the Chancery and staff housing to land vacated on the Yongsan
military compound); signing a Free Trade Agreement; and
obtaining before the conclusion of President Bush's term of
office the Visa Waiver Program for the Korean people.


8. (C/NF) Noting the hardships American troops were
undergoing overseas, President Roh said he hoped they would
soon have some success and reduce the pressure on President
Bush. He said he understood President Bush's ongoing
concerns for the troops and felt strong sympathy for him.
General Pace responded that President Bush appreciated all
that Korean troops were doing in Iraq, Afghanistan and
Lebanon. Although in some places we might not have had as
much success as we would like, one place there was success
was right here on the Korean peninsula.

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Praise for U.S. Fortitude in Contrast to Korea
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9. (C/NF) Continuing his laudatory and reflective appraisal
of the U.S.-ROK alliance, Roh said he believed the tremendous
sacrifices U.S. forces had made overseas were very noble and
reflected the great fortitude of the American people. He
observed that he was not sure the Korean people had the same
fortitude or resilience to make such sacrifices. If that
were the case, he thought the difference stemmed from the
different historical experiences of each country and the role
each country had played in the modern era. Sharing more
about the transformation of his own personal understanding of
the Alliance and the U.S., Roh said he had had the privilege
to visit the National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia and the
Punchbowl in Hawaii. He recalled how struck he was that the
vast majority of Americans had lost their lives overseas on
behalf of other countries. He had found the same to be true
when he visited the memorials to the fallen in Australia and
New Zealand. Few had given their lives for their own nation.
Most had died upholding the international order; this was
very impressive. He thought the historical experience of a
country accounted for the difference. The more pride a
country had in the role it played on the international stage,
the more fortitude the people had.


10. (C/NF) In Korea's case, Roh continued, some sacrifices
had been made in Vietnam and some in Iraq, but there was a
lack of popular consensus in support of Korean forces
overseas. Even supporters of Korean deployments overseas
attacked his Government when there was the slightest setback.
The mind-set of the Korean people was such that they did not
understand the value of their contributions to the
international community. Nonetheless, Roh concluded, he
believed that during his term in office there had been some
improvement in the Korean outlook toward the U.S. and also in
this Korean mind-set. In response, General Pace recalled
that during his previous visit to Korea, he had visited the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He said he knew of no more
courageous fighters in the world than Koreans. Korean troops
were making a contribution not only abroad but also right
here at home. The United States valued and appreciated their
contribution, and we thanked them for the job they were doing.

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Improved Korean Views of the U.S.
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11. (C/NF) Expressing appreciation for General Pace's words,
President Roh said the thought had just occurred to him that
the views of the Korean people toward the United States had
improved with the growth of democracy in Korea. During
General Pace's tour in Korea (in 1986-1988),Roh recalled
that he had himself been in the human rights movement.
Ruefully, he said, his friends at the time had strong
anti-American feelings. His friends, however, had changed
their minds over time and all now had favorable views of the
U.S. Another unfortunate incident (in the history of
U.S.-Korea relations),Roh said, was the mass killings in
Gwangju in 1980 when pamphlets distributed at the time
accused the U.S. of responsibility. At the time, he recalled
thinking that there was no evidence to support these
accusations. Nonetheless, he said, the Korean people now
understood the U.S. military was not involved. General Pace
replied that there were often misunderstandings but that
thousands of Americans had died to free Korea and if
necessary thousands more would die again to keep it free. As
long as Korea wanted us to be friends and partners, we would
be.

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Base Returns
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12. (C/NF) Changing subjects, President Roh said our two
countries enjoyed many channels of communication. When
there were glitches, however, you would almost always saw it
in the press, which was always making trouble. Our
governments were regularly in consultation and he believed
there was a high level of trust and confidence in our sharing
of sensitive information. Sometimes, Roh said, he even had
to prod his people to be more aggressive in defending Korean
interests. Sometimes he believed they took his instructions
well, but sometimes not. He noted that on the issue of
rehabilitating returned U.S. bases, he had had a hard time
persuading his Environment Minister to look into this issue
more thoroughly. Roh said he thought we would be pleased to
know that MOFAT and MND had both served as good advocates of
the U.S. position on base returns.


13. (C/NF) General Pace replied that he would take very
seriously any Korean complaints about the bases we had
returned and would be most anxious to clarify any
misunderstandings. We had worked very hard to return the
bases in the condition in which we would want them and had
returned them in better condition than in which we had
received them. Agreeing, President Roh said he understood
very well the U.S. efforts to return the bases in good
condition. Of course, he added, some people still claimed
the Korean Government had been too lax on this issue. He
fully understood that there were national differences in
environmental criteria and regulations so he understood the
basis of the disagreements. He hoped that when all the
Korean inspections were over and done with, the Government
would find the environmental condition of the former bases to
be as reported by the Korean military and not as reported by
the NGOs. Deputy Combined Forces Commander General Kim
Byung-kwan, who also participated in the meeting, said he had
been told the condition of the former bases was not bad, and
the Korean military would take a look at any additional
measures that were found necessary.

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Chancery Move?
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14. (C/NF) Turning to the Charge, President Roh asked if we
were ready to move U.S. Embassy facilities. The Charge
replied that our building of a new Chancery and a move
depended in turn on USFK's move to Pyongtaek. General Bell
added that the important thing was that we had an agreement
to move.

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Comment
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15. (C/NF) President Roh's comments were delivered to a
select audience on an occasion honoring a key Alliance
supporter and therefore cannot be assumed to be his true or
final feelings about the U.S.A. What he had to say, however,
alongside the helpful public statement of support for the
Alliance contained in his August 15 Independence Day speech,
provides further evidence he recognizes the U.S.-ROK Alliance
is vitally important to the stability and prosperity of his
country. That is a view we believe, and the polls
consistently indicate, is widely shared by the Korean public.
That said, it remains to be seen if his views expressed in
private will translate to a less contentious transfer process
during the next round of base returns in 2008.
VERSHBOW