DEMARCHE TO AUSTRIA ON U.S. VIEWS OF UNSC

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 002699 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/K, ISN/CIP AND EUR/AGS - SAINT-ANDRE E.O. 12958: DECL: KOREAN REUNIFICATION TAGS: PARM PREL KNNP MNUC WMD CT KPAO PTER KN KS AU SUBJECT: DEMARCHE TO AUSTRIA ON U.S. VIEWS OF UNSC RESOLUTION 1695 REF: STATE 146316 Classified By: Economic-Political Counselor Gregory E. Phillips. Reaso n: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) EconPolCouns delivered reftel points on September 8 to Dorothea Auer, the Assistant Secretary-level Driector of the Austrian MFA's Arms Control and Disarmament bureau. Alexander Kmennt, Auer's deputy for nuclear issues, also participated in the meeting. ¶2. (C) Auer and Kemnnt agreed with U.S. views on preventing North Korean WMD development. Auer said she had recently pressed North Korean diplomats in Vienna on returning to the six party talks. She said the North Koreans had reiterated the position that they would return to the talks only if the U.S. took some sort of step. She said it seemed the key step the North Koreans wanted was the unfreezing of North Korean assets. She added that this showed that U.S. actions had been on the mark. She added that an additional complication arose because the North Koreans seemed to believe that they derived some measure of international respect from the claim that they possessed nuclear weapons. McCaw