Korea - Italy Communications

[Jay]

To: Lamberto Dini < Tim > CC: KwonHeeseog@mofa.kr.gov, LeeBaekjung@mofa.kr.gov, RohSyerah@motie.kr.gov , Shinpyeongjin@mond.kr.gov

From: BaekJeonghee@mofa.kr.gov

Subject: RE: Status of Bilateral Relations

Security: Private and encrypted Protected by the NIS and MoFA DPB

H.E. Minister Dini,

The final iteanrry for the State Visit is agreeable and we believe Italy can release the statement. The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs can provide the following comments to your publication medias; "President Kim highly appreciates Italy's consistent support for and contribution to the process of peacefully resolving the North Korean security issue and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula. It is our clear understanding of the two leaders shared view that the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula must be achieved. Yet, holding North Korea accountable and ensuring that the global communities cooperation to ensure the complete, verifiable and maintenance of limitation of support, financial, military, or otherwise, to the North is required and an area of major importance for the Republic of Korea. The Korea-Italy summit will advance Korea-Italy relations, move towards a stable and healthy strategic partnership between Korea and Italy, and be at the front of a Europe-Asia cooperative spirit"

We hope this statement is sufficient and appropriate. The President looks forward to the signing of the Korea-Italy Cooperation Agreement, We can have the phone call tomorrow, the President's schedule is free in the afternoon and evening in Seoul, which is roughly 8 hours ahead of Rome. We are happy to receive the call at 4 pm Seoul Time which would be 8 am in Rome, which would be in your morning. Please let us know what is acceptable and favorable to your President.

Signed with sincerity,
Baek Jeonghee,
Republic of Korea
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Republic of Korea
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
All information is protected from release by the Diplomatic Communications Security Act 1997
Authorized viewing is limited to those directly emailed, cc'd, and bcc'd​

 

[Tim]

Italian Republic

Private & Encrypted​

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Recipient: BaekJeonghee@mofa.kr.gov < Jay >
From: Lamberto Dini, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Subject: RE: Status of Bilateral Relations

Dear minister Baek,

As we discussed earlier the statement will be released after the phone call with the statement you sent together with the press release of the state visit, which will have some information such as the weapons and exact vehicles redacted. I checked with the President's office and 4 PM, UTC+09:00 works for him. As for the cooperation agreement, my ministry will prepare the agreement on paper so it can be signed in Rome. I believe that is all for us. I want to thank you for your cooperation, it was very pleasant working with you. I look forward to a successful cooperation between our countries.

Yours Sincerely,

Lamberto Dini

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Italian Republic

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The next day the President of the Italian Republic, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, woke up earlier than usual because of his early phone meeting with the Korean President. As he sat down in his office he looked over the paperwork that had been prepared by Minister Dini for him, including the cooperation agreement and state visit. As he was doing this one of his assistants was preparing the private and encrypted line between him and his Korean counterpart. Once the line was confirmed secured by the assistant Oscar greeted the Korean President.

"Good morning President Kim, it is an honour speaking with you." As he realized his subtle mistake he quickly fixed it, "Or I should say good afternoon of course, it's already 4 PM over there if I'm not mistaken." After this small talk the President decided to get straight down to business. "It is my deepest pleasure to formally invite you and part of your administration to our beautiful country to sign our cooperation agreement and to show you the beautiful Italian cultural heritage."​

 

[Jay]

To: Lamberto Dini < Tim > CC: KwonHeeseog@mofa.kr.gov, LeeBaekjung@mofa.kr.gov, RohSyerah@motie.kr.gov , Shinpyeongjin@mond.kr.gov

From: BaekJeonghee@mofa.kr.gov

Subject: RE: Status of Bilateral Relations

Security: Private and encrypted Protected by the NIS and MoFA DPB

H.E. Minister Dini,


Yes, we believe the previously discussed, the order of releasing information is acceptable and approved from our end. The Blue House would also like to release a social media post talking about the phone call, looking forward to a strong Italy-Korea partnership, and so forth. If that is also acceptable to your government. I likewise thank you for your cooperation, and am really happy to have been able to have worked with you, it was a pleasant and cordial experience and I look forward to our future discussions. I look forward to the future cooperative friendship between Italy and Korea.

