ROK REACTION TO THE SECRETARY'S SPEECH ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 000090 SIPDIS EAP FOR DAVID RODRIGUEZ, NIRAV PATEL AND KEVIN SHEIVES S/P FOR JAMES GREEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2030 TAGS: ECIN PREL XC XE XU ASEAN APECO ARF SUBJECT: ROK REACTION TO THE SECRETARY'S SPEECH ON ASIA-PACIFIC MULTILATERALISM REF: STATE 2597 Classified By: POL M/C James L. Wayman. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) Poloffs delivered reftel points on the Secretary's January 12 Asia-Pacific multilateralism speech to Kim Jong-hee, the regional security architecture action officer in MOFAT's ASEAN Cooperation Division. Ms. Kim stressed that the Secretary's speech had been read carefully by senior MOFAT officials. The ROK looked forward to engaging the USG, both in Washington and Seoul, on the question of how best to strengthen multilateral cooperation in Asia. Senior MOFAT officials, she said, were examining a range of ideas, from Australia's Asia-Pacific Community to Japan's East Asia Community. She asserted that there was strong consensus within the ROKG that the United States needed to be part of future East Asia Summits; U.S. involvement in the EAS was key, she said. STEPHENS