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RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUL #0731 0662233
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 072233Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6426
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0203
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 7146
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0285
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//OSD/ISA/EAP//
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J2 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J3 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J5 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA SCJS SEOUL KOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 000731 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2014 
TAGS: PREL PARM KN KS
SUBJECT: INTER-KOREAN MILITARY TALKS CONCLUDE WITHOUT ANY 
PROGRESS 
 
 
Classified By: POL M/C Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b,d). 
 
¶1.  (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 
discussing the validity of the Northern Limit Line prevented 
any progress.  The two sides also could not reach an 
agreement on a joint statement at the conclusion of the 
talks, and the ROK failed to secure a commitment on 
scheduling a N-S Defense Ministerial.  While somewhat 
disappointed at the lack of progress at the talks, ROK 
officials told us that they had low expectations and 
inadequate preparations for the talks.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (C) General officers from the two Koreas met on March 2-3 
at Panmunjom truce village in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). 
The two-day gathering was the second of its kind since June 
2004 and the third since the inter-Korean summit in 2000. 
According to MND officials, the ROK's agenda for the meeting 
included measures to prevent clashes in the West Sea, 
establishing a joint fishing area, reaching agreement on 
military assistance, and introducing military confidence 
building measures.  The ROK also had hoped to schedule the 
next round of the general officer-level talks and a second 
round of the N-S Defense Ministerial. 
 
¶3.  (C) Confirming press reports, MND and UNCMAC 
interlocutors told us that the talks failed to make any 
progress on the main agenda items, with both sides holding 
ground on their issues of importance.  Most notably, the 
ROK's effort to discuss tension-reducing measures in the West 
Sea bogged down as the North took a hard-line stance on 
redrawing the Northern Limit Line (NLL).  The DPRK delegation 
insisted that the NLL issue had to be addressed before the 
talks could cover other issues.  The ROK tried to postpone 
the NLL issue to a future meeting, but the North held firm to 
its position.  A Ministry of Unification (MOU) official told 
us that the DPRK's refusal to agree on any other issue 
without agreement on a maritime border in the West Sea was 
something new and would require more internal deliberation 
before the next round.  Given the North's unhelpful stance, 
MOU was pessimistic whether the two sides could reach 
agreement on the maritime border issue at the next round. 
 
¶4.  (C) The North Korean delegation's insistence on the NLL 
issue prevented the ROK delegation from pursuing fully some 
of the other main agenda topics.  The two sides were unable 
to set a date for a future round of general officer talks nor 
were they able to propose a date for a second N-S Defense 
Ministerial Meeting.  MND and MOU official do not anticipate 
any breakthrough on scheduling the Defense Ministerial in the 
near future.  The two sides also failed to agree on a joint 
statement.  According to UNCMAC, the DPRK delegation tried to 
hold an impromptu press conference with the ROK press after 
the talks, but the ROK press apparently did not cooperate. 
As expected, the North also used the talks as a venue to 
lambaste the South for its participation in "war exercises" 
with the USFK, citing it as a preparation to invade the 
North.  Afterwards, the two sides blamed each other for the 
lack of progress. 
 
¶5.  (C) A senior ROK JCS member of the ROK delegation told us 
that he had not expected much to come out of the talks. 
Although Minister of Unification Lee Jong-seok had instructed 
the ROK delegation to be "lenient and generous," the DPRK 
delegation's position on the NLL issue made it impossible to 
make progress on any of the key issues, and that a lenient 
and generous approach would not have made any difference. 
However, a MOU official indicated that the ROK side should 
have been better prepared for the talks. 
VERSHBOW