Signed with sincerity,
Baek Jeonghee
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of Korea
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Republic of Korea
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
All information is protected from release by the Diplomatic Communications Security Act 1997
Authorized viewing is limited to those directly emailed, cc'd, and bcc'd​

In Seoul, at 3:30 the Korean Foreign Ministry began preparing for the call, hosting a briefing with the President led by the 2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2nd Vice Minister of National Defense, and the 2nd Vice Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy. By 4:00, the Korean Vice Ministers had concluded their briefing and finished the updating of the President. The P.S.S. had ensured a secured line was established and after confirming the call-source, it encrypted the Korean end and patched it in through the President's office. The President received the call in his office with the Vice Ministers also present to provide technical information.

President Kim Daejung: "Hello President Scalfaro...I guess I should be starting with the good mornings instead, yes it is afternoon here...I hope you and your family as doing well President Scalfaro...after the small talk, the President would move into the substantive matters. It is my honor to accept this invitation to your country President Scalfaro, I look forward for the opportunity to visit your beautiful country. I hope we can enjoy as much of Italian culture and identity as we can in the short amount of time we are there...I hope we will be successful with our efforts to develop a strong Italy-Korea relationship."

 

[Tim]

Italian Republic

Private & Encrypted​

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Recipient: BaekJeonghee@mofa.kr.gov < Jay >
From: Lamberto Dini, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Subject: RE: Status of Bilateral Relations

Dear minister Baek,

The publishing of any information pertaining to the post should be fine as per our government, since I believe only soon to be public information will be discussed.


Yours Sincerely,

Lamberto Dini

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Italian Republic

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"Thank you for the concern, we are all doing fine, I hope the same is true for you and your family.

My minister has done his best to ensure you can visit as much of our beautiful landmarks in one day. I hope this truly brings us together as countries. Our countries and people are different but despite these differences we share common values, and these values I hope will also bring our people together. And with those differences it is even more wonderful that our people are soon able to easily travel between our countries, witnessing the two countries that are each beautiful in their own way."​

 

[Jay]

To: Lamberto Dini < Tim > CC: KwonHeeseog@mofa.kr.gov, LeeBaekjung@mofa.kr.gov, RohSyerah@motie.kr.gov , Shinpyeongjin@mond.kr.gov

From: BaekJeonghee@mofa.kr.gov

Subject: RE: Status of Bilateral Relations

Security: Private and encrypted Protected by the NIS and MoFA DPB

H.E. Minister Dini,


Yes, that is what we plan to do. Just to publicize our Presidents held a phone call and that we are proceeding with advancing bilateral relations.

Signed with sincerity,
Baek Jeonghee
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of Korea
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Republic of Korea
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
All information is protected from release by the Diplomatic Communications Security Act 1997
Authorized viewing is limited to those directly emailed, cc'd, and bcc'd​

President Kim Daejung: "That is good to hear, President Scalfaro, thankfully my family is also good...My wife and I are excited to visit Italy. It is my hopes as well this occasion can bringing us together as countries, and I am thankful for your ministers efforts. Our common values will always trump our difference, and our people will continue to develop strong cultural relations with the moving of a visa-free program and advancing academic cooperation in research, abroad studies, etc...I am satisfied in the least, that, we can see the joy of our citizens when they travel to visit our respective countries. At the very least, we have achieved a step towards betterment of our society and communities. I look forward for taking further steps in this direction towards the betterment of our peoples."

