ECUADOR DEMARCHE RESPONSE: NORTH KOREAN TAEPO-DONG

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000254 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: TWENTY YEARS TAGS: PREL PARM KNNP EC KN JA SUBJECT: ECUADOR DEMARCHE RESPONSE: NORTH KOREAN TAEPO-DONG 2 LAUNCH REF: STATE 33031 Classified By: DCM Andrew Chritton for Reasons 1.4 (b&d) ¶1. (C) PolOff delivered reftel points and presidential statement to MFA Multilateral Affairs Director General Lourdes Puma on April 6 on the North Korean Taepo-Dong 2 launch. Puma said that the GOE would follow UNSC guidance on this issue and was aware of the split decision in the UNSC. She said that the GOE was against any kind of unilateral sanctions, and suggested that Japan had overreacted to the launch. ¶2. (C) Puma said that while the GOE was pro-disarmament, it also believed that all countries had the right to use technology for pacific means. PolOff countered that any launch by the DPRK that used ballistic missiles would be a violation of UNSCR 1718, which also required that the DPRK abandon its ballistic missile program in a transparent manner. Puma responded that the GOE would support the IAEA as a vehicle to investigate what really happened in North Korea and to find a peaceful way to force compliance if the DPRK had, in fact, violated UNSCR 1718 -- perhaps through the Six Party Talks process. HODGES