VZCZCXRO6848
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #1135 2760956
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020956Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8569
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5187
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS HANOI 001135 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KCOR KPAO SOCI PREL VM
SUBJECT: CPV EXTERNAL RELATIONS COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: HANOI'S 
INTERACTONS WITH PYONGYANG HAVE DROPPED OFF 
 
Ref: HANOI 535 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On September 30, CPV External Relations Commission 
(ERC) Chairman Tran Van Hang told the Ambassador that the Party is 
pleased with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's late June visit to the 
United States because of the substantive agreements reached.  On the 
DPRK, the Chairman relayed that Hanoi is disappointed with recent 
setbacks in the six party process and has no credible information on 
Kim Jong Il's health; interactions between Hanoi and Pyongyang have 
dropped off over the last two months.  Hang also previewed the 
upcoming Party and National Assembly sessions, which will examine 
Vietnam's socioeconomic situation.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Meeting with the Ambassador on September 30, Communist 
Party of Vietnam (CPV) External Relations Commission (ERC) Chairman 
Tran Van Hang said the Party and Vietnamese people have "very 
positive" views of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's late June visit 
to the United States.  The visit, he relayed, was the most 
substantive of recent high-level exchanges.  The economic, 
commercial, educational, environmental and political-military 
agreements flowing from the PM's visit show that U.S.-Vietnam 
relations are on the right track, Hang declared.  Deputy Secretary 
Negroponte's September 10-14 visit here helped propel the bilateral 
relationship forward even more, the Chairman and Ambassador agreed. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Turning to the DPRK, Hang said Hanoi is disappointed with 
recent setbacks in six party efforts to denuclearize the Korean 
peninsula.  Hanoi hopes the parties will re-engage soon as dialogue 
is the only way to peace, he said.  The DPRK is a closed society and 
Hanoi has not heard much lately about what is going on inside that 
country, he said.  The ERC has no solid information on Dear Leader 
Kim Jong Il's health condition, he added.  Hang said he found the 
Dear Leader to be "quite friendly" when he met him last year as part 
of the CPV General Secretary's delegation that went to Pyongyang. 
 
¶4. (SBU) In addition to high-level exchanges, Hanoi has sought to 
promote commercial ties with Pyongyang and people-to-people 
interactions, although concrete agreements have proven elusive, Hang 
continued.  Over the last two months, interactions between the two 
sides have, for unknown reasons, dropped off, he said.  Hang 
normally sees a DPRK Embassy representative in Hanoi on a regular 
basis, but lately these meetings have not taken place, he said.  The 
Ambassador responded that the USG appreciates Hanoi's efforts to 
bring the DPRK out of its shell. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Hang said Vietnam's top leaders are preparing for the next 
Party plenum, slated to commence on October 2, and National Assembly 
(NA) session, which will begin on October 16.  (Note: Like many CPV 
leaders, Hang is a Central Committee (CC) member and National 
Assembly deputy.  End note).  At the plenum, the 160 members of the 
CPV CC will review the socioeconomic situation since the current 
leadership took charge in mid-2006, he relayed.  Discussion topics 
will include Vietnam's high inflation and slower than expected 
economic growth in 2008, he said.  Economic growth is expected to be 
about 6 to 6.5 percent this year, but the NA set a target of 8.5 
percent, he explained.  At the plenum, the CC will set the direction 
for the second half of the current leadership's tenure, he said; the 
next Party Congress is slated to take place in 2011. 
 
Comment: More Expansive Second Time 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Chairman Hang seemed more at ease discussing Vietnam's 
foreign relations compared to the first time the Ambassador met him 
(Reftel).  Some local commentators say he is a rising star, although 
it is unclear who his patron is within the Party.  As head of an 
important CPV commission, a CC member and NA deputy, he is well 
placed to offer insights on Party thinking on Vietnam's foreign 
relations. 
MICHALAK