US-ROK CONSULATIONS ON NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS: NO CHANGES IN DPRK, ROKG MORE ASSERTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 001947 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2018 TAGS: KN KS PGOV PREL PHUM SUBJECT: US-ROK CONSULATIONS ON NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS: NO CHANGES IN DPRK, ROKG MORE ASSERTIVE Classified By: POL M/C Joe Yun. Reasons 1.4(b/d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) In the third and final consultation session between delegations headed respectively by EAP DAS Alex Arvizu and MOFAT Director General for Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Huh Chul on September 25, ROK officials said that they discerned no significant improvement in the human rights situation in the DPRK in any area, notwithstanding slight improvement in access by UN humanitarian agencies in North Korea. According to Blue House National Security Assistant Secretary Lee Choong-myon, the present ROK government planned to address human rights more seriously than in the past by, among other things, voting more assertively on UN resolutions on DPRK human rights. Describing the ROK's position as being akin to having a neighbor who abuses his child, Lee added that the present administration planned to stop shying away from the issue of DPRK human rights and try to persuade the North that improving its record is in its own interest. DG Huh said the international community would be most effective addressing DPRK human rights if it did so in a consistent and unified manner. The ROKG expressed pleasure at the extension of the U.S. North Korea Human Rights Act. Multiple drafts of an ROK Human Rights Act are presently in committee at the National Assembly, Lee explained. The role of the new National Human Rights Committee, formed within the National Human Rights Commission, has not yet been fleshed out. END SUMMARY. -------------- AGREED: NO IMPROVEMENT IN DPRK HUMAN RIGHTS -------------- ¶2. (C) A U.S. delegation led by EAP DAS Alex Arvizu and a ROKG delegation led by MOFAT DG for Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Huh Chul met in Seoul on September 24-25 to discuss (a) the Relationship between South and North Korea; (b) Humanitarian Aid to North Korea and North Korean Refugees; and (c) North Korean Human Rights Situation. This message reports on the third of these two-hour sessions. ¶3. (C) The discussion kicked off with an exchange of assessments of the human rights situation in North Korea. Michael Orona, DRL Deputy Director for Asia and Western Hemisphere, welcomed the opportunity to consult with the ROKG on this important issue, and outlined the USG,s view of the human rights situation. Because of the difficulty of obtaining information on the situation in the DPRK, Orona said, it is particularly important to share information. Orona explained that the USG,s goal is to promote reform in North Korea, and said that the Department would soon review proposals for $3 million of FY08 funding for human rights and freedom of information programs. DPRK human rights is a top USG priority, Orona stressed, and would be a key element of any normalization process between the United States and DPRK. ¶4. (C) MOFAT Human Rights and Social Affairs Division official Kang Seok-hee agreed with Orona that there appeared to be no significant improvement in the North's human rights record in any area, be it freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, or treatment of prisoners. Kang noted that the head of UN humanitarian agencies in North Korea had indicated that the DPRK was allowing agency personnel slightly more access than before. He further pointed out the difficulty of piecing together a full picture of the DPRK human rights situation, characterizing the regime with the oft-used phrase "black box". -------------- MULTILATERAL, BILATERAL APPROACHES -------------- ¶5. (C) Kang also brought attention to relevant upcoming developments in UN bodies, specifically the tabling of the North Korean human rights resolution in the UNGA Third Committee, the vote in the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) on extension of the Special Rappourteur's mandate, and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the DPRK human rights situation by the HRC next December. Blue House National Security Assistant Secretary Lee Choong-myon later commented that the ROK's voting posture with regard to these matters would be more assertive than in the past. ¶6. (C) Lee Dong-yeol of North America Division I added that multilateral efforts were important, but a more programmatic bilateral approach to DPRK human rights was needed, too. Later discussion revealed this to mean that the ROK plans to first raise issues that directly affect South Koreans -- abductions of South Koreans, POW cases, and separated families -- once dialogue with the North resumes. Following this, it will address areas of human rights concern within North Korea itself. ¶7. (C) Stressing the need to share information on human rights issues, Orona asked for any information the ROKG had on three key human rights cases: Kim Dong-shik, Kim Chun-hee, and Son Jong-nam. DG Huh pledged to look into the ROKG,s information on those cases and provide a response to the U.S. Orona also inquired about the current status of ROK human rights technical assistance projects, a point later emphasized by Korea Desk Officer, Laura Rosenberger. While the ROK delegation did not offer up much information on this front, members were open to working with the USG on mutual issues of concern. -------------- BREAKING FROM THE PAST -------------- ¶8. (C) Providing a forthright Blue House perspective, National Security Assistant Secretary Lee contrasted the approaches of the past and present ROK administrations to DPRK human rights, drawing parallels with divergent ways of dealing with a neighbor who abuses his child. Former governments, Assistant Secretary Lee said, ignored North Korea's abuses in order to maintain