Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09SEOUL1513
2009-09-23 07:28:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Seoul
Cable title:
SENIOR ROK DIPLOMAT ON IRAN, DPRK HUMANITARIAN AID
how-toVZCZCXYZ0000 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHUL #1513 2660728 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 230728Z SEP 09 FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5724 INFO RUCNKOR/KOREA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUACAAA/COMUSKOREA INTEL SEOUL KOR PRIORITY RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J5 SEOUL KOR PRIORITY RHMFISS/COMUSFK SEOUL KOR PRIORITY RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 001513
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SOCI ECON KS KN JN IR
SUBJECT: SENIOR ROK DIPLOMAT ON IRAN, DPRK HUMANITARIAN AID
REF: SEOUL 1503
Classified By: POL M/C James L. Wayman. Reasons 1.4 (b and d).
Summary
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 001513
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SOCI ECON KS KN JN IR
SUBJECT: SENIOR ROK DIPLOMAT ON IRAN, DPRK HUMANITARIAN AID
REF: SEOUL 1503
Classified By: POL M/C James L. Wayman. Reasons 1.4 (b and d).
Summary
--------------
1. (C) Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Young-joon told the DCM
on 9/21 that while the ROK would be as helpful as possible on
Iran issues in the coming weeks, Seoul's position would be
shaped by what Tokyo does. Lee argued the ROKG position on
humanitarian assistance to North Korea is clear and
consistent: no ROK-registered NGO is currently permitted to
ship high-tech medical equipment to the DPRK. The reason, he
explained, is that there is "zero possibility" such equipment
would be used on ordinary, non-elite North Koreans. The DFM
dismissed the notion that the upcoming family reunions, the
first in two years, will generate public pressure on the Blue
House to take a more conciliatory line on humanitarian
assistance. End summary.
Iran: Watching What Japan Does
--------------
2. (C) During a September 21 lunch hosted by the DCM, ROK
Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Young-joon said Seoul would be as
helpful as possible on Iran issues in the coming weeks but
would be watching what Tokyo does. If, for example, Japan's
delegation walked out of Iranian or Libyan UNGA speeches that
cross U.S. redlines (reftel),the ROK delegation probably
would as well. Lee, who supervises the Middle East Bureau as
well as the North America Bureau, candidly cautioned that
Washington should not expect Seoul to do more on Iran than
Japan. The Japanese are in the midst of a robust expansion
of economic, political and cultural ties with Iran, he
claimed, and the South Korean business community is lobbying
the Blue House hard, claiming ROK companies are falling
behind the Japanese in the race to secure major Iranian
government contracts. Lee asserted that the ROK business
community is quietly but persistently urging the Blue House
to follow Tokyo's -- not Washington's -- lead.
DPRK: Low-Tech Medical Supplies Good, High-Tech Gear Bad
-------------- --------------
3. (SBU) Turning to the issue of humanitarian assistance for
North Korea, Lee argued that the ROKG stance is clear and
consistent: no ROK-registered NGO is being permitted to ship
high-tech medical equipment to the DPRK. There are no
exceptions. He explained that the reason such equipment
(including ultrasonic) is not being sent to North Korea is
that there is "zero possibility" the equipment would be used
on non-elites. Lee scoffed at the notion that even such
ordinary equipment as sonograms would be used for regular
people, saying that, if sent, such gear would be portrayed as
"tribute" to KJI and used at a Pyongyang hospital that treats
KWP and military/security force elites.
4. (SBU) Lee acknowledged the DCM's point that the definition
of "humanitarian assistance" is subjective and open to
different interpretations. The ROKG view is that, for
example, 50,000 tons of rice to help feed starving people
constitutes humanitarian assistance; 500,000 tons represents
"something completely different." Similarly, costly medical
equipment to treat regime cronies cannot be characterized as
humanitarian assistance, he argued. Low-tech medical
assistance, specifically more "aspirin, rubbing alcohol and
morphine," would meet the ROK standard and DPRK needs.
