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| Identifier | Subject | Date | Office | Classification | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03SEOUL5653 | ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT FOR KOREA [...] No summary [...] |
2003-11-28 01:27:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PTER KS |
| 06SEOUL102 | THE ROK'S NEW MINISTER OF UNIFICATION: LEE [...] (S) Incoming Minister of Unification (and Chairman of the National Security Council Standing Committee) Lee Jong-seok is a left-leaning nationalist who supports the ROK playing a more active and independent role in the world, particularly on issues involving North Korea. The Embassy has worke [...] |
2006-01-09 09:04:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PREL PINR KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1021 | ROK CRITICIZED FOR "APOLOGIZING" TO DPRK TO [...] (C) In the aftermath of the March 22 incident at Mt. Geumgang, North Korea -- in which DPRK officials retaliated against South Korean journalists' statement that one of the North Korean participants in the inter-Korean family reunion event was "abducted" by preventing 99 elderly South Koreans [...] |
2006-03-28 09:35:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PHUM PGOV KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1031 | RECENT TRENDS IN PRC-DPRK ECONOMIC RELATIONS AND [...] (SBU) Chinese economic ties with North Korea have expanded greatly in the past two years. Although the ROKG welcomes the stabilizing effect that Chinese trade and investment brings to the DPRK, it is alarmed at the PRC's growing influence, to the point that ROK officials now routinely assert [...] |
2006-03-29 08:22:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL ECON EAID KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1033 | DUSD LAWLESS CALLS ON SUH CHOO-SUK AT NSC [...] (S) SUMMARY: In a March 20 meeting, DUSD Richard Lawless told NSC Assistant Secretary General for Strategy Suh Choo-suk that the "LaPorte Plan" proposed to the ROKG in January represented an equitable, reasonable, and final offer to the ROK on environmental remediation. Deferring to MOE to pr [...] |
2006-03-29 08:39:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PREL PARM KS |
| 06SEOUL1034 | PRESIDENT ROH VISITS AFRICA TO FURTHER ECONOMIC [...] (C) MOFAT officials told poloff that President Roh Moo-Hyun's March 6-13 visit to Egypt, Nigeria and Algeria as well as his meeting with the Secretary General of the League of Arab States on March 8, focused on improving economic cooperation and bilateral relations. Roh and Egyptian Presiden [...] |
2006-03-29 08:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ENRG KS |
| 06SEOUL1035 | U.S., CANADA, ROK ANTI-TIP GROUP RECONVENES [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: After a 16-month hiatus, the ROK-U.S.-Canada Trilateral Working Group on anti-trafficking issues (TWG) met on March 22 to discuss the trafficking of women from Korea to the U.S. and elsewhere. While the group recognized the cooperation among the Embassy and local police to arr [...] |
2006-03-29 22:58:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV CVIS PHUM KS KCRIM SMIG PREL |
| 06SEOUL1050 | CAMBODIAN PM HUN SEN'S VISIT TO ROK FOCUSES ON [...] (C) SUMMARY: The March 20-24 visit to South Korea of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen focused almost exclusively on the Cambodians' interest in obtaining ROK designation of Cambodia as a country "qualified to export labor to South Korea." Accompanied by eight ministers, Hun Sen also secured [...] |
2006-03-30 07:50:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ELAB EAID KS |
| 06SEOUL1089 | S/E LEFKOWITZ'S REMARKS ON KAESONG PROMPT [...] (C) Recent South Korean press reports drew attention to Special Envoy Jay Lefkowitz's March 30 remarks at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) calling for independent monitoring of labor conditions at the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), and the subsequent response from Assistant Unificat [...] |
2006-04-03 08:48:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM EAID KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1090 | POLITICAL POSTURING TO DOMINATE ASSEMBLY APRIL [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: The National Assembly on April 3 began a thirty-day session that will likely be dominated by political posturing prior to the May 31 nationwide local elections. Issues on the agenda include the confirmation of Rep. Han Myeong-sook as the first female Prime Minister, scandals i [...] |
2006-04-03 09:17:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL1103 | TALKING POINTS ON NOGUN-RI SCHOLARSHIP FUND [...] No summary [...] |
2006-04-04 07:43:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL MARR MASS KS |
| 06SEOUL1104 | NOTIFICATION ON UPCOMING TESTING AT NEVADA TEST [...] No summary [...] |
2006-04-04 07:43:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PARM KTBT KS |
| 06SEOUL1108 | ROKG OFFICIALLY RESPONDS TO USG NORTH KOREAN [...] (C) On April 4, Kim Ki-woong, Director of the Inter-Korean Policy Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, presented the official ROKG response to our ref g demarche seeking support for the USG North Korean refugee strategy. The ROKG response (reprinted in paragraph 3) centered [...] |
2006-04-04 08:19:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF PHUM PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1128 | ADDITIONAL INFORMATION KEY TO RESOLVING IMPASSE [...] (SBU) Prior to USTR Ambassador Portman's call to Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong about the beef issue, Embassy Seoul would like to offer some current context, and try to explain the possible reasons for the apparent disconnect between messages given to us by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade [...] |
2006-04-06 02:35:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD EAGR KS |
| 06SEOUL1154 | SEVENTH U.S.-ROK SECURITY POLICY INITIATIVE MEETING [...] (S) SUMMARY: At the seventh U.S.-ROK Security Policy Initiative (SPI) meeting in Seoul, March 21, the two sides agreed to work toward a shorter and less detailed Comprehensive Security Assessment (CSA), noted significant progress on the Joint Vision Study, and reaffirmed the commitment to dev [...] |
2006-04-07 08:11:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PREL MARR KS |
| 06SEOUL1157 | SOUTH KOREA WILL RUN FOR UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL [...] No summary [...] |
2006-04-07 08:59:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PHUM PREL KUNH UNGA KS |
| 06SEOUL1158 | ROKG SOON TO SUPPORT USG CANDIDATE FOR INCB [...] No summary [...] |
2006-04-07 09:00:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | SNAR AORC PREL UN KS |
| 06SEOUL1159 | USFK ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN NOTIFICATION [...] (C) On April 7, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) and Embassy delivered to MND and MOFAT, respectively, DUSD Lawless' notification letter on environmental clean-up of closed USFK bases. USFK and Embassy also shared the text of a proposed USFK press release on its action plan for environmental clean-u [...] |
2006-04-07 09:06:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MARR KS |
| 06SEOUL117 | SENATOR MURKOWSKI'S MEETING WITH UNIFICATION VICE [...] (C) Ministry of Unification (MOU) Vice Minister Rhee Bong-jo on January 9 emphasized to Senator Murkowski and the Ambassador the importance of implementing the Joint Statement of principles issued in September after the fourth round of the Six Party Talks. He suggested broadening the scope of [...] |
2006-01-10 08:12:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KNUC PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1179 | DPRK REQUESTS ANOTHER 300,000 TONS OF FERTILIZER [...] (U) The Yonhap News Agency reported April 10 that, via a Red Cross telegram, the DPRK had requested an additional 300,000 tons of fertilizer assistance from the ROK. Ministry of Unification officials reportedly told Yonhap that they expected the request for fertilizer would be an agenda item [...] |
2006-04-10 08:52:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL EAID KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1246 | ROKG PROTESTS PROPOSED JAPANESE SURVEYS IN [...] (C) Deputy Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se on April 14 informed the DCM that the Japanese Maritime Security Agency through its website announced its intention to conduct geological surveys beginning April 14 in a part of the East Sea (Sea of Japan) that would violate international law, ROK dome [...] |
2006-04-14 12:48:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PHSA PBTS KS JA |
| 06SEOUL1266 | STAFFDEL VISIT TO KAESONG INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX [...] (U) During an April 12 staffdel visit to the South Korean-managed Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) in North Korea, KIC officials said that informal conversations with North Korean workers indicated that the DPRK provided the workers with approximately 70 percent of their wages, for a base inc [...] |
2006-04-18 06:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | EINV ELAB PHUM PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1268 | ROKG REQUEST FOR CHANGES TO CWC/HCA [...] (U) This is an action request, see paragraph 3. 2. (C) On April 6, MOFAT Disarmament and Nonproliferation Director Kwon Hee-seog informed poloff of the ROKG's request to amend the proposed Host Country Agreement (HCA) on the conduct of Chemical Weapons (CWC) challenge inspections (Ref A). [...] |
2006-04-18 06:40:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM MARR KTIA CWC KS |
| 06SEOUL1270 | ROKG DISCUSSES BANGKOK SIX AND KIM CHUN-HEE [...] (C) MOFAT DG for Policy Planning Nam Gwan-pyo on April 18 told POL M/C that Seoul was relieved to hear that the six North Koreans had arrived safely in Bangkok (ref a). MOFAT has instructed its Embassy in Bangkok to assist in vetting and resolving the case quickly and quietly. Seoul was pos [...] |
2006-04-18 07:30:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF PREL PHUM AGMT KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1271 | JAPANESE EMBASSY REPORTS TOKYO TO BEGIN MAPPING [...] (C) The Japanese Embassy in Seoul informed us April 18 that Japan will begin mapping operations on April 21 in waters that both Tokyo and Seoul claim as within their Exclusive Economic Zone. Japanese Embassy First Secretary Yamamoto told poloff that if faced with physical resistance by ROK f [...] |
2006-04-18 09:28:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PBTS PHSA PREL EFIS MOPS KS JA |
| 06SEOUL1279 | ROKG SUPPORTS USG POSITION ON UN HRC [...] No summary [...] |
2006-04-19 05:01:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | KUNR PHUM UNHRC PREL KS UN |
| 06SEOUL1284 | ROKG CONSIDERS RATIFICATION OF 2005 SUA PROTOCOLS [...] No summary [...] |
2006-04-19 05:50:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | KNNP MNUC PARM PREL KTIA PHSA KS |
| 06SEOUL1293 | PRC DEFENSE MINISTER'S HIGH-PROFILE VISIT [...] (C) Summary: During a high-profile visit to Korea, PRC Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan discussed bilateral defense ties, cooperation on North Korea, and economic development with President Roh and Defense Minister Yoon. Cao advocated enhancing military exchanges and asked for invitations for [...] |
2006-04-19 08:48:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM KS CH |
| 06SEOUL1294 | ROK'S RELIGIOUS LEFT/RIGHT/CENTER AND NORTH KOREA [...] (SBU) Korea's religion-based organizations have played a supporting, yet often critical role at key junctures in the nation's modern political history, from lending its organizational structure to farmers' uprisings in the 1800s to adding moral weight to the cause of democracy in the 1980s. [...] |
2006-04-19 08:49:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL1295 | HAN MYUNG-SOOK CONFIRMED AS PRIME MINISTER [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: The National Assembly April 19 confirmed Han Myung-sook as Korea's new prime minister, making her the first woman to assume the nation's number two job. Han, a two-time former Cabinet minister and former dissident, told fellow lawmakers that she hoped to use her tenure to ame [...] |
2006-04-19 09:26:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR KS |
| 06SEOUL1298 | A/S SHANNON'S KOREAN CONSULTATIONS ON LATIN AMERICA [...] (C) Visiting WHA Assistant Secretary Shannon on April 12 reviewed with ROKG officials U.S. objectives for enlisting strategic partners, like Seoul and Tokyo, to play a key role in promoting democracy, free markets, and economic prosperity in Latin America. ROKG officials welcomed consultation [...] |
2006-04-20 01:59:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ETRD ECON KS |
| 06SEOUL1308 | ROKG PREFERS REQUEST COME FROM UNHCR ON BANGKOK SIX [...] (C) On April 20, POL M/C delivered ref a demarche urging Seoul to reconsider its position and quickly allow a ROKG official to assist with the processing of the six North Koreans in Bangkok to Nam Gwan-pyo, Director General for Policy Planning in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Na [...] |
2006-04-20 07:31:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PHUM PREF PREL KS KN TH |
| 06SEOUL1314 | DFM YUN BRIEFS DCM ON ROK-JAPAN MARITIME SURVEY [...] (C) In an April 20 meeting with the DCM, ROK DFM Yun reported that earlier in the day, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon had told the Japanese Ambassador that (1) Japan should immediately abandon its proposed maritime survey of submarine features in waters that Tokyo and Seoul both cl [...] |
2006-04-20 09:39:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PBTS PHSA PREL EFIS MOPS KS JA |
| 06SEOUL1322 | MOU PREVIEWS APRIL 21-24 INTER-KOREAN MINISTERIAL [...] (C) In an April 20 preview of the April 21-24 inter-Korean ministerial in Pyongyang, Assistant Minister for Unification Policy and Public Affairs Lee Kwan-sei told the DCM that the ROK planned to urge the DPRK to return to the Six Party Talks and agree to the resumption of general officer-lev [...] |
2006-04-21 08:11:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MNUC EAID PHUM KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1327 | FTA LABOR TEAM MEETS ROKG OFFICIALS [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: U.S. FTA labor negotiators visited Seoul April 4 through 7 to meet with Korean government, management, and labor representatives; explain the FTA process; and conduct background research on Korean labor law and practices. Below, we report on the delegation's meetings with the [...] |
2006-04-21 09:27:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ECON ELAB ETRD KS PGOV |
| 06SEOUL1328 | LABOR GIRDING FOR FTA BATTLE [...] (SBU) The U.S. FTA labor negotiating team visited Seoul April 4 to 7 to meet with Korean government, labor and management officials and conduct background research. Korean organized labor representatives were wary of an FTA and feared that it would precede mass layoffs like those experienced [...] |
2006-04-21 09:29:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ECON ELAB ETRD KS PGOV |
| 06SEOUL1330 | AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH FM BAN: NORTH KOREA, [...] (C) Summary: In their April 21 luncheon meeting, the Ambassador and Foreign Minister Ban discussed several bilateral and North Korea-related issues (see refs for discussions on ROK-Japan relations and Ban's candidacy for UNSYG). On North Korea, Ban said Seoul intended to raise human rights [...] |
2006-04-22 09:06:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV ECON KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1349 | ROKG READOUT ON MARITIME RESOLUTION WITH JAPAN [...] (C) MOFAT DG for the Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau Lee Hyuk on April 24 told POL M/C that Seoul was relieved that it managed the maritime survey dispute and prevented a worsening of the already strained relationship with Tokyo. Both sides agreed that (1) Japan would recall its ships and dr [...] |
2006-04-24 10:19:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PBTS PHSA PREL EFIS MOPS KSAC JA |
| 06SEOUL1359 | ROK: NHK-II PIP MISSILE TEST FLIGHT [...] No summary [...] |
2006-04-25 04:19:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM PREL MARR KS |
| 06SEOUL1373 | LIBERTAD ACT: ROK HAS MINIMAL RELATIONS WITH CUBA [...] No summary [...] |
2006-04-25 07:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL ETRD ETTC CU KS |
| 06SEOUL1375 | A/S HILL'S APRIL 13-14 MEETINGS WITH MOFAT YU [...] (S) During an April 13 meeting, MOFAT Acting Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan stressed to EAP A/S Christopher Hill and the Ambassador the need for patience with North Korea on the nuclear issue, a public emphasis on the importance of the Six Party Talks, and increased Chinese pressure on the Nor [...] |
2006-04-25 07:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PREL PARM MNUC EFIN KNNP KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1377 | A/S HILL'S APRIL 13 MEETINGS WITH CHUNG [...] (C) In separate meetings April 13, EAP A/S Christopher R. Hill discussed the status of Six Party Talks and U.S.-ROK relations with the leaders of Korea's two main political parties. Chung Dong-young, Chairman of the ruling Uri Party and former Minister of Unification, expressed concern that [...] |
2006-04-25 08:19:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PHUM PNUC KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1378 | ROK PREPARING TO SIGN THIRD ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL [...] No summary [...] |
2006-04-25 08:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | AORC PHUM PREL PREF ICRC KS SZ |
| 06SEOUL1379 | PRESIDENT ROH DRAWS RED-LINE UNDER LIANCOURT ROCKS [...] (C) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: Only days after Seoul and Tokyo announced a diplomatic agreement to end the stand-off over the Dokdo Islets (known in Japan as "Takeshima") (REFTELS), President Roh in a strongly worded address to the nation reasserted ROK sovereignty over the islets and declared that [...] |
2006-04-25 08:48:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PBTS PHSA EFIS MOPS KS JA |
| 06SEOUL1385 | A/S HILL'S APRIL 13 MEETING WITH FORMER PM LEE [...] (C) SUMMARY: Former PM Lee Hae-chan told visiting A/S Hill April 13 that in recent discussions, Chinese leaders sounded disenchanted with Kim Jong-il, skeptical of his ability to extend the Kim dynasty to the next generation, and dismissive of Kim's commitment to economic reform. Lee reaffi [...] |
2006-04-26 00:34:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MNUC ETRD KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1391 | EMBASSY FTA OUTREACH EFFORTS AIM TO RALLY KOREAN [...] (SBU) The Ambassador and other Embassy officials have stepped up outreach efforts aimed at galvanizing Korea's "silent majority" to be more vocal in their support of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). The Ambassador delivered well-received speeches to politicians from both the r [...] |
2006-04-26 04:32:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL1395 | PROPOSED KOREA ARMS VERIFICATION AGENCY VISIT TO [...] (U) This is an action request. See Para. 4. 2. (U) On April 24, Major Ham Hyeonpil from the Korea Arms Verification Agency (KAVA) contacted poloff to request the Department's assistance in coordinating a visit to the U.S. KAVA Deputy Director Colonel(R) Kim Suk Chan, accompanied by Major [...] |
2006-04-26 07:37:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PARM AC KCFE KS |
| 06SEOUL1396 | SOUTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAM: STATUS [...] This year marks the 50th anniversary of U.S.-Korea cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy, begun with the signing in 1956 of the bilateral Agreement for Cooperation on Civil Uses of Nuclear Energy. This fact will be commemorated during the 27th meeting of the Joint Standing Comm [...] |
2006-04-26 08:01:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | TRGY ENRG KNNP KSCA SENV KS |
| 06SEOUL1398 | ROK RESPONSE TO RESTRICTING ARMS SALES TO VENEZUELA [...] No summary [...] |
2006-04-26 08:07:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | MARR MASS PARM PREL VE KS |
| 06SEOUL1399 | MINISTRY OF UNIFICATION ON APRIL 21-24 [...] (C) In an April 26 read-out of the April 21-24 inter-Korean ministerial in Pyongyang, Assistant Minister for Unification Policy and Public Affairs Lee Kwan-sei emphasized to the DCM the extensive effort Seoul made on persuading the DPRK to return to the Six Party Talks and to engage the inter [...] |
2006-04-26 08:27:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MNUC EAID KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1433 | DFM YUN PROVIDES UPDATE ON LIANCOURT ROCKS ISSUE [...] (C) In an April 28 meeting with the DCM, DFM Yun Byung-se offered an update on the ROKG approach to its maritime dispute with Japan. Seoul was (1) preparing for the next round of EEZ talks with Tokyo that would be held by the end of June; (2) providing foreign diplomats with Seoul's justific [...] |
2006-04-28 08:51:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PBTS PHSA PREL EFIS MOPS KS JA |
| 06SEOUL1434 | SWEDISH AMBASSADOR TO DPRK DISCUSSES INTERNAL [...] (C) In an April 24 call on the Ambassador, Swedish Ambassador to the DPRK Mats Foyer confirmed that last year's bumper harvest was not sufficient to overcome the food shortage in North Korea caused by systemic failures in central food distribution. Foyer saw, however, little sign of politica [...] |
2006-04-28 08:58:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MNUC EAID SW KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1435 | NATIONAL SECURITY SECRETARY SONG MIN-SOON ON [...] (S). Summary: In an April 28 luncheon meeting with the Ambassador, National Security Secretary Song Min-soon said that the ROK was prepared to compromise with Japan on naming underwater features located in the East Sea/Sea of Japan, but that Japan seemed intent on pushing the issue to the lim [...] |
2006-04-28 10:12:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PREL PGOV ECON KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1445 | ROK OPPOSES IRAN'S HRC CANDIDACY [...] (C) On April 27, POL M/C delivered Ref A points, urging opposition to Iran's candidacy to the UN Human Rights Council, to Cho Tae-yong, Director-General of the North American Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The same points were also delivered to Jang Hyun-cheol, D [...] |
2006-05-01 05:36:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | KUNR PHUM UNHRC PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL1454 | URI PARTY DEFIES PRESIDENT ROH -- AGAIN [...] (C) SUMMARY: The split between President Roh and his Uri Party appears to be widening, as the ruling party rejected Roh's pleas for compromised with the opposition on a controversial law to reform the private school system. Uri lawmakers are said to be angry that Roh has proposed a compromi [...] |
2006-05-01 09:44:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL1470 | UNIFICATION MINISTER ON SIX PARTY TALKS, S/E [...] (S) In a May 1 meeting with the Ambassador, Minister of Unification Lee Jong-seok said he believed, from his meetings with North Korean counterparts at the April 21-24 inter-Korean ministerial in Pyongyang, that the DPRK would return to the Six Party Talks if given a face-saving way to do so. [...] |
2006-05-02 07:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PREL PHUM MNUC EAID KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1472 | ROK QUESTIONS PERCEIVED USG POLICY SHIFTS ON DPRK [...] (C) In a May 1 meeting with the POL M/C, Cho Tae-yong, Director-General of MOFAT's North American Affairs Bureau, asked whether USG policy had changed toward the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) and on granting asylum to North Koreans who had already been resettled in South Korea. Cho protest [...] |
2006-05-02 07:44:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PHUM KS |
| 06SEOUL1473 | SOUTH KOREAN READOUT ON PRC-ROK-JAPAN TRILATERAL [...] (C) On May 2, Lim Ki-mo, Director of MOFAT's Latin American and Caribbean Regional Cooperation Division, briefed poloff on the April 26 Director General-level trilateral meeting in Beijing between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean officials to discuss Latin America. The meeting's objective was to [...] |
2006-05-02 07:48:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ETRD ECON KS |
| 06SEOUL1475 | JAPANESE AMBASSADOR ON LIANCOURT ROCKS [...] (c) Summary: In a May 2 luncheon meeting with the Ambassador, Japanese Ambassador Shotaro Oshima said that Tokyo wanted a quiet, diplomatic resolution to the Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo/Takeshima) dispute. One encouraging sign was that FM Ban Ki-moon was positively inclined to meet with Japanese [...] |
2006-05-02 08:39:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV JP KS |
| 06SEOUL1477 | PHARMACEUTICALS: HEALTH MINISTER TELLS AMBASSADOR [...] (SBU) The Ambassador met on May 2 with Minister of Health and Welfare (MHW) Rhyu Si-min and expressed serious concerns with Rhyu's plan to officially announce on May 3 a proposal to shift to a "positive list" system for reimbursing pharmaceuticals. The Ambassador urged Rhyu to postpone such a [...] |
2006-05-02 09:00:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD EIND KS |
| 06SEOUL1478 | USFK COMMANDER'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON PRESIDENT [...] (C) In his May 1 introductory call on President Roh Moo-hyun, USFK Commander Gen. B.B. Bell underscored the U.S. commitment to the bilateral alliance and stressed that, in his capacity as CFC Commander, he served the Presidents of both countries equally. Bell stated that the ROK's desire for [...] |
2006-05-03 00:43:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM MARR JA KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1496 | KOREAN PARTICIPATION IN IRAQ [...] (U) This is an action request. 2. (C) On May 3, PolMil Chief delivered reftel message on the Iraq PRT initiative to Min Kyong-ho, Director of North America Division III, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). Undertaking to report the follow-up request to relevant offices in MOFAT [...] |
2006-05-03 09:57:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MOPS PGOV PREL IZ KS |
| 06SEOUL1497 | INFORMATION ON U.S.-JAPAN 2-PLUS-2 CONVEYED TO ROKG [...] (U) This is an action request. 2. (C) On May 3, PolMil Chief conveyed reftel information on USFJ realignment to MOFAT NAD III Director Min Kyong-ho. Expressing great appreciation for the information, Min undertook to study and share the results of the May 1 U.S.-Japan SCC meeting with rel [...] |
2006-05-03 10:02:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MARR JA KS |
| 06SEOUL1509 | ROKG: UAV HYUNMOO-III/B FLIGHT TEST [...] No summary [...] |
2006-05-04 04:05:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM PREL MARR KS |
| 06SEOUL1516 | DPRK REFUGEES IN BANGKOK: AVOIDING PUBLICITY [...] (C) As the case of the six North Korean refugees in Bangkok appears to be moving toward a successful conclusion, with very forthcoming cooperation from all concerned, including the RTG, ROKG, and UNHCR, Embassy Seoul wants to underscore the need to handle their arrival and resettlement in the [...] |
2006-05-04 07:50:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF PREL PHUM KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1518 | ROKG REMOVES PROTESTORS FROM USFK EXPANSION SITE [...] (U) Starting early in the morning on May 4, the ROKG deployed a force of 11,500 policemen, 3,000 soldiers, and 700 military engineers to remove approximately 1,100 protestors occupying USFK's expansion site in Pyongtaek, 50 miles south of Seoul. (A smaller contingent of demonstrators had been [...] |
2006-05-04 09:07:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL MARR KS |
| 06SEOUL1519 | YUST PRESIDENT DISCUSSES PYONGYANG UNIVERSITY OF [...] (C) On April 28, Dr. James Chin-kyung Kim, president of the Yanbian University of Science and Technology, updated us his efforts to launch the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, noting that he and two other prominent Amcits and a ROK lawmaker would be traveling to Pyongyang in Jun [...] |
2006-05-04 09:22:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1529 | DPRK ECONOMY: INTER-KOREAN WORKING-LEVEL ECONOMIC [...] (C) The most recent round of regular working-level (Director General-level) Inter-Korean Economic Talks ended with not so much as a whimper. The meeting, held in Kaesong on May 3-4, was to have focused on discussions on the inter-Korean railroad and related projects. No progress was made. S [...] |
2006-05-08 08:21:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | ECON EINV PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1545 | ROK PROVIDES UPDATE ON TIES TO IRAN [...] (C) On May 9, Ma Young-sam, MOFAT's Director-General for the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau, requested a meeting with A/POL to reiterate Seoul's concerns about Iran's nuclear activities and to update the USG on two developments in ROK-Iranian relations: First, the ROK was considering [...] |
2006-05-09 07:44:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MUNC ETRD KS IR |
| 06SEOUL1549 | PHASED REDUCTION OF ROK ZAYTUN UNIT IN IRAQ [...] No summary [...] |
2006-05-09 08:24:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | MOPS PGOV PREL IZ KS |
| 06SEOUL155 | ROK STUDYING USG NORTH KOREAN REFUGEE STRATEGY [...] (C) On January 12, poloffs delivered reftel demarche, which requested support for approaches to Thailand, Mongolia, and Russia on processing North Korean refugees, to Kim Ki-woong, Director of the Inter-Korean Policy Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Deputy Director C [...] |
