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Viewing cable 08SEOUL645, CONGRESSMAN ROHRABACHER'S MEETINGS IN SEOUL

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08SEOUL645 2008-04-01 04:43 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Seoul
VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUL #0645/01 0920443
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 010443Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9162
INFO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0113
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4040
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 4195
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 8627
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 2579
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//OSD/ISA/EAP
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA CC SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J5 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J3 SEOUL KOR
RUACAAA/COMUSKOREA INTEL SEOUL KOR
UNCLAS SEOUL 000645 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ENRG KNNP PHUM KS KN IRAQ
SUBJECT: CONGRESSMAN ROHRABACHER'S MEETINGS IN SEOUL 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY:  Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs 
Committee, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, met separately with ROK 
Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and members of the National Assembly 
on March 25 to advocate several proposed initiatives.  Foremost on 
the list was the Congressman's proposal that the ROK send 20,000 to 
30,000 paid civilian "constables" to serve in police functions in 
Iraq.  This volunteer constabulary force would provide security in 
Iraq while also paving the way for better business relations between 
Korea and Iraq, especially in the much needed area of energy, and 
would signal to the U.S. and the world Korea's strong commitment to 
the Alliance and its willingness to assume greater international 
responsibility.  The Congressman also proposed that Korea should 
explore adoption of a new type of nuclear reactor being developed in 
Japan.  Compared to reactors currently in use, Rohrabacher 
explained, Japan's high-temperature gas cooled reactor presented a 
safer and cleaner alternative.  Noting the fragile state of the DPRK 
regime and comparing it to the final years of the Soviet Union, only 
worse, the Congressman also encouraged the Foreign Minister to look 
for opportunities to achieve unification between the North and South 
during President Lee's tenure in office.  End Summary. 
 
KOREAN CONSTABLES IN IRAQ 
------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) In all his meetings, Congressman Rohrabacher outlined a 
plan for the ROK to authorize establishment of a private 
organization of paid "constables" who would provide security for oil 
pipelines, prisons, and ports in Iraq.  The force would ideally 
consist of 20,000 to 30,000 Koreans with prior military training who 
would voluntarily sign up to work in Iraq, with the blessing of the 
ROKG.  Much like the USG's use of government contract personnel such 
as Blackwater or Triple Canopy, the ROK could form a private company 
to organize, recruit, and train a Korean constable force.  Doing so 
would serve several purposes for Korea.  It would give Korea a 
chance to show its support for the U.S. and Iraq, and its commitment 
to assume greater international responsibility.  At the same time, 
it would also provide employment for many of Korea's younger 
generation who were struggling to find employment following 
graduation from college or after completion of their mandatory 
military service.  Depending on arrangements with the Government of 
Iraq, in exchange for the police force Korea could secure oil rights 
while also opening the door for Korean businesses to start new 
ventures in Iraq.  The Congressman said that this idea was not yet 
ready for public discussion but he hoped it might be discussed in 
the lead-up to the April 2008 Presidential Summit.  Foreign Minister 
Yu responded that he would need some time to explore the idea before 
he could offer a detailed response. 
 
REP. PARK JIN'S VIEW 
-------------------- 
 
3. (SBU) In a separate meeting, Representative Park Jin, a member of 
the Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee, responded that 
while he recognized that dispatching a large number of well-trained 
Korean police would provide much needed security in Iraq, ongoing 
public concerns over the safety of Korean citizens in areas of 
conflict would likely pose a problem.  The ROK needed to find a 
means to provide security for its own citizens if they were sent 
into conflict zones.  One means which the ROKG was exploring was to 
increase its participation in peace-keeping operations (PKO).  The 
ROK recognized the importance of playing a larger role in global 
security but a lack of public support was likely to remain a 
problem.  According to Park, many in the Korean public would view 
the Congressman's proposal as the ROK sending "mercenaries" on 
behalf of the U.S.  Congressman Rohrabacher acknowledged that 
gaining public support would be a challenge but said that often good 
proposals, especially bold ones, were divisive at first.  Even 
though the term "mercenary" had a negative connotation, the 
principle was sound; it really meant trained professionals who had 
military experience and adequate weapons and tactical equipment. 
Given Korea's supply of well-trained and capable military 
reservists, the ROK could develop the idea of a constable force as a 
new export that would be in demand throughout the world. 
 
