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