KOREAN VIEWS ON 63RD UNGA PRIORITY ISSUES

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000902

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM UNSC UNGA ECON BM KN
SUBJECT: KOREAN VIEWS ON 63RD UNGA PRIORITY ISSUES

Classified By: AMBASSADOR VANCE MCMAHAN, FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D


1. (C) Summary. Ambassador Khalilzad and Korean Permanent
Representative Ambassador Park In-kook led first-time
bilateral consultations between the U.S. and Korean missions
on October 1. The consultations, which focused on priority
issues in the 63rd UNGA, are a part of a Mission initiative
to hold regular bilateral meetings with influential UN
missions in order to increase understanding of U.S. positions
throughout the UN system. The Mission is also working more
intensively with key country groups, including the Democracy
Caucus and G77, with the long-term objective of building a
foundation for improved cooperation with a range of countries
on priority issues. The Mission has held consultations to
date with the UK, France, Japan, India, and Korea, and we are
planning on meeting with Brazil and perhaps China as well.
Korea's positions on the issues discussed in the
consultations follow in paragraphs 2-11 below. End Summary.


2. (C) The "Triple Crisis" (food and fuel, development, and
climate change): Park noted that SG Ban had announced $16
billion in pledges at the September 25 High-Level Event on
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),but that the French
Foreign Minister had "downgraded" these pledges by stating
that promises of more foreign assistance at this time are
"lies." Noting that the current crisis exacerbates the
problem of achieving the MDGs, Park said his personal view is
that failure to achieve the MDGs could mean the "collapse of
the UN system" because a failure would call into question the
UN's authority and reason for existence. We need to figure
out a way to deal with the MDGs, Park said. Korea will
triple its official development assistance budget to $3.3
billion by 2015; it would be good if the U.S. could "devote
more seriousness as well." Ambassador Khalilzad agreed that
it is important to meet the MDGs, but added that it is
unlikely that all countries will meet all MDGs for a variety
of reasons, some of which-like conflict-are difficult for the
UN and other member states to influence. He suggested the
two Missions hold follow-up consultations on this issue.
(Note: Park has a close relationship with SYG Ban, and was
likely carrying a message from Ban on the "triple crisis"
issue, which Ban has made many references to. End Note.)


3. (C) Security Council Reform: ROK Permanent
Representative Ambassador Park acknowledged that the Uniting
for Consensus (UFC) bloc's image was negatively impacted
during the recent negotiations at the end of the 62nd session
since it appeared to be playing more of a "spoiler" or
"obstructionist" role. He suggested that a new group might
need to be formed to offset the negative UFC image in order
to attract more support, especially from small states. On
the role of the P-5 during those negotiations, the ROK Perm
Rep criticized the US, Russian, and Chinese delegations for
not having a clear message of support for the UFC position,
like the British and French support for the G-4 position. He
attributed the "diluted" US, Russian, and Chinese message as
the reason many small countries sided with the G-4 "winning
side." He noted that the ROK was still internally
discussing its own ideas for the upcoming OEWG discussion on
framework and modalities. (Note: In a discussion on the
margins before the start of consultations, the Korean expert
admitted to PolOff that the UFC insistence on a discussion
first of framework and modalities before negotiations was
simply a stalling tactic and there was not much to truly
discuss under either topic. End note.) The ROK Perm Rep
reiterated ROK opposition to an increase in permanent
Security Council seats and advocated the intermediate
solution as a temporary bridge given the lack of agreement on
how to permanently expand the Council. Ambassador Khalilzad
reviewed the U.S. position that any expansion should be
minimal and incremental; that we remain open to an expansion
of permanent seats for specific countries; that Council
reform must be part of a broader UN reform effort; and that
no significant portion of the membership should be left
dissatisfied. He also stressed U.S. concerns about permanent
campaigning under the intermediate solution. Both sides
agreed to meet at the expert level to discuss proposals on
framework and modalities for the OEWG discussions.


4. (C) Third Committee Resolutions: The ROK PermRep said
that the ROK "can't tolerate" any action blocking Third
Committee country-specific resolutions on Iran, Burma and
DPRK and would continue to oppose a no-action motion. He
commented that bilateral consultations with Iran to
discourage no-action motions should be considered. On the
DPRK resolution, Park said that the ROK shares U.S. concerns
for the humanitarian situation and would "seriously consider"
co-sponsoring the text. The text should be balanced, he
remarked, and too much emphasis on any issue -- specifically
the Japanese focus on abductees -- could undermine the
resolution. The resolution would be better to adopt a
balanced approach that includes language addressing each of
the many challenging issues in North Korea's human rights

situation. Ambassador Khalilzad agreed on the need to
maintain focus on overarching humanitarian issues and
stressed the importance of ROK support for the resolutions.


