BULGARIA CALLS POSSIBLE NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR TEST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SOFIA 001423 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2016 TAGS: PREL PARM KN KNNP BU SUBJECT: BULGARIA CALLS POSSIBLE NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR TEST "PROVOCATIVE" REF: STATE 166404 Classified By: DCM Alex Karagiannis for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) The Ambassador delivered reftel points to Foreign Minister Kalfin October 5. Subsequently, the MFA issued the following statement the same day: "The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry expresses deep concern with the statement of the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea dated October 3, 2006. It announces that the country will conduct a nuclear test in the near future. The statement contradicts Pyongyang's repeatedly expressed desire for the Korean Peninsula to become a zone free of nuclear weapons. Conducting a nuclear test will be a provocative act which will have a negative effect on the security of the Korean Peninsula as well as the entire region of Northeastern Asia. We call upon the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to return without preliminary conditions to the Six-Party talks on the country's nuclear program to reach an accord on the practical implementation of the agreements laid out in the Joint Statement of September 19, 2005." ¶2. (C) We also encouraged the MFA to call in the North Korean Ambassador to reinforce the international community's concern over North Korea's threatening behavior. We will follow up with the MFA's director for Asian affairs. BEYRLE