ITALY: DPRK ACTIONS UNACCEPTABLE, EU COORDINATING

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 002954 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/2016 TAGS: PREL KN PARM KNNP IT SUBJECT: ITALY: DPRK ACTIONS UNACCEPTABLE, EU COORDINATING ON SANCTIONS IMPLEMENTATION REF: A. STATE 166404 ¶B. STATE 169269 ¶C. STATE 169418 ¶D. STATE 172816 ¶E. ROME DAILY REPORT OCTOBER 10 2006 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor David D. Pearce for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Poloff met with MFA East Asia Office Director Federico Failla October 20 to discuss the recent North Korean nuclear test and UNSCR 1718 (Refs A-D). Poloff stressed the importance of implementing all provisions in UNSCR 1718 expeditiously. Failla noted that PM Prodi and FM D'Alema had both condemned the nuclear test, characterizing it as a destabilizing element and unacceptable provocation, respectively (Ref E). The MFA also summoned the North Korean Ambassador in Rome, who repeated the traditional DPRK line to Director General for Asia Claudio Pacifico, according to Failla. Pacifico said the DPRK should abandon its nuclear program and return to the negotiation table. He also told the Ambassador Italy was canceling an MFA-organized annual seminar on North Korea. A DPRK delegation was to have attended the Rome meeting. The GOI also canceled a planned visit of a parliamentary delegation from North Korea that had been organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. ¶2. (C) On UN sanctions, Failla said that Italy followed the EU common policy on any sanctions issue. The MFA would have an internal meeting early this week, according to Failla, to discuss implementation, and would be coordinating with Brussels. (Note. In a September 27 meeting Laura Aghilarre, from the MFA Non-Proliferation Office, told Poloff that the EU Council would have to develop a common position on North Korea sanctions before the GOI could act. According to Aghilarre, EU HR Solana's office would work to achieve a common position and determine how to manage financial aspects. Once all EU members had agreed to the EU common position, Italy would be able to move forward. End note.) ¶3. (C) While Italy planned to implement UNSCR 1719, Failla noted that Italian trade with the DPRK in 2005 amounted to approximately 500,000 euros in imports (an Italian company imports a rock with special refractory properties from mines in North Korea) and 9 million euros in exports. (Note: The Italian Statistical Agency, ISTAT, reports 556,074 euros in imports, and 9.6 million euros in exports, consisting mostly of trucks and transportation machinery. End note.) Raising the issue of the luxury goods provision, Failla said Italian-origin goods are not imported by the DPRK directly from Italy, and agreed the measure would target the ruling class. SPOGLI