CROATIAN GOVERNMENT ALSO "VERY CONCERNED" ABOUT

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001227 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR ISN, EAP, IO AND EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PARM KNNP NK HR SUBJECT: CROATIAN GOVERNMENT ALSO "VERY CONCERNED" ABOUT NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR TEST REF: STATE 169418 ¶1. (SBU) The GOC is also "outraged" by the North Korean nuclear test announcement, MFA Assistant Minister for Bilateral Affairs Ivica Tomic told DCM October 10. Croatia will work closely with the U.S., European Union, and the rest of the international community as it determines any future responses to the test, he added. ¶2. (U) The MFA issued the following statement October 9: The Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration is very concerned about the latest developments with North Korea's nuclear experiment and shares the international community's concern about the deteriorated security in the Korean peninsula and the wider region. Testing nuclear weapons is a serious threat to peace and security in Asia and the world, and the ministry advocates an urgent defusion of tensions and that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea go back to the six-sided negotiations so that a lasting political solution could be found. Croatia fully supports the positions the European Union's Presidency expressed today. ¶3. (U) President Mesic also criticized the test in remarks to the press October 9, noting that the country should redirect its efforts to economic development and other peaceful pursuits. BRADTKE