2006-01-12 08:27:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF PHUM PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1581 | DEMARCHE ON AUSTRALIA GROUP PLENARY SESSION [...] No summary [...] |
2006-05-11 06:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM PREL AG ETTC KS |
| 06SEOUL1605 | PROTESTS PLANNED IN SEOUL AND PYONGTAEK OVER USFK [...] (U) The Pan-national Committee to Deter the Expansion of U.S. Bases, a coalition of 138 leftist civic groups, plans to hold mass rallies in Seoul and Pyongtaek over the weekend to protest USFK's expansion in Pyongtaek and last week's removal of anti-USFK activists (reftel). Approximately 10,0 [...] |
2006-05-12 08:25:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL MARR KS |
| 06SEOUL1620 | ISN DAS SEMMEL'S MAY 4 MEETING WITH ROK DEPUTY [...] (C) In a May 4 meeting with Park In-kook, MOFAT Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and International Organizations, ISN DAS Andrew Semmel said the U.S. delegation to the Conference on Disarmament (CD) was likely to present a draft text of the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMTC) later in t [...] |
2006-05-15 07:46:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MNUC MARR IR KS |
| 06SEOUL1621 | WEEKEND PROTESTS OVER USFK EXPANSION UNEVENTFUL [...] (U) The much anticipated weekend protests against USFK expansion in Pyongtaek (refs) were relatively subdued. On Sunday, approximately 4,500 protestors, a much lower turnout than anticipated, encountered some 18,000 riot police dispatched to the Pyongtaek area. While there were minor skirmi [...] |
2006-05-15 07:51:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL MARR KS |
| 06SEOUL1622 | LOCAL UNHCR REQUESTS STOP TO NORTH KOREAN ASYLUM [...] (U) Action Request: See paragraph 3. 2. (SBU) On May 12, the Acting Representative of UNHCR in the Republic of Korea, Michele Manca di Nissa, informed poloff that over the past week 3-5 ROK citizens, apparently resettled from North Korea, had approached UNHCR requesting asylum in the Unit [...] |
2006-05-15 07:59:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PREF PREL PHUM AMGT KS |
| 06SEOUL1629 | Round-Up of North-South Exchanges: April 2006 [...] North-South exchanges during April included cooperative efforts to preserve historic relics in the North, as well as practical exchanges in the agricultural, cultural and athletic fields. South Korea's humanitarian assistance to the North during April appeared to be smaller than in previous m [...] |
2006-05-15 22:36:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | ECON EINV ENRG SOCI ETRD KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1631 | INTER-KOREA RAIL LINKS: WILL KIM DAE-JUNG MAKE IT [...] (SBU) South Korea and North Korea have agreed to conduct test runs of two cross-border railways on May 25, some 55 years after those rail lines were cut off at the onset of the Korean War. The agreement was reached at a special three-day working-level meeting dedicated to road and railway issu [...] |
2006-05-15 23:54:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | ELTN EINV PREL RS CH KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1642 | OUTLOOK FOR MAY 31 REGIONAL ELECTIONS [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: Polls indicate that the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) will win 11 of the 16 gubernatorial and major mayoral races in nation-wide regional elections on May 31. The ruling Uri Party and the Democratic Party (DP) are projected to win in two races each, while the ind [...] |
2006-05-16 09:52:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL1643 | AMERICAN ACADEMIC SKEPTICAL ABOUT KIM DAE-JUNG'S [...] (SBU) In a May 12 meeting with poloff, Dr. Brian Myers, Professor of Korean Studies at Inje University, expressed skepticism that a June visit to North Korea by former President Kim Dae-jung would result in any substantial changes in the North's behavior or its return to the Six Party Talks. [...] |
2006-05-17 00:06:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL MNUC EAID KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1680 | ROK READOUT OF UNSYG ANNAN'S VISIT [...] (SBU) On May 17, Oh Young-ju, MOFAT's Deputy Director for the UN Division, provided poloff with a brief readout of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's visit to Seoul. During his SIPDIS May 14-16 visit to the ROK, Annan met with President Roh, Foreign Minister Ban, and visited Seoul National [...] |
2006-05-18 08:10:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PGOV UNSC KS |
| 06SEOUL1692 | NO PROGRESS AT INTER-KOREAN MILITARY TALKS [...] (C) SUMMARY: Three days of the inter-Korean general officer-level military talks ended on May 19 without any agreement on key agenda items. The ROK side had hoped to map out measures to avoid clashes in the West Sea and receive assurances regarding safe cross-border passage of roads and rail [...] |
2006-05-19 08:38:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1710 | U/S JOSEPH LETTER ON MTCR DELIVERED TO ROKG [...] No summary [...] |
2006-05-22 08:01:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MTCRE PARM PREL ETTC TSPA KSCA KS |
| 06SEOUL1713 | GNP CHAIRWOMAN IN STABLE CONDITION AFTER ATTACK [...] (SBU) Main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) Chairwoman and likely party contender for the 2007 presidential race Park Geun-hye was attacked May 20 in Seoul by an assailant with a box-cutter; she suffered deep cuts to her face. While she is expected to make a fast recovery, she will be h [...] |
2006-05-22 09:35:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL1725 | ROK EXPRESSES APPRECIATION FOR NON-PAPER ON APRIL [...] No summary [...] |
2006-05-23 07:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM MNUC KNNP KS |
| 06SEOUL1728 | INTERIM DEPARTMENT RESPONSE TO KOREA ARMS [...] No summary [...] |
2006-05-23 07:36:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PARM PREL KCFE AC KS |
| 06SEOUL1732 | DAEJEON: RULING PARTY'S SOLE HOPE FOR VICTORY [...] (SBU) Daejeon City is one of the few races that the ruling Uri Party is reasonably projected to win in the upcoming May 31 local elections (Ref A), despite gains by the GNP in the aftermath of the recent attack on GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye (Ref B). As Daejeon is the ROK's geographic heart [...] |
2006-05-23 08:24:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL1736 | ROK DECLINES CHAVEZ VISIT [...] (C) On May 23, MOFAT South America Division Director Park Dong-won informed Poloffs that the ROKG had declined Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's request to visit South Korea on July 16. Sensitive to USG concerns, the ROKG refused the visit in consideration of the U.S.-Korean alliance. Park [...] |
2006-05-23 09:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV MARR ETRD KS VE |
| 06SEOUL1737 | DPRK FOOD SITUATION: BAD, AND POSSIBLY CRITICAL [...] (C) We have recently seen a number of predictions that North Korea is, or will soon be, suffering a situation similar to the famine of the middle and late 1990's. Disruptions in distribution of rations and reports of localized food shortages are cited as the main proof of an impending crisis. [...] |
2006-05-23 09:40:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | EAID EAGR PGOV PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1758 | POINTS ON DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT ON CHINA [...] No summary [...] |
2006-05-24 07:09:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL PM CH KS |
| 06SEOUL1774 | FOURTH ROUND OF USG-ROKG CONSULTATIONS ON NORTH [...] (C) Summary: DG Nam Gwan-pyo opened the 4th round of USG-ROKG consultations on North Korean asylum seekers on May 25 by commending the U.S. government on its endeavors to make the resettlement of North Korean asylum seekers in the U.S. possible, and saying that this consultation provides an o [...] |
2006-05-25 11:27:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PREF PHUM KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1779 | BUSAN: GNP POISED FOR CLEAN SWEEP [...] (SBU) The Grand National Party's (GNP) is poised, once again, to vanquish all challengers in the Busan region in the May 31 regional elections. Dissatisfaction with the Roh Administration appears to have hardened the Gyeongsang Provinces' traditional loyalty to the conservative GNP. END SUM [...] |
2006-05-26 05:21:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL1789 | ROK GENERALLY UPBEAT ON STRONGER TIES WITH NATO, [...] (C) According to officials from South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), the ROK was generally positive toward strengthened cooperation with NATO and eager to participate in global efforts to maintain peace and stability. The underlying concern for Seoul in assessing area [...] |
2006-05-26 08:10:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | PREL PINR PINS AS JA NZ KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1791 | GNP LEAD WIDENS AFTER ATTACK ON PARK GEUN-HYE [...] (SBU) Polls indicate that the May 20 attack on the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) leader and presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye has influenced voters in swing provinces to vote GNP, which is forecasted to win at least 11 out of the 16 major mayoral and gubernatorial contests. Symp [...] |
2006-05-26 09:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1806 | AMBASSADOR AND ENVIRONMENT MINISTER SPAR OVER [...] (C) Ambassador made an introductory call on Minister of Environment Lee Chi-beom on May 25. After initial pleasantries, the Ambassador highlighted strong U.S. frustration that continued disagreement over environmental remediation had stalled the return of closed bases. He noted that the Uni [...] |
2006-05-30 07:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR SENV KS |
| 06SEOUL182 | ROK STRONGLY SUPPORTIVE OF U.S. POSITION ON IRAN'S [...] (C) In response to ref A demarche urging support for efforts to refer Iran to the Security Council for its violation of its commitments under the Paris Agreement, ROK officials expressed strong support for efforts to bring Iran back into compliance with its IAEA obligations during January 13 m [...] |
2006-01-13 09:17:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL KNNP MNUC KS |
| 06SEOUL1821 | OPPOSITION SWEEPS LOCAL ELECTIONS; URI CHAIR [...] (SBU) As predicted (Ref A), the ruling Uri Party suffered a crushing defeat in the May 31 local elections. The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) won 12 of the 16 gubernatorial and major mayoral races, including Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, and the populous region surrounding Seoul, Gyeonggi Pr [...] |
2006-06-01 08:08:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL183 | ROK SUPPORTIVE OF UN REFORM [...] (C) On January 13, poloff delivered ref A and B demarches requesting support for USG UN reform objectives to Oh Young-ju, Deputy Director of the UN Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Jang Hyun-cheol, Deputy Director of the Human Rights and Social Affairs Division. Oh s [...] |
2006-01-13 09:26:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KUNR PHUM UN KS ADCO |
| 06SEOUL1836 | EAP PDAS STEPHENS' JUNE 1 MEETING WITH ASSISTANT [...] (C) In a June 1 meeting with EAP PDAS Kathleen Stephens, Assistant Minister of Unification Park Chan-bong stated that the DPRK's latest display of uncooperative behavior in inter-Korean dialogue led Seoul to question whether the DPRK leadership was experiencing some new internal strife in its [...] |
2006-06-02 08:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MNUC MARR ECON KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1855 | PRESS BULLETIN - JUNE 5, 2006 [...] How Far Will Seoul Be Swayed By Pyongyang and Washington? (Dong-a Ilbo) 2. A Collapse is Also an Option at the FTA Talks (Hankyoreh Shinmun) FEATURES 3. Joint Chiefs of Staffs Report: "ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command to Be Dissolved in 2012" (Chosun Ilbo) 4. If U.S. Pre [...] |
2006-06-05 07:54:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PREL MARR ECON KS US |
| 06SEOUL1858 | KORUS FTA: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH DEPUTY PRIME [...] (SBU) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy (MOFE) Han Duck-soo told the Ambassador on June 2 that the results of the May 31 local elections were probably unrelated to the economy, which is doing well. He attributed the poor showing of Uri Party candidates to personality p [...] |
2006-06-05 09:17:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD EFIN PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL1868 | COMPETITION POLICY: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH [...] (SBU) Newly-appointed Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) Chairman Kwon Oh-seong told the Ambassador on May 25 that he is planning to redirect KFTC policy toward a stricter approach toward anti-competitive commercial practices, while taking a lighter touch toward limiting the overall economic p [...] |
2006-06-07 05:45:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD EINV PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL1876 | ROK GENERALLY SUPPORTS GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP [...] No summary [...] |
2006-06-07 08:23:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MARR NATO KS |
| 06SEOUL1879 | NORTH-SOUTH COOPERATION: DPRK AND ROK REACH [...] (SBU) North Korean and South Korean delegations meeting on Jeju Island reached an agreement late on June 6 that should allow the two sides to go forward with test runs of the two reconstructed cross-border railways located on the east and west coasts of the Korean Peninsula. Under the deal, S [...] |
2006-06-07 08:32:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL ETRD EINV SOCI KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1894 | ROK SUPPORTS U.S. INITIATIVE ON FMCT [...] No summary [...] |
2006-06-08 06:23:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | MNUC PARM PREL KNNP CDG KS |
| 06SEOUL1905 | ROK SHARES USG PERSPECTIVE ON IRAN FOR BOG MEETING [...] No summary [...] |
2006-06-08 08:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PARM MUNC PREL KNNB IAEA KS IR |
| 06SEOUL1908 | KORUS FTA: A LOOK AT KOREAN PUBLIC OPINION [...] Generally speaking, the Korean public remains noticeably supportive of the conclusion of a U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement despite steady public protests and often-critical media coverage. The proportion of citizens who feel strongly about the initiative is relatively small, however, so there [...] |
2006-06-09 01:25:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | ETRD SOCI PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL1920 | POLITICAL FALLOUT FROM LOCAL ELECTIONS [...] (C) The dust is still settling from the Uri Party's catastrophic loss in the May 31 local elections (Ref A). As reflected in post-election polls, voters used the election to send a clear message of dissatisfaction to President Roh. While President Roh has stated that he will continue the adm [...] |
2006-06-09 08:30:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL1921 | FM BAN KI-MOON CONVEYS CONGRATULATIONS ON KILLING [...] No summary [...] |
2006-06-09 09:10:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL MOPS KS IZ |
| 06SEOUL1942 | ROK CAUTIOUS ON REFUGEE PROCESSING IN RUSSIA [...] No summary [...] |
2006-06-12 07:12:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF PREL KS KN RS |
| 06SEOUL1947 | DPRK ECONOMY: PDAS STEPHENS' VISIT TO KAESONG [...] (SBU) EAP PDAS Stephens visited the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) project site on June 2, finding conditions consistent with previous Embassy reporting (reftels). Some new findings included additional detail on wage and employment conditions in the complex, as well as the existence of a sm [...] |
2006-06-12 08:24:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ETRD EINV SOCI KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1952 | DPRK ECONOMY: PDAS STEPHENS' VISIT TO KAESONG [...] (SBU) EAP PDAS Stephens visited the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) project site on June 2, finding conditions consistent with previous Embassy reporting (reftels). Some new findings included additional detail on wage and employment conditions in the complex, as well as the existence of a sm [...] |
2006-06-13 00:34:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ETRD EINV SOCI KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1963 | KORUS FTA: SENIOR BLUE HOUSE OFFICIALS PLEDGE [...] (SBU) A troika of key senior Blue House officials told the Ambassador that they are paying very close attention to the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). The Chief Secretary to the President for National Policy outlined the SIPDIS Korean government's plans for internal coordinatio [...] |
2006-06-13 05:52:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL1964 | OPPOSITION LEADER DISCUSSES ALLIANCE, FTA, [...] (C) SUMMARY: At a June 6 luncheon with the Ambassador, Park Geun-hye, leader of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP), reaffirmed the primacy she placed on the U.S.-ROK alliance. On North Korea, she criticized the Roh Administration's "unconditional" engagement with the North, but opined [...] |
2006-06-13 05:59:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PINR KS |
| 06SEOUL1968 | AMBASSADORS TOUR KAESONG INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX [...] (C) Although Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) tourism has not yet become as routine as the USO's twice-weekly trip to the DMZ, the visits themselves are developing along a familiar pattern. On June 12, the Ambassador joined a large delegation of ambassadors and other high-level officials who [...] |
2006-06-14 00:25:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL1972 | EAP PDAS STEPHENS' JUNE 11 MEETING WITH MOFAT [...] (C) In a June 11 meeting, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) Director General for North American Affairs Cho Tae-yong informed EAP PDAS Kathleen Stephens that the ROKG preferred having Secretary Rice visit the ROK before the July 26-28 ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting so that the [...] |
2006-06-14 05:00:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MARR MNUC KN KS |
| 06SEOUL1977 | ROKG AGREES HRC PRIORITY SHOULD BE PROCEDURAL [...] No summary [...] |
2006-06-14 07:22:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PHUM PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL1978 | ROK TO SUPPORT MDA AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE [...] No summary [...] |
2006-06-14 07:23:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREF PREL PHUM ICRC KS IS |
| 06SEOUL1981 | KOREA-ASEAN FTA: TRADE IN GOODS AGREEMENT FINALIZED [...] (SBU) Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with the exception of Thailand, finalized and signed the Trade in Goods (TIG) part of their free trade agreement (FTA) on May 16 in Manila. The agreement will liberalize 90 percent of tariff lines, amounting to 90 percent of [...] |
2006-06-14 08:35:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD PREL KS XC |
| 06SEOUL2010 | DPRK ECONOMY: EXPERT SAYS THAT BDA FREEZE POSES [...] (C) The General Manager of North Korea's Daedong Credit Bank, a British national, complained to the Embassy that actions taken by financial authorities in Mongolia and elsewhere in the aftermath of U.S. defensive measures against Banco Delta Asia are complicating the conduct of legitimate fina [...] |
2006-06-16 08:02:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | EFIN ECON PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2054 | ROK TO OPPOSE CONFERENCE DISRUPTION [...] No summary [...] |
2006-06-21 03:45:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PHUM PREF AORC ICRC KS |
| 06SEOUL2059 | INVITATION TO SEPTEMBER 27-29 DPRK WATCHERS' [...] (U) Embassy Seoul is pleased to sponsor its 2006 DPRK Watchers, Conference September 27-29 and invites participation from your Posts. As in the past, our aim is to bring together political and economic reporting officers from Posts who cover DPRK issues, as well as Washington-based Desk offi [...] |
2006-06-21 05:25:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PREF ETRD KN |
| 06SEOUL2094 | AMBASSADOR AND MINDEF DISCUSS BASE RETURNS, EX [...] (C) Summary: During an hour-long June 23 discussion with Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung, the Ambassador urged the ROKG to resolve environmental remediation and training range issues, advocated Boeing's bid in the EX procurement, and reaffirmed our commitment to work toward a transfer of war [...] |
2006-06-25 22:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2095 | U.S. BUSINESS REPS AND AMBASSADOR MEET PRESIDENT [...] (SBU) The Ambassador accompanied Citibank Chairman Bill Rhodes and other top representatives of the U.S.-Korea Business Council (USKBC) to their June 22 courtesy call on President Roh. The meeting focused on the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) and lasted a little over an hour. US [...] |
2006-06-25 22:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2108 | INVITATION TO AFGHANISTAN PRT EFFECTIVENESS [...] No summary [...] |
2006-06-26 08:06:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | AORC NATO AF XD KS |
| 06SEOUL2109 | NOGUN-RI: MUCCIO LETTER AND SCHOLARSHIP [...] (U) This is an action request. 2. (C) Following up DG Cho Taeyong's June 11 discussion with EAP PDAS Stephens (reftel), MOFAT North American Division II Director Shin Sungwon requested USG's positive response on the Muccio letter and scholarship extension. Presenting a nonpaper (text in pa [...] |
2006-06-26 08:07:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MARR MASS KS |
| 06SEOUL2113 | BAN AND ASO DISCUSS MISSILE LAUNCH, EEZ, FUTURE [...] (C) In a June 20 telephone conversation, Japan Foreign Minister Taro Aso and ROK Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon shared concern over the possible DPRK missile test. Aso asserted that Japan would work with the U.S. to take a tough response in the event of a launch. Ban said that the ROK wanted t [...] |
2006-06-26 09:28:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PBTS PHSA EFIS MOPS KS JA |
| 06SEOUL2114 | STATUS OF U.S. APPROVAL FOR ROK TO TRAIN U.A.E. [...] (U) This is an action request. 2. (C) In a June 26 meeting with poloffs, MND Americas Policy Division Assistant Director Kong Pyung Won inquired on the status of a ROKG request for the USG's permission for the ROK Air Force to train U.A.E. F-16 pilots in Korea. Kong said the request had be [...] |
2006-06-26 09:29:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MARR PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2140 | AMBASSADOR, INDIANA GOVERNOR GREET NEW PM [...] (SBU) On June 26, the Ambassador paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, during which PM Han stressed the importance of the U.S.-ROK alliance and bringing the DPRK back to the Six Party Talks. The Prime Minister also expressed a personal interest in the Kaesong Industrial Com [...] |
2006-06-27 08:55:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2144 | ROK SUPPORTS UN REFORM, CONCERNED ABOUT BUDGET CAP [...] No summary [...] |
2006-06-28 08:31:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PGOV UNGA AMGT AORC EUN EU KS |
| 06SEOUL2182 | "STRENGTHENING SELF-RELIANCE, BUT NOT AT THE COST [...] (SBU) Summary: In a recent speech to ROK generals, President Roh Moo-Hyun identified security as the most important element in inter-Korean relations, above peace and unification. While reaffirming his commitment to realizing a &self-reliant8 defense, Roh emphasized the importance of the U.S. [...] |
2006-06-30 08:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL ECON EAID KN KS |
| 06SEOUL2183 | MEDIA REFORM LAW DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL [...] No summary [...] |
2006-06-30 09:21:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | KS PGOV PHUM |
| 06SEOUL2185 | ROK SURVEY VESSEL IN DISPUTED WATERS NEXT WEEK [...] (C) MOFAT DG for the Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau Lee Hyuk on June 30 told A/DCM that the ROK planned to dispatch a research vessel on July 3 to conduct a sea stream survey, arriving possibly as soon as July 4 or 5, in waters of overlapping claims with Japan. Seoul, however, did not cons [...] |
2006-06-30 10:30:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PBTS PHSA KS JA |
| 06SEOUL2190 | SOHN HAK-KYU, THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF KOREA? [...] (C) Sohn Hak-kyu (GNP), outgoing Gyeonggi Province Governor and presidential hopeful, outlined his qualifications and vision for leading the ROK to the Ambassador June 29. Sohn currently trails other presidential hopefuls in the polls, but hopes to bolster his standing as the "progressive" c [...] |
2006-07-03 05:35:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PINR KS |
| 06SEOUL2201 | BLUE HOUSE RESHUFFLES CABINET [...] (SBU) The Blue House announced today a partial cabinet reshuffle, placing in the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Education and Human Resources two of President Roh Moo-hyun's most trusted advisors, Kwon O-kyu and Kim Byong-joon, respectively. Kwon, who replaces Han Duck-s [...] |
2006-07-03 09:03:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL2211 | ROK REACTIONS TO DPRK MISSILE LAUNCHES [...] (SBU) Following an emergency NSC meeting early in the morning on July 5, ROK Senior Presidential Secretary for Security Policy Suh Choo-suk announced that the DPRK, between 0332 and 0500 Wednesday, had launched six missiles, including the Taepo Dong II as well as Scud and Nodong class missiles [...] |
2006-07-05 10:12:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL MNUC KNNP KN KS |
| 06SEOUL2212 | FM BAN CONCERNED WITH JAPANESE SURVEY OF DISPUTED [...] (C) Summary: In a July 5 meeting with the Ambassador, Foreign Minister Ban said that South Korea and Japan had shown flexibility and self-control over the ROK survey vessel in the disputed EEZ. The standoff was essentially over because the vessel had made a rapid passage and was now out of t [...] |
2006-07-05 10:46:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KS JA |
| 06SEOUL2213 | ROKG LIKELY TO SUSPEND DPRK HUMANITARIAN AID [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a July 5 meeting with the Ambassador and A/DCM, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon shared his "grave concern" over the DPRK missile launches and said that the ROKG had "more or less agreed" to suspend humanitarian aid to the North. FM Ban said that it would be important to respond [...] |
2006-07-05 12:29:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2220 | POINTS ON PROVINCIAL IRAQI CONTROL DELIVERED TO [...] No summary [...] |
2006-07-06 04:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR MOPS PREL NATO IZ KS |
| 06SEOUL2227 | ROKG OFFICIALS DISCUSS DPRK MISSILES, KIC, [...] (C) In a series of meetings on June 28, SFRC Professional Staff Member Frank Jannuzi told officials from the Ministry of Unification (MOU), Ministry of National Defense (MND), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) that the ROK should seek to dissuade a DPRK missile launch. Seo [...] |
2006-07-06 06:01:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MNUC ETRD KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2238 | ROK REACTIONS TO DPRK MISSILE LAUNCHES-DAY TWO [...] (C) xxxxx that despite its decision to suspend humanitarian aid to the DPRK, it would ship another 24,700 metric tons of fertilizer 6-7 July. This final shipment will complete the delivery to the North of the pledge of 350,000 metric tons South Korea made earlier this year. MOU officials have expla [...] |
2006-07-06 09:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | PREL MNUC KNNP KN KS |
| 06SEOUL2243 | REUNION REFOCUSES ROK PUBLIC ON ABDUCTEES [...] (SBU) The emotional June 28-30 reunion between Kim Young-nam, a ROK abduction victim, and his South Korean mother has increased domestic interest in the DPRK's post-Korean War abductions of ROK nationals. Kim is one of a total of 485 South Korean abduction victims believed to be remaining in [...] |
2006-07-07 02:45:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2254 | A/MOU EXPLAINS ROK ENGAGEMENT WITH DPRK [...] (C) The A/DCM called on Assistant Minister of Unification Park Chan-bong on July 6 to verify that the ROKG planned to proceed with a final portion of an earlier pledge of fertilizer assistance to the DPRK and intended to hold an inter-Korean ministerial next week as scheduled despite the Nort [...] |
2006-07-07 09:22:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM KNNP KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2255 | ROKG TO RESTRIC INTER-KOREAN MINISTERIALS NEX WEEK [...] (C) Summary and Comment: In separate meetings with the Ambassador on July 6, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said that after a bitter internal fight over whether or not to cancel next week's inter-Korean ministerial, President Roh had tried to square the c [...] |
2006-07-07 14:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2296 | UNSCR ON DPRK MISSILE LAUNCHES: ROK RESPONSE [...] (C) SUMMARY: The Ambassador met on July 11 with Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to urge Seoul to reconsider its opposition to the Japanese draft UNSCR on DPRK missile launches. This was in follow-up to a series of exchanges on July 10 with National Security Advisor Song Min-soon. Ban, like So [...] |
2006-07-11 11:08:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM MARR UNSC KN KS |