North-South: Reunions Will Fizzle
--------------
5. (C) The DFM dismissed the suggestion that upcoming
reunions of family members separated during the Korean War,
the first in two years, will generate public pressure on the
Blue House to take a more conciliatory line on humanitarian
assistance to the north. He predicted that the South Korean
public, focused on the Chusok holiday, will react in a ho-hum
way to the televised scenes of tearful relatives embracing at
the Mount Kumgang resort. Lee characterized the reunions as
practically meaningless, as the elderly family members spend
only a few hours together and Pyongyang monitors what the
DPRK participants tell their southern kin. The DFM said that
if the North Koreans were truly serious about family
reunions, they would let them happen in Seoul and Pyongyang
-- not just within the Mt. Kumgang bubble.
STEPHENS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SOCI ECON KS KN JN IR
SUBJECT: SENIOR ROK DIPLOMAT ON IRAN, DPRK HUMANITARIAN AID
REF: SEOUL 1503
Classified By: POL M/C James L. Wayman. Reasons 1.4 (b and d).
Summary
--------------
1. (C) Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Young-joon told the DCM
on 9/21 that while the ROK would be as helpful as possible on
Iran issues in the coming weeks, Seoul's position would be
shaped by what Tokyo does. Lee argued the ROKG position on
humanitarian assistance to North Korea is clear and
consistent: no ROK-registered NGO is currently permitted to
ship high-tech medical equipment to the DPRK. The reason, he
explained, is that there is "zero possibility" such equipment
would be used on ordinary, non-elite North Koreans. The DFM
dismissed the notion that the upcoming family reunions, the
first in two years, will generate public pressure on the Blue
House to take a more conciliatory line on humanitarian
assistance. End summary.
Iran: Watching What Japan Does
--------------
2. (C) During a September 21 lunch hosted by the DCM, ROK
Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Young-joon said Seoul would be as
helpful as possible on Iran issues in the coming weeks but
would be watching what Tokyo does. If, for example, Japan's
delegation walked out of Iranian or Libyan UNGA speeches that
cross U.S. redlines (reftel),the ROK delegation probably
would as well. Lee, who supervises the Middle East Bureau as
well as the North America Bureau, candidly cautioned that
Washington should not expect Seoul to do more on Iran than
Japan. The Japanese are in the midst of a robust expansion
of economic, political and cultural ties with Iran, he
claimed, and the South Korean business community is lobbying
the Blue House hard, claiming ROK companies are falling
behind the Japanese in the race to secure major Iranian
government contracts. Lee asserted that the ROK business
community is quietly but persistently urging the Blue House
to follow Tokyo's -- not Washington's -- lead.
DPRK: Low-Tech Medical Supplies Good, High-Tech Gear Bad
-------------- --------------
3. (SBU) Turning to the issue of humanitarian assistance for
North Korea, Lee argued that the ROKG stance is clear and
consistent: no ROK-registered NGO is being permitted to ship
high-tech medical equipment to the DPRK. There are no
exceptions. He explained that the reason such equipment
(including ultrasonic) is not being sent to North Korea is
that there is "zero possibility" the equipment would be used
on non-elites. Lee scoffed at the notion that even such
ordinary equipment as sonograms would be used for regular
people, saying that, if sent, such gear would be portrayed as
"tribute" to KJI and used at a Pyongyang hospital that treats
KWP and military/security force elites.
4. (SBU) Lee acknowledged the DCM's point that the definition
of "humanitarian assistance" is subjective and open to
different interpretations. The ROKG view is that, for
example, 50,000 tons of rice to help feed starving people
constitutes humanitarian assistance; 500,000 tons represents
"something completely different." Similarly, costly medical
equipment to treat regime cronies cannot be characterized as
humanitarian assistance, he argued. Low-tech medical
assistance, specifically more "aspirin, rubbing alcohol and
morphine," would meet the ROK standard and DPRK needs.
North-South: Reunions Will Fizzle
--------------
5. (C) The DFM dismissed the suggestion that upcoming
reunions of family members separated during the Korean War,
the first in two years, will generate public pressure on the
Blue House to take a more conciliatory line on humanitarian
assistance to the north. He predicted that the South Korean
public, focused on the Chusok holiday, will react in a ho-hum
way to the televised scenes of tearful relatives embracing at
the Mount Kumgang resort. Lee characterized the reunions as
practically meaningless, as the elderly family members spend
only a few hours together and Pyongyang monitors what the
DPRK participants tell their southern kin. The DFM said that
if the North Koreans were truly serious about family
reunions, they would let them happen in Seoul and Pyongyang
-- not just within the Mt. Kumgang bubble.
STEPHENS