VZCZCXRO6546
RR RUEHAG RUEHROV
DE RUEHUB #1268/01 2892101
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 162101Z OCT 06
FM USINT HAVANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8614
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0030
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0010
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0008
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 021268 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE DEPT FOR WHA/CCA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/16/2016 
TAGS: PREL KN PARM KNNP CU
SUBJECT: CUBAN GOVT SIGNALS LINGERING IRE OVER DPRK NUKE 
TEST 
 
REF: HAVANA 20783 
 
HAVANA 00021268  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: COM Michael Parmly for Reason 1.4(e). 
 
¶1. (C) Cuban state media on October 14 disseminated a 
statement from the 183-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), 
currently headed by Cuba, on North Korea's reported nuclear 
blast.  The statement, approved the previous day at UN 
headquarters, urges North Korea, a NAM member, to halt its 
nuclear testing and to stick to the group's disarmament 
goals.  The NAM also called on all concerned parties in 
northeast Asia not to transfer nuclear weapons-related 
materials, equipment or technology, and to exercise 
restraint.  By spreading the NAM statement, the Cuban 
Government signaled its lingering unhappiness over the DPRK's 
reported test; on October 10, the GOC showed its ire in a 
press item that noted UNSC condemnation of the incident and 
firm Chinese opposition.  Meanwhile, Cuban  state radio 
referred October 16 to "Iran's peaceful nuclear energy 
program." (NAM statement text follows in Paragraph 3.) 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶2. (C) The Cuban Government's latest, indirect denunciation 
of the reported DPRK test is aimed at helping the island 
nation stay in the good graces of China, its patron and 
opponent of the reported underground blast.  Dissemination of 
the NAM statement has the added benefit of enabling the GOC 
to flex some NAM-presidency muscle and strut its stuff on the 
global stage.  There can be little doubt that Cuba's 
leadership, which once called for a Soviet nuclear strike 
against the United States, is motivated by calculated 
self-interest.  Perhaps this is why Cuban state radio on 
October 16 referred to "Iran's peaceful nuclear energy 
program" during a report on Iran's rejection of any 
restrictions on its nuclear program.  End Comment. 
 
STATEMENT FROM NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Following is a statement from the Non-Aligned 
Movement, as relayed by Granma, the official mouthpiece of 
the Cuban Communist Party: 
 
The Coordination Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement has 
expressed its concern at, while acknowledging the 
complexities derived from the nuclear test in the Korean 
Peninsula, which underscores the need to work even more 
vigorously to achieve the Movement's disarmament objectives, 
including the elimination of nuclear weapons.  The Movement 
exhorts the implicated parties in the region to exercise 
moderation, which will contribute to regional security; to 
discontinue nuclear tests; and not to transfer materials, 
equipment and technology related to nuclear weapons. 
 
The Movement expresses its desire for the de-nuclearization 
of the Korean Peninsula and continues to support the renewal 
of Six-Party Talks as soon as possible.  The Movement firmly 
believes that diplomacy and dialogue via peaceful means must 
continue with a view to achieving a long-term solution to the 
Korean nuclear question. 
 
In the light of this action, the Movement reaffirms its 
principled position in relation to nuclear disarmament, which 
continues being its maximum priority, as well as issues 
related to nuclear non-proliferation in all its aspects, and 
emphasizes its concern at the threat that the permanent 
existence of nuclear weapons and their potential use or 
threat of use supposes for humanity.  At the same time, it 
reiterates its profound concern at the slow advance toward 
nuclear disarmament and the lack of progress on the part of 
states possessing nuclear weapons in the total elimination of 
their nuclear arsenals.  It highlights the need for states 
possessing nuclear weapons to fulfil the unequivocal 
commitment that they contracted in 2000 in matters referring 
to obtaining the total elimination of nuclear weapons and, in 
this context, stresses the pressing need to begin 
negotiations without delay. 
 
The Movement stresses its principles and priorities on the 
issue of disarmament and international security, as adopted 
at the 14th Conference of Heads of State or Government of the 
Non-Aligned Movement that took place in Havana, Cuba from 
 
HAVANA 00021268  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
September 11 to 16, 2006. 
PARMLY