RESPONSE TO NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCHES

UNCLAS STATE 111144


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KN PARM KNNP
SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCHES


1. (U) This is an action request for all posts. All posts
are requested to deliver the points in para 2 below giving
USG reaction to North Korea's July 4-5 launch of multiple
ballistic missiles, including a Taepo Dong-2
intercontinental-range ballistic missile. All posts are
also requested to provide host governments the statement
by the White House (para. 4),and should use as required
the Qs and As in para. 5. Additional points for Embassies
Tokyo, Ankara, New Delhi, London, Paris and Berlin are
provided in para. 3.


2. (U) Begin points for all posts.

-- On July 4 and 5, North Korea launched seven ballistic
missilesS, including a Taepo Dong-2 intercontinental-range
missile, a matter of serious concern to ourselves, North
Korea's neighbors and the international community.

-- North Korea's development, deployment, and
proliferation of ballistic missile, missile-related
materials, equipment, and technology pose a serious threat
to the region and to the international community at large.

-- North Korea's actions violate its moratorium on missile
launches, which it reaffirmed most recently in 2004. They
are also inconsistent with the September 19, 2005 Joint
Statement, in which all Six Parties committed to joint
efforts for lasting peace and security in Northeast Asia.
These launches further call into question North Korea's
willingness to achieve a diplomatic solution to
eliminating its nuclear programs.

-- North Korea's action will only further isolate it from
the international community and harm the interests of its
people.

-- We strongly condemn this launch, and call on the DPRK
to refrain from further provocative actions, to cease
immediately development and proliferation of ballistic
missiles and to reconfirm its moratorium on all long-range
missile launches. We also call on North Korea to return
to the Six-Party Talks without precondition, and to work
with the other participants to implement the September 19,
2005 Joint Statement.

-- We are consulting with our friends and allies,
including in the Six-Party process and the United Nations
Security Council, regarding appropriate responses to this
provocation. Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill will
shortly travel to Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and Moscow to
consult with our Six-Party partners on next steps.

-- North Korea's missile programs and provocative actions
necessitate firm measures by the international community.
The UN Security Council bears a special responsibility in
this regard. We look to a strong, united Security Council
response to North Korea's provocative and defiant actions.

-- We urge all nations to cease all trade with or support
of North Korea in military and dual-use goods, services
and know-how, including nuclear- and missile-related trade
and support.

-- We are also considering a number of other steps to deal
with North Korea's proliferation and missile activities.

-- It is critical that the international community work
together, bilaterally and in appropriate multilateral
fora, to halt the DPRK's provocative actions. The DPRK
must understand that we are serious in our efforts to
achieve a peaceful diplomatic resolution of the North
Korean nuclear and missile issues, and that for it to
continue those programs will only increase its political
and economic isolation.

End Points


3. Begin additional points for Ankara, New Delhi, Tokyo,
London, Paris and Berlin.

-- The DPRK's ongoing proliferation of ballistic missiles
and missile technology and components represents a serious
destabilizing force in regional and global security.

-- Particularly disturbing is ballistic missile-related
cooperation between the DPRK and Iran.

-- Tehran's missile inventory includes 1,300-km-range
Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) based on
the North Korean No Dong.

-- Shahab-3s give Iran the ability to target Central Asia,
the Gulf region, and some parts of Europe.

-- More disturbingly, according to news reports, the DPRK
has exported recently new MRBMs and components to Iran,
giving Tehran significantly new capabilities.

-- According to press accounts, this MRBM is reported to
have a range of 2,500 km. With a reduced payload, the
range could be extended to 3,500 km, giving Iran the
ability to target Western Europe.

-- In your dealings with the Iranian government, we urge
that you strongly discourage it from continuing its
proliferation trade with North Korea.


4. (U) WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT ON NORTH KOREA MISSILE
LAUNCHES, JULY 4, 2006.

On the afternoon of July 4 (Washington, DC time),the U.S.
detected multiple missile launches from North Korea,
including the Taepo Dong 2. The United States strongly
condemns these missile launches and North Korea's
unwillingness to heed calls for restraint from the
international community. We are consulting with
international partners on next steps. This provocative
act violates a standing moratorium on missile tests to
which the North had previously committed. Regardless of
whether the series of launches occurred as North Korea
planned, they nevertheless demonstrate North Korea's
intent to intimidate other states by developing missiles
of increasingly longer ranges. We urge the North to
refrain from further provocative acts, including further
ballistic missile launches.

The September 2005 Joint Statement at the Fourth Round of
the Six Party Talks offered the North Korean government
and the North Korean people a better path. North Korea's
actions only serve to further isolate North Korea and harm
its people. While the United States remains committed to
a peaceful diplomatic solution and to implementation of
the agreed upon Joint Statement the North Korean regime's
actions and unwillingness to return to the talks appears
to indicate that the North has not yet made the strategic
decision to give up their nuclear programs as pledged to
the other five parties. Accordingly, we will continue to
take all necessary measures to protect ourselves and our
allies.

We will be seeking to address this matter in discussions
in New York and with our allies and regional partners.

END STATEMENT


5. (U) If asked points, for all posts

If asked about North Korea's motives:

-- We will not speculate about North Korea's motives

If asked, regarding North Korean missile exports:

-- We are greatly concerned about the North's continued
export of ballistic missiles and related equipment,
materials and technologies to countries of concern.

-- North Korea has marketed its missile technology and
equipment worldwide.

-- Recipients of North Korean missile components and
technology have included Iran, Syria, Yemen and Pakistan.

-- The United States imposed sanctions on North Korean
entities multiple times for missile-related transfers to
Iran, Pakistan and Syria.

If asked about the future of the Six Party Talks:

-- The United States seeks a peaceful, diplomatic, and
multilateral solution. If North Korea is willing to honor
its commitments under the September 19, 2005 Joint
Statement, the Talks can contribute to such a solution.

-- The Joint Statement laid out a clear and attractive
path for North Korea to become part of the international
community. The absence of any efforts by the North to

return to the Talks to implement the Joint Statement - in
conjunction with this missile launch - reduces our
confidence that the North has made the decision to fulfill
its denuclearization pledges made to all five parties in
the Joint Statement.

-- We will consult closely with the other four parties
about appropriate next steps.

If asked about whether the United States is willing to
offer the North peace treaty negotiations or other
incentives to stop missile tests and to return to the
talks:

-- What is on offer is what all six parties agreed to in
the Joint Statement.

END POINTS
RICE


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