[Australia]: North Asia Tour

[Owen]

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MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS​

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: SECRET (ENCRYPTED)​

1 February 2004

Dear Foreign Minister of Japan, It is the Gillard Government's intention to foster close and prosperous relations with all the nations of the region, in particular in North Asia. I would like to visit Tokyo as soon as possible as part of a broader North Asia Tour incorporating Japan, Korea and China. I will fly on an RAAF VIP jet to Tokyo-Haneda, accompanied by the Minister for Trade, The Honourable Simon Crean, and then we can begin a series of meetings to discuss trade, defence and other areas in which Japan and Australia can collaborate. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours sincerely, The Honourable Kevin Rudd MP.

Parliament House, CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6277 7700​

Protective Marking:	Business Impact Level:	Compromise of Information Confidentiality:	Required to be Encrypted:
UNOFFICIAL	No Business Impact	No damage. This information does not form part of official duty.
OFFICIAL	Low Business Impact	No or insignificant damage. This is the majority of routine information.
OFFICIAL: Sensitive	Low to Medium Business Impact	Limited damage to an individual, organisation or government generally if compromised.
PROTECTED	High Business Impact	Damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
SECRET	Extreme Business Impact	Serious damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
TOP SECRET	Catastrophic Business Impact	Exceptionally grave damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.

JamieA

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MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS​

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: SECRET (ENCRYPTED)​

1 February 2004

Dear Foreign Minister of Korea, It is the Gillard Government's intention to foster close and prosperous relations with all the nations of the region, in particular in North Asia. I would like to visit Seoul after my visit to Tokyo as part of a broader North Asia Tour incorporating Japan, Korea and China. I will fly on an RAAF VIP jet to Seoul-Gimpo, accompanied by the Minister for Trade, The Honourable Simon Crean, and then we can begin a series of meetings to discuss trade, defence and other areas in which Korea and Australia can collaborate. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours sincerely, The Honourable Kevin Rudd MP.

Parliament House, CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6277 7700​

Protective Marking:	Business Impact Level:	Compromise of Information Confidentiality:	Required to be Encrypted:
UNOFFICIAL	No Business Impact	No damage. This information does not form part of official duty.
OFFICIAL	Low Business Impact	No or insignificant damage. This is the majority of routine information.
OFFICIAL: Sensitive	Low to Medium Business Impact	Limited damage to an individual, organisation or government generally if compromised.
PROTECTED	High Business Impact	Damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
SECRET	Extreme Business Impact	Serious damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
TOP SECRET	Catastrophic Business Impact	Exceptionally grave damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.

John

​

MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS​

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: SECRET (ENCRYPTED)​

1 February 2004

Dear Madam Yuan Jia, It is the Gillard Government's intention to foster close and prosperous relations with all the nations of the region, in particular in North Asia. I would like to visit Beijing after my visits to Tokyo and Seoul as part of a broader North Asia Tour incorporating Japan, Korea and China. I will fly on an RAAF VIP jet to Beijing-Capital, accompanied by the Minister for Trade, The Honourable Simon Crean, and then we can begin a series of meetings to discuss trade, defence and other areas in which China and Australia can collaborate. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours sincerely, The Honourable Kevin Rudd MP.

Parliament House, CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6277 7700​

Protective Marking:	Business Impact Level:	Compromise of Information Confidentiality:	Required to be Encrypted:
UNOFFICIAL	No Business Impact	No damage. This information does not form part of official duty.
OFFICIAL	Low Business Impact	No or insignificant damage. This is the majority of routine information.
OFFICIAL: Sensitive	Low to Medium Business Impact	Limited damage to an individual, organisation or government generally if compromised.
PROTECTED	High Business Impact	Damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
SECRET	Extreme Business Impact	Serious damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
TOP SECRET	Catastrophic Business Impact	Exceptionally grave damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.

