CANADIAN RESPONSE TO PREPARATIONS FOR UNSC ACTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L OTTAWA 003042 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN//EAP//IO E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2016 TAGS: PARM PREL UNSC KN CA SUBJECT: CANADIAN RESPONSE TO PREPARATIONS FOR UNSC ACTION ON DPRK REF: A. STATE 168337 ¶B. OTTAWA 3015 Classified By: A/DCM BRIAN FLORA FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) On October 6, A/DCM discussed preparations for UN Security Council action on North Korea with Michael Small, the DFAIT (Foreign Ministry,s) Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) for Global Issues and International Organizations. He also followed up with ADM/Political Director Colleen Swords, whom he had already met on North Korea on October 3 (Ref A), and then met with DFAIT,s Director General for North Asia and the Pacific, Gordon Hould. ¶2. (C) Canada is as concerned as we are about North Korea's threat to test a nuclear device. DFAIT officials are not yet sure if it was some sort of a bluff (or "bad joke"),but they are taking the remarks seriously. Foreign Minister MacKay had made a strong statement yesterday in Parliament that condemned the DPRK threat as provocative and contributing to North Korea's further international isolation and condemnation. He called for DPRK to return to the six-party talks and to work toward dismantling both its missile and nuclear weapons programs. ¶3. (C) Canada, though not presently a member of the Security Council, would of course welcome and support a strong UNSC presidential statement. If North Korea followed through with its threat to test a nuclear device, Canada would in all likelihood support a robust UNSC resolution that invoked Chapter VII, but our interlocutors, of course, would not commit absolutely without first seeing the actual text that emerged from the process. In any case, DFAIT is looking forward to working with us if DPRK actions, in fact, make an UNSC resolution necessary. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa WILKINS