Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09USUNNEWYORK150
2009-02-18 19:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL
USUN New York
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR RICE MEETS WITH ROK PR PARK

Tags:  PREL PHUM KN 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUCNDT #0150 0491909
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 181909Z FEB 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5873
INFO RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 0985
C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000150 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM KN
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RICE MEETS WITH ROK PR PARK

Classified By: Ambassador Rice for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000150

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM KN
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RICE MEETS WITH ROK PR PARK

Classified By: Ambassador Rice for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) In Ambassador Rice's initial call with Republic of
Korea PermRep Park on February 17, the latter discussed
shared priorities and possibilities for further coordination
on issues such as DPRK, G-20 coordination, Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs),disarmament, the environmental
summit and Security Council reform. Ambassador Park raised
recent reports on a possible DPRK missile launch and pressed
for "careful coordination" in the Security Council and in the
1718 Sanctions Committee on the issue. Ambassador Rice
assured Park that the U.S. would work closely with the ROK
and other Six-Party partners in the event of a missile launch
and emphasized that the focus of international diplomacy
should remain on the Six-Party process.


2. (C) Park proposed increased coordination on MDGs and said
Korea is interested in expanding its assistance beyond Asia.
He mentioned Korean efforts to engage China on development,
noting that Chinese development policy is "distant from the
traditional Western concept." Park said the ROK is
introducing legislation in Korea to make peacekeeping efforts
smoother and suggested the possibility of adding Cote
d'Ivoire to the agenda for the Peacebuilding Commission.


3. (C) On disarmament, Park mentioned the upcoming
Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) and Review Conference and the
need for constructive engagement, referencing the
Secretary-General's five disarmament initiatives. (Note:
Ban's five initiatives include: 1) urging all NPT parties to
undertake negotiations on effective measures leading to
nuclear disarmament, 2) pressing Security Council permanent
members to commence discussions on security issues in the
nuclear disarmament process, 3) bringing the Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) into force, 4) encouraging nuclear
states to be accountable and transparent regarding activities
in pursuit of CTBT goals and, 5) inception of complementary
measures, including the elimination of other types of WMD and
a limit on the trade of conventional weapons. End Note.)
Ambassador Rice underlined the administration's commitment to
non-proliferation, specifically noting U.S. interest in a
constructive PrepCom. She pressed Park to provide regional
leadership in shaping a productive agenda.


4. (C) In the run-up to the Copenhagen Summit in December,
Park raised Ban's proposed environmental summit with a
smaller group of countries on March 27, seeking confirmation
of President Obama's attendance. He emphasized the need for
a "passionate leader" on the issue, adding that China is
traditionally "passive" on environmental matters. Ambassador
Rice said it was under review in Washington but remarked that
some countries had questioned the timing of the event and its
venue. She underscored the need to gauge other countries'
participation to be sure those who need the message will
attend; like the Indians or the Chinese, she continued, who
told her they are unsure whether they would participate.


5. (C) Park called Security Council reform the "mission
impossible." He said both the G4 (Germany, India, Brazil and
Japan) and the Uniting for Consensus (UFC) Group, to which
the ROK belongs, are "western groups" that cannot get the
needed two-thirds majority. Unless there is a clear third
alternative, he said, upcoming intergovernmental negotiations
would not be productive.
Rice