| 06SEOUL2320 | ROK MOFAT AND NSC ON UNSC RESOLUTION: CHAPTER 7 [...] (C) In a follow-up to the Ambassador's meeting with FM Ban Ki-Moon and series of telcons with NSA Song Min-soon (Ref A), A/DCM called on MOFAT Director General for North America Cho Tae-yong and NSC Director General Lim Sung-nam to urge the South Koreans to support the Japanese draft of the U [...] |
2006-07-12 12:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV UNSC KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2351 | ROKG RESPONSE TO AFGHANISTAN PRT CONFERENCE [...] (U) On July 14, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) Southwest Asia and Oceania Division delivered a response declining to participate in the Afghanistan Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Effectiveness Conference scheduled for July 20-21 in Hungary. 2. (U) Begin text: Min [...] |
2006-07-14 06:55:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | AORC NATO AF XD KS |
| 06SEOUL2362 | UNIFICATION MINISTRY ON JULY 11-13 INTER-KOREAN [...] (C) On July 14, Assistant Unification Minister Lee Kwan-sei provided a readout of the July 11-13 inter-Korean ministerial to the A/DCM and emphasized that South Korean government used the meetings to urge the DPRK to return to the Six Party Talks and convey strong ROK regret about the DPRK mi [...] |
2006-07-14 10:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MNUC EAID KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2392 | "YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY BABY:" THE RISING STATUS [...] (U) Korean women are better educated then ever before and are working in greater numbers outside the home, joining management, becoming professionals, and entering politics. The entry of women into the public arena suggests that the ROK is slowly breaking away from its Confucian male-centered [...] |
2006-07-18 08:09:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | SOCI ECON PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL2399 | FOREIGN MINISTER BAN'S UNSYG CAMPAIGN WEATHERING [...] (C) Five months into his official campaign for UN Secretary General, FM Ban continues to seek international SIPDIS support for his candidacy and to demonstrate his commitment to human rights and UN management reform. He reports no major opposition at this point, but is worried that without a sign o [...] |
2006-07-18 10:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL UN KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2405 | AMBASSADOR'S JULY 14 MEETING WITH NA SPEAKER LIM [...] (C) In a July 14 meeting with the Ambassador, ROK National Assembly Speaker Lim Chae-jung said that he was upset with the DPRK and hoped to work with the U.S. to find a unified response to the post-missile-launch situation. He agreed that a UN resolution was the next step but said Chapter 7 [...] |
2006-07-19 02:05:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL |
| 06SEOUL2432 | 2007 ROK PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS - ALREADY THE TALK [...] (C) Seventeen months before the December 2007 presidential elections, political pundits are already gauging every political act by how much it will affect the presidential race. The Grand National Party (GNP) elected Kang Jae-sup as its new party Chairman at the July 11 GNP convention. Many [...] |
2006-07-20 07:35:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2442 | UNSYG CAMPAIGN: FM BAN ASKS FOR USG SUPPORT [...] (C) Summary. In a July 18 meeting with the Ambassador, ROK Foreign Minister Ban assessed tQt his candidacy had won broad support, however Q was concernQ that Washington, along with other P5 members of the UNSC, might not participate in the upcoming straw poll. That would be seen as a vote of [...] |
2006-07-20 08:26:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL UN KS |
| 06SEOUL2451 | DEMARCHE DELIVERED: JULY 20 COMPACT MEETING IN [...] In response to reftel demarche, poloff met with Director of Development Cooperation Division Choe Cheol-kyu, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's (MOFAT) International Economic Affairs Bureau, to convey appreciation for the ROKG's willingness to attend the Iraq Compact meeting. Choe [...] |
2006-07-21 07:00:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | EAID ECIN OTRA IZ KS |
| 06SEOUL2457 | ROKG AID SUSPENSION TRIGGERS ANGRY DPRK BACKLASH [...] (S) SUMMARY: In a July 21 meeting with the A/DCM, Secretary to the President for National Security Strategy SIPDIS Park Sun-won said that the DPRK has responded strongly to the ROKG's suspension of humanitarian aid following the DPRK's July 5 missile launches. To date, the DPRK has indica [...] |
2006-07-21 09:26:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2458 | DPRK MISSILES PROVOKE PUBLIC ANGER AT ROKG AND [...] (U) SUMMARY: The July 5 DPRK missile tests appear to be causing public ire, but not necessarily at the DPRK. According to polling agencies and our own informal "man-on-the-street" survey, many South Korean citizens are angry at their government's relatively slow response to the launches. More [...] |
2006-07-21 09:32:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2460 | UNIFICATION MINISTRY DISCUSSES DPRK RESTRICTIONS [...] (C) Unification Ministry officials on July 21 told the A/DCM that the North seemed to be showing its anger with the ROKG decision to halt food and fertilizer assistance by cutting inter-Korean governmental contact at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and suspending family reunion projects. The R [...] |
2006-07-21 10:02:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2461 | AMBASSADOR'S JULY 21 MEETING WITH PRESIDENT ROH'S [...] (C) Summary: On July 21, the Ambassador and Lee Byung-wan, President Roh's Chief of Staff, held a cordial and wide-ranging discussion on USG efforts to help victims of recent flooding, the need for a diplomatic solution to the DPRK missile crisis, presentation of a united front in the face of [...] |
2006-07-21 10:25:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ETRD MNUC KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2475 | THE GRAND NATIONAL PARTY - LEADERSHIP RESHUFFLE [...] (C) SUMMARY: On July 11 at the Grand National Party (GNP) convention, five-term National Assembly member Kang Jae-sup was elected GNP Chairman. Along with Kang, four GNP Supreme Council members were elected. On July 18, Kang nominated two more members to the Council and appointed the head of [...] |
2006-07-24 02:18:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2481 | ROK FOREIGN MINISTER TO ATTEND UNGA [...] (C) On July 24, Lee Kyung-chul, Deputy Director of the UN Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told poloff that President Roh Moo-hyun was not intending to participate in the UNGA General Debate, but Roh planned to be in Washington D.C. in September for a presidential summit. [...] |
2006-07-24 07:36:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL OTRA OVIP KSEP UNGA KS |
| 06SEOUL2488 | FTA LABOR TEAM MEETS KCTU, OTHER LABOR GROUPS [...] (SBU) Formally meeting with U.S. officials in Seoul for the first time, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the more radical of the ROK's two major labor federations, welcomed the U.S. FTA labor negotiators to their headquarters on July 13. In a professional and business-like me [...] |
2006-07-24 23:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ECON ELAB ETRD KS PGOV |
| 06SEOUL2492 | 2007 ROK POSSIBLE PRESIDENTAIL CANDIDATES PROFILED [...] (C) SUMMARY: As the presidential election season nears (See Reftel A), there are many faces, most old, some new, that are busy jockeying for position. Will the old guard come out ahead and succeed in replacing President Roh next year with a conservative leader such as Park Geun-hye? Or does [...] |
2006-07-25 00:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2493 | JULY 26 BY-ELECTIONS PREVIEW: FOUR MORE NA SEATS [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: There will be a by-election on July 26 for four National Assembly seats but even Uri Party lawmakers concede there is little chance for the ruling Uri Party to win even one seat. Two of the vacant seats are in Seoul, one in Masan, Gyeongsang Province, and one in Bucheon, Gyeong [...] |
2006-07-25 00:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2505 | PHARMACEUTICALS AND KORUS-FTA: TURNING THE TABLES [...] (C) SUMMARY: With public release of the draft implementing regulations for its Drug Expenditure Rationalization Plan (DERP) scheduled for July 26, the ROKG has slowly but steadily backed away from all the key commitments it made to us on treatment of pharmaceuticals in the FTA, and has now w [...] |
2006-07-25 09:03:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ETRD KS |
| 06SEOUL2535 | ROK MINISTER OF UNIFICATION'S "U.S. FAILED" [...] (C) South Korean Minister of Unification Lee Jong-seok's July 23 televised remark that the United States "failed the most" in not preventing North Korea from launching missiles on July 5 sparked a strong negative reaction from both sides of the aisle in the National Assembly and among editoria [...] |
2006-07-27 06:21:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2545 | MTCR: U.S. PROPOSALS ON CAS NUMBERS FOR SEPTEMBER [...] No summary [...] |
2006-07-27 07:54:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PARM MTCRE MNUC ETTC KSCA TSPA FR KS |
| 06SEOUL2549 | JULY 26 BY-ELECTIONS: URI PARTY CONTINUES ITS [...] (C) SUMMARY: Out of the four National Assembly seats contested yesterday, the ruling Uri Party zeroed out again; the main opposition GNP won three and the minor opposition Democratic Party won one seat. The Democratic Party victory was particularly depressing for President Roh, as the victor, [...] |
2006-07-28 02:28:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2557 | ROK RECEPTIVE TO FMCT NEGOTIATIONS [...] No summary [...] |
2006-07-28 05:54:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | MNUC PARM PREL KNNP UNGA CDG KS |
| 06SEOUL2573 | DEMARCHE DELIVERED: MTCR, U.S. PROPOSAL ON [...] No summary [...] |
2006-07-31 08:08:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PARM MTCRE MNUC ETTC KSCA TSPA KS |
| 06SEOUL2575 | ROK WORKING ON ITS OWN STATEMENT TO SUPPORT [...] No summary [...] |
2006-07-31 08:59:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | EAID PREL IZ KS |
| 06SEOUL2576 | BLUE HOUSE STANDS BY "AUTO-PLAGIARIZING" EDUCATION [...] (U) SUMMARY: Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Education Minister Kim Byong-joon faces widespread criticism for his alleged plagiarism and admitted publication of same articles in different journals. President Roh continues to back DPM Kim, and Blue House officials said the charges are not ma [...] |
2006-07-31 09:04:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2577 | THE HINES WARD EFFECT: KOREA QUESTIONS ITS [...] (U) SUMMARY: When Hines Ward, a half-Korean, half-African-American pro football player, visited Korea recently, the event caused Koreans to examine their own prejudices against Koreans of mixed-race heritage. Hines Ward became a media darling, while the average mixed-race Korean suffers bigot [...] |
2006-07-31 09:15:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PREL PHUM KS |
| 06SEOUL2586 | DPRK CANCELS ARIRANG FESTIVAL [...] (C) One of Northeast Asia's largest synchronized gymnastics and flashcard extravaganzas has been postponed until next spring. While the DPRK's stated reason for the postponement of the "Arirang Festival" was flooding following unusually heavy monsoon rains, some suspect the true motivation w [...] |
2006-08-01 07:10:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2593 | BORDER GUARDS EXCHANGE FIRE ALONG DMZ [...] (C) On July 31, border guards of the two Koreas briefly exchanged fire around 7:35 p.m. (local) in Yanggu, the eastern portion of the demilitarized zone (DMZ). According to the South Korean Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) and United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission initial investigati [...] |
2006-08-01 09:29:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MARR PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2596 | LABOR STRIKE SEASON IN KOREA: WINDS OF CHANGE? [...] (U) As part of an annual ritual, labor unions throughout Korea are pressing their employers for concessions. Strikes and threats of strikes are affecting many key areas of industry ranging from the largest steel manufacturer (POSCO) to the Korean Stock Exchange (KRX). Although these strikes a [...] |
2006-08-02 01:19:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | ELAB ECON ETRD PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2605 | BIPARTISAN FRUSTRATION WITH PRESIDENT ROH MOUNTS [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a round of calls on reform minded Uri and GNP National Assembly members, poloff met with Foreign Affairs Committee members Choi Jae-chun, Lee Mi-kyoung, and GNP member Park Jin on August 1. While they expressed some expected differences of views on ROK's North Korea policy, t [...] |
2006-08-02 07:10:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2674 | ROK BRIEFED ON LEBANON SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION [...] No summary [...] |
2006-08-08 08:01:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PTER MOPS UN KS IS |
| 06SEOUL2675 | UNSYG CAMPAIGN: FM BAN'S UPDATE [...] (C) In a meeting with the Ambassador on August 7, ROK Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said that he was relieved to have done well in the recent UNSC straw poll for the declared candidates for UNSYG. At the same time, the results were also burdensome, because they had created the expectation tha [...] |
2006-08-08 08:29:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL UN KS |
| 06SEOUL2679 | ROK INTENDING TO ATTEND UNHRC SPECIAL SESSION [...] No summary [...] |
2006-08-09 07:02:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PHUM PTER MOPS KS IS LE |
| 06SEOUL2684 | ROKG TO PROVIDE FLOOD-RELATED AID TO NORTH KOREA [...] (C) The ROKG is expected to announce emergency aid to the DPRK, probably through private NGOs, in the next few days, in the wake of reports of hundreds of deaths and extensive agricultural and infrastructure damage from the mid-July floods in the North. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade [...] |
2006-08-09 09:38:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ECON KN KS PGOV |
| 06SEOUL2685 | ROH TAPS ANTI-CORRUPTION CZAR TO LEAD MOJ [...] (C) In a surprise announcement, President Roh on August 8 nominated Kim Song-ho to be the next Justice Minister. The nomination put an end to a fierce fight between the Blue House and the Uri Party over the fitness for duty of Roh's initial choice for the position, long-time Roh crony Moon J [...] |
2006-08-09 09:45:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2704 | PRESIDENT ROH ON WARTIME OPERATIONAL CONTROL BY [...] (SBU) President Roh held an exclusive two-hour interview with state run news agency Yonhap at the Blue House on August 9, expressing his confidence in South Korea's defense capabilities. He said that "the ROK military is ready even immediately" to conduct independent wartime operational contr [...] |
2006-08-10 09:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MARR PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2706 | CODEL HYDE MEETS PRESIDENT ROH: DIFFERING [...] (C) House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde and delegation discussed what President Roh Moo-hyun called differing ROK and U.S. approaches to the DPRK, as well as general alliance issues at a one-hour Blue House meeting on August 10. President Roh emphasized that the DPRK's [...] |
2006-08-10 23:15:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL272 | MOFAT OFFICIALS UPBEAT ON CURRENT ROK-PRC RELATIONS [...] (C) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) officials told poloffs January 20 that the generally positive state of ROK-PRC bilateral relations was attributable mainly to the expanding volume of bilateral trade and growing educational exchanges, but also partially to the recent deteriora [...] |
2006-01-23 08:28:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ETRD ECON MNUC CH KN KS |
| 06SEOUL2720 | SPACE LAUNCH VEHICLE COOPERATION BETWEEN SOUTH [...] On 3 August 2006 poloff delivered reftel demarche on space launch vehicle cooperation between ROK and Ukraine to Youn Jong-Kwon, First Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's (MOFAT) Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Division. Youn accepted and understood the request but did [...] |
2006-08-11 04:52:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PARM MTCRE PREL ETTC KS UP |
| 06SEOUL2721 | ROK WELCOMES U.S. NOMINEE'S CANDIDACY FOR UNHRC [...] No summary [...] |
2006-08-11 05:00:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PHUM UNHRC KS US |
| 06SEOUL2729 | ROKG ANNOUNCES FLOOD ASSISTANCE TO NORTH KOREA [...] (C) On August 11, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade North American Affairs Division I Director Hahn Choong-hee provided the Embassy with the Ministry of Unification (MOU) press release announcing that the ROKG has decided to provide USD 10 million (10 billion SKW) of matching flood relief [...] |
2006-08-11 09:29:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV ECON KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2732 | ROK WELCOMES UNSC RESOLUTION ON LEBANON [...] No summary [...] |
2006-08-13 23:34:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PTER MOPS UNSC UN KS IS LE |
| 06SEOUL2746 | MOFAT OFFICIALS DISCUSS VENEZUELA, CUBA [...] (C) On August 11, the outgoing MOFAT Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Lim Ki-mo, provided A/POL with an update on ROK views toward Venezuela and Cuba. Seoul was considering allowing a visit by Venezuelan President Chavez, although there were no immediate proposals for a trip. Se [...] |
2006-08-14 06:43:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ETRD ECON KS |
| 06SEOUL2778 | URGENT DEMARCHE: SOLICITING CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNIFIL [...] (C) In response to reftel, A/DCM and POL-MIL Chief met with North American Affairs Bureau Director General Cho Taeyong on August 16, 2006 and urged the South Korean government to make a contribution to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in support of UNSC 1701. DG Cho, notin [...] |
2006-08-16 08:50:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | LE MARR MOPS PREL |
| 06SEOUL2779 | PSI: INVITATION TO ATTEND EXERCISE LEADING EDGE [...] No summary [...] |
2006-08-16 09:08:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KNNP MNUC PARM PREL |
| 06SEOUL2788 | ROK READY FOR A WOMAN PRESIDENT? [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: With the ruling Uri Party utterly out of public favor, South Koreans await the 2007 presidential race with great anticipation. Among the candidates, Park Geun-hye, former chairwoman of the Grand National Party and the one of the leading presidential hopefuls, has a shot at becomi [...] |
2006-08-17 06:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2798 | PSI: TALKING POINTS FOR JULY 2006 SINGAPORE OEG [...] (C) On August 16, A/DCM and POL-MIL Chief delivered reftel points regarding PSI talking points for July 2006 Singapore Operational Experts Group (OEG) meeting to Cho Tae-yong, Director General of North American Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). Cho stated that he apprec [...] |
2006-08-17 08:46:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KNNP MNUC PARM PREL |
| 06SEOUL2812 | ENVIRONMENTAL SUBCOMMITTEE IMPASSE: SPI 10 FORECAST [...] (C) SUMMARY: At the end of Security Policy Initiative (SPI) 9 meeting on July 13, the chairs of both parties left with an agreement that fifteen of eighteen bases would be returned immediately and formally accepted by the ROKG, with documents signed within 1 or 2 weeks following internal admin [...] |
2006-08-18 06:26:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MARR PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2826 | MTCR: U.S. PROPOSAL CONCERNING CRITERIA FOR [...] No summary [...] |
2006-08-18 10:00:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ETTC KSCA MTCRE PARM PREL |
| 06SEOUL2827 | PRESIDENT ROH'S INFORMAL COMMENTS ON OPCON, NORTH [...] (C) Summary and Comment: On August 13, President Roh Moo-hyun hosted a dinner for several newspapers which are considered "friendly" to the Roh Administration, including Hankyoreh, KyungHyang and Seoul Shinmun. Over the course of the dinner, Roh made frank comments on a number of issues, in [...] |
2006-08-19 09:15:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2828 | ROKG TO SEND RICE TO NORTH KOREA AS FLOOD RELIEF [...] (C) On August 19, Assistant Minister of Unification Lee Kwan-sei told A/DCM that the ROKG planned to announce the following day that it had decided to provide North Korea with 100,000 metric tons of rice as well as some reconstruction equipment as part of a flood relief package. This follows [...] |
2006-08-19 09:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2850 | ROKG CAUTIOUS ON USG VIEW OF UNSCR 1695 [...] (C) On August 21, political and economic officers delivered reftel points on USG thinking concerning UNSCR 1695 implementation to officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). The officials gave initial responses claiming that ROKG policy was already largely in line with th [...] |
2006-08-21 09:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MNUC PARM PREL PTER KNNP KPAO WMD CT KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2851 | ROKG NOT PLANNING TO INVITE CHAVEZ [...] (C) Following up on ref A and media reports that Venezuelan President Chavez will visit China August 22-27, poloff on August 21 asked Choi Won-seok, MOFAT's Deputy Director for Latin American and Caribbean Regional Cooperation Division, whether South Korea would be a stop on the Chavez trip. [...] |
2006-08-21 09:17:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KS VE |
| 06SEOUL2852 | AID SUSPENSION MAY FULFILL UNSCR 1695, SAYS NSC [...] (C) In an August 21 courtesy call by the CDA, Senior Secretary to the President for National Security Suh Choo-suk SIPDIS said that the ROKG's suspension of rice and fertilizer shipments would likely fulfill the ROKG's obligation under UNSCR 1695. Suh also explained the ROKG's one-time shi [...] |
2006-08-21 22:40:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2855 | DPRK TO RECEIVE ADDITIONAL FLOOD AID [...] In addition to the previously announced 100,000 metric tons of rice in response to extensive flooding in the North (reftel), the South Korean government will also send material for reconstruction and repair. Official estimates of death and damage were also released following discussions betwee [...] |
2006-08-22 03:55:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | ECON EAID PREL PINR KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2877 | PRESIDENT ROH'S CABINET: CHANGING FACES [...] (C) This is an update on the incumbent ROK cabinet members and possible changes in the coming weeks. Amidst growing negative public sentiment toward the Blue House, President Roh Moo-hyun conducted a reshuffle of thirteen vice minister-level posts, including Vice Minister of Planning and Budge [...] |
2006-08-23 04:55:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2886 | DEPUTY MINISTER FOR POLICY PLANNING ON UNIFIL, [...] (C) SUMMARY: During the Charge's August 22 courtesy call on Park In-kook, MOFAT Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and Public Affairs, DM Park commented on three pending UN issues. He said minimal ROK participation to date in UN peacekeeping was an argument spurring positive ROKG considera [...] |
2006-08-23 09:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KN KS MARR MNUC PARM PREL UNGA LE |
| 06SEOUL2899 | ROK SUPPORTIVE OF USG CANDIDATE'S REELECTION TO ILC [...] (SBU) On August 24, poloff delivered reftel points and diplomatic note supporting the reelection of Mr. Matheson to the International Law Commission (ILC) to Dr. Kim Sun-pyo, Director of the International Legal Affairs Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Kim said Seoul shou [...] |
2006-08-24 07:53:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | UNGA UNSC KS |
| 06SEOUL2912 | A REAL YODUK STORY [...] (SBU) Twenty-six-year-old Kim Eun-cheol has a five-hundred-dollar cellphone, a gold bracelet on his left wrist, and angry scars on both knees from being tortured in the DPRK. Kim was an inmate in North Korea's infamous Yoduk prison from 2000 until 2003 and is one of fewer than fifteen people [...] |
2006-08-25 08:11:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL2913 | PARTY REALIGNMENT - POSSIBLE SCENARIOS [...] (C) SUMMARY: With still sixteen months to go, the December 2007 Presidential elections already dominates political discussion in Seoul. Lawmakers are looking at how their actions in the fall Assembly session will affect the elections and the press is focusing more and more on possible candid [...] |
2006-08-25 08:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2917 | THE "GAMBLING REPUBLIC": CAUGHT IN THE NET OF [...] (SBU) A scandal surrounding a video gambling craze is sweeping the nation and on August 25 has captured the front page of Seoul newspapers for the fifth straight day. The scandal centers on suspicion of bribes and kickbacks related to the approval of a new type of digital slot machine and its [...] |
2006-08-25 09:28:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL2953 | ROK: NHK-II PIP MISSILE TEST FLIGHT [...] No summary [...] |
2006-08-29 02:04:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM PREL MARR KS |
| 06SEOUL2986 | DEMARCHE REQUEST: MUCCIO LETTER AND NOGUN-RI [...] (U) Please see action item in paragraph four. 2. (SBU) On August 29, poloff received a demarche from Deputy Director Kang Dae-soo of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's (MOFAT) North America Division II. Deputy Director Kang said the ROKG plans to meet with Nogun-ri victims' repre [...] |
2006-08-30 06:45:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL MARR KS |
| 06SEOUL2989 | PSI: SOUTH KOREA TO ATTEND EXERCISE LEADING EDGE [...] (U) Please see action request at paragraph three. 2. (C) On August 29, 2006, Director Park Chul-min, Director of the Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division of the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade informed Embassy POL-MIL Chief that the Republic of Korea accepts the U.S [...] |
2006-08-30 07:23:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KNNP MNUC PARM PREL |
| 06SEOUL3008 | ROK LIKELY TO CONTRIBUTE IN LEBANON; RENEW IN IRAQ [...] (SBU) Summary: On August 31, POL-MIL Chief met with Ministry of National Defense (MND) officials during a round of courtesy calls and asked about the status of deliberations on ROK troop commitments to UNIFIL and Iraq. Several MND officials stated that the ROK will likely contribute a 30-40 p [...] |
2006-08-31 09:38:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MARR PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL3028 | NORTH KOREAN ECONOMIST ON "ABNORMAL" DPRK ECONOMY [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: Cho Myungchul, Head of the International Cooperation Team for Korean Unification at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy in Seoul, who defected from the DPRK in 1994 and is a prominent commentator on the DPRK, said that the DPRK economic situation is very dang [...] |
2006-09-01 08:14:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ECON PREL KN |
| 06SEOUL3029 | NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AGENDA: HIGHLIGHTS [...] (C) As the National Assembly convenes its 262nd session, beginning September 1 and lasting a hundred days, politicians and pundits alike anticipate a series of political battles as the ruling and opposition parties struggle to gain the upper hand. Given the stunning defeat for the ruling Uri [...] |
2006-09-01 08:32:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL3064 | KOREA AT CROSSROADS WITH LABOR LEGISLATION [...] (C) Following a meeting on September 2, the Korean Tripartite Commission (KTC) announced that several of the key players at the meeting agreed to a five-year ban on multiple trade unions in the workplace while continuing to allow the provision of salaries by companies to full-time unionists. [...] |
2006-09-07 02:44:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ELAB PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL3077 | ROK HAS NO OBJECTION TO REFUGEE PROCESSING IN [...] (C) On September 6, poloff informed the ROKG that the USG will be discussing its interest in processing North Korean asylum seekers for U.S. resettlement on a case-by-case basis with the Government of Vietnam (GVN), to Yu Joon-ha, new Director of MOFAT's Inter-Korean Policy Division. Poloff s [...] |
2006-09-07 08:11:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF PREL KS KN RS |
| 06SEOUL3097 | ROKG SQPORTS IRAQ COMPACT MEETINGS [...] (SBU) The South Korean Government attaches great importance to the upcoming Iraq Compact meetings, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Director of North America Division I Hahn Choong-hee, and will participate in all three meetings mentioned in reftel: ROK Ambassador to Iraq Ja [...] |
2006-09-08 07:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | EAID EFIN KS PREL |
| 06SEOUL3103 | AMBASSADOR VERSHBOW DISCUSSES OPCON WITH GNP FLOOR [...] (C) SUMMARY: Opposition GNP Floor Leader Kim Hyoung-o told the Ambassador several times in a meeting on September 6 that the Grand National Party (GNP) strongly urged the U.S. not to discuss a timetable for the handover of wartime operational control (OPCON) at the September 14 summit or the [...] |
2006-09-08 09:39:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR PREL ABLD KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3104 | AMBASSADOR'S SEP 6 MEETING WITH DEFENSE MINISTER [...] (C) SUMMARY: During a September 6 discussion with the Ambassador, Minister of National Defense Yoon Kwang-ung cited widespread controversy within Korean society over the transfer of OPCON issue and strongly urged the USG to agree to 2012 as the X year, rather than pressing for 2009. He pred [...] |
