Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07MANAGUA1318
2007-05-23 15:24:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Managua
Cable title:
FOREIGN MINISTER DOWNPLAYS GON ENDORSEMENT OF
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C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 001318
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
WHA/CEN, WHA/USOAS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM KGIT XE NU
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER DOWNPLAYS GON ENDORSEMENT OF
NORTH KOREA,S NUCLEAR AMBITIONS
Classified By: Ambassador Paul A. Trivelli. Reasons 1.4 (B,D).
C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 001318
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
WHA/CEN, WHA/USOAS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM KGIT XE NU
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER DOWNPLAYS GON ENDORSEMENT OF
NORTH KOREA,S NUCLEAR AMBITIONS
Classified By: Ambassador Paul A. Trivelli. Reasons 1.4 (B,D).
1. (C) On May 21, the Ambassador raised with Foreign
Minister Samuel Santos the Nicaraguan government's (GON)
position vis a vis North Korea (DPRK),specifically noting
our concern over President Ortega's recent public remarks
virtually endorsing the DPRK's efforts to become a nuclear
power, a position that does not help facilitate the ongoing
Six-Party Talks (remarks faxed to desk on 23 May). The
Ambassador referred to President Ortega's declaration that,
"some (countries) arm themselves, but want to prohibit others
from arming themselves in self-defense. This is not correct,
this is not fair," in clear allusion to the DPRK's nuclear
arms race. Foreign Minister Santos replied that President
Ortega had merely recognized North Korea's right to defend
itself. He then proceeded to lambaste the media for
reporting only part of Ortega's remarks, leaving out the
President's comments "in support of the Six-Party Talks."
2. (C) Comment: The GON recently upgraded its diplomatic
ties with North Korea, accrediting North Korean Ambassador
Jae Myong So on May 16 and hosting the DPRK's Deputy Foreign
Minister Kim Hyong Jun in his three-day visit to Managua.
During the Bolanos administration, Nicaragua's Ambassador in
Tokyo covered North Korea, and North Korea did not maintain
an embassy in Managua. We understand the North Koreans are
establishing an embassy here, but according to the Foreign
Ministry's Americas director, Nicaragua will not open an
embassy in Pyongyang because of cost constraints. He stated
that Nicaragua's embassy in Tokyo will continue covering
North Korea.
3. (C) President Ortega's unhelpful endorsement of North
Korea's nuclear arms ambitions typifies his increasingly
frequent anti-U.S., pro-Venezuela, pro-rogue-state rhetoric.
In essence, friends of Venezuela -- including North Korea,
Iran, and Belarus -- are automatically Nicaragua's allies and
must be supported publicly. On May 19, Ortega and Kim Hyon
Jun committed their countries to support each other in
international fora and to "cooperate in all fields." While
it is true that during the accreditation ceremony Ortega
remarked that Jae Myong So had informed him of North Korea's
talks with China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and the United
States, he did not endorse these talks, preferring instead to
lend Nicaragua's support for North Korea's arms race -- a
statement that would understandably be picked up by the
media. The Japanese Ambassador told the Ambassador privately
that he is "deeply concerned" by Ortega's remarks and the
upgrading of DPRK relations.
TRIVELLI
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
WHA/CEN, WHA/USOAS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM KGIT XE NU
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER DOWNPLAYS GON ENDORSEMENT OF
NORTH KOREA,S NUCLEAR AMBITIONS
Classified By: Ambassador Paul A. Trivelli. Reasons 1.4 (B,D).
1. (C) On May 21, the Ambassador raised with Foreign
Minister Samuel Santos the Nicaraguan government's (GON)
position vis a vis North Korea (DPRK),specifically noting
our concern over President Ortega's recent public remarks
virtually endorsing the DPRK's efforts to become a nuclear
power, a position that does not help facilitate the ongoing
Six-Party Talks (remarks faxed to desk on 23 May). The
Ambassador referred to President Ortega's declaration that,
"some (countries) arm themselves, but want to prohibit others
from arming themselves in self-defense. This is not correct,
this is not fair," in clear allusion to the DPRK's nuclear
arms race. Foreign Minister Santos replied that President
Ortega had merely recognized North Korea's right to defend
itself. He then proceeded to lambaste the media for
reporting only part of Ortega's remarks, leaving out the
President's comments "in support of the Six-Party Talks."
2. (C) Comment: The GON recently upgraded its diplomatic
ties with North Korea, accrediting North Korean Ambassador
Jae Myong So on May 16 and hosting the DPRK's Deputy Foreign
Minister Kim Hyong Jun in his three-day visit to Managua.
During the Bolanos administration, Nicaragua's Ambassador in
Tokyo covered North Korea, and North Korea did not maintain
an embassy in Managua. We understand the North Koreans are
establishing an embassy here, but according to the Foreign
Ministry's Americas director, Nicaragua will not open an
embassy in Pyongyang because of cost constraints. He stated
that Nicaragua's embassy in Tokyo will continue covering
North Korea.
3. (C) President Ortega's unhelpful endorsement of North
Korea's nuclear arms ambitions typifies his increasingly
frequent anti-U.S., pro-Venezuela, pro-rogue-state rhetoric.
In essence, friends of Venezuela -- including North Korea,
Iran, and Belarus -- are automatically Nicaragua's allies and
must be supported publicly. On May 19, Ortega and Kim Hyon
Jun committed their countries to support each other in
international fora and to "cooperate in all fields." While
it is true that during the accreditation ceremony Ortega
remarked that Jae Myong So had informed him of North Korea's
talks with China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and the United
States, he did not endorse these talks, preferring instead to
lend Nicaragua's support for North Korea's arms race -- a
statement that would understandably be picked up by the
media. The Japanese Ambassador told the Ambassador privately
that he is "deeply concerned" by Ortega's remarks and the
upgrading of DPRK relations.
TRIVELLI