KAZAKHSTAN REACTION TO NORTH KOREAN ANNOUNCEMENT: "YOU CAN

UNCLAS ASTANA 000035 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN - O'MARA DEPT FOR ISN, EAP, AND IO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM PREL KZ KN SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN REACTION TO NORTH KOREAN ANNOUNCEMENT: "YOU CAN RELY ON US" REF: STATE 169418 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Charge delivered reftel points to Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov on October 10, taking the opportunity to thank Abdrakhmanov for the Government of Kazakhstan's (GOK) October 9 statement (paragraph 4) denouncing North Korea's announcement of a nuclear weapon test. Abdrakhmanov termed the presumed test "inexcusable" and "clearly provocative." "You can rely on us," Abdrakhmanov vowed, telling the Charge that the GOK was prepared to stand "shoulder-to-shoulder" with its international partners on this issue. The GOK, he added, "would be ready to join further international actions," potentially including the implementation of Chapter VII UNSC sanctions, once it had "examined the situation thoroughly." End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Responding to the Charge's thanks for the GOK's "strong and timely" statement denouncing the North Korean announcement, Abdrakhmanov commented that, "as a responsible member of the international community, Kazakhstan is striving to add its voice to the strong position of the world community in order to condemn such 'provocative' actions." The presumed test was "inexcusable," the Deputy Foreign Minister continued, and there existed no doubt that "we need to take decisive steps" to prevent similar future actions, not only on behalf of North Korea, but "other critical regimes." Abdrakhmanov told the Charge that, in his view, North Korea had timed its nuclear test "deliberately and provocatively" to coincide with the announcement that South Korea's Foreign Minister is to become the next UN Secretary-General. ¶3. (SBU) In response to the Charge's request for GOK support in adopting a Chapter VII UNSC resolution, Abdrakhmanov stated the GOK "would be ready" to join further international actions, potentially including the adoption of a Chapter VII UNSC resolution, once the GOK had "examined the situation thoroughly." Regarding the possibility of implementing "other defensive measures," against North Korea, Abdrakhmanov told the Charge that the GOK had already begun to assess existing financial and commercial ties with North Korea, with an eye toward imposing "sanctions or other actions." While the issue of fairness toward any Kazakhstan companies doing business with North Korea would have to be considered, he continued, the GOK's steps would be "sustained and clear." "We have no biases, no prejudices toward the North Korean regime," Abdrakhmanov concluded. "We will go alongside the international community on this, shoulder-to-shoulder with our partners. You can rely on us." ¶4. (U) Text of the October 9, 2006 statement of the Kazakhstani Ministry of Foreign Affairs follows (Embassy translation): "As a state that closed a nuclear test site and as a participant in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Agreement on creation of a nuclear-free zone in Central Asia, the Republic of Kazakhstan considers the DPRK's decision to test a nuclear weapon a wrong one and denounces this act executed on October 9 of this year. We are confident that this step will aggravate the overall crisis in the sphere of non-proliferation and cause serious damage to global security. Kazakhstan urges North Korea to resume the talks on the nuclear problem in the six-country format with the participation of China, Russia, USA, South Korea, and Japan and to abandon nuclear ambitions." MILAS