2006-09-08 14:32:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MNUC KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3105 | AMBASSADOR'S SEP 6 MEETING WITH DEFENSE MINISTER [...] (C) SUMMARY: During a September 6 discussion with the Ambassador, Minister of National Defense Yoon Kwang-ung cited widespread controversy within Korean society over the transfer of OPCON issue and strongly urged the USG to agree to 2012 as the X year, rather than pressing for 2009. He pred [...] |
2006-09-08 14:32:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MNUC KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3109 | MAINTAINING THE MOMENTUM ON LEBANON [...] (C) This message is in response to reftel A. 2. (C) During separate meetings on September 6 with the Ambassador, South Korean Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) Yu Myung-hwan and Minister of National Defense (MND) Yoon Kwang-ung both explained that the ROKG would dispatc [...] |
2006-09-11 01:07:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MOPS MARR PBTS KS |
| 06SEOUL3128 | DG KANG ON ROK REACTION TO UNSCR 1695 NON-PAPER [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a September 11 meeting requested by the DG for International Affairs Kang Kyung-hwa, she conveyed the ROK's position on the reftel demarche paper on UNSCR 1695. DG Kang said that the ROK thought that UNSCR 1695 was an important resolution that they would faithfully implemen [...] |
2006-09-11 09:57:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ECON JA KN KS OVIP PREL |
| 06SEOUL3157 | KOREA-JAPAN ONE-TIME AGREEMENT ON SEABED SURVEY [...] (C) Japanese Embassy Seoul explained that the GOJ approached the September 5-9 negotiations with the ROKG about conducting scientific surveys in the disputed seas around the Liancourt Rocks with determination, informing the ROK that Tokyo was prepared to ask for international arbitration if ne [...] |
2006-09-13 07:53:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KS JA |
| 06SEOUL3158 | ICG ON NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES: CAT AND MOUSE [...] (U) International Crisis Group's (ICG) Northeast Asia Project Director Peter Beck said that North Korean refugees, predominantly in China but increasingly going to Southeast Asia, need from USD 1,000 to 10,000 to get out of North Korea and live a very precarious "cat and mouse" existence after [...] |
2006-09-13 09:25:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | KN KS PREF |
| 06SEOUL3170 | WILL THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS ELECT THE NEXT KOREAN [...] (U) SUMMARY: Historically, regionalism has played an important role in Korean presidential elections. But in 2002, young voters successfully mobilized and helped Roh Moo-hyun edge out Lee Hoi-chang by a 2.2 percent margin. The media had a frenzy touting the "youth revolution," and the da [...] |
2006-09-14 08:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL3217 | SOHN HAK-KYU: THINKING MAN'S PRESIDENTIAL [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a Buddhist-run youth hostel at the foot of scenic Mount Sorak, GNP presidential hopeful Sohn Hak-kyu met with poloff over tea on September 17. The former Gyeonggi Province Governor, dressed in plain workman's clothes and sporting an unkempt beard, described his 100-day tour o [...] |
2006-09-18 07:59:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PINR KS |
| 06SEOUL3222 | OPCON TRANSFER ISSUE DOMINANT DURING OSD NORTHEAST [...] (C) SUMMARY: On September 11-12, DOD/OSD Northeast Asia Director John Hill visited South Korean government officials in Seoul to discuss U.S.-ROK Alliance issues. In his meetings at the Ministries of Defense (MND), Unification (MOU) and Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), OSD Hill stressed th [...] |
2006-09-18 23:46:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MARR MCAP KN KS |
| 06SEOUL3249 | AMBASSADOR VERSHBOW DISCUSSES OPCON WITH GNP [...] (C) SUMMARY: GNP National Assembly Vice Speaker Lee Sang-deuk told the Ambassador on September 19 that the Grand National Party (GNP) was opposed to OPCON transfer. Lee emphasized that the purpose of his planned September 20-23 visit to the United States was to ask that OPCON talks be suspen [...] |
2006-09-20 09:03:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR PREL ABLD KS KN |
| 06SEOUL327 | ROKG PRESS FOR UPGRADE IN STATUS IN FOREIGN [...] (C) On January 25, poloff accompanied the OSD Senior Country Desk Director LTC Michael Finnegan and EAP/K Andrew Hyde to a meeting with MOFAT NAD III Director MIN Kyoung-ho seeking clarification on ROKG's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) discussions on the sidelines of the Strategic Partnership Di [...] |
2006-01-27 05:59:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KS PARM PREL |
| 06SEOUL3286 | SECURITY POLICY INITIATIVE (SPI) 10: OPCON AND [...] (S) SUMMARY: The OPCON transfer issue continues to generate widespread opposition throughout the ROK as we head into SPI-10. Indications are the ROK delegation may refuse to sign off on the Command Relationships Study (CRS) if we hold to our position of designating 2009 as the X year for OPC [...] |
2006-09-25 07:22:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | MARR PARM PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL3308 | ROK SUPPORTS USG POSITION ON CUBA AT HRC [...] No summary [...] |
2006-09-26 08:03:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PHUM PREL |
| 06SEOUL3309 | ROH CAN'T BUY A VOTE: FAILS THREE TIMES TO APPOINT [...] (C) SUMMARY: The Blue House failed three times to confirm its choice for President of the Constitutional Court, Jeon Hyo-sook, at the National Assembly. The Blue House asked Jeon to resign from her position as a court justice so she could subsequently start a new six-year term as the first w [...] |
2006-09-26 08:05:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL3311 | DEFENSE MINISTER YOON ON OPCON, JIKDO RANGE, AND [...] (C) SUMMARY: On September 25, following his meeting with visiting Deputy Under Secretary for Acquisition Alfred Volkman, Minister of National Defense Yoon Kwang-ung raised several Alliance issues with the Ambassador one-on-one. On OPCON, Yoon emphasized the need for the USG to show flexibili [...] |
2006-09-26 08:47:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MARR PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL3365 | PSI:INVITATION TO ATTEND EXERCISE LEADING EDGE [...] No summary [...] |
2006-09-29 08:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KNNP KS MNUC PAARM PREL |
| 06SEOUL3366 | GYEONGGI PROVINCE GOVERNOR'S AMBITIOUS AGENDA [...] (SBU) The Ambassador met with Kim Moon-soo, the newly elected Governor of Gyeonggi Province, on September 28. His province is of particular interest at this time because the majority of U.S. troops currently stationed at Yongsan in Seoul will be relocated to a base in the city of Pyeongtaek [...] |
2006-09-29 08:40:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL3369 | AMBASSADOR VERSHBOW DISCUSSES OPCON WITH GNP [...] (C) SUMMARY: On September 26 over lunch, Ambassador Vershbow discussed OPCON transfer with three National Assembly members from the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP). The members gave the Ambassador feedback from their September 19-25 trip to the United States and explained in detai [...] |
2006-09-29 09:27:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR PREL ABLD KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3370 | SEOUL MAYOR OH SE-HOON'S VISION: A NEW SEOUL [...] (C) SUMMARY: Over a convivial lunch on September 29 with newly elected Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, the Ambassador and the Mayor discussed plans to improve Seoul, the issues regarding the relocation and redevelopment of the Yongsan Garrison, the 2007 presidential elections, the KORUS FTA and North [...] |
2006-09-29 09:35:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL3378 | ROK PRIME MINISTER AND LIBYAN LEADER DISCUSS DPRK [...] (C) On September 26, Ma Young-sam, MOFAT's Director-General of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau, requested a meeting with POL M/C to provide a read-out of Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook's September 19-21 trip to Libya. In addition to a discussion on bilateral economic matters, L [...] |
2006-10-02 05:11:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL MNUC ETRD KS KN LY |
| 06SEOUL3390 | SCENESETTER FOR HAGEL CODEL TO KOREA [...] (SBU) Despite a successful summit last month with President Bush, President Roh continues to face criticism in the press and even within his own party. Roh still has 15 months in office, but it is widely believed he is already a "lame duck". Nonetheless, he must still address a number of ke [...] |
2006-10-02 08:07:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | EAGR ETRD KN KS MARR PGOV PREL |
| 06SEOUL3391 | DEMARCHE DELIVERED: TRANSITION OF KOREAN-LED PRT [...] (U) Please see action request at paragraph four. 2. (U) On October 2, POL-MIL Chief delivered reftel points regarding transition of Korean-led PRT in Afghanistan to NATO/ISAF command to Kim Jeong-seop, Director of International Policy Team, Ministry of National Defense. Identical non-pape [...] |
2006-10-02 08:08:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR MOPS PREL UNAUS KS AF |
| 06SEOUL3420 | MTCR DEMARCHE DELIVERED: NONPAPER TO THE ROK [...] No summary [...] |
2006-10-04 09:59:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MTCRE PARM PREL ETTC TSPA KSCA |
| 06SEOUL3421 | MND READOUT ON OCT 2 N-S KOREAN MIL-TO-MIL TALKS [...] (C) SUMMARY: MND North Korea Policy Team Director Moon Seong-mook provided Embassy with a readout on the October 2nd North-South Mil-to-Mil talks. (NOTE: He has also submitted a detailed report of this to UNCMAC). During the two hours of talks, Moon said the DPRK complained about balloons c [...] |
2006-10-04 11:46:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MARR KN KS |
| 06SEOUL3426 | KOREAN RESPONSE TO NUCLEAR TEST: AMBASSADOR'S [...] (S) SUMMARY: The South Korean government's response to North Korea's October 9, 2006 announcement that it had conducted a successful nuclear test included a pledge by FM Ban for swift, sure and strong action, beginning with suspension of a scheduled shipment of emergency relief aid to the Nort [...] |
2006-10-09 13:17:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM PREL MNUC KNNP CH KN KS JA |
| 06SEOUL3433 | INR A/S FORT'S MEETING WITH MOU VICE MINISTER SHIN [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a September 27 meeting, Ministry of Unification (MOU) Vice Minister Shin Eon-sang told visiting INR Assistant Secretary (A/S) Randall Fort that the international community needed to create an environment where North Korea's weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) would be useless. [...] |
2006-10-10 07:44:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PHUM SOCI KN KS |
| 06SEOUL3437 | INR A/S FORT,S MEETING WITH MOFAT DEPUTY MINISTER [...] (C) Over dinner on September 26, Amb. Park In-kook, Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), agreed with visiting INR Assistant Secretary (A/S) Randall Fort that Japan remained preoccupied with the DPRK abduction is [...] |
2006-10-10 08:00:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KN KS |
| 06SEOUL3440 | INR A/S FORT'S MEETING WITH NIS FIRST DEPUTY [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a September 27 meeting with visiting INR Assistant Secretary Randall Fort, National Intelligence Service (NIS) First Deputy Director Kim Man-bok said NIS has no evidence that Kim Jong-il would visit China in the near future. DD Kim said he believed there was consensus among th [...] |
2006-10-10 08:31:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3442 | FINANCIAL MARKETS REBOUND DAY AFTER DPRK,S [...] No summary [...] |
2006-10-10 10:00:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ECON EFIN EINV PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3447 | INR A/S FORT'S MEETING WITH MOFAT DM OF FOREIGN [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a September 27 meeting with visiting INR Assistant Secretary Randall Fort, Yun Byung-se, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), assessed that the U.S.-ROK alliance was healthy, citing the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations as a sign of its gr [...] |
2006-10-11 02:09:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3458 | TRIPARTITE DEMARCHE ON THE UN DECLARATION ON THE [...] (SBU) Per reftel request, New Zealand's Ambassador to the ROK, Jane Coombs, Australian POL Counselor Martin Quinn, and poloff delivered the tripartite demarche on the draft UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIP) to MOFAT Director-General for International Organizations Kang [...] |
2006-10-11 07:47:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PHUM PREL KTIA UN |
| 06SEOUL3465 | ROH-ABE SUMMIT DOMINATED BY HISTORY AND NORTH KOREA [...] (C) MOFAT Asia Bureau DG Lee Hyuk told POL M/C on October 11 that Japanese Prime Minister Abe's summit with President Roh in Seoul on October 9 provided momentum for an improvement in the strained bilateral relationship. The summit meeting, conducted in a frank and sincere manner, was domina [...] |
2006-10-11 09:38:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV UNSC KS KN JN |
| 06SEOUL3468 | SMA NEGOTIATIONS ROUND IV: MOVEMENT, BUT STILL FAR [...] (C) SUMMARY: October 10 and 11 negotiations in Seoul on funding levels for the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) moved the two sides closer together, but substantial differences remain. The U.S. proposed a three year agreement, under which the ROK share would rise to 800 billion won in 2007 (4 [...] |
2006-10-11 12:31:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL3492 | REACTION TO DPRK TEST: ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVES [...] (SBU) Local academic observers in South Korea provided the Embassy on October 10 and 11 with their takes on the DPRK nuclear test. Professor of Korean Studies and DPRK cultural analyst Brian Myers argued that the DPRK conducted the test primarily for internal reasons to recover from failed mi [...] |
2006-10-12 08:45:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | MNUC PREL PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3558 | PSI: ROKG NEEDS MORE TIME [...] (U) This is an action message. Please see para 10. SUMMARY ------- 2. (C) In response to reftel request, the Ambassador on October 15 raised PSI with National Security Advisor Song Min-soon. Separately, DCM also conveyed reftel points on October 16 to Park In-kook, Deputy Foreign Min [...] |
2006-10-17 08:25:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MNUC PARM PREL PHSA KNNP EWWT KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3559 | DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSES UNSCR 1718 [...] (C) On October 16, the DCM presented reftel points on UNSCR 1718 to Park In-kook, Deputy Foreign Minister for Policy Planning and Public Affairs, urging that South Korea, along with other countries, come up with concrete steps to implement the resolution. Park said the ROKG welcomed UNSCR 17 [...] |
2006-10-17 08:58:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM KNNP KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3591 | DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER ALEKSEYEV'S READOUT OF [...] (C) Assistant Secretary Hill, Vice Foreign Minister Chun Yung-woo and Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Alekseyev of Russia met in a trilateral meeting to hear Alekseyev's readout of his meetings in Pyongyang on October 13. In his high-level meeting with DPRK officials, Alekseyev made it cle [...] |
2006-10-20 02:36:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL3592 | A/S HILL'S SEOUL MEETINGS: ROKG NOT PLANNING [...] (C) Assistant Secretary Hill's October 17-18 meetings in Seoul revealed that, while Seoul said it was prepared to implement UNSCR 1718, the ROKG had decided that the resolution did not specifically target North-South engagement projects, such as the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mount Kumgang [...] |
2006-10-20 03:15:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3600 | ROK REGISTERS NO OBJECTION TO POTENTIAL REFUGEE [...] (C) On October 18, poloff conveyed reftel points on USG interest in processing North Korean asylum seekers on a case-by-case basis in Cambodia to Park Ji-hyun, Deputy Director of MOFAT's Inter-Korean Policy Division. Poloff said the USG sought confirmation that the ROKG would assist with bac [...] |
2006-10-20 06:58:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF PREL PGOV KS KN CB |
| 06SEOUL3612 | ROK REQUESTS NOGUN-RI SCHOLARSHIP EXTENSION [...] (SBU) On October 19, poloff received a demarche from Deputy Director Kang Dae-soo of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's (MOFAT) North America Division (NAD) II. Kang shared that MOFAT Director General Cho Tae-yong met with Chung Goo-do, president of the Nogun-Ri victims' representati [...] |
2006-10-20 08:45:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MARR MASS KS |
| 06SEOUL3655 | FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER HAN SUNG-JOO'S OCTOBER [...] (C) On October 24, POL M/C met with Han Sung-joo, Korea University Professor and former ROK Ambassador to the United States (2003-2004) and Foreign Minister (1993-1994), to discuss his October 17-21 visit to North Korea as part of a 21-person ROK delegation to attend an exhibition honoring fo [...] |
2006-10-25 04:49:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV MNUC KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3670 | OCTOBER 25 BY-ELECTIONS: ANOTHER DEFEAT FOR RULING [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: In another crushing defeat for the ruling Uri Party, the two National Assembly seats up for grabs in the October 25 by-elections went overwhelmingly to the opposition. To add insult to injury, in Incheon, the Uri Party candidate, a close friend of Uri Chairman Kim Geun-tae, ca [...] |
2006-10-26 06:17:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL3673 | ROKG PROBABLY TO ABSTAIN ON UNGA RESOLUTIONS ON [...] No summary [...] |
2006-10-26 07:53:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PHUM PREL PTER UNGA KS IS LE |
| 06SEOUL368 | JANUARY 30 P5+2 POINTS CONVEYED [...] No summary [...] |
2006-02-01 08:12:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM KS KN KNNP IR EU AORC |
| 06SEOUL3684 | GNP PARLIAMENTARY VICE SPEAKER LEE SANG-DEUK ON [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a lunch meeting on October 25 with the Ambassador, GNP National Assembly Vice Speaker Lee expressed concern over the Roh administration's handling of the U.S.-ROK alliance, OPCON transfer, North Korea and expressed general dissatisfatction with Roh. Lee's clear message was th [...] |
2006-10-27 02:30:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR PREL ABLD KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3688 | ROKG STUDYING DEMARCHE OPPOSING ANTI-ISRAEL BIAS [...] No summary [...] |
2006-10-27 04:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL UNGA KS IS |
| 06SEOUL3720 | SEOUL DEBATES PSI [...] (C) SUMMARY: The ROK government and National Assembly are engaged in a sharply divided debate over whether to increase support for the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), and if so with what caveats. Post expects a decision soon, but nearly all sides appear to agree that regardless of [...] |
2006-10-30 09:44:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MNUC KNNP KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3760 | KOREA'S NEW INTEL CHIEF NAMED [...] (U) President Roh Moo-hyun named Kim Man-bok as the new chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) on November  [...] |
2006-11-01 08:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL3764 | KOREA'S NEW MINISTER OF UNIFICATION: LEE JAE-JEONG [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: Lee Jae-jeong, Senior Vice President of the Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification, former Assemblyman (2000-2004), Anglican Pastor and former Campaign Publicity Director for Roh Moo-hyun's 2002 campaign, was nominated November 1 to be the next Minister of Unif [...] |
2006-11-01 08:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL3767 | ROK OFFERS TO EXPAND PSI PARTICIPATION, WITHOUT [...] (S) On November 1, Park Sun-won, Secretary to the President for National Security Strategy, outlined for the DCM a new ROK proposal for its participation in PSI. He said the South Korean Government would soon announce three responses to the October 9 North Korean nuclear weapons test: 1) Me [...] |
2006-11-01 11:08:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM PREL MNUC KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3768 | ROK ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF APPOINTED AS MINISTER OF [...] (C) On November 1, 2006 the Blue House announced the nomination of ROK Army (ROKA) Chief of Staff General Kim Jang-soo as South Korea's next Minister of National Defense. General Kim is a widely respected infantry soldier who rose smartly through the ranks and was the first in his academy cl [...] |
2006-11-01 11:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MARR KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3791 | THE FUTURE OF THE URI PARTY: BREAKUP? [...] (C) SUMMARY: Within the Uri Party, there are three distinct schools of thought on what the party's future should be; first that the Uri Party should continue on as is and work to strengthen the party; second, the party should dissolve and re-form as a regional party similar to Kim Dae-jung's [...] |
2006-11-03 00:40:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL3794 | SOUTH KOREA: PANDEMIC INFLUENZA PREPAREDNESS PLAN [...] (U) In preparation for a possible influenza pandemic, the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has unveiled its National Preparedness and Response Plan for Pandemic Influenza. Officials at KCDC said the plan, drawn up by medical experts at Korea University Medical School, c [...] |
2006-11-03 04:53:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | TBIO ECON EAGR AMED KFLU KS |
| 06SEOUL3858 | IRAQ DEPUTY COORDINATOR STEPHENSON VISIT TO SEOUL: [...] (C) A U.S. delegation headed by Barbara Stephenson, Deputy Coordinator for Iraq (S/I), visited Seoul November 2-3 to express appreciation for the important role South Korea has played in Iraq, discuss plans for troops, and thank the ROKG for its willingness to lead a Regional Reconstruction T [...] |
2006-11-08 09:02:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR PARM PREL IZ KS |
| 06SEOUL3860 | ROKG AWARE OF UNSCR 1718 OBLIGATIONS [...] (S) On November 6, Poloff delivered reftel points urging capitals against conducting business with the (North) Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID) to Youn Jong-kwon, Deputy Director for MOFAT's Disarmament and Non-proliferation Division. Contacted again on November 8, Youn r [...] |
2006-11-08 23:15:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3861 | FORMER GYEONGGI GOVERNOR SOHN HAK-KYU ON NORTH [...] (C) Over lunch with the Ambassador on November 3, GNP Presidential hopeful and former Gyeonggi Province Governor Sohn Hak-kyu asked many probing questions about where U.S.-ROK relations were headed and offered his views on North Korea and his assessment of the ROK political scene, including h [...] |
2006-11-09 01:30:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR PREL ABLD KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3875 | ROK TO SUPPORT USG CANDIDATE'S REELECTION TO ILC [...] No summary [...] |
2006-11-09 06:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL UNGA KS |
| 06SEOUL3880 | PROPOSED 2006 APEC LEADERS' DECLARATION ON NORTH [...] (C) Lee Yong-joon, Director General for North Korean Nuclear Affairs at the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) met with POLMC on November 9, 2006 to provide the Republic of Korea's response to the proposed 2006 APEC Leaders' Statement on North Korea. DG Lee said the R [...] |
2006-11-09 08:26:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MNUC KNNP PREL KN APECO |
| 06SEOUL3881 | URI PARTY REP. CHUN JUNG-BAE ON NORTH KOREA AND [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a November 6 meeting with the Ambassador, Uri Representative Chun Jung-bae made his case why the Uri Party has a chance to maintain the Blue House in next year's presidential election and why he might be the person to lead the Uri Party charge. Chun, the former Justice Ministe [...] |
2006-11-09 09:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR PREL ABLD KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3882 | ROK TO ANNOUNCE POSITION ON PSI NOVEMBER 13, 2006 [...] (S) On Saturday, November 11, Deputy Foreign Minister for Policy Planning and International Organizations, Park In-kook, met with the Charge and POL-MIL Chief to preview the following ROK announcement -- planned for release at 15:00 (Seoul Time) on November 13 -- on South Korea's participation [...] |
2006-11-11 04:40:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM PREL MNUC KNNP CH KN KS JA |
| 06SEOUL3885 | PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE KOH GUN ON NORTH KOREA, [...] (C) Summary: Over lunch with the DCM and PolMinCouns on November 9, former Prime Minister Goh Kun, among the leading candidates in the 2007 presidential election, emphasized that his experience as acting President in 2004 made him realize that national security was the most important consider [...] |
2006-11-13 00:36:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3891 | ASSISTING NORTH KOREANS IN NORTHEAST CHINA: ONE GROUP'S STORY [...] (C) Crossing Borders (protect) is a Christian organization that provides assistance to North Korean migrants and refugees in Yanji, China. American citizen Mike Kim (KIM Sun-jung), approached the Embassy on November 1 to discuss his organization's operations in Chin [...] |
2006-11-13 06:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF KTIP KN KS CH PHUM |
| 06SEOUL3898 | ROK "SUPPORTS" PSI "PURPOSE AND PRINCIPLES" [...] (C) Summary: In a November 13 meeting, Blue House National Security Advisor Park Sun-won conveyed the ROKG's final position on the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), which states that the ROKG "supports the purpose and principles of the initiative but will implement it in accordance with [...] |
2006-11-13 09:37:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MNUC KNNP KS |
| 06SEOUL3899 | ROKG IMPLEMENTATION OF UNSCR 1718: TEXT OF REPORT [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Unification jointly announced at 1500 on November 13 the ROKG "Report of the Republic of Korea on the Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718 (2006)." The twelve-page report (see text below) comprises a [...] |
2006-11-13 09:48:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3915 | TREASURY DEPUTY SECRETARY KIMMITT-ROKG TALKS ON [...] (C) Summary: On November 8, Treasury Deputy Secretary Robert Kimmitt met Foreign Minister-Designate Song Min-soon and other ROKG officials to review the DPRK's Banco Delta Asia (BDA) case -- and alert them to similar law enforcement problems created by Iranian financial entities. (These talk [...] |
2006-11-14 04:56:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | EFIN KNNP PARM PINS CH KS KN IR |
| 06SEOUL3916 | TREASURY DEPUTY SECRETARY KIMMITT MEETS ROKG ON [...] (C) Summary. On November 8, Treasury Deputy Secretary Robert Kimmitt met National Security Advisor and Foreign Minister-Designate Song Min-soon, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM-Finance and Economy) Kwon O-kyu, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) Special Representative for Korean Pen [...] |
2006-11-14 04:56:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | EAID ECON EFIN EINV ETRD PGOV PREL KS IZ AF |
| 06SEOUL3922 | SCENESETTER FOR U.S.- ROK MINISTERIAL AT APEC [...] (C) Madam Secretary: Your November 18 meeting with South Korean National Security Advisor and Foreign Minister-designate Song Min-soon comes as the Republic of Korea (ROK) has entered a period of significant transition. In the foreign policy arena, change began with the October 9 DPRK nuclear [...] |
2006-11-14 05:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MNUC KNNP KN KS |
| 06SEOUL393 | ROK CHIEF SECRETARY SONG REITERATES ROK SUPPORT ON [...] No summary [...] |
2006-02-03 07:46:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MNUC KNNP KS |
| 06SEOUL394 | TRAVELING GNP LAWMAKERS SEEK TO REAFFIRM US TIES [...] (SBU) Rep. Kim Deog-ryong, one of the opposition Grand National Party's (GNP) most senior lawmakers, told the Ambassador on February 1 that he and five other GNP Assembly Members intended to travel to Washington February 7 to 10 to emphasize the strength of the bilateral U.S.-ROK relationship [...] |
2006-02-03 08:47:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PNUC KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3962 | ROK TO OPPOSE BELARUS ANTI-U.S. RESOLUTIONS [...] (C) On November 15, poloff delivered reftel points, urging capitals to vote against three retaliatory resolutions sponsored by Belarus in the UN Third Committee, to Jang Hyun-cheol, Deputy Director of MOFAT's Human Rights and Social Affairs Division. Jang explained that Seoul had already info [...] |
2006-11-15 22:48:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PHUM PREL KS BO |
