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GS(JK) 33: Letter to the Committee Specialist from the Parliamentary Relations Team, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Thank you for your letter of 16th March requesting further information relating to the Committee's enquiry into Japan and Korea last year. I have responded to your points in turn below.
East Asian Regional Security
The US Government's policy towards East Asia is still developing, though Secretary of State Clinton's visit in February showed the importance of the region in the US foreign policy agenda. The visit particularly focused on developing partnerships with nations in the region to tackle global problems. Secretary Clinton emphasised the importance of US engagement with regional structures including ASEAN. She met the ASEAN Secretary-General and announced that the Administration would launch a process to pursue accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. She committed to returning to the region in July to participate in the ASEAN Post-Ministerial and ASEAN Regional Forum meetings in Bangkok. We welcome this.
It is clear following the appointment of Stephen Bosworth as the Senior Representative on North Korea that the Six Party Talks remain the US Government's main vehicle for engaging North Korea on denuclearisation. Ambassador Bosworth stated during his visit to the region in early March that he was ready to engage with Pyongyang on a way forward on the Six-Party Talks but not under the threat of a test. Work by officials of the Six Parties on possible institutional arrangements to support peace and security in North East Asia has continued. A meeting of the relevant working group was held in Moscow on 19th-20th February 2009, but the rate of progress on this issue largely depends on progress on denuclearisation.
The launch by North Korea of a satellite on 5th April, and their response to the subsequent UNSC Presidential Statement, threatens to put progress in the Six-Party Talks, including on regional security issues, on hold. With international partners, we have continued to urge North Korea to refrain from further provocative actions and re-engage in the Six Party Talks process.
North Korea's Ballistic Missile Programme
We assess that the DPRK attempted to launch a satellite on 5 April using a Taepo Dong-2 (TD-2) rocket. The launch was not successful and the rocket failed to put the satellite in orbit. Despite being a failure, the launch will have provided the North Korean regime with a lot of useful information to further develop its ballistic missile programme, as many of the key technologies associated with a satellite launch vehicle (in particular, the propulsion technology) are also directly relevant to long-range ballistic missiles. The proliferation potential of the launch is one of the reasons why we backed a strong response in the United Nations Security Council condemning the North Korea's actions. We will continue to monitor missile-related activity in North Korea and any developments to its ballistic missile programme. We will also continue to work with international partners in support of robust and united international approaches to discourage further proliferation, and to urge North Korea to re-engage with the denuclearisation process and Six Party Talks.
Food Aid for North Korea
The Department for International Development has decided not to contribute to the World Food Programme (WFP) appeal at this time. EU Ambassadors in Pyongyang issued a report on the food situation on 5th February. They assessed that, in light of the good harvest last year, food availability had increased and there was no imminent danger of famine. They recommended that EU Member States should not offer aid at the moment, but should rather encourage North Korea to re-engage with the US so that the rest of the American aid contribution could be distributed.
North Korean Refugees in China
The Government has continued to look for opportunities to engage on the issue of North Korean refugees. At our request, it was included in the UN Human Rights Council resolution on DPRK which was agreed on at the 10th session of the Human Rights Council which was concluded on 27th March. However, in the case of China's Universal Periodic Review, national interventions were restricted to two minutes each. In the circumstances it was possible only to cover generic human rights issues in China, as well as Tibet which is currently the greatest single source of public concern in the UK with regard to China's human rights situation. The Chinese Government is, however, in no doubt of our concern on this issue and we shall not let the matter rest. We are also continuing to liaise closely with the UNHCR in Beijing and in Geneva and would be happy to brief the FAC on these discussions privately.
Chevening Scholarships
This project is progressing well. Funding has been secured, in principle, for both scholars, and the British Embassy in Pyongyang has identified two suitable candidates. We are now working to place them in a UK university and expect them to take up their scholarships at the beginning of the next academic year.
South Korea as an Opportunity Market
South Korea is not an 'opportunity market' in the environment sector for 2009/2010. Nevertheless, UKTI will look at the potential for business opportunities in Korea based on UK strengths and capabilities in the environmental goods and services sector and for marketing UK low carbon solutions. This work will inform decisions about future prioritisation and delivery of activities.
Memorandum of Understanding with JICA
The Department for International Development (DfID) currently has no plans to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA). The organisation was only established at the end of 2008, and DfID feel the timing is not yet right to establish formal co-operation.
Support for British business in South Korea
Further to the response given to recommendation 47, the Government welcomes the opportunity to provide further information. Some of the key steps being taken are set out below:
· a restructured UKTI team in Seoul will, for 2009/10, see more than 12 person years of time committed to delivering trade work in support of UK business opportunities. Demanding UKTI trade targets linked to this increased resource will see more businesses benefiting from the UKTI team than before. · the post of Head of Trade and Investment has been upgraded with effect from July 2009 and we believe that this will give an even greater focus and strategic direction to the work of the UKTI team in their support of UK business. · in the UK, with the support of the Asia Task Force, we are working hard to reach out to British companies to help them understand better the opportunities and challenges of doing business in the region including opportunities specifically in Korea. Recent activities included a well-received event held in Guildford (focusing directly on Korea and Vietnam) - at which the Deputy Ambassador from the British Embassy in Seoul spoke to an audience of businesses and also met companies one to one. In March, the British Ambassador to Seoul led a number of 'country clinic' sessions for business about Korea at a Doing Business in Asia Today: 'meet the experts' event held in London.
I hope that this adequately addresses the Committee's questions, but please let me know if they require any further information.
20 April 2009
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