OPTIONS FOR FACILITATING A KOREAN PROVINCIAL

S E C R E T KABUL 003635 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM STATE PASS USAID FOR ASIA/SCAA USFOR-A FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/11/2019 TAGS: KDEM MOPS PGOV PREL NZ KS AF SUBJECT: OPTIONS FOR FACILITATING A KOREAN PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAM IN AFGHANISTAN REF: A. A)STATE 106840 ¶B. B) SEOUL 1735 ¶C. C) KABUL 3436 ¶D. D) STATE 115253 ¶E. E) SEOUL 1789 Classified By: Interagency Provincial Affairs Coordinator Scott F. Kiln er for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) This is a joint Embassy Kabul-ISAF message. ¶2. (S/REL ISAF) Summary: To facilitate the Republic of Korea,s (ROK) efforts to follow through on its offer to stand up a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan, Embassy Kabul and the International Security Assistance Force for Afghanistan (ISAF) will assist the ROK survey team expected in Afghanistan November 12-17. We intend to present the survey team with two options. If the ROK is prepared to staff a PRT with an adequate level of its own security forces, we will help the Koreans find a suitable site in Parwan Province or in another province. If the Koreans will not have adequate independent force protection capability, we plan to recommend that they consider locating additional development staff and medical personnel on Bagram Air Field (BAF) with the clear understanding that U.S. Forces would not be able to provide force protection outside the base on a predictable or regular basis. End summary. ¶3. (S/REL ISAF) Septel reports our meetings with Korean Ambassador Song Woong Yeob and DCM Park Young-kyu, and the ROK,s focus on Parwan Province as the location for their PRT. We will assist the Korean survey delegation, headed by ROK SRAP and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Lee Yong-joon, which plans to visit BAF and Parwan Province on November 15-16. The Korean Embassy has arranged a meeting for the party with Parwan Governor Abdul Basir Salangi. The ROK delegation has also requested to visit Bamyan Province and the New Zealand-run PRT there on November 16. ¶4. (S/REL ISAF) It will be very important for us to coordinate ROK plans in Parwan Province, as there are already steps underway to open a new U.S. PRT in Parwan in February ¶2010. This would be the first time that two nations have independent PRTs in the same province, presenting unique ) but manageable ) challenges in coordinating our respective dealings with the Parwan provincial governor and other officials. ¶5. (S/REL ISAF) The strategic importance of BAF to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan requires also that our security concerns in surrounding Parwan Province be fully addressed. If the Koreans are truly committed to establishing an independent PRT that is self-sufficient, including an adequate security force along with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets, we welcome the opportunity to assist them in finding a suitable location in Parwan Province, as that is where their strong interests seem to lie. But we will also hold open the option of assisting the Koreans to find a suitable location in another province, should they be amenable to such a scenario. ¶6. (S/REL ISAF) If the Koreans for any reason cannot commit to a truly self-sufficient PRT, as Foreign Minister Yu,s November 6 letter to NATO SYG Rasmussen pledges they will (Ref E),we would alternatively recommend they consider locating on BAF itself, with the clear understanding that it is unlikely that U.S. Forces would be able to provide robust force protection outside the base on a predictable or regular basis. We would, however, welcome and likely be able to assist training and development activities highlighted in Ref A, including police and vocational training; agricultural projects; infrastructure projects, including road construction; and expansion of the number of Korean doctors and nurses at Korean hospital at BAF. EIKENBERRY