Mongolia nurtures ties with North
Korea By Alicia J Campi
Mongolia grabbed the headlines on November
15-16 with the announcement that Japan and the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) were
engaging in direct senior-level talks in the
Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar about the issue
of North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals.
The presence of high-ranking diplomats
from both sides, led by Shinsuke Sugiyama,
director-general of the Japanese Foreign
Ministry's Asian and Oceanic Pacific Bureau, and
Song Il-ho, ambassador in charge of negotiations
with Japan at the DPRK Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, indicated that Mongolia is an interested
intermediary with a unique ability to inspire
confidence.
Mongolian officials emphasized
that arranging this recent meeting
reflected Ulaanbaatar's
"contribution to satisfy regional stability in
Northeast Asia" and how it could play a role in
deepening understanding and normalizing DPRK-Japan
relations.
Mongolian President Tsakhia
Elbegdorj's government staged the negotiations at
the official state compound in Ikh Tenger
apparently at the behest of the North Koreans. The
president explained that "... Japan, North Korea
and other countries can come to discuss this issue
on Mongolian soil. We would like to contribute to
that. That is our only purpose."
Right
after the close of the discussions, the two
delegation leaders met separately with Mongolian
Foreign Affairs Minister Luvsanvandan Bold to
thank the hosts for facilitating the dialogue.
Results were positive enough for the parties to
announce a second round, which was to take place
in Beijing on December 6-7.
Reportedly
Pyongyang expressed openness to Tokyo's proposal
to set up a joint investigatory commission to
determine the actual fate of Japanese abductees.
However, Japan postponed the next round after
North Korea announced plans to launch a rocket
later in December (which it did on December 12).
Japanese officials and Song previously had warned
that negotiations would be difficult and not lead
to immediate breakthroughs.
The last such
high-level meeting had occurred in Mongolia in
September 2007 when a Working Group responsible
for normalizing DPRK-Japanese relations had met
under the Six-Party Talks mechanism. But,
unnoticed in the Western press, were secret
Japanese-DPRK meetings in Mongolia on March 17-18,
2012, when Song met with Sadaki Manabe, professor
at Takushoku University and director of an
organization assisting citizens abducted by North
Korea.
Manabe was a stand-in for Japanese
MP Nakai Hiroshi, who had been in charge of
abductees for the Japanese government until 2009.
After those March discussions, Lundeg
Purevsuren, foreign policy advisor to the
Mongolian president, commented on the need for
secrecy by noting that Japanese and North Korean
relations were complicated by misunderstandings
including the abduction issue.
Purevsuren
indicated that the Mongolians did not participate
at all in the meetings due to the fact that
Mongolia was not currently involved in the
Six-Party Korean Peninsula talks. But he stressed
that hosting this unofficial meeting has bolstered
Mongolia's foreign policy reach and increased
Ulaanbaatar's likelihood of taking "an active part
in talks being held in Northeast Asia".
The success of the two rounds of 2012
meetings and Purevsuren's comments indicate
Mongolia would be interested in becoming more
active in the Korean Peninsula talks and that
China and the United States may not be able to
continue to deny Mongolia a seat at the table.
Although Mongolian officials promote their
concern for human rights and their commitment to
democracy and the free market, they also are very
committed to having a strong relationship with
North Korea. Mongolia in 1946 was the second
country after the Soviet Union to recognize the
DPRK. On the death of Kim Jong-Il in 2011, the
Mongolian president and prime minister were quick
to send letters of condolence, and the Mongolian
official government news agency Montsame named
Kim's death as one of the top 10 events of that
year. Such gestures overtly appeal to the North
Korean sensibility.
On November 18-22, a
delegation led by Choe Tae Bok, chairman of the
DPRK supreme assembly, paid an official visit to
Ulaanbaatar. The domestic press prominently
covered the North Koreans' meetings with Mongolian
Deputy Parliament Speaker and head of the
Mongolia-DPRK parliamentary group, Sangajav
Bayartsogt, Parliament Speaker Zandaakhuu
Enkhbold, and other parliamentary leaders, as well
as with President Elbegdorj.
Choe
declared, "Our two countries have friendly
relations from ancient times. We are satisfied
with developing cooperation between the two
countries. A DPRK-Japan intergovernmental talk
recently held in Ulaanbaatar is proof of how these
three nations have friendly relations."
Indeed, the two countries have sought more
intensive forms of economic cooperation. As China
attempts to meet its demand for coal, Mongolia and
North Korea are viewed as nearby producers whose
resources can be developed relatively cheaply by
Chinese direct investment. At present, both
countries' raw coal production is overwhelmingly
destined for China, but now it is a priority for
the Mongolian government to diversify its
customers by improving rail and port connections
through Russia and the DPRK.
Thus,
Parliamentary Speaker Enkhbold told the visiting
Koreans that Mongolia wants to export products to
the North, exchange labor forces, collaborate in
the IT sector, and continue an agreement on
renting facilities at a DPRK seaport. Choe
responded: "The DPRK proposes to cooperate in
economic regional development, grant access to the
sea and in the coal and mining sectors."
The delegation also was received by
President Elbegdorj, who proposed that bilateral
cooperation should focus on four points: 1)
maintenance of high-level visits with an
invitation for DPRK Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un to
come to Mongolia; 2) co-exploitation of natural
resources, co-establishment of the necessary
infrastructure, and co-production of high-end
products from raw materials; 3) consideration of
providing food aid to North Korea; and 4) seeking
to resolve the Korean Peninsula issue in a
peaceful way, and thus Mongolia's readiness to
host more Six-Party Talks.
Ulaanbaatar's
closer relations with Pyongyang thus represent not
just an economic opportunity but also a means for
Mongolia to bolster its foreign policy reach
within Northeast Asia.
Dr Alicia Campi has a PhD in Mongolian Studies, was involved in preliminary negotiations to establish bilateral relations with the US in the 1980s and served as a diplomat in Ulaanbaatar. She owns consultancy firm the US-Mongolia Advisory Group and writes extensively on Mongolian issues.
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