 

[Tim]

"Very glad to hear you and your family are doing well and are looking forward to the visit. Indeed, indeed. Common values must always win from cultural or historical differences, it is those values that define who we are as a country and we are responsible for the upkeep of those values nationally and doing our best to keep them internationally. I hope that this cooperation agreement is not the destination but just a step on the path to a fruitful cooperation between our countries, working together for the progress of humanity as a whole."​

Jay​

 

[Jay]

President Kim Daejung: "I share your sentiment President Scalfaro, and hopefully a strong Korea-Italy partnership will be the platform needed to progress humanity forward. If we look backwards we can never move forward. I hope that beyond just being military and trade partners, our friendship is established institutionally, and that we continue a strong personal friendship to help guide our countries into the 21st century. As the year comes to a close, I reflect deeply on what has happened in Korea. More importantly, the need for a foreign policy built on those values we share, not just mutual interests. A proverb we have here in Korea is the 'values you learn at 3 stay with you until 80', and I know while our interests may change over administrations and time, our values will never change."

Tim

 

[Tim]

"I'm very glad to hear that we are both on the same page in regard to these believes. I hope so too, the world is an everchanging place and going into the next century we need a strong national and international foundation on which we can build, and this is a step towards that. I wholeheartedly want to agree with your sentiment, I could not have worded it better myself mister President. These fundamental values are written in our constitution and after the horrors in our past are also written in our people. As to say these values aren't the constitution projecting on the population, but our constitution is a projection of our population's values. I hope to find more international partners like Korea with whom we can build something beautiful upon these values."​

Jay​

 

[Jay]

President Kim Daejung: "I look forward to our in person meeting President Scalfaro, I believe we are going to be making a strong push int he right direction. Hopefully, we can build a larger network of like minded states to pursue global development and assistance. We can not atone for the wrong, but perhaps, we can build a better tomorrow with a likeminded global community. I likewise hope we can both together, find, likeminded partners, and build upon the new world, a nation of values, collectively working together to move humanity forward, not backwards."

Tim

 

[Tim]

The president listened with a careful ear to his Korean counterpart's word, nodding along in his office where he could not be seen. "As do I. Betterment of the world for our current and future people should always be a governments first concern, and I too hope we can indeed build a better tomorrow together. Is there anything else that you feel we should discuss at this moment?" The president felt like it was good to end the conversation, not making it too long as they would have enough time to catch up around all business during the state visit.​

Jay​

 

[Jay]

President Kim Daejung: likewise sensing that it was time to end the conversation, the President moved towards closing the conversation. "I believe we have said what wanted to say, it was truly a pleasure President Scalfaro. I look forward to our meeting in person in the coming days." Following the formalities and besting of wishes, the Korean vice ministers stood up as the Presidents finished their final words of goodbye and praise.

Tim

 

[Tim]

"The pleasure was mine president Kim, I am humbly looking forward to your visit next week and will make sure everything is in order for your delegations arrival." After his final greeting the President checked to see if his Korean counterpart had anything left to say, when he noticed he hadn't he hung up his phone and the line was closed. He once again went over the schedule for the state visit and the cooperation deal that were on his desk, proud of what their countries had accomplished already, before even signing it.​

Jay​

 

[Jay]

To: Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tim CC: Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Minister of Trade

From: KwongHeeseog@mofa.kr.gov

Subject: [Trade Treaty] [Urgent] Letter of Awareness over failure of implementation

Security: Private and encrypted Protected by the NIS and MoFA DPB

To whom it may concern,

The Republic of Korea is raising concern over Italy's failure to implement Chapter I, sub-section 2 (a) of the Republic of Korea & Republic of Italy Cooperation Agreement. Under Chapter I (trade) the Republic of Italy is required to provide shipments of refined petroleum to the Republic of Korea. Since being ratified and implemented, the Republic of Korea has upheld the terms as outlined in Chapter I, sub-section 1 (1 and its entire sub-set and 2). We are raising this issue to your ministry to resolve this failure to implement sub-section 2(a) of Chapter I by the Republic of Italy. The Republic of Korea would like an explanation over the delay in the implementation on your side, what steps your government is taking to address this, and when we can expect the regular shipment of refined petroleum. We hope for a speedy response to this situation and that we can address it amicably.