| 06SEOUL3970 | U/S JOSEPH NONPROLIFERATION TALKS WITH AMBASSADOR [...] (S) Under Secretary Joseph and his delegation met with Deputy Foreign Minister for Policy Planning and International Organizations, Park In-kook, on November 7 to discuss implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1718, the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), an [...] |
2006-11-17 02:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM PREL MNUC MARR JA KS KN CH IR |
| 06SEOUL3975 | DEPARTING UNIFICATION MINISTER URGES FLEXIBILITY [...] (C) In a meeting with the Ambassador on November 16, Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok reconfirmed that the ROKG would support the UN resolution on DPRK human rights. Noting his awareness of USG disappointment with the ROKG's November 13 announcement on PSI, Lee told the Ambassador that Seou [...] |
2006-11-17 05:06:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PARM KS KN |
| 06SEOUL398 | MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS, POLICIES, AND REGULATORY [...] Korea has made significant progress in addressing the need for environmental protection since the early 1990's. In preparation for upcoming trade negotiations, this report provides background information on Korea's environmental laws, policies and regulatory systems, and provides indicators r [...] |
2006-02-05 22:45:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | SENV ETRD KS |
| 06SEOUL3992 | HEARINGS IN THE ASSEMBLY FOR FM, MOU, DEFMIN GO [...] (C) SUMMARY: Foreign Minister-designate Song Min-soon, Defense Minister-designate Kim Jang-soo and Unification Minister-designate Lee Jae-jeong all passed through committee hearings in the National Assembly with relative ease on November 16 and 17. The Assembly has no power to stop cabinet n [...] |
2006-11-17 08:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL3993 | DEMARCHE DELIVERED: IRANIAN PROCUREMENT OF [...] (S) On November 17 poloff delivered reftel points to Kim, Jae-Woo of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT)'s Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division. Kim said this was the first he had heard of the May 2006 incident and could not confirm the accuracy of the press reports. He a [...] |
2006-11-17 08:46:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM PREL ETTC IR |
| 06SEOUL3995 | ROKG EXPLAINS VOTE FOR NOVEMBER 17 ESS RESOLUTION [...] (SBU) On November 17, poloff delivered reftel demarche, urging capitals to vote against or abstain on an unbalanced draft resolution on Israel that was to be proposed later that day at an Emergency Special Session (ESS) of the UNGA, to Lee Kyung-chul, Deputy Director of the UN Division, Minist [...] |
2006-11-20 01:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL UNGA KS IS |
| 06SEOUL3997 | DPRK SANCTIONS: CASH FLOW FROM ROKG PROJECTS FALLS [...] No summary [...] |
2006-11-20 02:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | ECON PREL EINV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL3999 | OPPOSITION CHAIRMAIN CLARIFIES OPCON REMARKS [...] (C) The Ambassador met with opposition GNP Chairman Kang Jae-sup on November 16 to discuss Kang's November 8 address to the National Assembly which was critical of the transfer of Wartime Operational Control (OPCON) to the ROK. Although Kang clarified that he remained supportive of the princi [...] |
2006-11-20 06:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL4014 | LEE MYUNG-BAK: THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF KOREA? [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a November 20 meeting with the DCM, former Seoul Mayor and leading presidential hopeful Lee Myung-bak said that the December, 2007 ROK presidential elections will be about the economy above all else. He said the Korean economy should be growing at a 7 percent rate instead of [...] |
2006-11-21 05:24:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR PREL ABLD KS KN |
| 06SEOUL4034 | STATE OF THE UNIONS [...] (SBU) Facing declining union membership and fears that the KORUS FTA may further weaken the plight of the working class in Korea, the two largest trade union umbrella organizations in Korea, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), are very [...] |
2006-11-22 06:43:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | ELAB ECON ETRD KS |
| 06SEOUL4036 | CHUNG DONG-YOUNG: STILL HOPING TO BE KOREA'S NEXT [...] (C) In a meeting with the Ambassador, former Unification Minister and Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young discussed the resumption of the Six Party Talks, state of the KORUS FTA, future of the Uri party, and the recent elections in the U.S. Chung was confident that the Uri Party could still p [...] |
2006-11-22 07:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL4039 | FORMER PRIME MINISTER KIM JONG-PIL'S LAST [...] (C) SUMMARY: Former Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil told the Ambassador on November 16 that U.S.-ROK relations were paramount and that the administration had to change in 2007. Kim said he would support the GNP candidate, whoever that may be, provided that he/she agreed to "sweep out the debris" o [...] |
2006-11-22 07:48:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR PREL ABLD KS KN |
| 06SEOUL4040 | AMBASSADOR'S FARWELL CALL ON OUTGOING ROK DEFENSE [...] (C) SUMMARY: During the Ambassador's November 22 office call on outgoing ROK Defense Minister Yoon, Kwang-ung: -- The Ambassador thanked Yoon for his leadership, enhancement of South Korea's global role, and support for the alliance and its transformation. -- Yoon acknowledged the import [...] |
2006-11-22 08:06:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MNUC KNNP KN KS |
| 06SEOUL4057 | MOFAT SUPPORTS TROOP EXTENSION IN IRAQ AND UNIFIL DISPATCH TO LEBANON [...] (C) On November 24, MOFAT Director-General for American Affairs Cho Tae-yong told A/DCM that President Roh's administration had decided to submit a motion to the National Assembly requesting authorization for a one-year extension of ROK troop deployment in Iraq, but at a lower force level. In [...] |
2006-11-24 07:01:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV IZ LE KS UNGA |
| 06SEOUL4073 | SEJONG INSTITUTE PRESIDENT BAEK JONG-CHUN EXPECTED [...] (U) SUMMARY: President Roh Moo-hyun this week is expected to name Baek Jong-chun, currently President of the government-supported Sejong Institute, as National Security Advisor to replace Song Min-soon, who is becoming Foreign Minister. Baek's appointment will mark the completion of Roh's na [...] |
2006-11-27 09:08:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR KS KN |
| 06SEOUL4075 | NGO TB PROJECT GAINING DPRK BUY-IN [...] (C) In a November 24 briefing for the Ambassador, Dr. Stephen Linton, Chairman of the EugeneBell Foundation, described a recent two-week mission in the DPRK to oversee EugeneBell medical assistance programs. He reported on improved access to facilities and increased North Korean receptivity [...] |
2006-11-28 00:58:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL4094 | MORE SIGNS OF ERODING AUTHORITY: PRESIDENT ROH [...] (C) SUMMARY: President Roh withdrew the nomination of Jeon Hyo-seok for Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court on November 27 amid fierce opposition to the controversial nomination. After insisting for months Jeon's nomination, Roh finally backed down when it became clear that unless he w [...] |
2006-11-28 08:28:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL410 | 2005/2006 REPORT TO CONGRESS ON ROK CONTRIBUTIONS [...] (U) The Republic of Korea made significant contributions to the common defense of the Korean peninsula in 2004 and 2005. The ROKG demonstrated a strong commitment to the U.S.-ROK alliance, working closely with the U.S. to address the DPRK nuclear issue and making important contributions to t [...] |
2006-02-06 08:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | MCAP PREL PGOV PARM MARR ECON KS |
| 06SEOUL4116 | SMA NEGOTIATIONS ROUND VI: ONE LAST PUSH [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a small group meeting and plenary session that followed, Ambassador Loftis and his ROK counterpart, Ambassador Cho Tae-yong, presented their respective negotiating positions on the 2007-2008 Special Measures (burden-sharing) Agreement (SMA). The ROKG proposed a contribution [...] |
2006-12-01 00:21:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KS PM PREL MARR MASS MCAP |
| 06SEOUL4123 | ROKG-AMCHAM ON REGULATORY REFORM [...] (U) The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) held its semi-annual meeting on regulatory reform with Deputy Minister Park (in the Office of Policy Coordination under the Prime Minister) on November 22. Park emphasized the ROKG's continuing commitment to regulatory reform, and highlighted ma [...] |
2006-12-01 06:27:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD EINV ECON KS |
| 06SEOUL4130 | COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR DAS FEIGENBAUM [...] (U) Embassy Seoul welcomes and grants country clearance to DAS Evan Feigenbaum for December 9-12, 2006 official visit to Seoul. CONTACT INFORMATION ------------------- 2. (U) Control officer for the visit is Political Officer Andrew Bennett. Office telephone: (82)(2) 397-4372 E [...] |
2006-12-01 07:35:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | AMGT OTRA KS |
| 06SEOUL4138 | KOREA'S RAGING REAL ESTATE SPECULATION [...] (C) Korea's speculative fever in metropolitan real estate recently claimed three victims: Construction Minister Choo Byung-jik and two Blue House presidential advisors, Senior Secretary on Public Information Lee Baek-man and Economic Advisor Chung Moon-soo. Their departures were carefully o [...] |
2006-12-02 03:26:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | EFIN EINV ECON SOCI PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL4156 | ROK'S IRAQ ZAYTUN TROOP DEPLOYMENT: 2007 EXTENSION [...] (C) Summary: The ROK government is likely to forward a motion to the National Assembly proposing to extend the ROK's Iraq Zaytun troop deployment until the end of 2007. One complicating factor is the demand of the ruling Uri Party to include a pullout plan together with the troop extension m [...] |
2006-12-05 02:54:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL4165 | TIGHTENING INSPECTIONS OF NORTH-SOUTH CARGO [...] (C) SUMMARY and Action Request: Since their inception in 2004, the East and West Transportation Corridors -- allowing goods and South Korean citizens to travel to/from North Korea by passing through the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) -- have been a monitoring challenge. The problem has become more [...] |
2006-12-05 08:38:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MNUC KNNP KN KS |
| 06SEOUL4166 | RESPONSE RECEIVED: IRANIAN PROCUREMENT OF [...] (S) Park, Chul-min, Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT)s Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division provided a response to reftel demarche after consulting with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy (MOCIE) and the Korean National Intelligence Service (KNIS). [...] |
2006-12-05 09:03:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM PREL ETTC KS IR |
| 06SEOUL4193 | ROKG TO SUPPORT HRC RESOLUTION ON SUDAN [...] No summary [...] |
2006-12-07 08:43:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PHUM KTIA UN KS SU |
| 06SEOUL4194 | KOREA PASSES NON-REGULAR WORKER BILLS [...] (SBU) After two years of delays and debate, the ROK passed three labor bills to address wage and benefit discrimination against non-regular workers who comprise more than one-third of the workforce in Korea. Although the bills layout a clear path for non-regular workers to become regular wor [...] |
2006-12-07 08:44:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ELAB PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL4210 | ROK'S IRAQ ZAYTUN TROOP DEPLOYMENT EXTENSION: [...] (SBU) The bill to extend the ROK Zaytun troop deployment to Iraq was submitted to the National Assembly's Defense Committee on December 6 calling for a one-year renewal of the deployment and a reduction in troops from 2,400 to 1,200. The bill currently calls for the ROK to complete its mission [...] |
2006-12-08 07:50:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL4211 | SMA AGREEMENT 2007-2008 INITIALED [...] (SBU) On December 8, 2006, Pol M/C Joseph Yun and MOFAT Director General for North American Affairs Cho Tae-yong initialed the English language text of the agreed Special Measures Agreement (SMA). DG Cho commented that he was pleasantly surprised at the positive ROK press coverage on SMA and [...] |
2006-12-08 07:59:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | KSAC PM PREL MARR MASS MCAP |
| 06SEOUL423 | DPRK ECONOMY: CHINESE EXPERTS FORESEE ECONOMIC [...] (SBU) A January 18-19 academic conference in Beijing explored the potential for North Korea to change its "military first" security policy in order to realize more meaningful economic reform, faster economic growth and an increase in international aid. The American organizers of the event wor [...] |
2006-02-07 06:35:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ECON EAID PREL PGOV KN KS CH JA |
| 06SEOUL4233 | AMBASSADOR'S INITIAL CALL ON ROK DEFENSE MINISTER [...] (C) SUMMARY: During the Ambassador's December 11 office call on the new ROK Defense Minister, General Kim Jang-soo: -- The Ambassador congratulated him on his elevation to head the Ministry of National Defense and said he looked forward to continued close consultations on U.S.-ROK Alliance [...] |
2006-12-12 05:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MNUC KNNP KN KS |
| 06SEOUL4247 | GOVERNOR ROMNEY VISITS KOREA [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney visited South Korea on December 6-7 and met with a wide range of government and non-governmental leaders, gave a speech to AMCHAM, visited the DMZ and received a briefing from USFK. The Governor's meetings focused on North Korea and the curren [...] |
2006-12-14 00:21:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PINR PREL ABLD KS KN |
| 06SEOUL425 | WHAT IS GOING ON WITH NORTH KOREAN ECONOMIC [...] (SBU) In the three years following North Korea's July 2002 economic reform program, most South Korean experts on the North Korean economy came to share certain assumptions about the state of transformation of economic policy in the North. Some of the key elements of that shared "conventional wi [...] |
2006-02-07 07:00:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | EAID EAGR EFIN PREL KN KS |
| 06SEOUL4260 | U.S.-ROK ALLIANCE MANAGEMENT - LOOKING AHEAD TO [...] (C) With only 12 months left until the next presidential election, President Roh finds himself stuck in the lowest approval ratings ever for a Korean president -- 5.7 percent according to the most recent poll, low teens according to others. Roh's desperation to recover and have some say in th [...] |
2006-12-14 08:44:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KS PREL |
| 06SEOUL4261 | ROK ACADEMICS OFFER MULTI-DIMENSIONAL APPROACH TO [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: Several conservative ROK academics urged a multi-pronged approach toward North Korean human rights, arguing that the U.S. should take larger number of refugees, continue sanctions and increase radio broadcasts into North Korea, while providing humanitarian assistance and promotin [...] |
2006-12-14 09:12:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREF PHUM PREL KS KN CH |
| 06SEOUL4281 | NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES IN THE ROK: AN OVERVIEW [...] (SBU) The ROKG's resettlement programs for North Korean refugees have evolved over time as the number of refugees has grown and their demographics have changed. South Korean officials and experts see the ROK's efforts to help the nearly 10,000 refugees successfully resettle in the ROK as the [...] |
2006-12-15 09:05:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREF PHUM PGOV PREL KTIP KS KN |
| 06SEOUL4282 | NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES: FIRST STEPS INTO ROK SOCIETY [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: Upon arrival in the ROK, North Koreans undergo an interagency security screening process, during which the ROKG seeks to confirm refugees' bona fides and assess security risks. Thereafter, nearly all North Koreans move to the ROK's Hanawon resettlement facility, where they rece [...] |
2006-12-15 09:05:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREF PHUM PGOV PREL KTIP KS KN |
| 06SEOUL4283 | NK REFUGEES: OBSTACLES TO INTEGRATION IN THE SOUTH [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: North Korean refugees face an enormous culture shock in adjusting to life in the ROK. Not accustomed to South Korean political and economic systems and unable to compete educationally, North Koreans face difficulties obtaining stable employment. Their resettlement is not helpe [...] |
2006-12-15 09:05:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREF PHUM PGOV PREL KTIP KS KN |
| 06SEOUL4284 | NK REFUGEES: THE QUEST FOR STABLE EMPLOYMENT [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: Finding stable employment is probably the greatest challenge for North Koreans resettling in the ROK. The ROKG assigns North Korean refugees to employment officers, provides incentives, recruits employers, and subsidizes half of North Koreans' salaries to their employers for two [...] |
2006-12-15 09:05:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREF PHUM PGOV PREL KTIP KS KN |
| 06SEOUL4285 | SCA DAS FEIGENBAUM'S CONSULTATIONS ON CENTRAL ASIA [...] (C) Visiting SCA Deputy Assistant Secretary Evan Feigenbaum on December 11 inaugurated a U.S.-Korea consultation on Central Asia. Feigenbaum reviewed with ROKG officials U.S. objectives in the region, including enlisting less traditional partners, such as Korea, to help promote economic libe [...] |
2006-12-15 09:23:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV ETRD KS UZ KZ |
| 06SEOUL4294 | MOU DEPUTY MINSTER UNDERSCORES AID SUSPENSION [...] (C) In a follow-up to the Ambassador's discussion with Foreign Minister Song Min-soon on December 14 (ref A), POL M/C met with Deputy Unification Minister Lee Kwan-sei on December 15 and requested the ROKG to establish a stricter inspections regime for North-South cargo moving through the two [...] |
2006-12-18 06:08:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV MNUC ECON KS KN |
| 06SEOUL4297 | PURSUIT OF TERRORIST INFORMATION EXCHANGE: ROK [...] No summary [...] |
2006-12-18 06:51:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KVPR PTER PREL PGOV PINR CVIS ASEC KHLS KS |
| 06SEOUL4309 | INCOMING UNIFICATION MINISTER URGES FLEXIBILITY ON [...] (C) In a meeting with the Ambassador on December 18, Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung reaffirmed that the U.S.-ROK alliance was "essential" to peace on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. The ROKG would work closely with the USG, fully implement UNSCR 1718, and cooperate with the inte [...] |
2006-12-19 02:31:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PARM KS KN |
| 06SEOUL4319 | DEMARCHE DELIVERED: TERMINATION OF NOGUN-RI [...] (U) This is an action cable. Please see para 3. 2. (C) On December 18, Poloff delivered reftel demarche to Shin, Sung-won, Director of the North America Affairs Division II, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). Director Shin said that it was unfortunate, but that MOFAT had expect [...] |
2006-12-19 07:51:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR MASS PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL432 | DEMARCHE ON RESTRICTING VENEZUELA'S ACCESS TO ARMS [...] No summary [...] |
2006-02-07 08:40:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | MARR MASS PARM PREL VE KS |
| 06SEOUL4326 | KOREA RENEWS CONTRIBUTION TO HELP REPLACE RUSSIAN [...] In December 2005, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Department of Energy to enable it to contribute to the Elimination of Weapons-Grade Plutonium Production (EWGPP) Program (Ref A). Korea contribued USD 250,000 in 2005 [...] |
2006-12-20 00:30:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PARM ENRG KNNP KS RS |
| 06SEOUL4328 | YONGSAN RELOCATION: DOMESTIC POLITICS AND THE [...] (C) SUMMARY: Unhelpful reports in the South Korean media that completion of the Yongsan Relocation Plan (YRP) will be delayed by another five years to 2013 appear designed to placate objections within the National Assembly to the high projected cost of the project. The reports are misleading [...] |
2006-12-20 00:57:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR MCAP PARM PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL4331 | NEW ROK NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR SEEKS CLOSE [...] (C) During a call on newly appointed National Security Advisor Baek Jong-chun, the Ambassador and NSA Baek agreed to cooperate closely in resolving alliance issues, such as OPCON transfer and base relocation, and to continue coordination with regard to the Six Party Talks. END SUMMARY. 2. [...] |
2006-12-20 03:36:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL4334 | DOE SECRETARY BODMAN REVIEWS ENERGY PARTNERSHIP WITH KOREA [...] Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman visited South Korea December 12-13. In meetings with the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy and the Deputy Prime Minister for Science and Technology, Secretary Bodman reviewed U.S.-Korea collaboration, and sought to SIPDIS advance it in areas such as [...] |
2006-12-20 05:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | ENRG OVIP TRGY KS |
| 06SEOUL4336 | THE SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC OPINION (C-AL6-01891) [...] (C) Poloff met with Secretary to the President for Public Information, Cho Yong hyu and Assistant Secretary Park Si young on Friday December 15. Despite the Secretary's initial reluctance to meet with Embassy staff, Cho was very cordial and spoke openly about his office and their responsibili [...] |
2006-12-20 07:30:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PINR KS |
| 06SEOUL4339 | ROK RESPONSE: DEMARCHE ON WHO RECOMMENDATIONS TO [...] (C) Poloff delivered reftel talking points to Ms. Cho, Hyung Hwa of the Policy Planning and International Organizations Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) and Mr. Kim, Ho-dong of the Narcotics Control Division of the Korean Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of H [...] |
2006-12-20 08:14:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | SNAR UNCND UNCRIME KS |
| 06SEOUL434 | LEE JONG-SEOK HEARING OCCASIONS REHASH OF [...] (C) SUMMARY: MOU-designate Lee Jong-seok's hearing at the National Assembly has served as a stage for renewed controversy over the recent U.S.-ROK agreement on strategic flexibility of U.S. Forces in Korea. The debate was sparked last week when a ruling party lawmaker disclosed classified r [...] |
2006-02-07 09:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV MARR KS |
| 06SEOUL4341 | DPRK GOLD CROSSING THE DMZ [...] (C) There have been seven scheduled shipments of gold bars across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) since the end of August. Only three of the shipments occurred, the most recent on December 14. All three shipments passed through the western Transportation Corridor (TC West), which is primarily use [...] |
2006-12-20 08:22:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL4365 | SIGNED: WONJU SEISMIC STATION TRANSFER AGREEMENT [...] (U) Per reftel authorization, the Ambassador and ROK Foreign Minister Song Min-soon signed the Wonju Seismic Station Transfer Agreement on December 22 at a signing ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 2. (U) As requested, the original Korean version and English versions of [...] |
2006-12-22 07:38:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | MARR MASS PREL TPHY KTIA KS |
| 06SEOUL4366 | SIGNED: U.S.-ROK 2007-2008 SPECIAL MEASURES [...] (U) Per reftel authorization, the Ambassador and ROK Foreign Minister Song Min-soon signed the U.S.-ROK 2007-2008 Special Measures Agreement on December 22 at a signing ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 2. (U) As requested, the original Korean version and English versio [...] |
2006-12-22 07:39:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | KTIA MARR MCAP PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL4367 | PRESIDENT ROH SPEEKS VERY FRANKLY, AGAIN [...] (C) President Roh Moo-hyun delivered angry and provocative remarks on December 21 to National Unification Advisory Council, criticizing three former Ministers, Goh Kun, Kim Geun-Tae and Chung Dong-young and railing against former defense ministers and generals. Taking 70 minutes to deliver r [...] |
2006-12-22 09:39:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL4375 | NORTH-SOUTH AIR ROUTE REOPENS FOR NGO [...] (SBU) The air route between Pyongyang and Seoul opened December 18 for the first time since the October 9 nuclear test. Members of the Korean Sharing Movement, an NGO engaged in humanitarian work in the DPRK, visited Pyongyang to observe the opening of a new hospital wing. The air route is [...] |
2006-12-26 07:59:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL4376 | SOUTH KOREAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES EXTENSION OF [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: As the ROKG proposed on December 22, 2006, the National Assembly approved a bill to extend, but reduce, ROK troop presence in Iraq. The number of troops stationed in Erbil will be reduced from 2300 to 1200 by the end of April 2007. According to the Ministry of National Defense [...] |
2006-12-26 08:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PARM PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL4382 | ROKG WELCOMES USG SUPPORT ON ECLAC MEMBERSHIP [...] No summary [...] |
2006-12-27 05:10:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ETRD ECON ECLAC KS LA |
| 06SEOUL4404 | ROKG DECISION TO RELEASE MACHINE TOOL EXPORT TO [...] (S) On December 26, PolOff delivered the information contained in reftel to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Deputy Kim Jae-woo. On December 28, Kim informed PolOff that the Ministry of Commerce, Energy and Industry (MOCIE) decided to release t [...] |
2006-12-28 08:14:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM MTCRE PREL ETTC KS PK |
| 06SEOUL4412 | ROKG UNDECIDED ON ARF WORKSHOP DELEGATION [...] No summary [...] |
2006-12-29 07:34:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PGOV AORC ARF KS |
| 06SEOUL445 | DEFEATING VENEZUELA IN THE 2006 UNSC ELECTION: [...] (C) POL M-C delivered reftel points opposing Venezuela's candidacy to the UNSC to Kim Won-soo, MOFAT Director-General for Policy Planning, in a previously scheduled meeting on February 8, noting that the Ambassador planned to raise them with Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon at an early opportunity [...] |
2006-02-08 07:55:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL UN UNSC GT VE KS |
| 06SEOUL448 | POINTS DELIVERED TO ROK ON IAEA DECISION ON IRAN [...] No summary [...] |
2006-02-08 08:18:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PARM KNNP PREL KS IR EU AORC |
| 06SEOUL449 | KOREA'S FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH ASEAN [...] (U) On December 13, 2005, the Republic of Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) announced the conclusion of a Framework Agreement for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA). Although the parties had also concluded negotiations for the Trade-in-Goods (TIG) and Dispute S [...] |
2006-02-08 08:19:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD ECON PREL KS KN XB |
| 06SEOUL450 | KOREAN OBJECTIVES FOR APEC 2006 [...] (C) A key Korean focus for APEC 2006 will be obtaining support for its initiative to begin a new APEC research project on overcoming socio-economic disparities within APEC-members' respective domestic economies. This initiative is based on President Roh's own request (first included as an age [...] |
2006-02-08 08:35:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ECON PREL APECO KS |
| 06SEOUL471 | ROK EXPRESSES CONCERNS ABOUT USG REFUGEE STRATEGY [...] (C) In a February 8 meeting with POL M/C, MOFAT DG Kim Won-soo opined it would be premature to approach third countries about a U.S. proposal (ref A) on North Korean refugees until there was a clear case of a North Korean being potentially eligible for resettlement to the United States. ROKG [...] |
2006-02-10 01:07:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF PHUM PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL474 | UPDATE ON RESTRICTING ROK ARMS SALES TO VENEZUELA [...] No summary [...] |
2006-02-10 05:39:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | MARR MASS PARM PREL VE KS |
| 06SEOUL491 | KOREA LAUNCHES SPECIAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH [...] (SBU) Korea added to its rapidly lengthening list of trade negotiations by announcing on February 7 the launch of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations with India during the visit to Seoul of Indian President Abdul Kalam. The same week, Korea and Mexico held a first [...] |
2006-02-13 22:43:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD PREL KS IN MX |
| 06SEOUL498 | FORMER KIM IL SUNG UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR SAYS [...] (SBU) Dr. Cho Myungchul, a think tank researcher who defected to South Korea in 1994 after years of living among the DPRK elite, told poloff on February 8 that social discontent among the DPRK's working class was kept in check through propaganda and periodic acts of decency by the state, rath [...] |
2006-02-14 05:02:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL SOCI MNUC PINR EAID ECON KN KS |
| 06SEOUL502 | KOREA MOVING SLOWLY TO RATIFY UNESCO CULTURAL [...] (SBU) According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), Korea has not yet initiated domestic procedures for ratifying the UNESCO Cultural Diversity Convention, despite having signed the agreement. 2. (SBU) Kim Eun-jeong, Deputy Director of MOFAT's Cultural Cooperation Division [...] |