LESS OPTIMISM FROM REP. HWANG 
----------------------------- 
 
4. (SBU) In a subsequent meeting, Representative Hwang Jin-ha, a 
member of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, said 
three things needed to happen before the ROK could seriously 
consider the idea of Korean constables for Iraq.  First, President 
Lee Myung-bak needed time to establish his presidency and finalize 
his cabinet and other key appointments.  Second, President Lee 
needed his Grand National Party (GNP) to win a majority of seats in 
the April 9 National Assembly elections to give the President the 
necessary power to implement his decisions.  Third, President Lee 
needed to build support for his presidency among the public before 
he could present a proposal such as sending civilians to Iraq.  The 
ROK would therefore have to approach this idea carefully, Hwang 
said.  Congressman Rohrabacher recalled that when President Bush 
first announced the troop surge in Iraq, it was met with much 
skepticism and opposition.  Against the advice of his staff, the 
Congressman said that he had supported the President's initiative, 
which had worked.  "As elected officials, it is our job to lead the 
people, even if it sometimes makes them angry," the Congressman 
concluded. 
 
ALTERNATIVE NUCLEAR POWER 
------------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) The Congressman also previewed a new type of nuclear 
reactor being developed in Japan.  Noting that Korea relies entirely 
on imports for its energy, the Congressman proposed that Korea 
should investigate a new form of nuclear power that is safer and 
cleaner than the technology now used in the ROK.  Working with 
Russian scientists, General Atomics, a U.S. company, had produced a 
model of a high-temperature gas cooled reactor in Japan.  This new 
reactor posed no risk of a radioactive gas release or meltdown.  It 
did not produce plutonium waste but could consume waste from other 
reactors, hence eliminating the possibility of fuel for nuclear 
weapons.  The Congressman suggested that Korea could build the first 
working prototype of this reactor, which would also give Korea the 
chance to work more closely with the Japanese and Russians.  In 
addition, it would be a boon for the ROK as it fulfilled President 
Lee's ambition to secure more energy resources.  FM Yu noted that as 
the price of oil continued to rise, the ROK increasingly looked for 
alternate energy sources and new technology to meet its demands. 
Representative Park Jin offered to pass this information on to the 
National Assembly's Science and Technology Committee for further 
review. 
 
UNIFICATION OF KOREA 
-------------------- 
 
6. (SBU) The Congressman stressed in all his meetings that under the 
new Korean President, our two countries would enjoy even closer ties 
than in the past.  We could also work more closely together to 
support human rights in North Korea.  Rather than accommodating the 
North as we had done for the past ten years, we could make great 
strides in supporting democracy in the North.  Just as the U.S. had 
been able to make deals with those in power in the Soviet Union to 
bring down the Iron Curtain, so too in North Korea we could find 
those in positions of power with whom we could secure a deal.  China 
would likely welcome a peacefully united Korea, devoid of U.S. 
forces and nuclear weapons.  FM Yu replied that he had just returned 
from a trip to China where Chinese officials expressed frustration 
with North Korean behavior, noting there was a lack of trust between 
China and North Korea.  Yu said that China was becoming more aware 
of its role as a "responsible stakeholder" in the region and was 
therefore acting more constructively in its relations with the 
South.  In an effort to strengthen regional ties, Yu said that he 
hoped to restart the Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group 
(TCOG) with Japan and the U.S.  The TCOG could play a key role, Yu 
added, especially in handling North Korean refugees. 
 
7.  (U) This cable was cleared by the Congressman's staff.