THE USSR REGIONAL AND POLITICAL ANALYSIS

Document Type:

CREST [1]

Collection:

General CIA Records [2]

Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):

CIA-RDP79T00912A000100010037-8

Release Decision:

RIPPUB

Original Classification:

Document Page Count:

Document Creation Date:

December 15, 2016

Document Release Date:

July 9, 2004

Sequence Number:

Case Number:

Publication Date:

September 15, 1977

Content Type:

REPORT

File:

Attachment	Size
CIA-RDP79T00912A000100010037-8.pdf [3]	112.73 KB

Body:

Approved For Release 2004/07/16: CIA-RDP79T00912A0001 The USSR Ii cAL nNnLr ONAL AND Secret RP ASU 77-025 15 September 1977 Approved For Release 2004/07/16 : CIA-RDP79T00912A000100010037-8 25X1 Approved For Release 2004/07/16 : CIA-RDP79T00912A000100010037-8 Approved For Release 2004/07/16 : CIA-RDP79T00912A000100010037-8 Approved For Release 2004/07/16 a THE USSR 15 September 1977 CONTENTS Soviet Reaction to North Korean Defense Zone . . . . 1 25X1 25X1 RP ASU 77-025 15 September 1977 Approved For Release 2004/07/16 : CIS-$fr9T00912A000100010037-8 25X1 Approved For Release 2004/07/ Soviet Reaction to North Korean Defense Zone North Korea's declaration of a 50-mile military sea boundary last month appears to have added another strain to the already cool USSR - North Korean relation- ship. The deputy chief of the Soviet Foreign Ministry's Treaty and Legal Department, I. I. Yakovlev, has told US Embassy officers that Moscow will take a "firm" stand against the substance of the North Korean declaration at next year's Law of the Sea Conference. Another Foreign Ministry official, in an earlier conversation, asserted that North Korea did not con- sult the Soviets before issuing the proclamation. Yakov- lev noted, however, that Pyongyang is well aware of the Soviet attitude since he and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers I. T. Novikov had traveled to North Korea in January 1975 to argue against the estab- lishment of both a military sea boundary and a "fisheries zone." Yakovlev said that the Soviets would make a formal statement to the North Korean Government on the issue after they obtained "clarification" about the area en- compassed by the zone and stressed that "the Soviet Union will not be mild" in its opposition to the North Korean declaration. He voiced Soviet concern that the North Korean declaration could cause serious problems to nations which deploy large navies, including the USSR and the US, particularly if other smaller countries be- gin to proclaim military sea boundaries. Yakovlev also noted that the issue could be exploited by those coun- tries, particularly China and Romania, which regularly attack the great power naval presence abroad. RP ASU 77-025 15 September 1977 25X1 Approved For Release 2004/07/16 : iAoP79T00912A000100010037-8 Approved For Release OT/16 : CIA-RDP79T00912A000100010037-8 ' The US Embassy comments that theSoviets may have chosen the law of the sea forum as the best vehicle for mounting multilateral opposition to the "substance" of the North Korean declaration, rather than joining the US and others in publicly opposing Pyongyang's initia- tive at this time. The sole public reaction to the issue in the Soviet press has been to carry, without comment, a Japanese news agency report quoting the Japanese chief cabinet secretary's strong statement opposing the HPfPnf.2P 7nnn ac rnnfrarv t-n i ntArnat-i anal law- RP ASU 77-025 15 September 1977 Approved For Release 2U1/'16 : CIA-RDP79T00912A000100010037-8