2006-02-14 06:24:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD SCUL UNESCO KS |
| 06SEOUL504 | CABINET HEARINGS END WITH A WHIMPER [...] (C) SUMMARY: The National Assembly's first-ever hearings on Cabinet nominees ended with a whimper February 10, as President Roh ignored the legislature's non-binding opinions, as well as the objections of many in his own party, and installed five new Cabinet members and a new police chief. T [...] |
2006-02-14 07:37:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL507 | LABOR SNAPSHOT: THE PLAYERS [...] (SBU) Upcoming U.S.-ROK FTA negotiations will include a close USG look at Korea's labor-management relations, a tumultuous sector charged with decades of conflict. This is the first of three cables that will draw a contemporary portrait of industrial relations in the ROK. This cable describ [...] |
2006-02-14 08:29:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ECON ELAB ETRD KS PGOV |
| 06SEOUL509 | ROK FOREIGN MINISTER THROWS HAT INTO UNSYG RING [...] (C) On February 14, the ROK formally announced Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon's candidacy for UN Secretary General. Ban, who has been actively campaigning for several weeks, has apparently been encouraged by initial reactions to his candidacy. MOFAT DG Kim Won-soo, who was recently tapped to be [...] |
2006-02-14 08:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV UNSC KS |
| 06SEOUL510 | INDIAN PRESIDENT'S VISIT FOCUSED ON ECONOMICS [...] (SBU) On February 13, Park Young-shik, Southwest Asia and Oceania Division Deputy Director at MOFAT, told poloff that the February 6-9 visit of Indian President Abdul Kalam resulted in the signing of three documents: (1) a joint statement on the start of negotiations for a South Korea-India C [...] |
2006-02-14 08:46:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PGOV ECON KS IN |
| 06SEOUL548 | LABOR SNAPSHOT: THE ISSUES [...] (SBU) This is the second of three cables (Ref A is the first) that describe ROK labor-management relations in anticipation of upcoming U.S.-ROK Free Trade Agreement negotiations. This report focuses on the two main issues that have dominated industrial relations debate over the past year: " [...] |
2006-02-17 05:04:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ECON ELAB ETRD KS PGOV |
| 06SEOUL549 | LABOR SNAPSHOT: MEETING THE STANDARDS [...] (SBU) This is the final report in a three-part series on labor-management relations in the ROK. In previous cables we described the major players (Ref A) and current issues (Ref B). We now focus on whether Korean labor laws meet the core labor standards contained in the Trade Promotion Autho [...] |
2006-02-17 06:07:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ECON ELAB ETRD KS PGOV |
| 06SEOUL551 | USAID OFFICIAL DISCUSSES DPRK FOOD SITUATION WITH [...] (SBU) Visiting USAID official Jon Brause met with a range of ROKG officials and NGO and other agency leaders involved in assistance to the DPRK, February 12-16. Brause articulated the USG position on the upcoming WFP proposal for Protracted Relief and Recovery Operations (PRRO) in the DPRK, a [...] |
2006-02-17 07:03:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | EAID PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL558 | ROK WELCOMES U.S. EFFORTS ON IAEA SAFEGUARDS [...] (SBU) On February 17, poloff conveyed reftel points requesting support for the U.S.-proposed draft program of work and work plan for the IAEA Board of Governors (BOG) Committee on Safeguards and Verification to Kwon Hee-seog, Director of the Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division at the Min [...] |
2006-02-17 08:54:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PARM MUNC AORC PREL NP KNNP IAEA KS |
| 06SEOUL559 | DPRK ECONOMY: KAESONG INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX, BOOM OR [...] (SBU) A round of discussions with South Korean companies operating in the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) in North Korea revealed that most are generally satisfied with business conditions at the project site. While most firms profess to be making money or to be on track with their business [...] |
2006-02-17 09:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | EINV PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL574 | KIM DAE-JUNG POSTPONES PYONGYANG TRIP TO JUNE [...] (C) Former President Kim Dae-jung indicated over the weekend that he will delay until June his proposed visit to Pyongyang. As reported REFTEL, Kim had hoped to travel from Seoul to Pyongyang and back by rail in April. The delay comes in response to charges from the opposition parties, incl [...] |
2006-02-21 08:07:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL585 | MESSAGE ON HAMAS DELIVERED TO ROK [...] No summary [...] |
2006-02-22 07:37:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL590 | CHUNG DONG-YOUNG RETAKES HELM OF RULING URI PARTY [...] (C) SUMMARY: Former Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young was elected chairman of the ruling Uri Party on February 18. His election is seen as further proof of his voter appeal and augurs well for his bid to win the party's nomination for the 2007 presidential election. Chung's first ch [...] |
2006-02-23 07:35:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR KS |
| 06SEOUL592 | ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION OF USFK BASES -- ISSUE [...] (U) This is an action request. 2. (C) The return of closed U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) bases to the ROK has been delayed by an impasse over environmental remediation. The delay is slowing down progress on base relocation/consolidation, a centerpiece of the ongoing realignment of our militar [...] |
2006-02-23 07:47:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MARR SENV KS |
| 06SEOUL595 | THE DPRK LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION: ROK OBSERVERS [...] (SBU) ROK academics interviewed in recent weeks by poloff were divided on whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-il would name his successor in the near future, and on whether Kim would choose one of his sons as his heir or seek outside the Kim family. Most believed Kim Jong-il's second son, Ki [...] |
2006-02-23 07:58:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PINR MNUC SOCI KN KS |
| 06SEOUL598 | USFK COMMANDER'S INTRODUCTORY CALLS ON FM BAN AND [...] (C) During his February 22 introductory calls on FM Ban Ki-moon and Blue House Secretary for Foreign Affairs Song Min-soon, USFK Commander General Bell urged the ROKG to find a quick solution to the environmental remediation issue. Song briefly shared his views on the North Korean nuclear iss [...] |
2006-02-23 12:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MARR PARM KS KN |
| 06SEOUL600 | KOREA ACCEPTS AIRLINE DESIGNATIONS UNDER OPEN [...] After offering assurances of ROKG cooperation during a January 6 meeting, on February 17, Ministry of Construction and Transportation International Air Transport Division Director Oh Yang-jin sent the following letter to the Embassy, agreeing to the terms in Ref A. Begin Text: Embassy of [...] |
2006-02-23 13:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | EAIR KTIA KS |
| 06SEOUL601 | KOREA SPECIAL 301 IPR REVIEW: EMBASSY RECOMMENDS [...] (SBU) Following Korea's removal from the Special 301 "Priority Watch List" in April 2005, the Korean government continued to move forward in a number of areas to improve the level of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection in Korea. These measures included: introducing legislation that [...] |
2006-02-23 22:46:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD KIPR ECON PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL609 | NGO PROJECT TARGETS FAMILY REUNION FOR [...] (SBU) On February 22, Stephen W. Linton, Chair of the Eugene Bell Foundation (EBF), an NGO with a long history of providing humanitarian assistance to DPRK medical institutions, told the Ambassador about his organization's new project to help Korean-Americans locate relatives in the DPRK. Li [...] |
2006-02-24 06:29:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL SOCI EAID KN KS |
| 06SEOUL615 | ROKG AGREES TO HOST INTER-AGENCY PSI OPERATIONAL [...] (C) As requested reftle, on February 21, we proposed a March 8 interagency meeting between the U.S. Proliferation Security Initiative Operational Experts delegation and their Korean counterparts. Deputy Director Park Chul-min of the Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division, Ministry of Fore [...] |
2006-02-24 08:32:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM MNUC KNNP JP KN KS |
| 06SEOUL631 | NEW ROK REPRESENTATIVE TO SOFA JOINT COMMITTEE [...] (U) Embassy received February 27 a diplomatic note announcing the appointment of Cho Taeyong, the new DG for North American Affairs Bureau, to be the new ROK representative to the SOFA Joint Committee. Full text of the note and DG Cho's bio follows. 2. (U) Begin Text: Ministry of Foreig [...] |
2006-02-27 08:53:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | MARR MASS PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL632 | ROH TO RESHUFFLE CABINET NEXT WEEK [...] (SBU) Roh Administration officials, including the Prime Minister, have signaled another partial Cabinet reshuffle to be announced next week. Three ministers -- Oh Geo-don (Maritime and Fisheries), Oh Young-kyo (Government Administration and Home Affairs), Lee Jae-yong (Environment) -- appear [...] |
2006-02-27 08:58:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PINR KS |
| 06SEOUL640 | ROK: HYUNMOO-III/B UAV 2ND TEST FLIGHT [...] No summary [...] |
2006-02-28 06:35:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM PREL MARR KS |
| 06SEOUL646 | NOGUN-RI MEMORIAL FUNDING TO EXPIRE SEPTEMBER 30, [...] (U) This is an action request. 2. (C) During a February 27 discussion, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers informed post that the funds allocated for the construction of the Nogun-ri memorial monument will expire on September 30, 2006, and that an extension of funding is probably not possibl [...] |
2006-03-02 01:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MARR KS |
| 06SEOUL657 | PROMINENT SCHOLAR SAYS U.S. SHOULD UNDERMINE DPRK [...] (SBU) Andrei Lankov, a prominent authority on the DPRK, told the Ambassador on February 27 that the United States should ignore the DPRK at a political level, as the Kim Jong-il regime was a threat only to its own people. He argued that a low-key effort to provide greater information to Nor [...] |
2006-03-02 07:53:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL ECON SOCI KS KN |
| 06SEOUL658 | MOFAT PREVIEWS ROH MOO-HYUN'S MARCH 3 REMARKS FOR [...] (C) In a March 2 meeting with poloff, North America Division 1 Director Hahn Choong-hee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) previewed remarks to be delivered by President Roh Moo-hyun at the Korea Military Academy's March 3 commencement ceremony. According to Hahn, Roh will [...] |
2006-03-02 08:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MNUC MARR KN KS |
| 06SEOUL659 | ROH CRITICIZES JAPAN IN MARCH 1 SPEECH [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: In a speech marking the 87th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, President Roh offered clear, but relatively measured, criticism of the Koizumi government's handling of historical and territorial issues. He acknowledged that Japan had apologized for its wartime ag [...] |
2006-03-02 08:35:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KS JA |
| 06SEOUL663 | ROH ANNOUNCES CABINET RESHUFFLE [...] As previewed in reftel, Roh announced the resignation of five Cabinet ministers, four of whom will run in the May 31 regional elections. The Blue House announced replacements for four of the five positions: - Government Administration and Home Affairs: Lee Yong-seop, Blue House Senior Secr [...] |
2006-03-02 09:30:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PINR KS |
| 06SEOUL687 | ROK TO CONSIDER SUGGESTED ELEMENTS FOR NATIONAL [...] No summary [...] |
2006-03-03 08:25:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM KNNP IAEA IR KS |
| 06SEOUL688 | Korea's Finance Ministry Floats a Mini-"Big Bang" [...] Korea's Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) has launched an impressive new raft of regulatory reform measures in the early months of 2006. According to ministry plans, regulations governing financial services will be cut drastically, with barriers separating traditional business domains e [...] |
2006-03-03 11:08:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | EFIN ETRD PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL728 | OSD/NP COOPER MEETING WITH ROKG ON CWC/HCA [...] (C) During a cordial March 7 discussion, OSD Nonproliferation Policy Director Dr. David Cooper and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Disarmament and Nonproliferation Director Kwon Hee-seog exchanged views on the outstanding Chemical Weapons Convention Host Country Agreement. While recogn [...] |
2006-03-07 08:52:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM MARR KTIA CWC KS |
| 06SEOUL731 | INTER-KOREAN MILITARY TALKS CONCLUDE WITHOUT ANY [...] (C) SUMMARY: Two days of the inter-Korean general officer-level military talks ended on March 3 without any agreement on key agenda items. The ROK side had hoped to map out measures to reduce military tensions on the Peninsula and in the Yellow Sea. However, the DPRK's insistence on discuss [...] |
2006-03-07 22:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM KN KS |
| 06SEOUL740 | AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH SEOUL MAYOR LEE MYUNG-BAK [...] (C) SUMMARY: On March 7 the Ambassador met with Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak, a leading contender to become the opposition Grand National Party's (GNP)' nominee in next year's presidential election. Lee said that he was looking forward to his visit to the United States the week of March 13, in [...] |
2006-03-08 07:58:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR PREL ABLD KS KN |
| 06SEOUL742 | ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON RESTRICTING ROK ARMS [...] No summary [...] |
2006-03-08 08:14:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | MARR MASS PARM VE KS |
| 06SEOUL749 | BRITISH DCM IN PYONGYANG ON CONDITIONS IN NORTH [...] (C) British DCM to Pyongyang Lindsay Skoll told poloffs on March 6 that the Kim Jong-il regime displayed no signs of instability, opining that through the effective use of the state security apparatus and continued economic assistance from China and the ROK, the regime's staying power might be [...] |
2006-03-09 05:11:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ECON ETRD PHUM EAGR KS KN |
| 06SEOUL758 | POINTS ON HAMAS DELIVERED TO ROK [...] No summary [...] |
2006-03-09 08:09:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KPAL KS IS |
| 06SEOUL76 | ROK SCHOLARS BELIEVE DPRK "CLAMPING DOWN" IN [...] (SBU) Two ROK scholars believed the DPRK'S New Year's message for 2006 showed Pyongyang planned to brace itself for hostile action from the United States and focused its attention to psychologically and ideologically prepare its citizens to maintain strong support for the Kim Jong-il regime. [...] |
2006-01-06 09:19:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL MNUC MARR KN KS |
| 06SEOUL769 | ROK AND JAPAN AGREE ON KEDO TERMINATION PACKAGE [...] (SBU) Summary: On March 9 the ROK passed to us a "Proposed Draft Resolution on the Termination of the LWR Project." The ROK proposes that the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization meet on April 10-11 to adopt the resolution and requests a response from the United States as soon as [...] |
2006-03-10 06:26:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL ENRG ETTC KS KN |
| 06SEOUL772 | ROK BRIEFED ON USG NEXT STEPS ON PROCESSING NORTH [...] (C) On March 10, poloffs delivered ref a demarche, which discussed Thailand's recent indication it would work with the USG on discreet case-by-case resettlement of North Korean refugees, to Kim Ki-woong, Director of the Inter-Korean Policy Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. [...] |
2006-03-10 07:36:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF PREL PHUM KS KN TH |
| 06SEOUL777 | SIXTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT [...] (U) Post's submission for the sixth annual Anti-Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report follows. Responses are keyed to questions in Ref A. SUMMARY ------- 2. (SBU) The ROKG continued to make efforts to fight trafficking in persons during the March 2005 to March 2006 reporting period. G [...] |
2006-03-10 09:00:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | KS KCRM KWMN PGOV ELAB SMIG ASEC KFRD PREF |
| 06SEOUL802 | PRIME MINISTER UNDER PRESSURE TO RESIGN [...] (C) SUMMARY: PM Lee Hae-chan in facing mounting pressure to resign after revelations that he skipped ceremonies marking Independence Movement Day (March 1) in favor of playing golf with businessmen of dubious provenance. Chances that Lee will be able to weather the storm appear to be declin [...] |
2006-03-13 09:59:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL809 | KOREA FTA: PREPARATORY DISCUSSIONS ON TRACK [...] (SBU) On March 6-8 an interagency team led by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler made substantial progress in laying the procedural groundwork for U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks, the first round of which will be held during the week of June 5 in Washington. The U.S. [...] |
2006-03-14 02:10:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD ECON SCUL PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL821 | DPRK DELAYS NORTH-SOUTH TALKS, ROKG OFFICIALS [...] (C) The Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), the DPRK's official mouthpiece, reported on March 11 that North Korea notified South Korea by telegraph that it would delay the March 28-31 inter-Korean ministerial to "an appropriate date in April" to protest the March 10 announcement of the annual R [...] |
2006-03-14 09:09:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM EAID ECON KN KS |
| 06SEOUL822 | PRIME MINISTER OFFERS RESIGNATION [...] (SBU) Following clear signs that the ruling Uri Party believed PM Lee Hae-chan should step down, President Roh has indicated that he will accept Lee's resignation. In a meeting shortly after Roh's return to Seoul March 14 from an overseas trip, Lee offered his resignation "without reservatio [...] |
2006-03-14 09:10:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL827 | ROK URGES ACTIVE, CONTINUED AMERICAN SUPPORT FOR [...] (C) Director General for North American Affairs Cho Tae-young told POL M/C on March 13 that the ROK was attempting to gain permission to pay wages directly to workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC). Until that permission is granted, North Korean workers are being required to sign fo [...] |
2006-03-15 02:49:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PHUM PREL EINV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL837 | ROKG DELIVERED: DONATIONS TO IRAQ AND AFGHAN [...] No summary [...] |
2006-03-15 08:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | MARR MASS MOPS PINS PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL859 | INVITATION FOR ROK PARTICIPATION IN IRAQ REGIONAL [...] (C) On March 16, poloff delivered ref A diplomatic note on the Iraq PRT initiative to Chun Young-hee, Deputy Director of North America Division III, ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). Poloff also conveyed the message to Ms. Oh Hyun-ju at the United Nations Division. Undertakin [...] |
2006-03-16 08:24:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR MOPS PGOV PREL IZ KS |
| 06SEOUL861 | KOREA NAMES NEW ENVIRONMENT MINISTER AND NEW FAIR [...] (U) On March 15, President Roh nominated Lee Chi-beom, President of Korea's state-run company that promotes recycling (the Korea Environment and Resources Corporation - - ENVICO) to be Minister of the Environment. The nominee will replace Lee Jae-yong, who resigned to run in local elections s [...] |
2006-03-16 08:39:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | SENV PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL862 | ROK-JAPAN MAR 7 STRATEGIC DIALOGUE IN TOKYO: LONG [...] (C) In March 13-14 meetings with poloff, MOFAT and Japanese Embassy contacts said South Korean VFM Yu Myung-hwan's exhaustive meetings with Japanese VFM Yachi during the March 7 ROK-Japan strategic dialogue in Tokyo failed to result in progress on a number of bilateral and regional issues. Y [...] |
2006-03-16 08:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM MNUC JA KN KS |
| 06SEOUL863 | ROK TO PARTICIPATE IN ARF NONPROLIFERATION SEMINAR [...] No summary [...] |
2006-03-16 08:43:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PARM KNNP KS |
| 06SEOUL864 | MARCH 2006 QUARTERLY TRADE MEETING: AGENDA-SETTING [...] (SBU) The first Quarterly Trade Meeting (QTM) for 2006 was held in Seoul on March 3. While there were no breakthroughs, the meeting was constructive and identified no new problems. The Korean government indicated a willingness to address USG concerns, including a potentially serious problem [...] |
2006-03-16 08:45:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETRD ECON KS |
| 06SEOUL865 | ADVOCATING BOEING'S EX BID [...] In light of recent developments in the EX (Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft) program competition, this message provides Embassy Seoul's assessment and suggestions for the way forward. 2. Since Boeing received USG advocacy, Embassy Seoul has consistently and strenuously advocate [...] |
2006-03-16 09:06:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | ETRD PREL PARM KS |
| 06SEOUL866 | ROK SUPPORTS GUATEMALA IN THE UNSC ELECTION [...] No summary [...] |
2006-03-16 09:27:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL UN UNSC GT VE KS |
| 06SEOUL875 | AMBASSADOR'S MARCH 14 LUNCH WITH KIM GEUN-TAE [...] (C) SUMMARY: Rep. Kim Geun-tae, a senior member of the Uri Party and a presidentiaQhopeful, told the Ambassador March 14 that U.S. and ROK officials needed to manage more effectively public portrayals of differences in Seoul's and Washington's approaches to the North Korea nuclear issue. He [...] |
2006-03-17 08:19:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS KN |
| 06SEOUL876 | FOLLOW-UP DEMARCHE FOR U.S.-INDIA CIVIL NUCLEAR [...] No summary [...] |
2006-03-17 09:07:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL KNNP ENRG IN KS |
| 06SEOUL877 | NORTH KOREA: THE MUSICAL [...] (SBU) "Yoduk Story," a musical which premiered in Seoul on March 14, is like "Les Miserables" with all blue notes and a leitmotif of North Korean patriotic anthems. In this production, the beatings, rapes, summary executions, and other crimes that have been reported from one of the DPRK's mo [...] |
2006-03-17 09:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL888 | KOREA ENVIRONMENT ISSUES: SUPREME COURT RULING ON [...] On March 16, South Korea's Supreme Court handed down a final ruling that the Saemangeum Reclamation Project, begun in 1991 but stalled over the last year by a lawsuit, could go ahead. The world's largest coastal reclamation project, the Saemangeum project will convert 40,100 hectares of tidal [...] |
2006-03-20 06:55:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | SENV PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL889 | KOREAN TAX REFORMS DRAW FIRE, PASSAGE UNCERTAIN [...] (SBU) The Korean government introduced ambitious income tax reform legislation in February, proposing to raise certain value-added and excise taxes and tighten individual income tax loopholes favoring the wealthy and self-employed. But the proposals have run up against significant criticism fr [...] |
2006-03-20 06:55:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | EFIN ECON PGOV KS |
| 06SEOUL900 | AMB BRIEFS CONSERVATIVE LAWMAKERS ON ALLIANCE AND [...] (C) Addressing a study group of Grand National Party lawmakers on March 17, the Ambassador said that growing military, economic and people-to-people ties indicated that, contrary to press reports, the state of the U.S.-ROK alliance was "confident and strong." The Ambassador said that with re [...] |
2006-03-21 06:40:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PNUC KS KN |
| 06SEOUL901 | AMBASSADOR'S MARCH 17 MEETING WITH URI CHAIRMAN [...] (C) In a March 17 meeting, Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young pressed the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) for South Korea and for the inclusion of Kaesong-made goods in the U.S.-ROK FTA. On North Korea, Chung recommended de-linking illicit DPRK activities from the Six Party Talks. The Ambassador [...] |
2006-03-21 07:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PHUM EINV KS KN |
| 06SEOUL902 | AMBASSADOR'S MARCH 17 LUNCH WITH FORMER PM GOH KUN [...] (C) SUMMARY: Former Prime Minister Goh Kun, a leading presidential contender, expressed to the Ambassador March 17 his deep concern about the apparent lack of communication between Washington and Seoul. He pressed for the ROK's inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program and expressed confidence a [...] |
2006-03-21 07:18:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL MNUC PINR KS KN |
| 06SEOUL905 | GNP ELDERS REAFFIRM SUPPORT FOR ALLIANCE, FORECAST [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: Stressing the primacy of the U.S.-ROK alliance, four elder statesmen of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) told the DCM March 16 that the alliance's current state of "disrepair" could only be reversed when the GNP retook the Blue House and Kim Jong-il fell. Expressing [...] |
2006-03-21 07:51:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PNUC KS KN |
| 06SEOUL911 | ROK SAYS CHINA DEPORTED DPRK WOMAN CHOI EUN-SUN [...] (S) On March 17, poloff conveyed reftel demarche on USG concern about a North Korean women arrested in China after trying to enter a South Korean school in December 2005 to Pak Ji-yun, Deputy Director of the Inter-Korean Policy Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Pak was fa [...] |
2006-03-21 08:55:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PHUM PREF KS KN CH |
| 06SEOUL914 | NEW ROK ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVE TO SOFA JOINT [...] (U) Embassy received March 17 a diplomatic note announcing the appointment of MOFAT North America Bureau Deputy Director General Lim Sungnam to be the new Alternate Representative to the SOFA Joint Committee. Full text of the note and Mr. Lim's bio follows: 2. (U) Begin text: Ministr [...] |
2006-03-22 02:10:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | MARR MASS PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL918 | POINTS ON PRESIDENT'S 2006 NSS DELIVERED TO MOFAT [...] No summary [...] |
2006-03-22 05:08:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PINS PREL MARR KPAO KS |
| 06SEOUL919 | MTCR TPEG PAPERS DELIVERED TO ROKG [...] No summary [...] |
2006-03-22 05:32:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PARM MTCRE PREL MNUC ETTC KSCA TSPA KS |
| 06SEOUL920 | RESPONSE ON NOGUN-RI MEMORIAL FUNDING DELIVERED TO [...] No summary [...] |
2006-03-22 05:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MARR MASS KS |
| 06SEOUL930 | GERMAN DCM IN PYONGYANG: NO INSTABILITY IN DPRK [...] (C) Klaus Wendelberger, DCM at the German Embassy in Pyongyang, told poloff that the DPRK had moved aggressively in recent months to reassert control of the North Korean population, taking steps ranging from resuming control of the rice supply to tighter limits on the flow of information, inc [...] |
2006-03-22 08:44:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV SOCI ECON PHUM KN |
| 06SEOUL931 | JAPANESE OFFICIALS IN SEOUL DISCUSS HISTORY ISSUE [...] (C) In a March 22 meeting with POL M/C, Japanese Embassy Political Minister Koji Tomita discussed the so-called history issue that has been a thorn in ROK-Japan relations. He said the GOJ acquired information suggesting that in late February the Chinese Ambassador to South Korea urged ROKG of [...] |
2006-03-22 08:49:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KS JA |
| 06SEOUL935 | SENATOR BOND'S MARCH 20 CALL ON MINISTER OF [...] (C) In a March 20 meeting with Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond, ROK Minister of Unification Lee Jong-seok underscored the level of importance the ROKG attached to the U.S.-ROK alliance, stressing that Seoul looked to Washington to counterbalance the increasing Chinese influence in the region. [...] |
2006-03-23 04:30:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PHUM MASS ECON EAID KN KS |
| 06SEOUL954 | KOREA TO ENHANCE CONTROL OF STRATEGIC PRODUCT [...] (SBU) According to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE), Korea plans to tighten controls over the export of strategic products that could be used for weapons development. MOCIE's planned measures, which will go into effect in the latter part of 2006, call for tougher legal ac [...] |
2006-03-23 22:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ETTC KSTC PARM PREL KS |
| 06SEOUL969 | AMBASSADOR'S MARCH 24 MEETING WITH ROK FM BAN: [...] (C) During a March 24 meeting with the Ambassador, ROK Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon described receiving strong expressions of support for his candidacy for UN Secretary General from Argentina, Peru, Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria. Ban noted that he has met with the foreign ministers of each of th [...] |
2006-03-24 08:21:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PHUM PREF MARR KS KN |