smooth relations, like ignoring a neighbor,s abuse of his child. The present administration, he said, would face the issue squarely and tell its neighbor to "stop hitting your child." It would try to convince the DPRK that improving its human rights record is in its own interest. ¶9. (C) Informed by respect for human rights as universal values, Assistant Secretary Lee described several areas in which the present administration's new policy approach would manifest itself: 1) a more assertive voting posture on UN resolutions, 2) promotion of human rights awareness through greater cooperation with the international community and human rights NGOs, and 3) emphasis on abductee, POW and separated family issues as agenda items once dialogue with the DPRK resumes. Assistant Secretary Lee later added that the present government had increased overall funding for NGOs doing human rights-related work, but was still considering specific programs it might consider undertaking. The inclusion of human rights in the recent U.S.-ROK Summit Joint Statement demonstrated the importance of this issue to our two countries, Lee said. -------------- HOLDING REINS ON THREE HORSES -------------- ¶10. (C) Lee explained that the Lee Myung-bak administration had a three-pronged framework for dealing with the DPRK: human rights, the nuclear issue, and broader North-South engagement. Evoking an equine image to illustrate the difficulty of striking a balance between encouraging engagement with the DPRK while dealing effectively with thorny issues, Assistant Secretary Lee described these issues as being like three horses. There are interconnections tying all three areas, Lee said, so spurring any of the three steeds forward should only be done after giving careful consideration to the other two. Whereas previous administrations favored racing the North-South engagement horse ahead, the present one recognizes that the nuclear horse is the most important. Once the nuclear horse is tamed, more attention will turn to North-South relations and human rights. -------------- - ADDRESSING DPRK WITH UNITY AND CONSISTENCY KEY -------------- - ¶11. (C) DG Huh stated that he would give careful consideration to Orona,s suggestion of creating a periodic multilateral discussion of North Korean human rights in the same way participants in the Human Rights Exchange (formerly known as the Bern Process) do on China, but cautioned that Pyongyang has its own peculiar conception of human rights and tends to respond to the issue by bringing up Japanese historical atrocities or Guantanamo Bay. The most effective way for the international community to address the regime's human rights abuses being with a unified voice, he said, there was a need for international discussions about dealing with the DPRK in a consistent manner. -------------- HUMAN RIGHTS ACTS -------------- ¶12. (C) Director General Huh having begun the session by noting "important developments" on the U.S. side, several ROK delegates noted with pleasure the passage of the U.S. North Korea Human Rights Act extension. The ROK side also said there were multiple drafts of a Korean Human Rights Act presently in committee at the National Assembly. These would be merged into a unified draft for consideration by the Assembly, at which point the Administration would weigh-in on the legislation. ¶13. (C) Regarding the newly formed National Human Rights Committee, MOFAT Inter-Korean Policy Division Director Jin Gi-hoon said the body was created within the National Human Rights Commission but still lacked a clearly defined role. DG Huh added that the Commission had been criticized for ignoring North Korean human rights issues in the past and the formation of the committee may be part of an effort to rectify this. -------------- RADIO WAVES -------------- ¶14. (C) Asked about the effectiveness of outside broadcasting into the DPRK, Orona explained that we continue to receive reports of defectors who have listened to foreign broadcasts. DAS Arvizu seconded Orona,s request that the ROKG give careful consideration to a proposal that BBG plans to discuss during an upcoming visit to Seoul to explore options for broadcasting via a tower from the ROKG. MOFAT Inter-Korean Policy Division,s Lim Hyo-sun assessed that while such efforts may be effective in the long-run, in the short-term they might prompt greater DPRK resistance to the opening of its society. -------------- PARTICIPANTS -------------- ROK HUH Chul, Director-General for the Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Bureau, MOFAT JIN Gi-hoon, Director, Inter-Korean Policy Division, MOFAT LEE Won-ik, Director, Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Division, MOFAT LEE Choong-Myon, Assistant Secretary to the President for National Security Strategy, Blue House LEE Dong-yeol, 1st Secretary, North America Division I, MOFAT LEE Jong-joo, Deputy Director, Policy Planning Division, MOU YOO Chang-ho, 1st Secretary, Korean Embassy to the US SONG Yong-min, 2nd Secretary, Inter-Korean Policy Division, MOFAT LIM Hyo Sun, 2nd Secretary Inter-Korean Policy Division, MOFAT KIM Sung-soo, 1st Secretary, Inter-Korean Policy Division, MOFAT KANG Seok-hee, 1st Secretary, Human Rights and Social Affairs Division, MOFAT KIM Jae-hui, 1st Secretary, Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Division, MOFAT KIM Sang-gook, Deputy Director, Political & Social Analysis Division, MOU LEE Won-sik, 2nd Secretary, Northeast Asian Regional Cooperation Division, MOFAT LEE Eon Joung, 3rd Secretary, Inter-Korean Policy Division, MOFAT U.S. DAS Alex A. Arvizu Terry Rusch, PRM Director of Admissions Meghann Curtis, PRM Asia Near East Program Officer Michael Orona, DRL Asia and Western Hemisphere Deputy Director Amy Patel, EAP/K Desk Officer Laura Rosenberger, EAP/K Foreign Affairs Officer Allison Hooker, INR East Asia Analyst Mary Comfort, Legal Advisor Shawn Duncan, U.S. Embassy Seoul Political Officer Craig Hall, U.S. Embassy Seoul Political Officer Jason Evans, U.S. Embassy Seoul Political Officer STEPHENS