US embassy cable - 05PRAGUE1426

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRAGUE 001426 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/04/2015 
TAGS: KNNP, PREL, ENRG, KN, EZ 
SUBJECT: CZECHS REQUEST GUIDANCE ON PLANNED DPRK DEL VISIT 
TO CZECH NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 
 
Classified By: Pol-Econ Chief Mike Dodman for reasons 1.4 b+d 
 
1. (U) Action request - see para 8. 
 
2. (C) Summary:  A DPRK delegation plans to visit the Czech 
Republic later this month on a trip organized by the head of 
the Czech Communist Party (and vice speaker of Parliament). 
The tentative itinerary includes a visit to the Temelin 
nuclear power plant.  Czech MFA, which only recently learned 
of the visit, urgently seeks USG views. 
 
3. (C) On 4 October, the Director of the Czech MFA Asia 
Department, Jan Fury, asked for an urgent meeting to discuss 
DPRK developments.  Fury informed Pol-Econ Chief that he had 
recently learned that a North Korean government delegation 
intended to visit Prague at the invitation of the the Deputy 
Speaker of the Czech Parliament, Voitech Filip, who was 
elected this week as the new chairman of the Czech Communist 
Party (KSCM). The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs was made 
aware of the planned visit only by chance when Fury ran into 
the North Korean Ambassador at a reception. 
 
4. (C)  The visit is planned for October 17-22 and will 
include Kang Nung Su, Deputy  Speaker of Parliament, Ri Sam 
Ro, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Kim Yong 
Jae, Deputy Minister for Trade, Ri Chol Royng, Finance 
Ministry, and Kim Chon Se, representative of the Ministry for 
Foreign Affairs Europe department.  According to a draft 
schedule Fury obtained from the Parliament's Foreign Affairs 
Committee, the delegation is tentatively slated to meet with 
the Parliamentary leaders, the Czech Ministry of Trade, the 
Czech Chamber of Commerce and representatives of major 
industrial corporations (including firms Techno Export, Skoda 
Export, Stroj Import, Agro CS, Monsanto CR, Kovosit MAS, ZVU 
Potesz, Lesy CR, and the Association of Mining and 
Engineering Equipment Technology). 
 
5. (C) A day trip is planned Oct 20 to the Temelin Nuclear 
Power Plant, which happens to be located in Filip's Southern 
Bohemia home district.  Fury said the DPRK Ambassador told 
him that a major goal of the visit is to study the Czech 
electrical supply system.  The Temelin visit is the only item 
on the draft schedule directly related to the electrical 
system. 
 
6. (C) Fury stressed that the information about the trip was 
obtained only because of his chance meeting with the 
Ambassador, and did not seem surprised to learn that the 
Parliament was organizing a visit with such a sensitive 
foreign delegation without consulting the MFA.  He noted that 
Czech-DPRK contacts have been increasing and are relatively 
positive, and that the GOCR is interested in discussing ways 
to work with the USG to take advantage of this relationship 
(to be explored further septel).  But the nuclear power plant 
visit is clearly troubling to the MFA, given the state of 
six-party talks.  His inclination is to intervene to turn off 
this portion of the visit, but he urgently sought USG views 
on the best course to take. 
 
7. (C) Comment:  The growing links between Czech PM Paroubek 
and the Communist Party, along with Filip's election this 
week as KSCM Chairman, will make it important for the MFA to 
tread carefully.  They certainly want to be able to site USG 
position in their inevitable dealings with the PM on this. 
Embassy's view is that, while it is possible to see the Czech 
Republic as a partner in longer-term efforts to educate the 
DPRK on peaceful uses of nuclear energy, it is hard to see 
this being set up for a visit planned to take place in three 
weeks, and one which the Czech Communist Party is organizing. 
 
8. (C) Action request:  Please provide USG views soonest to 
relay to Czech authorities. 
CABANISS