| 06SEOUL972 | ROKG DOWNPLAYS "ABDUCTEE" INCIDENT AT INTER-KOREAN [...] (C) In retaliation for statements by two ROK journalists that a North Korean participating in the latest North-South family reunions had been "abducted," DPRK officials on March 22 refused to allow 99 elderly South Korean participants to depart the venue for 10 hours. The two journalists were [...] |
2006-03-24 08:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PHUM EAID KN KS |
| 06SEOUL973 | HAN MYUNG-SOOK NAMED PRIME MINISTER [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: President Roh on March 24 nominated Han Myung-sook, a two-time former Cabinet minister and current Uri lawmaker, to be his new prime minister, subject to parliamentary confirmation. She would replace Lee Hae-chan, who stepped down earlier this months in the wake of a golf sca [...] |
2006-03-24 08:51:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PINR KS |
| 06SEOUL990 | ROK OFFICIALS DISCUSS NEXT STEPS IN SUPPORT OF WMD [...] (C) In a March 8 meeting with ROKG counterparts in Seoul, a U.S. inter-agency Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) team briefed South Korean officials on the operational aspects of PSI and recent trends in proliferation. The ROK delegation summarized the factors that led Seoul to accept f [...] |
2006-03-27 05:32:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM MNUC KNNP KN KS |
| 06SEOUL997 | ROKG STILL FAVORS USG CANDIDATE FOR INCB [...] No summary [...] |
2006-03-27 07:24:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | SNAR AORC PREL UN KS |
| 07SEOUL1011 | KORUS FTA IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY - RATIFICATION, [...] (C) SUMMARY: The KORUS FTA, after the signing, will be sent to the National Assembly for ratification. Pundits consider this most likely in September. The ratification process could be intense, involving protests and blockages. Still, according to Assembly contacts, the KORUS FTA will pass, [...] |
2007-04-06 08:34:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ECON KS PGOV PINR PREL |
| 07SEOUL1012 | ELECTION EXPERTS SHARE VIEWS ON FTA AND ELECTIONS [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a luncheon meeting with the Ambassador, a pollster, an ex-spokesperson for presidential candidate Chung Mong-joon, a political consultant and a professor shared their views of the current political landscape in Korea and on the factors that would determine the outcome of Dece [...] |
2007-04-06 08:38:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1047 | CHUNG DONG-YOUNG'S ADVISORS SET FOREIGN POLICY [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: Advisors to presidential hopeful and former Uri Party chairman Chung Dong-young's (DY) told us April 4 that Chung likely would leave the Uri Party to form his own coalition party before the presidential candidate registration deadline of April 23. Chung's advisors asserted th [...] |
2007-04-10 07:22:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | ETRD KN KS PGOV PINR PREL |
| 07SEOUL1051 | SHIELD S08D-05: ROK FIRM BIOTRON TERMINATED [...] (S) On April 6, Kim Jae-woo, Deputy Director of Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) told poloff that the ROK firm Biotron did not/not fulfill an order of two large fermenters by the Iranian firm Samamicro. In fact, Biotron terminated all n [...] |
2007-04-10 09:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM PREL CBW ETTC KS IR |
| 07SEOUL1052 | FM SONG ON FTA, 6PT, U.S.-ROK ALLIANCE, AND IRAQ [...] (C) SUMMARY: On April 10, Foreign Minister Song Min-soon told the Ambassador that the ROKG and USG should stay coordinated on the KORUS FTA to avoid any perception that different interpretations existed on what was negotiated. Some in the ROK were concerned that the U.S. Congress might push f [...] |
2007-04-10 10:46:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV EAID EFIN KS KN IZ |
| 07SEOUL1078 | PRESIDENT ROH'S MEETING WITH RICHARDSON-PRINCIPI [...] (C) SUMMARY: In an April 12 meeting with President Roh Moo-hyun, New Mexico Governor Richardson and former Secretary of Veteran's Affairs Anthony Principi said that the DPRK had been cooperative in assisting the transfer of the remains of servicemen thought to have died during the Korean War. [...] |
2007-04-13 04:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL MNUC KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1088 | GWANGJU: BIRTHPLACE OF ROK DEMOCRACY GEARS UP FOR [...] (SBU) Gwangju's votes were pivotal in electing Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun in 1997 and 2002. Also, the May 18, 1980 student uprising and massacre in Gwangju was a defining moment in Korea's modern history and, due to misinformation that tied the U.S. to the event, a source of anti-American [...] |
2007-04-16 04:17:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | ECON ETRD KS PGOV PREL |
| 07SEOUL1091 | SOUTH KOREA FACES PENSION REFORM [...] (SBU) Korea is on the verge of a gray transformation, with its elderly moving from 9 percent to 38 percent of its total population by 2050. This aging trend threatens to explode the cost of Korea's National Pension System (NPS) from 0.4 percent of GDP in 2005 to 7.3 percent of GDP by 2050 ) [...] |
2007-04-16 05:46:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ECON EFIN ELAB KS PGOV SOCI |
| 07SEOUL1108 | DPRK DEFECTOR PERSONIFIES MATERIALISTIC MOTIVES FOR [...] (U) SUMMARY: On March 29, Lim Il, a North Korean defector, spoke at the monthly meeting of the AhRin Forum in Seoul to an audience of academics and foreign diplomats posted to the ROK and the DPRK. Lim described his journey from North Korea to the South, where he received asylum in 1998, via [...] |
2007-04-17 01:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PGOV PREF PHUM KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1112 | GOVERNOR RICHARDSON AND FORMER SECRETARY PRINCIPI [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: During an April 11-12 visit to Seoul, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and former Secretary of Veteran's Affairs Principi noted that the DPRK had been cooperative in facilitating the transfer of the remains of servicemen thought to have died during the Korean War. The Richa [...] |
2007-04-17 04:34:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL MUNC KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1119 | MOFAT FORECASTS ROUGH SEAS FOR LIANCOURT ROCKS [...] (C) SUMMARY: MOFAT Director-General for Treaties Im Han-taek on April 17 told A/DCM that Seoul and Tokyo were in consultation on how to conduct surveys for radioactive materials located in disputed waters in the East Sea (Sea of Japan). Japan's position is that Tokyo does not want a joint so [...] |
2007-04-17 09:11:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KS JA |
| 07SEOUL112 | 2007 ROK PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES [...] (C) SUMMARY: If the vote for president of South Korea were today, Grand National Party (GNP) candidate Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak, with between 40 and 50 percent support in all leading polls, would be the runaway winner with second place going to GNP's Park Geun-hye. The bronze medal would go [...] |
2007-01-12 08:01:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PIRN KS |
| 07SEOUL1120 | MOFAT DISCUSSES IRAQI PM MALIKI'S VISIT TO ROK AND [...] (C) SUMMARY: On April 17, A/DCM met with Ma Young-sam, MOFAT'S Director-General for Middle Eastern and African Affairs, to discuss the April 11-13 visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki to South Korea. Ma said that the main purpose of Maliki's visit was improving bilateral economic cooperation [...] |
2007-04-17 09:28:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV EAID EFIN KS IZ |
| 07SEOUL1126 | NSC DIRECTOR CHA'S 4/12 MEETING WITH PARK SUN-WON [...] (C) SUMMARY: On April 12, NSC Director for Asian Affairs Victor Cha met with Park Sun-won, Secretary to the President for National Security Strategy, to provide a readout of the April 8-11 visit to North Korea by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Former Secretary of Veteran's Affairs Ant [...] |
2007-04-18 06:32:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV MNUC KS KN |
| 07SEOUL114 | DELIVERED: REQUEST FOR ALLIED DEMARCHE TO CHINA [...] (S) The Ambassador delivered the talking points contained in reftel A to Cho Jung-pyo, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday January 14, 2007. He also showed A/FM Cho the photographs of the event, but as instructed did not leave the photographs behind. [...] |
2007-01-14 03:39:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PREL PARM MNUC MARR |
| 07SEOUL1141 | PRIVATE BROADCASTING TO NORTH KOREA [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: Fueled by foreign funding, three Seoul-based radio stations are broadcasting news, information about defection, entertainment and other programming into the DPRK via shortwave platforms located overseas. The three -- Free NK Radio (FreeNK), Open Radio for North Korea (OpenRad [...] |
2007-04-19 07:29:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PREF PGOV PINR KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1151 | ROH CONFIDANTE AHN HEE-JONG MEETS NORTH KOREANS [...] (C) SUMMARY: Roh Moo-hyun longtime confidante Ahn Hee-jung contacted North Korean officials in Beijing on October, 20 2006 in an unofficial attempt to start a communication channel with the North. Ahn's contact was a violation of the Inter-Korean cooperation and exchange law, but Roh has pub [...] |
2007-04-20 05:21:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1158 | SOUTH KOREANS' SHOCK AND GRIEF OVER THE VIRGINIA [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: From all indications, South Koreans were shocked, saddened, and sorry about the mass murder at Virginia Tech by South Korean national Cho Seung-hui. South Koreans -- ranging from ordinary citizens to the President -- have expressed their condolences to the victims and their fam [...] |
2007-04-20 08:59:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1175 | KOREAS AGREE TO RICE AID AND TEST RUNS OF RAILWAYS [...] (C) SUMMARY: In an April 23 briefing on the April 18-22 Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee talks in Pyongyang, Director-General for Unification Policy Planning Um Jong-sik told A/DCM that the ROKG used the meetings to emphasize the need for the DPRK to implement the Februar [...] |
2007-04-23 09:58:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MNUC EAID KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1189 | MOFAT DELIVERS NONPAPER ON KIC EXPANSION [...] (C) In an April 23 meeting with A/DCM, MOFAT Director-General for North American Affairs Cho Byung-jae passed a nonpaper that says, given the February 13 "Initial Actions" agreement, the ROKG intends to resume efforts to expand development of the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), which had be [...] |
2007-04-24 07:37:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MNUC EAID KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1203 | HOW PRESIDENTIAL CAMPS ARE APPEALING TO KOREAN [...] (C) SUMMARY: South Korean youth today are generally less interested in politics, do not have a particular attachment to a candidate or political party, and are most concerned with the economy and finding a job. Unlike in the past, where the majority of the youth held progressive views on pol [...] |
2007-04-25 08:48:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PINR PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1211 | THE POLITICS OF ALLIANCE RELATIONS (1 OF 3) [...] (C) SUMMARY OF CABLE SERIES: This report, the first in a series of three on the U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) Alliance, examines South Korean perceptions of their security environment. The second looks at what role the ROK sees for the Alliance in its security. The final report addresses how [...] |
2007-04-26 07:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM PGOV PINS MARR MCAP KS KN CH JA |
| 07SEOUL1213 | ROK BY-ELECTIONS: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING? [...] (SBU) In by-elections held on Wednesday April 25, Korean voters elected three National Assembly members, one from the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) and none from the ruling Uri Party. Still, as this election ended GNP's streak of dominating by-elections that started in summer 200 [...] |
2007-04-26 07:46:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1215 | THE POLITICS OF ALLIANCE RELATIONS (2 OF 3) [...] (C) SUMMARY: This is the second in a series of cables on the politics of U.S.-ROK Alliance relations. Reftel A explored how the ROK perceives its security environment, concluding that the Korean public and their policy makers are heavily conflicted when it comes to relations with their neig [...] |
2007-04-26 07:54:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM PGOV PINS MARR MCAP KS KN CH JA |
| 07SEOUL1216 | THE POLITICS OF ALLIANCE RELATIONS (3 OF 3) [...] (C) SUMMARY: This is the third and final cable in a series reporting on the politics of U.S.-ROK Alliance relations. Reftel A explored how the Republic of Korea views its security environment. Reftel B looked at how the U.S.-ROK Alliance fits with ROK security perspectives. This final rep [...] |
2007-04-26 08:19:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM PGOV PINS MARR MCAP KS KN CH JA |
| 07SEOUL122 | ROKG HAS TENTATIVE PLANS FOR ARF WORKSHOP [...] No summary [...] |
2007-01-16 06:44:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PGOV AORC ARF KS |
| 07SEOUL1230 | THE ENDURING LEGACY OF ADMIRAL YI [...] (U) Koreans on April 28 will celebrate the 262nd anniversary of Admiral Yi Sun-shin's birthday. Admiral Yi is remembered for inventing the "turtle ship" -- which was the world's first metal-armored warship -- his brilliance as a strategist and, most of all, for his 16th century victories aga [...] |
2007-04-27 09:02:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | JA KS PGOV PHUM PREL |
| 07SEOUL1261 | UPDATE OF LABOR INFORMATION FOR MANDATORY US-KOREA FREE [...] (U) Original questions are included below from reftel. Answers to questions follow after each question. LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR LABOR RIGHTS 2. (U) Question: Please provide a detailed summary of all new labor legislation passed in 2006 and 2007. Please provide copies of the text of this l [...] |
2007-05-01 07:11:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | KS ECIN ECON ELAB ETRD EAID |
| 07SEOUL1263 | ROKG SUPPORTIVE OF ASIA DEMOCRACY PARTNERSHIP [...] (SBU) Political External Chief delivered Ref A talking points to MOFAT Director of Human Rights and Social Affairs Kim Moon-hwan on May 1. Consistent with his initial reaction to the Asia Democracy Partnership ADP, Kim was personally supportive of the proposal (Ref B). The ROK, as one of the [...] |
2007-05-01 08:23:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PGOV PHUM KS |
| 07SEOUL1286 | ROK OPPOSES BELARUS, SUPPORTS SLOVENIA FOR UNHRC [...] No summary [...] |
2007-05-02 08:05:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PHUM PREL UNHRC KS |
| 07SEOUL1313 | ROK BACKS IRAQ PARTICIPANT STATUS FOR CD [...] No summary [...] |
2007-05-04 05:58:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM UNGA KS |
| 07SEOUL1327 | TREASURY SECRETARY PAULSON'S MARCH VISIT TO SEOUL [...] (C) SUMMARY. On the eve of the 8th KORUS-FTA round, Treasury Secretary Paulson visited Seoul March 6-7 to meet President Roh Moo-hyun, Deputy Prime Minister Kwon O-kyu, and Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong. His discussions reaffirmed: (1) high-level support on both sides for keeping the KORUS- [...] |
2007-05-07 01:22:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ECON EFIN ETRD KN KS PREL EINV PGOV |
| 07SEOUL1329 | ROKG SUPPORTS USG CLUSTER MUNITIONS POLICY [...] (C) On April 26 Acting DAS Frank J. Ruggiero met with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) Senior Coordinator for International Organizations Hwang Joon-kook and Kim Jong-hoon, Deputy Director of the International Disarmament Division of the Ministry of National Defense (MND) to seek [...] |
2007-05-07 03:46:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM MARR MCAP PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1352 | SOUTH KOREA NOT CONSIDERING PARTICIPATION IN LIBYAN NUCLEAR [...] (SBU) Summary: An April 14 Financial Times article quoted a Libyan official as saying that Libya was in discussions with South Korea and other countries about a nuclear power plant project. On May 7, Embassy received a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) saying that [...] |
2007-05-08 05:12:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | TRGY ENRG KNNP KS LY |
| 07SEOUL136 | AMBASSADOR'S LUNCH WITH FORMER PRESIDENT KIM [...] (C) Summary: On January 16, Ambassador and Mrs. Vershbow hosted former President Kim Dae-jung and his wife Lee Hee-Ho to lunch at the Ambassador's Residence. While professing to avoid interfering in politics, the 83-year old Kim -- who said his health had improved recently -- offered his vie [...] |
2007-01-17 07:04:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV MNUC ETRD ECON KS KN CH |
| 07SEOUL1361 | SOHN HAK-KYU PLANS TRIP NORTH TO BOOST RATINGS [...] (C) SUMMARY: Former Gyeonggi Governor and presidential candidate Sohn Hak-kyu met with the Ambassador on May 7 to discuss his planned May 9-12 trip to North Korea, where he hopes to discuss his proposed 10-year reconstruction plan for the North. He hoped his visit would contribute to the dev [...] |
2007-05-08 07:50:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KN KS PGOV PINR PREL |
| 07SEOUL1362 | ROK SHARES CONCERNS ON UNSC-DESIGNATED IRANIANS [...] (S) On May 8, A/POL conveyed reftel points highlighting the costs of allowing individuals designated under UNSCRs 1737 and 1747 to travel to or through their territories to Park Chul-min, MOFAT's Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Division Director. Park said that the ROKG recently held an in [...] |
2007-05-08 08:05:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM KNNP KS IS |
| 07SEOUL1364 | ROKG ON IRANIAN INVITATION FOR REACTOR BIDS [...] (C) A/POL delivered reftel demarche to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Director for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Park Chul-min on May 8. Park indicated that his office was aware of the Iranian invitation to bid and agreed with reftel points that the nuclear power plants were an eff [...] |
2007-05-08 08:08:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ENRG IR KNNP MNUC PARM KS |
| 07SEOUL1365 | PROMINENT NK DEFECTORS FORM RADICAL NGO [...] (C) "Aquariums of Pyongyang" author Kang Cheol-hwan, former DPRK inner-circle member Hwang Jang-yop and other prominent North Korean defectors have formed a new organization, the Committee for Democratization of North Korea (CDNK). Its main goals are to topple the DPRK regime and organize def [...] |
2007-05-08 08:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PREF PGOV PINR KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1384 | LEE AND PARK SHOWDOWN HEATS UP [...] (C) SUMMARY: The two leading candidates for president face a decision point: whether to remain within the Grand National Party (GNP), agreeing to abide by the results of the party's August primary, or whether to leave the party and pursue the presidency independently. The two leading candida [...] |
2007-05-09 08:00:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1385 | ROKG "VERY SATISFIED" WITH INTERNATIONAL COMPACT [...] (C) On May 9, Do Bong-kae, Deputy Director of Development Cooperation Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) told poloff that ROK Foreign Minister Song Min-soon was "very satisfied" with the results of the International Compact with Iraq (ICI) conference in Egypt. Do said tha [...] |
2007-05-09 08:40:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL EAID EFIN KS IZ |
| 07SEOUL1386 | ROKG HOLDS LINE ON UN COUNTRY-SPECIFIC SPECIAL [...] No summary [...] |
2007-05-09 09:03:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PHUM PREL EUN KS |
| 07SEOUL1387 | MEDIA REPORTS NORTH SOUGHT TALKS WITH SOUTH BEFORE [...] (C) Secret contacts between Seoul and Pyongyang are nothing new. Many previous ROK presidents, including Kim Dae-jung, Roh Tae-woo and Park Chung-hee, relied on their secret negotiations to harvest significant results. A flurry SIPDIS of press revelations indicate that President Roh Moo-h [...] |
2007-05-09 22:34:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1398 | MARRIAGE BROKERS OUT IN FRONT OF KOREAN LEGISLATION [...] (SBU) The trend for international marriages continues to rapidly increase in Korea as in other countries in the region. Marriage brokers have quickly adapted to the increased demand and have found ways to cash in on the lucrative business. Despite the plethora of legitimate broker companies [...] |
2007-05-10 05:32:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | KS KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG |
| 07SEOUL1403 | SEOUL RESPONSE: IMPLEMENTATION OF BANK SEPAH AND [...] (S/NF) MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMY (MOFE) FOREIGN EXCHANGE REGULATIONS DIVISION DIRECTOR HWANG KUN-IL TOLD ECONOFF TODAY THAT MOFE NOTIFIED FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ON APRIL 6 ABOUT THE FREEZE ON ASSETS OF BANK SEPAH AND BANK SEPAH INTERNATIONAL AND OTHER ENTITITES PURSUANT TO UNSCR 1747. [...] |
2007-05-10 07:30:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET//NOFORN | DA EFIN IR KNNP KS PARM |
| 07SEOUL1404 | ROK VIEWS ON UNHRC ELECTION--AGAINST BELARUS, FOR [...] (C) Nick: We enjoy good cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on UN Human Rights Council (HRC) issues and have been told that the ROK will oppose the Belarus bid for a seat on the HRC. MOFAT told us on two occasions on May 2 (Ref B) and again on May 10, that Seoul would [...] |
2007-05-10 09:09:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PHUM PREL UNHRC KS |
| 07SEOUL1405 | NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR BAEK ON FTA, ALLIANCE, [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a May 10 lunch meeting with the Ambassador, National Security Advisor Baek Jong-chun said his responsibilities were defined: work closely to support the KORUS FTA, USFK relocation agreements, and progress in the Six-Party Talks (6PT). Baek expressed optimism that the Banco De [...] |
2007-05-10 09:32:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV MNUC KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1412 | NATIONAL SECURITY SECRETARY PARK SEES LITTLE [...] (C) Dr. Park Sun-won, Secretary to the President for National Security Strategy, offered a rather trouble-free assessment of the USFK camp return and relocation funding issues when he met with the A/DCM on May 10 at the Blue House. Dr. Park said he had met with ROK Minister of National Defen [...] |
2007-05-11 05:51:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV MARR KS |
| 07SEOUL1413 | ROKG COMMENTS ON REVISED U.S. ARF PROPOSALS [...] (C) On May 11, poloff delivered reftel demarche to Kim Jong-min of the Security Policy Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). Kim said the revised U.S. proposals were appreciated, but noted that ROKG comments on previous drafts had just been sent to the ROK representati [...] |
2007-05-11 06:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | PREL ARF KNNP PTER KS |
| 07SEOUL1418 | LEE MYUNG-BAK ADVISOR ON ECONOMIC ISSUES AND DPRK [...] (C) Nam Sung-wook, Korea University economics professor and top North Korea policy advisor to leading presidential contender Lee Myung-bak, told Poloffs during a May 9 meeting that the 2007 presidential election was essentially about the economy, with North Korea a secondary issue. He said fo [...] |
2007-05-11 08:02:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS PINR |
| 07SEOUL1439 | URI PARTY VISIT TO PYONGYANG: DPRK SAID IT IS [...] (C) SUMMARY: Five Uri Party parliamentarians, led by potential presidential candidate Rep. Kim Hyuk-kyu, met with the Ambassador on May 9 to brief him on their May 2-5 trip to Pyongyang. Kim said that the North Korean side had stressed: (a) its commitment to implementing the February 13 "Initi [...] |
2007-05-14 06:58:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1444 | FORMER PM HAN MYEONG-SOOK SEEKS TO UNDERSTAND U.S. [...] (C) Former Prime Minister and current presidential contender Han Myeong-sook met with the Ambassador over lunch on May 11. Han expressed optimism that the KORUS FTA maintained strong support in the National Assembly and may be ratified in the fall; legislators opposed to the FTA were in the [...] |
2007-05-14 08:55:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1448 | S/CRS AMBASSADOR HERBST'S CONSULTATIONS IN SEOUL [...] (SBU) The U.S. and ROKG held a second round of consultations on reconstruction and stabilization (R&S) issues on April 26. The U.S. delegation led by Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS) John Herbst obtained Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) Vice Minister Ch [...] |
2007-05-15 01:07:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL KCRS KS |
| 07SEOUL1463 | ROK-JAPAN-CHINA TO HOLD DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER [...] (C) SUMMARY: On May 15, MOFAT's Asian and Pacific Affairs Deputy Director-General, Cho Yong-chun, told POL M/C that China will host a Deputy Foreign Minister trilateral with ROK and Japanese counterparts on May 19 in Beijing. Cho said this meeting, the first Foreign Ministry senior officials [...] |
2007-05-15 09:02:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV KS CH JA |
| 07SEOUL1479 | PROGRESSIVES STILL FAR FROM UNITED [...] (C) SUMMARY: The GNP candidates have, for now, patched up their differences and are headed toward an August primary showdown. (See Reftel) However, on the progressive side of the political spectrum, the disparate groups and their leaders are far from united. Pro-Roh politicians as well as Pr [...] |
2007-05-16 08:29:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1480 | UNIFICATION MINISTER CLAIMS RICE AID TO DPRK CAN [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a May 16 meeting with the Ambassador, Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung expressed enthusiasm about the planned May 17 inter-Korean railways tests calling them a first step toward restoring peace to the Korean Peninsula. Lee said that inter-Korean dialogue and Six-Party Talks ( [...] |
2007-05-16 09:09:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV MNUC KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1491 | ROKG: NO LINKAGE FOR SMA FUNDS AND USFK RELOCATION [...] (C) Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Shim Yoon-joe requested a meeting with the Ambassador to convey the ROKG response to the issues raised by Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Richard Lawless with ROK Ambassador Lee Tae-shik on May 8. Shim said that the ROKG appreciated Lawless's explanat [...] |
2007-05-17 01:47:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR MCAP PARM PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL151 | CLEARANCE FOR EAP DAS CHRISTENSEN'S TRAVEL TO KOREA [...] (U) Embassy Seoul warmly welcomes and grants country clearance for the January 25-28, 2007 official visit to Seoul by EAP Deputy Assistant Secretary Thomas J. Christensen. CONTACT INFORMATION ------------------- 2. (U) Control officer for the visit is Political Officer Andrew Bennett [...] |
2007-01-18 07:12:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL AMGT OTRA KS |
| 07SEOUL1532 | ROKG SUPPORTS USG ARF PROPOSALS [...] (U) This is an action request. Please see para 4. 2. (C) On May 18, Kim Jong-min of the Security Policy Division and Kim Jae-woo, Deputy Director of the Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), delivered the ROKG official response to [...] |
2007-05-18 06:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ARF KNNP PTER KS |
| 07SEOUL1533 | (S) ROK RESPONSE: EFFORTS BY IRAN'S MISSILE [...] This is an action request. Post requests that Department provide information requested by the ROKG in para 3. 2. (S) Kim Jae-woo, Deputy Director of the Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), told poloff that Insung International Co [...] |
2007-05-18 07:11:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | MTCRE PARM PREL ETTC KS IR |
| 07SEOUL1546 | ROK HOPES FOR CHINA-TAWAIN CONSENSUS AT OIE [...] No summary [...] |
2007-05-21 05:22:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL EAGR AORG KS CH TW |
| 07SEOUL1551 | ROKG WILL NOT ATTEND LIMA MEETING ON CLUSTER [...] (C) Poloff delivered reftel A demarche to Kim Hye-jin of the Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Kim said that the ROKG position on cluster munitions (CM) had not changed since the April 24 bilateral discussions with Acting DAS Frank Ruggier [...] |
2007-05-21 06:54:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR PARM PREL MOPS KS |
| 07SEOUL1557 | BILATERAL RICE AID TO START IN LATE MAY BUT 6PT [...] (C) Rice assistance: MOFAT North America DG Cho Byung-jae said that the ROKG would provide some bilateral rice aid by the end of May, given political and interagency pressure to do so; ideally, the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) issue would be resolved by then and the DPRK would start Yongbyon shutd [...] |
2007-05-21 09:11:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV EAID ECON KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1576 | XXXXXXXXXXXX SHARES IDEAS ON DPRK [...] (C)XXXXXXXXXXXX Arranging an Eric Clapton concert in Pyongyang could also be useful, he said, given Kim Jong-il's second son's devotion to the rock legend. END SUMMARY. XXXXXXXXXXXX ---------------------------------- 2. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX DOING BUSINESS IN THE DPRK ---------------------- [...] |
