MEDIA COVERAGE OF UAE NORTH KOREAN ARMS SEIZURE

S E C R E T ABU DHABI 000857 NOFORN SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP, FOR T/ISN E.O. 12958: 08/29/2019 TAGS: PREL PARM MNUC KNNP ETTC IR NK AE SUBJECT: MEDIA COVERAGE OF UAE NORTH KOREAN ARMS SEIZURE CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR RICHARD G. OLSON FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D. REFS: A) ABU DHABI 797 (NOTAL) B) SECSTATE 86588 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: UAEG officials, though initially reluctant to comment, have now publicly confirmed media reports of the seized cargo of ANL Australia after reporters in Dubai learned of it from shipping industry sources. Subsequent widespread media coverage highlighted the UAE's previously low-profile interdiction program. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) London-based business daily Financial Times' Dubai correspondent broke the story on August 28. Other Western media outlets followed with quotes from an unnamed UN official providing a detailed description of the embargoed materiel seized under UNSCR ¶1874. State-owned media outlets quoted Western officials praising the UAE's vigilance enforcing Security Council sanctions. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: While the UAEG would have preferred to keep the interdiction out of the public eye, it is not unhappy with this outcome. MinState for Foreign Affairs Gargash told Ambassador on 30 August that once the UAE passed the information to the UN they knew it would leak. (Our information is that FT got the initial story from Dubai shipping sources, not the UN.) The UAE likely sought to avoid media coverage of an interdiction that could provoke or embarrass Iran. A key UAE media advisor told the Ambassador that UAE officials initially refused comment, but concern over the accuracy of media reports prompted an official UAEG response. Once the seizure became public, the UAE attempted to manage media coverage by portraying its role as that of an active and responsible UN member, not missing an opportunity to bolster its nonproliferation reputation. END COMMENT. OLSON