A/S DESUTTER'S PARTICIPATION AT THE 7TH UN-ROK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 000048 SIPDIS STATE FOR VCI/PAULA DESUTTER AND STEPHEN KIM E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2019 TAGS: PARM PREL KN KS SUBJECT: A/S DESUTTER'S PARTICIPATION AT THE 7TH UN-ROK JOINT CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT AND NON-PROLIFERATION ISSUES Classified By: Paula A. DeSutter for reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (U) Summary. Assistant Secretary of State for Verification, Compliance, and Implementation (VCI) Paula DeSutter participated as speaker and Session IV chair at the 7th UN-ROK Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Issues, held at Jeju, Republic of Korea from November 24-November 26, 2008. The theme of this mixed government-academic-think tank conference was "Nuclear Renaissance and the NPT: Reinforcing the Three Pillars of the NPT." On the sidelines of the conference, A/S DeSutter held two separate private consultations with ROK officials in charge of the Six-Party talks and nonproliferation issues where she discussed the philosophy and details of verification, and expounded on the VCI Bureau's functions and goals. A/S DeSutter also fielded 15 questions for nearly an hour from Yonhap News Agency on the current Six-Party talks with particular emphasis on sampling and verification. End Summary. -------------- Conference participation -------------- ¶2. (U) A/S DeSutter addressed the importance of verification in her remarks in Session I of the conference, underscoring the difficulties of verification, clarifying the importance of the cooperation of inspected State parties, and emphasizing the role of verification as deterrence for future misbehavior. As chair of Session IV: "Non-Proliferation Challenges in Northeast Asia," she moderated discussions about the DPRK nuclear program and the ongoing Six-Party talks with academics, officials from ROK, Japan, and Russia, and the Special Envoy for the Six-Party talks, Sung Kim. In response to a lively discussion in Session III: "Challenges and Responses to Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament," A/S DeSutter strongly defended the United States' record on nonproliferation efforts since the end of the Cold War and noted that she was "unapologetic about the advance of US interests." A/S DeSutter engaged actively with all participants and participated enthusiastically in all panel discussions that ran the gamut from fuel cycles to missile defense. The feedback from other attendees to A/S DeSutter's participation and insights ranged from positive to effusive. She left a particularly strong impression on younger women who participated in the conference in that she was viewed as a role model. -------------- Bilateral consultations with ROK officials -------------- ¶3. (C) A/S DeSutter held two separate private meetings with ROK officials on the sidelines of the conference. The first luncheon on November 24 was hosted by Ambassador Joon OH, Deputy Minister of Multilateral, Global, and Legal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT),Republic of Korea. Other participants included Dong-Ik SHIN, Director-General of International Organizations, MOFAT; Jang-keun LEE, Director of Disarmament and Non-proliferation Division, MOFAT; Young-kul KOH, MOFAT (notetaker); Stephen Kim, Special Advisor, VCI/State, and David Jeffrey, POL Embassy Seoul. ¶4. (C) Ambassador OH inquired about the push for access to all sites in the DPRK and questioned the wisdom of making an issue of facilities outside of Yongbyon. A/S DeSutter rejoined that declared sites were necessary but insufficient. Moreover, she opined that the DPRK would object to adding requirements mid-stream and the cooperation of the inspected State party was essential to any real verification efforts. ¶5. (C) On November 25 Joon-kook HWANG, Director-General of the North Korean Nuclear Affairs Bureau, MOFAT, invited A/S DeSutter to a private dinner. In attendance were Sang-wook HAM, Director of the North Korean Nuclear Policy Division, MOFAT; Jang-keun LEE, Director of Disarmament and Non-proliferation Division, MOFAT, and Wonwoo YI, North Korean Nuclear Policy Division (notetaker); Ambassador Sung Kim, Special Envoy for the Six-Party talks, Stephen Kim, Special Advisor, State/VCI/, and David Jeffrey, POL Embassy Seoul. ¶6. (C) Director-General HWANG asked whether a verification team would be deployed before the verification details have been finalized and how quickly would such a team be dispatched. A/S DeSutter responded that a semblance of a team already exists at Yongbyon, that new teams are ready, and that it behooved all the parties if we started quickly with Yongbyon and moved out beyond Yongbyon. HWANG expressed skepticism that the DPRK would allow access to undeclared sites given their reluctance to provide access to declared sites. A/S DeSutter opined against compromising on objectives and pre-judging the outcome based on what we think the DPRK may accept. The DPRK, she continued, was not accustomed to verification and we need to educate them on what verification entails. She suggested that the Russians have professional experience whereas the other State Parties do not. Ambassador Kim suggested that any inspection activities start small and that large teams were impractical. A/S DeSutter assessed that the courage to take larger steps at later stages may not be forthcoming and thus worth it to try to be upfront with the DPRK and get as much as possible in the initial stage so that we do not foist any surprises on an already paranoid regime. -------------- Interview with Yonhap News Agency -------------- ¶7. (U) Accompanied by Special Adviser Kim and POL Jeffrey, A/S DeSutter fielded 15 questions for nearly an hour on November 25 from Chi-Dong LEE of Yonhap News Agency. LEE asked probing questions that covered sampling, the October verification agreement, internal bureaucratic deliberations, and prospects for future success with the DPRK. Yonhap ran the articles in Korean and English on November 26, 2008. A/S DeSutter underscored the importance of sampling but noted that it was not a panacea: "Even if the North Koreans explicitly agreed to sampling and (the verification) protocol, people should not be under the impression that it will solve verification problems. Sampling is a critical tool but it is not the solution to the verification challenges that are very widespread." To LEE's inquiry of her exclusion from negotiations of the verification protocol, A/S DeSutter averred that "The Verification Bureau did not know what was agreed. But I think the problem of the past is probably past. Life is too short to look back. I think our focus is getting the job done." When asked about conflicting accounts of whether the word sampling was included in the protocol, A/S DeSutter defended the administration's position and provided room for a resolution: "The truth is that provisions for sampling are agreed. It is unfortunate for them that they are stuck on a word. If you do not have the word 'sampling' in the primary document, you can probably do something that is all right from a verification perspective so long as a secondary document is also equally binding." A/S DeSutter concluded the interview with an optimistic assessment of the verifiability of the DPRK nuclear program as long as a solid verification protocol was firmly put in place from the outset. ¶8. (U) VCI and EAP/K cleared this cable. STEPHENS