ROK URGES FRENCH ENVOY TO GO SLOW ON DPRK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 001613

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PHUM ECON KS KN FR

SUBJECT: ROK URGES FRENCH ENVOY TO GO SLOW ON DPRK

Classified By: POL M/C James L. Wayman. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary and Comment
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1. (C) Summary: ROKG officials urged French Special Envoy
for DPRK Issues Jack Lang to exercise caution in moving ahead
with North Korea, according to our contacts involved in
Lang's visit. MOFAT, French Embassy and EU Mission contacts
all characterized the visit to South Korea as a mission
focused on "listening." Discussions at the Blue House and
with Foreign Minister Yu focused on the issue of whether
France should establish diplomatic relations with the DPRK;
there was no discussion of a role for France or the EU in the
6PT, according to MOFAT. Lang's ROKG interlocutors all
underscored the importance of France insisting on substantive
progress toward denuclearization before even considering
opening relations with Kim Jong-il's regime. End summary.


2. (C) Comment: It appears that LMB agreed to meet with Lang
to publicly reassure domestic audiences that he is engaged
and leading on the DPRK nuclear issue. Privately, we heard
from MOFAT officials that the Blue House was not pleased with
the French envoy's visit, in part because Lang was unable to
explain clearly France's sudden interest in dealing with
Pyongyang. End comment.

Limited Mission for French Envoy
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3. (C) ROK officials, the French Embassy and the EU Mission
here told us that French Special Envoy for DPRK Issues Jack
Lang's meetings in Seoul focused primarily on the question of
whether France should establish diplomatic relations with the
DPRK. French Embassy Deputy Political Counselor Sebastien
Jaunet emphasized that Lang's mission as Special Envoy was
strictly "exploratory" and not an attempt on the part of
France to insert itself into the Six-Party process.

EU Ready to Support as Needed
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4. (C) EU Mission DCM Uwe Wissenbach separately echoed
Jaunet's comments, noting that the EU had always understood
that although it might play a role in supporting the
Six-Party process in the later stages of implementation of
any agreement, it would only seek to get involved if it
concluded it had something to offer. John Sagar, the EU
Mission Political Advisor, added that the Commission fully
understands there is little political support for EU
involvement in the negotiating process.

French Role in Nuke Issue Not on Table
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5. (C) MOFAT Director for Inter-Korean Policy Park Ji-eun
told us that in his meetings with ROK officials, Lang also
briefly raised the issues of human rights, the DPRK
leadership succession, and LMB's Grand Bargain proposal.
Park emphasized that there was no discussion of French or EU
interest in joining the Six-Party Talks or of specific dates
for a Lang visit to Pyongyang. Lang separately told
reporters he was considering going to North Korea in the
November 7-8 timeframe.

Timing Not Right for Relations with DPRK
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6. (C) Park emphasized that ROKG interlocutors uniformly told
Lang that establishing diplomatic ties with the North now
would send "the wrong message" and all, FM Yu foremost among
them, had urged caution. The common message was that
economic cooperation and diplomatic relations would be
appropriate only after the North made substantive progress
toward denuclearization. Moreover, Lang's interlocutors
recommended that Paris look for signs of strategic changes in
policy from Pyongyang as a prerequisite for closer relations
with the North. Lang was warned that Pyongyang was masterful
at making a grand show of minor tactical changes in hopes of
winning aid and support from the outside world. Park
expressed confidence that Lang "fully appreciated" Seoul's
concerns. She noted that Lang planned to attend the Busan
Film Festival October 9-10 before returning to France on
October 11.
TOKOLA