CUBAN GOVT SIGNALS LINGERING IRE OVER DPRK NUKE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 021268 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE DEPT FOR WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/16/2016 TAGS: PREL KN PARM KNNP CU SUBJECT: CUBAN GOVT SIGNALS LINGERING IRE OVER DPRK NUKE TEST REF: HAVANA 20783 HAVANA 00021268 001.3 OF 002 Classified By: COM Michael Parmly for Reason 1.4(e). ¶1. (C) Cuban state media on October 14 disseminated a statement from the 183-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), currently headed by Cuba, on North Korea's reported nuclear blast. The statement, approved the previous day at UN headquarters, urges North Korea, a NAM member, to halt its nuclear testing and to stick to the group's disarmament goals. The NAM also called on all concerned parties in northeast Asia not to transfer nuclear weapons-related materials, equipment or technology, and to exercise restraint. By spreading the NAM statement, the Cuban Government signaled its lingering unhappiness over the DPRK's reported test; on October 10, the GOC showed its ire in a press item that noted UNSC condemnation of the incident and firm Chinese opposition. Meanwhile, Cuban state radio referred October 16 to "Iran's peaceful nuclear energy program." (NAM statement text follows in Paragraph 3.) COMMENT -------------- ¶2. (C) The Cuban Government's latest, indirect denunciation of the reported DPRK test is aimed at helping the island nation stay in the good graces of China, its patron and opponent of the reported underground blast. Dissemination of the NAM statement has the added benefit of enabling the GOC to flex some NAM-presidency muscle and strut its stuff on the global stage. There can be little doubt that Cuba's leadership, which once called for a Soviet nuclear strike against the United States, is motivated by calculated self-interest. Perhaps this is why Cuban state radio on October 16 referred to "Iran's peaceful nuclear energy program" during a report on Iran's rejection of any restrictions on its nuclear program. End Comment. STATEMENT FROM NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT -------------- ¶3. (U) Following is a statement from the Non-Aligned Movement, as relayed by Granma, the official mouthpiece of the Cuban Communist Party: The Coordination Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement has expressed its concern at, while acknowledging the complexities derived from the nuclear test in the Korean Peninsula, which underscores the need to work even more vigorously to achieve the Movement's disarmament objectives, including the elimination of nuclear weapons. The Movement exhorts the implicated parties in the region to exercise moderation, which will contribute to regional security; to discontinue nuclear tests; and not to transfer materials, equipment and technology related to nuclear weapons. The Movement expresses its desire for the de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and continues to support the renewal of Six-Party Talks as soon as possible. The Movement firmly believes that diplomacy and dialogue via peaceful means must continue with a view to achieving a long-term solution to the Korean nuclear question. In the light of this action, the Movement reaffirms its principled position in relation to nuclear disarmament, which continues being its maximum priority, as well as issues related to nuclear non-proliferation in all its aspects, and emphasizes its concern at the threat that the permanent existence of nuclear weapons and their potential use or threat of use supposes for humanity. At the same time, it reiterates its profound concern at the slow advance toward nuclear disarmament and the lack of progress on the part of states possessing nuclear weapons in the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals. It highlights the need for states possessing nuclear weapons to fulfil the unequivocal commitment that they contracted in 2000 in matters referring to obtaining the total elimination of nuclear weapons and, in this context, stresses the pressing need to begin negotiations without delay. The Movement stresses its principles and priorities on the issue of disarmament and international security, as adopted at the 14th Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement that took place in Havana, Cuba from HAVANA 00021268 002.3 OF 002 September 11 to 16, 2006. PARMLY