DEMARCHE DELIVERED: RESPONSE TO NORTH KOREAN

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 012773 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KN PARM KNNP PK SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED: RESPONSE TO NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCHES REF: STATE 111144 ¶1. Polcouns delivered reftel demarche July 6 to Imran Haider, Deputy Director of Disarmament at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Haider alluded to Foreign Minister Kasuri's July 6 comments in Paris, in which Kasuri characterized the North Korean missile launches as "a most unfortunate development." ¶2. Tariq Osman Hyder, Additional Secretary for UN Affairs at the MFA subsequently called to follow up on the demarche to Haider (his subordinate). Hyder observed that Pakistan had always supported the 1994 Framework Accord and a nuclear weapons free North Korea. Pakistan also opposed any steps that increased tensions in the Korean peninsula, and it supported the six party talks. With respect to specific points made in the demarche, Hyder said that Pakistan was not a member of the Security Council and had limited scope to influence developments there (i.e., to support a "strong, united Security Council response"). With respect to trade, Hyder stated that Pakistan had no technology transfers with North Korea relating to missile technology or WMD and that to his knowledge there was no trade between the two countries, although he recalled that Pakistan had provided 25,000 tons of rice during the famine. Hyder noted that Kasuri was not the only Pakistani public figure to comment on the missile launch. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, speaking on June 6 to reporters in Geneva, had also expressed concern about North Korea's action, noting that Pakistan opposed any actions that increased uncertainty and tension. ¶3. Note: The press reports cited by the MFA quote Foreign Minister Kasuri as saying: "We know that proliferation is a major international concern....When you are talking of firing missiles, we have never been accused of having supplied that technology anywhere -- so I can't take responsibility...." Pakistan had "upgraded all its mechanisms" and was "following the world's best practices on nonproliferation." Kasuri is also reported to have expressed support for the six party talks as the best way to tackle concerns over North Korea's military ambitions. CROCKER