2007-05-23 02:45:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PREF PGOV KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1585 | ROKG RECONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE IN AFGHANISTAN [...] (C) Summary. Officials of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) provided Poloff with an overview of the Republic of Korea (ROK)'s official assistance to Afghanistan since 2002. KOICA provided USD 45 million of assistance from 2002-2004 and has pledged an additional USD 10 milli [...] |
2007-05-23 07:03:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ASEC EAID MARR PREL KS AF |
| 07SEOUL160 | CONSTITUTIONAL REVISION TAKES SPOTLIGHT [...] (C) Summary: In a surprise statement last week President Roh proposed a constitutional revision to change the current single five-year presidential term to a renewable four-year term to synchronize the presidential and general elections. Roh said he would soon initiate a bill to revise the con [...] |
2007-01-19 02:25:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PIRN KS |
| 07SEOUL1608 | ACCOUNTS OF THE INTER-KOREAN RAILWAYS TRAIL RUNS [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: With much fanfare on May 17, South and North Korea conducted test runs of two cross-border railways. Before the trains departed in the morning, ROK Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said that the test runs indicated that "the heart of the Korean Peninsula is beating again." M [...] |
2007-05-25 08:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PGOV KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1655 | RESPONSE RECEIVED: FOLLOWING UP ON U.S. PROPOSAL [...] (SBU) On May 22, poloff delivered reftel points, including the non-paper, to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) Disarmament and Non-Proliferation officer Youn Jong Kwon. A response was provided by Kwon on May 30 addressing the U.S. proposal "that Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) Part [...] |
2007-06-01 00:37:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | ETTC IR KS PARM PREL |
| 07SEOUL1656 | RESPONSE RECEIVED: FOLLOWING UP ON THE U.S. [...] (SBU) On May 22, poloff delivered reftel points, including the non-paper, to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) Disarmament and Non-Proliferation officer Youn Jong Kwon. A response was provided by Kwon on May 30. Kwon stated that the ROKG is content with the current agenda, as pro [...] |
2007-06-01 00:37:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PARM PREL ETTC KS IR |
| 07SEOUL166 | GNP: IN THE LEAD, BUT NOT IN THE BAG? [...] (C) SUMMARY: Goh Kun's withdrawal from the presidential elections in South Korea means that the top three most popular candidates are all from the conservative Grand National Party (GNP). With combined approval ratings for the three GNP candidates according to a January 16 SBS-Hankook Resear [...] |
2007-01-19 07:05:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL167 | WHITHER URI PARTY? [...] (C) Summary: The progressive Uri Party, facing rock bottom popularity with only single-digit support, suffered another major setback with the departure of Goh Kun from the presidential race on January 16. First and foremost challenge for Uri leaders is to decide what form the party should ta [...] |
2007-01-19 07:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1670 | LEE MYUNG-BAK FOREIGN POLICY ADVISORS ON U.S.-ROK [...] (C) Members of presidential contender Lee Myung-bak's foreign policy team told poloffs on May 30 that Lee would likely advocate a "pragmatic" approach to the U.S.-ROK alliance, aimed principally to preserve room to strengthen the relationship after the election without alienating progressives [...] |
2007-06-01 08:08:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1686 | LEE MYUNG-BAK DREAMS UP A CANAL PROJECT [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: The Pan-Korea Grand Waterway is a key campaign pledge of ROK's leading presidential hopeful, Lee Myung-bak of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP). Lee is the frontrunner in the poll with 37.8 percent of the public supporting him in a May 30 poll by Joongang Daily. (His [...] |
2007-06-04 08:18:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PREL ECON KS |
| 07SEOUL1687 | NORTH-SOUTH MINISTERIAL HITS RICE HEADWIND [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a June 4 briefing for the diplomatic community, Um Jong-sik, Director-General for Unification Policy Planning at the Ministry of Unification (MOU), described the May 29 - June 1 inter-Korean ministerial talks as helpful in that the North Koreans showed up and did not walk out [...] |
2007-06-04 09:12:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL MNUC EAID KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1689 | THE PAST AND FUTURE OF LABOR STRUGGLES IN KOREA [...] (SBU) In a meeting with poloff on May 23, Korea Labor & Society Institute Chairman Lee Won-bo said that labor union leaders in Korea continue to be arrested, but reluctantly conceded that police had legitimate reasons for doing so. Although Korea's labor laws have undergone some serious refor [...] |
2007-06-05 00:10:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | ELAB PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL169 | ROKG DEMARCHES CHINESE EMBASSY ON ASAT TEST [...] (U) This is an Action Request. Please see para 4. 2. (C) On January 19, Park Chul-min, Director of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) provided poloff with the ROKG response to the Ambassador's January 14 demarche regarding China's anti-satelli [...] |
2007-01-19 08:17:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KS MARR MNUC PARM PREL CH |
| 07SEOUL170 | ROKG STILL PLANS TO ALLOW MACHINE TOOL EXPORT TO [...] (U) This is an Action Request. Please see para 4. 2. (C) On January 19, poloff delivered reftel A points to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Deputy Kim Jae-woo. Kim informed poloff that the primary factor in the ROKG decision was the lack of [...] |
2007-01-19 08:17:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM MTCR PREL ETTC KS PK |
| 07SEOUL1710 | ROKG ON VENEZUELA-IRAN RELATIONSHIP [...] No summary [...] |
2007-06-05 09:04:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PREL ECON PTER VE IR KS |
| 07SEOUL1711 | LEE MYUNG-BAK: SMOOTH SAILING TILL DECEMBER? [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a June 4 meeting, the Ambassador and GNP presidential front-runner Lee Myung-bak discussed North Korea, the December elections, and the FTA. Lee also asked the Ambassador to help set up a meeting with Secretary Rice during his scheduled June 11-14 trip to Washington D.C. Le [...] |
2007-06-05 09:40:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS ECON KN |
| 07SEOUL1712 | PARK GEUN-HYE REMAINS CONFIDENT IN HER PRINCIPLES [...] (C) In a June 4 meeting with the Ambassador, ROK presidential candidate Park Geun-hye said that she was optimistic that the public would increasingly support her campaign as she got her policy messages out. Park said that the public responded well to the first nationally televised debate am [...] |
2007-06-05 09:50:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1727 | FINANCE AUTHORITIES SEEK WON STABILITY [...] (C) The Korean won hit a nine-year high versus the Japanese yen on June 1, prompting the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy publicly to ask the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) "to pursue currency stability and strengthen export supports." Earlier in May, the won's appreciatio [...] |
2007-06-07 05:24:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ECON EFIN EINV ETRD KS |
| 07SEOUL173 | MOFAT PROTESTS GENERAL BELL'S PUBLIC REMARKS [...] (C) SUMMARY: In a January 18 meeting with the acting DCM, MOFAT Director General for North American Affairs Cho Byong-jae expressed a strong protest about two aspects of the public remarks General Bell had delivered at the Seoul Foreign Correspondent's Club earlier in the day. The first prob [...] |
2007-01-19 08:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MOPS MARR PREL PGOV KN KS |
| 07SEOUL1738 | ROKG TO ATTEND GLOBAL INITIATIVE CONFERENCE IN [...] (SBU) On June 1 poloff met with Park Chul-min, MOFAT's Disarmament and Nonproliferation Director, to formally welcome the ROKG into the Global Initiative (GI) as a new partner nation; deliver ref a points including a request for a government-wide GI point-of-contact (POC); and encouraging act [...] |
2007-06-07 08:32:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PARM PTER KGIC KS |
| 07SEOUL1739 | ROKG SHARES CONCERNS ON RUSSIA-BURMA NUCLEAR DEAL [...] (S) On June 1, poloff discussed USG views on the inadvisability of Russian-Burmese nuclear cooperation to MOFAT's Disarmament and Nonproliferation Director Park Chul-min. Park responded that Seoul shared USG concerns about potential nuclear proliferation consequences. However, the ROKG woul [...] |
2007-06-07 08:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PREL KNNP KGIC RS BM |
| 07SEOUL1740 | ROK-JAPAN-PRC TRILATERAL BARELY MENTIONS DPRK [...] (C) SUMMARY: The June 3 trilateral foreign ministers' meeting focused on efforts to increase trilateral economic and civic cooperation, but glossed over security issues in Northeast Asia (including North Korea) and other regions, MOFAT contacts told poloffs on June 5. The host-ROK agenda had [...] |
2007-06-07 08:54:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL ECON ENRG KS JA CH |
| 07SEOUL175 | NEXT STEPS ON NORTH KOREANS IN PHNOM PENH [...] (C) On January 19, poloff delivered ref a points, on the four North Korean asylum seekers in Cambodia, to Yu Joon-ha, Director of MOFAT's Inter-Korean Policy Division. Yu said that the ROKG's position remained the same since it was asked in October 2006 (ref b), which was that Seoul had no o [...] |
2007-01-19 09:03:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF PREL KS CB |
| 07SEOUL1755 | ROKG RELUCTANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO WFP PROGRAM IN DPRK [...] (U) Action Request: See paragraph 4. 2. (C) On June 8, A/POL delivered ref A points recommending that the ROKG contribute to the WFP's DPRK program as soon as possible despite the lack of DPRK enthusiasm for the idea, to Cho Byung-jae, Director-General for North American Affairs at the Mi [...] |
2007-06-08 08:02:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL EAID EAGR WFP KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1756 | PROGRESSIVE KINGMAKERS: STILL UNDECIDED ON 2007 [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: President Roh Moo-hyun and former President Kim Dae-jung are the kingmakers on the progressive side of Korean politics, but with fewer than 200 days to go until the December 19 election, neither has made clear whom he supports for president. Meanwhile, on the conservative side [...] |
2007-06-08 09:10:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1774 | ROKG SUPPORTS HRC COUNTRY-SPECIFIC MANDATES, [...] No summary [...] |
2007-06-11 07:47:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PHUM KS |
| 07SEOUL1813 | ROKG ASSURANCES RELATED TO P-3 SPARE PARTS PROGRAM [...] Per reftel A, post informs Department that the Republic of Korea intends to participate in a P-3 parts exchange program. Post previously transmitted the text of end-use, retransfer, and security assurances received from the ROKG in connection with the transfer of USG-granted or sold P-3 spare [...] |
2007-06-14 04:22:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | MARR MASS KS |
| 07SEOUL1816 | ROKG PREFERS SEPARATE DEMARCHES TO THAILAND ON [...] (C) On May 12, Park Ji-hyun, Deputy Director of MOFAT's Inter-Korean Policy Division, expressed appreciation that the USG supported the ROKG's efforts to resist the Royal Thailand Government's proposal that all North Korean asylum seekers travel from Thailand to South Korea before being proces [...] |
2007-06-14 07:48:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREF PREL KS KN TH |
| 07SEOUL1817 | MISSING/DETAINED AMCITS IN IRAN [...] No summary [...] |
2007-06-14 07:53:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM EUN KS IR |
| 07SEOUL1826 | MOFAT EQUIVOCAL ABOUT CONTINUING THE ROK PRESENCE [...] (C) Summary. In a June 7 meeting, DoS and OSD representatives presented the ROKG with a proposed course of action for the ROK's continued presence in Afghanistan beyond 2007. In response, Ministry of Trade and Foreign Affairs (MOFAT) North America III Division Director Lee Jeong-kyu acknowl [...] |
2007-06-15 04:36:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MOPS MARR PBTS KS |
| 07SEOUL1841 | PROGRESSIVE COALTION: CLEAR AS MUD? [...] (C) SUMMARY: On June 11, the Ambassador met with Park Sang-cheon and Kim Han-gill, the co-chairs of the newly formed Moderate Unified Democrats (MUD) and discussed FTA, North Korea, Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), SOFA and the future of the MUD party. The MUD co-chairs said their goal was [...] |
2007-06-18 08:03:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KN KS PGOV PREL |
| 07SEOUL1845 | ROKG SUPPORTS REQUEST FOR DEMARCHE ON SCO [...] (S) On June 19, Hong Sa Won Hwi of the Security Policy Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade delivered the ROKG response to reftel demarche. Hong said that he fully sympathizes with U.S. concerns over the SCO's recent movement in military and political affairs. To this end, [...] |
2007-06-19 02:23:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | KS MARR MOPS NATO PGOV PREL ZK |
| 07SEOUL185 | GENERAL BELL MEETS KOREAN NSC POLICY CHIEF BAEK [...] (C) SUMMARY: On January 17, 2007, General Burwell B. Bell, Commander UNC/CFC/USFK, paid an introductory call on Dr. Baek Jong-chon, the recently appointed Unification, Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Chief of the Presidential Secretariat and head of South Korea's National Security SIPD [...] |
2007-01-22 05:27:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR MOPS PREL PGOV KS |
| 07SEOUL1852 | SPI 13: U.S.-ROK SECURITY POLICY INITIATIVE TALKS [...] (C) Summary. The thirteenth U.S.-ROK Security Policy Initiative talks (SPI 13) took place June 8, 2007 in Seoul. Topics addressed included the transition of wartime operational command (OPCON), UNC Armistice maintenance responsibilities, airspace management, security cooperation in Afghanista [...] |
2007-06-19 08:22:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | KS MARR MNUC PARM PREL KN |
| 07SEOUL1882 | ROKG INFORMED OF DENIED NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES IN [...] No summary [...] |
2007-06-21 07:48:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PREF PREL PINR KTIP KS KN MG |
| 07SEOUL1893 | DUSD LAWLESS' ALLIANCE MEETINGS WITH MOFAT, BLUE [...] (C) SUMMARY: On June 7, visiting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (DUSD) Richard Lawless met with the following senior South Korean officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) and the Blue House: Senior Secretary to the President for National Security Yun Byung-se, MOFAT No [...] |
2007-06-22 04:49:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR MCAP PARM PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1894 | (S) ROKG DENIES PENDING LICENSE FOR EXPORT OF [...] (S) On June 22, Kim Jae-woo, Deputy Director of the Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) informed poloff that the ROK Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy (MOCIE) had completed its investigation of Insung International Corporation [...] |
2007-06-22 04:49:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MTCRE PARM PREL ETTC KS IR |
| 07SEOUL1908 | NEW ROK SMA FORMULA HIGHLY PROBLEMATIC [...] (C) Summary. On June 5, 2007, Ambassador Robert Loftis, Senior Advisor for Security Negotiations and Agreements, held a two-hour discussion and working lunch with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) Director General for North American Affairs Cho Byung-jae to discuss the ROK's "Propo [...] |
2007-06-25 08:23:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR MCAP PARM PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1911 | REPORTERS NOT AS WELCOME IN KOREAN MINISTRIES [...] (U) On May 22, Korea's cabinet passed new rules that will, unless opposition from the media and many members of the National Assembly proves too strong, dramatically alter the current structure of press rooms at most ministry offices. Under the new press policy, which could be implemented im [...] |
2007-06-26 00:24:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL1934 | NGOS KEEP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ON THEIR TOES [...] (U) SUMMARY: South Korean NGOs' influence on politics has grown, but so has criticism of NGOs. Currently, NGOs are diversifying their ideology and evolving in their political roles. Left-wing NGOs tend to move toward active participation in institutionalized politics, even forming political [...] |
2007-06-27 05:00:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PHUM KS |
| 07SEOUL194 | DEFECTORS SEEK NK REGIME CHANGE THROUGH CIVIL [...] (C) People for Successful Corean Reunification (PSCORE) is an organization newly founded by resettled North Koreans. While its short-term goal is to increase awareness of North Korea's human rights issues, the organization hopes ultimately to establish a network in the ROK, China and North Ko [...] |
2007-01-22 08:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PREF PGOV PINR KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1964 | FORMER PRESIDENT KIM YOUNG-SAM: LOOKING FORWARD TO [...] (C) Summary: In a June 26 luncheon meeting with the Ambassador, former President Kim Young-sam (KYS) said that the next ROK president would be a conservative from the Grand National Party, either former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak or former GNP Chairperson Park Geun-hye. Kim believed that Lee, [...] |
2007-06-29 06:33:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL PINR KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1965 | ROKG TO CONSIDER CONTRIBUTION FOR HYBRID [...] (C) On June 28, the DCM conveyed reftel objectives encouraging capitals to contribute to expected UN/AU Hybrid Operations in Darfur to Park In-kook, Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and International Operations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The DCM expressed USG appreciati [...] |
2007-07-01 23:03:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL EAID KPKO UNSC MASS KS SU |
| 07SEOUL1967 | PRAGMATIC CONCERNS TAKE PRECEDENCE FOR NK DEFECTORS [...] (SBU) During a June 26-28 leadership camp sponsored by NGO Citizens' Alliance for North Korea Human Rights (Citizens' Alliance), 16 young North Korean defectors received the message of democratic activism. However, more pragmatic advice on adjusting to South Korean society captivated their a [...] |
2007-07-02 02:04:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PREF PGOV PINR KS KN |
| 07SEOUL1975 | ROKG INFORMED OF WEB-BASED INFORMATION PORTAL [...] No summary [...] |
2007-07-02 06:43:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PTER KGIC KS GM |
| 07SEOUL1997 | NK HUMAN RIGHTS PROMINENT IN ROKG ACTION PLAN [...] (SBU) The ROKG on May 22 unveiled its five-year National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. The 250-page report, which was compiled by the Ministry of Justice, touched on issues surrounding North Korean defectors in South Korea and efforts to improve human rights in [...] |
2007-07-05 07:06:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PHUM PINR PREF PREL KS KN |
| 07SEOUL2014 | FOREIGN POLICY OUTLOOK FOR SOUTH KOREAN [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: South Korea's presidential candidates have focused much of their campaign efforts on domestic and economic issues. On foreign policy, from what we can glean from public statements, debates, and meetings with foreign policy advisors, one thing is certain: all of the candidates, [...] |
2007-07-05 08:10:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | KN KS PGOV PREL |
| 07SEOUL2017 | ROK JOURNALIST'S OBSERVATIONS ON DPRK TRIP: SHAME [...] (C) A former JoongAng Ilbo journalist who had covered North Korea for two decades got his first chance to travel to Pyongyang and other parts of North Korea in late June. He observed budding capitalism, including a tailor shop, massage parlor, and Chinese casino in his hotel, but was surprised [...] |
2007-07-06 05:08:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ECON KN KS |
| 07SEOUL2042 | ROKG FAVORABLE TO USG CANDIDATE FOR IOM [...] No summary [...] |
2007-07-09 07:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PREF PREL AORC EUN SMIG KS |
| 07SEOUL2044 | DPRK DEFECTOR FILES: THE UNTAPPED SOURCE [...] (S) The USG possesses an enormous trove of information about the DPRK that has been almost entirely untapped. The files contain over 9,180 Korean-language debriefs, spanning 1997 to the present, of North Korean citizens who escaped from the DPRK and were accepted by the ROKG for resettlement [...] |
2007-07-09 07:53:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | CH ECON ELAB KDEM KIRF KN KS KWMN PGOV PHUM |
| 07SEOUL2047 | CAN THE NON-GNP CANDIDATES COME TOGETHER? [...] (U) Despite a GNP-centered race thus far, the liberal side is also gearing up for the presidential race, with a steady flow of hopefuls throwing their hat into the ring. Major center-left hopefuls, mostly those from the ruling camp, recently agreed to launch a new united party and stand behin [...] |
2007-07-09 08:11:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL2048 | GAP IN POLLS CLOSING BETWEEN TWO GNP HEAVYWEIGHTS [...] (SBU) SUMMARY: The gap in polls between the frontrunner Lee Myung-bak and his rival Park Geun-hye from the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) started to drop off significantly in recent weeks. The shrinking gap comes from Lee's falling popularity amid revelations by Park's camp and the [...] |
2007-07-09 23:03:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL2068 | ROKG CONTACTED ABOUT ENTITIES LISTED IN UNSCR 1737 [...] No summary [...] |
2007-07-11 04:42:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM EFIN KNNP IR KS |
| 07SEOUL2081 | NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CRITICIZES ROKG FOR MISHANDLING [...] (U) Summary. On June 25-26, the ROK National Assembly's Committee on Environment and Labor held a hearing on the clean up of returned USFK bases, expressing strongly critical views on the environmental conditions of those bases. Current and former top officials from the ROKG, including Forei [...] |
2007-07-11 08:10:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MCAP MARR PREL PARM KS |
| 07SEOUL2096 | REGIONALISM: STILL A FACTOR IN KOREAN ELECTIONS [...] (SBU) Korean voters have traditionally voted in regional blocs for their favored candidate in local and national elections. In the 2002 presidential elections, Roh Moo-hyun received over 90 percent support in the southwest Jeolla Provinces. Despite Roh's campaign pledge to rid politics of r [...] |
2007-07-13 01:05:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL210 | ASAT: CHINESE RESPONSE TO ROK DEMARCHE [...] (C) In response to the ROKG's demarche objecting to China's anti-satellite test (Ref A), the Chinese Foreign Ministry contacted the ROK Embassy in Beijing to convey the following points: -- China confirms that it had conducted a test in space on January 11; -- The test was not aimed at [...] |
2007-01-23 05:41:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PARM MNUC MARR KS CH |
| 07SEOUL2109 | RARE ACCOUNT OF DPRK "TOTALLY CONTROLLED" PRISON [...] (SBU) A North Korean defector recounted his experience as a second-generation prisoner in a DPRK political prison camp. He described the public execution of his mother and brother; starvation; torture with hot coals; and an education system bereft of politics, history, or any reality outside [...] |
2007-07-13 07:11:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PGOV PHUM PINR PREF PREL KS KN |
| 07SEOUL2144 | KAESONG INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX: THE INTER-KOREAN [...] (C) The Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), a tidy enclave where 24 South Korean companies employ almost 16,000 North Korean workers on DPRK soil, is the most tangible and significant aspect of North-South relations. By our calculation using parallel market exchange rates, the North Korean gov [...] |
2007-07-18 06:15:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV ECON KS KN |
| 07SEOUL2146 | AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ: WHAT THE ROK WILL/WON'T DO [...] (C) SUMMARY: On July 16, MOFAT North America DG Cho Byung-jae conveyed the following ROKG decisions to POLMC regarding South Korea's planned 2008 role in Iraq and Afghanistan. -- The ROK will withdraw all of its troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2007. -- In place of those troops, the R [...] |
2007-07-18 07:20:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR MASS MOPS PGOV PTER PREL AF IZ KS |
| 07SEOUL2157 | AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ: WHAT THE ROK WILL/WON'T DO [...] (C) SUMMARY: On July 16, MOFAT North America DG Cho Byung-jae conveyed the following ROKG decisions to POLMC regarding South Korea's planned 2008 role in Iraq and Afghanistan. -- The ROK will withdraw all of its troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2007. -- In place of those troops, the R [...] |
2007-07-18 08:16:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MARR MASS MOPS PGOV PTER PREL AF IZ KS |
| 07SEOUL2158 | ROKG EMBASSY TO STAFF MEETING ON DPRK FOOD NEEDS [...] No summary [...] |
2007-07-18 08:21:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | EAID AORC WFP KS KN |
| 07SEOUL217 | POLICY PLANNING TRILATERAL, SESSION 2: ENERGY [...] (C) S/P Director Dr. Stephen Krasner and his delegation met with Korean and Japanese counterparts January 10-11 for a trilateral policy planning dialogue (ref a). Over lunch on January 11, the three delegations discussed energy security, peacebuilding, and UN reform. Both Korea and Japan, [...] |
2007-01-23 07:54:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | ENRG PREL AORC KUNR KPKO KS JA US |
| 07SEOUL2178 | ROK PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: STILL THE POLITICS OF [...] (C) The late Gregory Henderson, an FSO who had served several tours in Korea in the 1940s and 1960s, is well remembered as the author of "Korea: The Politics of the Vortex." The title remains an accurate description of Korean politics today: a spiraling whirlpool that sucks everything toward [...] |
2007-07-20 05:13:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PGOV PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL2179 | ROKG TO INVESTIGATE SOUTH KOREAN TRADING COMPANIES [...] (S) On July 20, poloff delivered reftel demarche and nonpaper to Kim Jae-woo, Deputy Director of the Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Kim agreed that, if verified, the case would represent a serious matter of proliferation concern. Ki [...] |
2007-07-20 07:06:00 | Embassy Seoul | SECRET | PARM MTCRE PREL ETTC KS KN TW |
| 07SEOUL2180 | STUDENTS' VIEWS ON CANDIDATES' FOREIGN POLICY [...] In an informal survey of college students, we found that the majority of students acknowledged the importance of foreign policy in the upcoming presidential election. Most, however, appeared to be utterly uninformed about the candidates' policies. This outcome likely reflects the conscious [...] |
2007-07-20 07:28:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED | PREL PGOV KS KN |
| 07SEOUL2189 | PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CHUNG DONG-YOUNG REACHES [...] (SBU) Summary: Former Unification Minister and Uri Party chair Chung Dong-young was the guest of honor on July 11 at the 170th Symposium on Korea's Foreign and Security Policy hosted by the Asia-Pacific Policy Research Institute (APPRI). Chung began his speech by criticizing not only his com [...] |
2007-07-22 22:24:00 | Embassy Seoul | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | KN KS PGOV PREL |
| 07SEOUL219 | ROKG SUPPORTIVE OF US POSITION ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS [...] (U) This is an action request. Please see para 4. 2. (C) On January 23, Poloff delivered reftel demarche to Kim Hye-jin of the Disarmament and Nonproliferation Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). Kim said that the Republic of Korea (ROK) agreed that any discus [...] |
2007-01-23 08:28:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | MOPS PARM PREL KS |
| 07SEOUL22 | ROK DEFENSE WHITE PAPER LABELS DPRK A 'SERIOUS [...] (C) Summary. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) released its biennial Defense White Paper on December 29. The White Paper upgraded its characterization of the DPRK from a "direct military threat" to a "serious threat" to national security. The White Paper's focus remains on the threat po [...] |
2007-01-04 04:22:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PARM PREL MARR MNUC KS KN |
| 07SEOUL220 | POLICY PLANNING TRILATERAL, SESSION 1: THE KOREAN [...] (C) During Session 1 of the January 11 U.S.-ROK-Japan Policy Planning Talks, ROK Deputy Foreign Minister Park In-kook, Japanese Deputy Vice Minister Masaharu Kono, and S/P Director Stephen R. Krasner outlined their respective countries' foreign policy priorities and strategies toward North Ko [...] |
2007-01-23 08:30:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL PGOV PHUM KS |
| 07SEOUL2209 | ROK DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSES HOSTAGE [...] (C) In a July 23 meeting with the CDA, ROK Deputy Foreign Minister Shim Yoon-joe expressed ROKG appreciation for USG cooperation and information sharing in handling the Taliban kidnapping of Korean civilians in Afghanistan. In particular, Shim said that the ROKG appreciated USG assurances th [...] |
2007-07-23 09:34:00 | Embassy Seoul | CONFIDENTIAL | PREL |