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MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS​

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: SECRET (ENCRYPTED)​

1 February 2004

Dear Chief Executives of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region, It is the Gillard Government's intention to foster close and prosperous relations with all the nations of the region, in particular in North Asia. I would like to visit Hong Kong after my visits to Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing as part of a broader North Asia Tour incorporating Japan, Korea and China and then take a ferry over to Macau to have meetings there. I will fly on an RAAF VIP jet to Hong Kong, accompanied by the Minister for Trade, The Honourable Simon Crean, and then we can begin a series of meetings to discuss trade and other areas in which Hong Kong and Australia and Macau and Australia can collaborate. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours sincerely, The Honourable Kevin Rudd MP.

Parliament House, CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6277 7700​

Protective Marking:	Business Impact Level:	Compromise of Information Confidentiality:	Required to be Encrypted:
UNOFFICIAL	No Business Impact	No damage. This information does not form part of official duty.
OFFICIAL	Low Business Impact	No or insignificant damage. This is the majority of routine information.
OFFICIAL: Sensitive	Low to Medium Business Impact	Limited damage to an individual, organisation or government generally if compromised.
PROTECTED	High Business Impact	Damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
SECRET	Extreme Business Impact	Serious damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
TOP SECRET	Catastrophic Business Impact	Exceptionally grave damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.

Zebra

 

[John]

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Security: Official - Sensitive. Encrypted communications, encrypted documents.​

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To: The Honourable Kevin Rudd MP Owen
Sender: Yoon Young-kwan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Korean Empire
Subject: RE: North Asia Tour

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Dear Honourable Kevin Rudd MP,

Thank you for your email expressing your intention to visit Seoul as part of your North Asia Tour. We are delighted to hear about your interest in fostering close and prosperous relations with Korea.

We would be honored to welcome you and the Minister for Trade, The Honourable Simon Crean, to Seoul-Gimpo for a series of meetings to discuss trade, defense, and other areas of collaboration between our two nations. We believe that this visit will further strengthen the bonds between Korea and Australia.

Please let us know your proposed dates for the visit so that we can make the necessary arrangements and ensure that your trip is both productive and enjoyable.

We look forward to your visit and to further enhancing the relationship between our two countries.

Kindest Regards,
Yoon Young-kwan
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Korean Empire

 

[Owen]

JamieA Zebra

 

[Zebra]

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China
Classified & Encrypted

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Your Excellency,

The Republic of China values and seeks friendly relations with all freedom loving nations of the world, but especially those in Asia. As such we would be glad to host your delegation in Beijing.

The administrations of Hong Kong and Macau have informed me that you have also reached out to them. While like any person you are free to visit Hong Kong and Macau, per the existing agreements the administrations of Hong Kong and Macau are represented in all foreign matters by the government of the Republic of China. Due to this I would be happy to add any topics specifically intended for these areas to the agenda of our own discussions.

Kind regards,
Yuan Jia,
Deputy Vice President
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China.

Owen

 

[Owen]

​

MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS​

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: SECRET (ENCRYPTED)​

1 February 2004

Dear Madam Yuan Jia, Whilst we understand that under the Basic Laws of Hong Kong and Macau, foreign relations and diplomacy is maintained by the government in Beijing, it is also our understanding that because Hong Kong and Macau maintain a seperate customs territory under the Basic Laws they are in a position to negotiate their own trade arrangements with foreign nations and maintain trade and economic offices abroad, which is primarily what we are focused on with our visits to the Special Administrative Regions. As such because of the seperation in the customs territory, Australia also maintains a visa-free regime with Hong Kong and Macau passport-holders but not Chinese passport-holders. Therefore we would appreciate it if you allowed us to visit the Chief Executives to discuss such a vital trade and economic relationship we have with the Regions. Unless of course you are telling me that you have revised the Basic Laws of Hong Kong and Macau, to which we may take protest with that as it may violate your Joint Declarations with the United Kingdom and Portugal. Yours sincerely, The Honourable Kevin Rudd MP.

