Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07VIENTIANE829
2007-11-09 11:10:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Vientiane
Cable title:  

SOUTH KOREAN DCM DISCUSSES NORTH KOREAN PREMIER'S

Tags:  PREL PGOV EINV LA KN KS 
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VZCZCXRO2770
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHVN #0829 3131110
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 091110Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1633
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2210
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0590
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1208
C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENTIANE 000829 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV EINV LA KN KS
SUBJECT: SOUTH KOREAN DCM DISCUSSES NORTH KOREAN PREMIER'S
VISIT TO LAOS

Classified By: Ambassador Ravic Huso. Reason: 1.4 b and d.

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENTIANE 000829

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV EINV LA KN KS
SUBJECT: SOUTH KOREAN DCM DISCUSSES NORTH KOREAN PREMIER'S
VISIT TO LAOS

Classified By: Ambassador Ravic Huso. Reason: 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary: The South Korean DCM told the DCM on
November 9 that Lao officials had described the November 4-7
visit of North Korean Premier Kim Yong Il as very successful.
The Lao Prime Minister praised North Korea's handling of
Korean peninsula issues. Lao officials described Premier Kim
as friendly, comfortable, and relaxed. The visit appears to
have been an opportunity for Laos, which seeks to balance its
relations with the two Koreas, as a way to reassure North
Korea that it is not tilting too sharply toward South Korea,
which is an increasingly significant player here. End
summary.


2. (C) South Korean DCM Sang Ryol Lee told the DCM on
November 9 that the South Korean government has followed the
November 4-7 visit to Laos of North Korean Premier Kim Yong
Il with a great deal of interest. Mr. Lee said that Lao
government officials had described the visit of the North
Korean Premier as very fruitful and successful. The two
sides discussed Korean peninsula issues, but Mr. Lee is not
sure whether nuclear issues came up. Lao Prime Minister
Bouasone Bouphavanh, he said, had praised North Korea's
handling of its relationship with South Korea and welcomed
the North-South summit talks. Mr. Lee said that, according
to Lao officials, Premier Kim was very friendly, comfortable,
and relaxed and appeared satisfied with the visit, which was,
according to Mr. Lee, the highest-level visit of a North
Korean official to Laos in 15 years. He noted that Premier
Kim is scheduled to take part in a bilateral meeting with his
South Korean counterpart in Seoul on November 16.


3. (C) Mr. Lee said that Vice Foreign Minister Phongsavath
Boupha had said at a November 7 dinner hosted by South Korean
Ambassador Park Jae-Hyun that he believes that North Korea is
interested in investing in Laos. This is of necessity a
long-term interest, since at present Pyongyang does not have
capital to invest. Mr. Lee noted that, in addition to Laos,
Premier Kim visited Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia on this
trip. He commented that, given recent positive developments
in the Six-Party Talks, the North Koreans may be exploring
models for increasing economic engagement with the outside
world within a socialist framework.


4. (C) Comment: Both North and South Korea have embassies
in Vientiane, and the Lao government aims to balance its
relationships with the two countries. However, South Korea
has emerged in recent years as an important presence in Laos,
with significant investment and a growing role as a bilateral
donor. North Korea has a much lower profile here. The GOL
may have seen the visit, which received a large amount of
coverage in the government-controlled press, as an
opportunity to reassure North Korea that it is not tilting
too sharply toward South Korea.

HUSO