5. (SBU) Illicit Arms Brokering Resolution: The ROK expert
said the draft resolution on illicit arms brokering called on
states to "enable national measures" and raise awareness
while trying to avoid establishing any new burdens or
obligations on states. ROK expert said the first two
informal meetings would be October 10 and 14 and stressed the
need for suggestions to the draft as soon as possible. USUN
explained that the United States supported the resolution in
principle, but looked forward to working at the experts level
during the First Committee to enhance its effectiveness.
(Note: USUN passed U.S. comments to co-sponsors ROK and
Australia October 2. U.S., ROK and Australia plan to meet
prior to the October 10 informal. End Note).


6. (SBU) Peacebuilding and Stabilization: Korea promised to
provide us with further information on whether they will
approach Timor-Leste about placement on the Peacebuilding
Commission's agenda. They did not have any particular
insights to share on the Security Council-mandated SYG report
on enhancing the UN's response to early recovery and
immediate post-conflict situations.


7. (SBU) Legal Empowerment of the Poor Initiative:
Ambassador McMahan noted that the U.S. has been struck by the
importance of legal empowerment as a strategy in the fight
against poverty that could complement and reinforce existing
approaches. The U.S. met with a diverse group of both
developed and developing countries that are already
contributing to the legal empowerment debate. We have drawn
up a concept paper outlining possible elements for a
resolution, and hope that a few developing countries will be
willing to take the initiative forward.


8. (SBU) Rio 20 Conference: Ambassador Park said that Korea
hopes to host a Rio 20 conference in Korea in 2012, and asked
for U.S. support. He noted that Brazil also has interest in
hosting the conference, but it is time for a rotation to an
Asian country, especially given the large amount of
greenhouse gases emitted by China, India, and other Asian
countries. Ambassador McMahan replied that the Mission would
convey Korea's request to Washington, but noted that the U.S.
prefers to allow the Commission on Sustainable Development to
complete its existing schedule of 2-year cycles, which runs
until 2015, before holding another global conference.


9. (SBU) Burma: ROK Political Counselor reiterated support
for Secretary-General Ban and the good offices mission and
said that Special Advisor Gambari's role should be continued.
She said that "action for action" is the guiding principle
and emphasized the need for urgent action by the regime,
including the release of political prisoners and inclusive
dialogue. She also stressed the important role of
neighboring countries, specifically China and India, as well
as ASEAN and the international community in applying
"pressure with patience and incentives" to bring about
change. Responding to a question on next steps, USUN
stressed the importance of focusing on the release of
political prisoners, including Aung Sun Suu Kyi, and the
inception of an inclusive dialogue in a timely manner. USUN
reminded the ROK that the United States viewed economic
development as an incentive, which the regime has not earned.
USUN expert emphasized U.S. support for SYG Ban's personal
engagement but commented that Ban should not return to Burma
without significant, concrete progress by the regime.


10. (SBU) UNDP North Korea Program: DPR Cho said that Korea
hopes there will be an agreement between the UNDP and DPRK
that fully reflects the Independent Panel Report. Such an
agreement would allow for a seamless transition to a new
program. Cho said Korea supports the five-step roadmap
agreed at the last UNDP board, and that UNDP officials are in
Pyongyang to reach agreement on modalities for a new program,
which the UNDP would then bring to the next board meeting for
discussion. U.S. Ambassador McMahan noted that the U.S. will
not prejudge the efforts of the negotiations between UNDP and
the DRPK, and stated that the U.S. has no objection to the
UNDP restarting a North Korea program as long as UNDP
management deficiencies are addressed.


11. (SBU) UN Budget and Management Reform: Another major
area of discussion was the more than $1 billion in potential
add-ons to the 2008-2009 program budget. Ambassador Khalilzad
characterized the situation as presenting both short term and
long term challenges to the US and like-minded states that
wish to restrain the budget's growth and promote financial
discipline. In the short term, the potential add-ons could
add an additional 25% to the already $4.12 billion budgeted
for the current biennium, which Khalilzad called
unacceptable. The Ambassador indicated that the budget

should not exceed 15%, stressing that this was a target and
not a fixed limit. Further out, Khalilzad said Secretary
General Ban Ki-Moon needs to offer a budget outline for the
2010-2011 period that is comprehensive, clear and sets
priorities. (Note: Secretary General Ban's inaugural budget
showed no restraint and is responsible for creating an
atmosphere where every initiative is viewed as a priority.
End note). Ambassador Khalilzad also said avoidance of a
dramatic increase by as much as 25% over the current budget
will require the identification of savings in relation to
specific proposals and possibly deferring other proposals. He
added that Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is contemplating
holding a summit to discuss the budget, to which Ambassador
Park said he will oppose a piecemeal approach. Finally, Human
Resources Management Reform was addressed briefly, with the
Korean DPR stating that agreement on a proposal to harmonize
conditions of service for UN staff was a high priority, but
that it should not come with a high cost.
Wolff