Parliament House, CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6277 7700​

Protective Marking:	Business Impact Level:	Compromise of Information Confidentiality:	Required to be Encrypted:
UNOFFICIAL	No Business Impact	No damage. This information does not form part of official duty.
OFFICIAL	Low Business Impact	No or insignificant damage. This is the majority of routine information.
OFFICIAL: Sensitive	Low to Medium Business Impact	Limited damage to an individual, organisation or government generally if compromised.
PROTECTED	High Business Impact	Damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
SECRET	Extreme Business Impact	Serious damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
TOP SECRET	Catastrophic Business Impact	Exceptionally grave damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.

Zebra

 

[JamieA]

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Security Clarification: Private and Secure​

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To: Minister Kevin Rudd <Kevin.Rudd@gov.au> | Owen
From: Secretary Rin Miyata <Rin.Miyata@mofa.go.jp>
Cc: Minister Takaho Hidaka <Takaho.Hidaka@mofa.go.jp>
Subject: Re - Diplomatic Relations

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Dear Minister Rudd

Thank you for reaching out, and I must firstly apologise with regards to the late reply to your email as your email got lost within a junk folder. I've been tasked with your "tour" visit to the State of Japan and I can happily host you on the 15th, if you still desire to visit Tokyo. Please ensure all visa forms havc been filed for your whole delegation by visiting https://mofa.go,jp/eng/visa-and-citizenship/visa-form.

If there is anything i can do to help you in the mean time please feel free to reach out!

Regards,
Rin Miyata
Secretary for Asian & Oceanic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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[Owen]

With the collapse of the Japanese Government the tour would be reduced to just Korea and China at this stage. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Trade would board a Royal Australian Air Force Dassault Falcon 7X of No. 34 Squadron at RAAF Base Fairbairn in Canberra, on the same precinct as Canberra International Airport. It would head towards Seoul-Gimpo International Airport along route QF -> QG -> QH -> QI -> QJ -> QK -> PL -> PM. This would allow it to fly over Townsville, Papua New Guinea, Guam and Kyushu for ETOPs purposes. The U.S. FAA would be notified that an RAAF plane on a VIP mission to Korea would be flying over Guam (Odinson) with callsign ENVOY07. With a range of 11,019km it was more than capable of reaching Seoul from Canberra.

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The Ambassador of Australia to Korea, Mr. Peter Rowe, the Defence Attache to Korea, Colonel Nicholas Bolton (Army), and the Consul-General in Pyongyang, Mr. Colin Heseltine would travel to Seoul-Gimpo with hired vehicles in a convoy for the Ministers. Australia would be one of the few and maybe only countries to maintain a Consulate-General in Pyongyang, a testimony to Australia's commitment to maintain an on the ground relationship with the people and to contribute to the ongoing development of the former North Korea. They would stand at the bottom of a stairwell and red carpet ready to welcome them to Korea.

Once the plane touched down at Seoul-Gimpo and it headed to its taxi spot, an RAAF officer would exit the aircraft and stand at the bottom of the stairs. He would salute as the Ministers exited the aircraft down the stairwell. The Ambassador and Consul-General would shake their hands. "Welcome to Korea" they would say. The Colonel would also salute them followed by a handshake. They would head towards the awaiting motorcade which would take them to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Headquarters in the Jongno District. The Ministers travelling along would marvel at the economic development which has taken place in Korea in the past 20 years since the fall of the military junta. The bright lights, the tall buildings, vehicles on the road, people everywhere in a hive of economic activity. Seoul was a testimony of what the Asian Century would look like and Australia was determined to be a part of that century.

Once they arrived at the building they would assumingly be greeted by their Korean counterparts.

"Annyeong Haseyo." Mr. Rudd would say as he shook his counterparts hand.

John

 

[Owen]

John

 

[Owen]

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Trade would have to leave South Korea due to the evolving situation in New Caledonia as well as cancel the remainder of the tour. The RAAF Dassault Falcon 7X that had been sent there with them would take them from Seoul to Canberra. They would be quickly taken by motorcade back to their Canberra residences and would be asked to make attendance at the Cabinet Room for the National Security Committee.