VZCZCXYZ5727
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHFR #0403 0651633
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051633Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2172
INFO RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 1462
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1636
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2642
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 6055
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 6619
RUEHLE/AMEMBASSY LUXEMBOURG 0389
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1486

UNCLAS PARIS 000403 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNESCO SCUL TBIO KS KN
SUBJECT:  MAKING THE KOREAN DMZ A WORLD HERITAGE SITE 
 
 
¶1. The Belgian Embassy assembled United States, Canadian, 
Australian, Luxembourg, and South Korean diplomats March 3 to listen 
to a proposal by Baron Simon-Pierre Nothomb, head of Belgium's 
association of Korean War Veterans. Nothomb suggested that a fitting 
memorial to the Korean War dead would be to make the current DMZ a 
World Heritage site. Untouched by the hand of man for almost sixty 
years, the DMZ has become a unique natural wilderness. 
 
¶2. A representative of UNESCO's World Heritage Center reported that 
he had visited the DMZ in 2004 and could testify to the uniqueness 
of the site. In his view it could easily qualify as a World Heritage 
site both because of its historic significance and because of the 
importance as a nearly pristine biosphere. 
 
¶3. The World Heritage official reported that UNESCO had attempted to 
open a dialogue with the two Koreas in 2004 and 2005 on preservation 
of the DMZ. The North Korean delegation at the time had reported 
that this was a matter for the North Korean defense ministry and 
said it would have to refer the matter to Pyongyang. Nothing more 
was heard of the matter. The South Korean Deputy Permanent 
Representative commented that the Democratic People's Republic of 
Korean UNESCO delegation is staffed by officials of the culture 
ministry. They are probably not even allowed to talk to the defense 
ministry, he suggested. 
 
¶4. Discussion then focused on how to advance the matter, with Baron 
Nothomb noting that war veterans are aging rapidly and need action 
soon if it is to happen in their lifetime. He wondered whether it 
would be possible to approach China to have it press North Korea. 
There must be Chinese veterans groups, he suggested. The Belgian 
ambassador reported that he had discussed the matter with the 
Chinese ambassador to UNESCO and had been surprised when she denied 
that there were any such groups in China. The Canadian ambassador 
warned Baron Nothomb against using the verb "pressure." The North 
Koreans don't like to be pressured, and they would surely oppose the 
initiative reflexively if they felt they were being squeezed to 
support it. The Canadian suggested that the real task is to make the 
North Koreans think that this is partly their idea. The South Korean 
undertook to report the approach but warned that the North Koreans 
can be difficult to deal with and still try to undermine the 
legitimacy of South Korea. The U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative 
stressed that this is a matter for the two Koreas to decide. 
 
¶5. Comment: Under UNESCO rules, North and South Korea would have to 
request jointly that the site be inscribed on the World Heritage 
list. While we are not experts on the Korean situation, we would 
expect this to be a high hurdle. No third party could act if the two 
Koreas are not interested in the idea. We report this exchange 
because we left the meeting under the impression that Baron Nothomb 
intended to continue to promote his idea and to try to reach out and 
enlist the support of veterans' groups elsewhere. 
 
ENGELKEN