Signed,
Ambassador Kwon of the Republic of Korea

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Republic of Korea
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
All information is protected from release by the Diplomatic Communications Security Act 1997
Authorized viewing is limited to those directly emailed, cc'd, and bcc'd​

 

[Tim]

Italian Republic

Private & Encrypted​

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Recipient: Ambassador Kwon < Jay >
From: Agusto Fantozzi, Minister of Foreign Trade
Subject: RE: [Trade Treaty] [Urgent] Letter of Awareness over failure of implementation

Dear Ambassador Kwon,

Let me start of by offering you our sincerest apologies. This failure of implementation was in now way intentional. Our ministry has successfully acquired the tankers for the mentioned trade route and the paperwork has been filed to the appropriate authorities. We are starting an investigation into the situation, and will try our best to get the vessel sailing as soon as possible.

As soon as we receive any information on the cause of this delay, be it a mistake on our ministry's side, a delay at the international trading authorities, or something else, we will inform you with all details.

Once again please accept my sincerest apologies and I hope we can settle this situation as swiftly as possible.
​

Yours Sincerely,


Agusto Fantozzi

Minister of Foreign Trade
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Italian Republic

 

[Jay]

To: Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tim CC: Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Minister of Trade

From: KwongHeeseog@mofa.kr.gov

Subject: RE [Trade Treaty] [Urgent] Letter of Awareness over failure of implementation

Security: Private and encrypted Protected by the NIS and MoFA DPB

Dear H.E. Minister Fantozzi,

Thank you for your prompt email. Our government completely understands and thanks you for your prompt response and efforts to address this situation. Allow me to reiterate our countries continued close partnership that will continue to transcend our disputes and issues. We are grateful for your follow up and full support to address this technical shortcomings.

Our government looks forward to the flow of refined petroleum in the coming days. As well as the relevant international trading authorities being notified and addressing this issue. If our government can assist and raising a notice message, please let us know.

Signed with sincerity,
Ambassador Kwon of the Republic of Korea

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Republic of Korea
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
All information is protected from release by the Diplomatic Communications Security Act 1997
Authorized viewing is limited to those directly emailed, cc'd, and bcc'd​

 

[Tim]

Italian Republic

Private & Encrypted​

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Recipient: Ambassador Kwon < Jay >
From: Agusto Fantozzi, Minister of Foreign Trade
Subject: RE: [Trade Treaty] [Urgent] Letter of Awareness over failure of implementation

Dear Ambassador Kwon,

We have been informed by the international authorities that the paperwork is only processed once a month, and therefore suffered a delay since the paperwork's were filed just after the last processing. The paperwork's have now been processed and the crew is preparing for the first sailing of the trade route within the following twenty-four (24) hours. I hope I have informed you enough, but if this is not the case feel free to respond with any questions.

I look forward to working together with you in the future.


​

Yours Sincerely,


Agusto Fantozzi

Minister of Foreign Trade
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Italian Republic

 

[Jay]

To: Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tim CC: Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Minister of Trade

From: KwongHeeseog@mofa.kr.gov

Subject: RE [Trade Treaty] [Urgent] Letter of Awareness over failure of implementation

Security: Private and encrypted Protected by the NIS and MoFA DPB

Dear H.E. Minister Fantozzi,


Thank you for the speedy reply. I thank you for the update on the international framework for the implementation and processing of official trade routes. Our government is happy to see the full implementation of our cooperation agreement and thank your government for the strong response. I hope that this series of event solidify and strengthen our bilateral relations.

Signed with sincerity,
Ambassador Kwon of the Republic of Korea

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Republic of Korea
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
All information is protected from release by the Diplomatic Communications Security Act 1997
Authorized viewing is limited to those directly emailed, cc'd, and bcc'd​