Steve Quayle News Alerts

September 8, 2003
VIENNA (AFP)

North Korea's nuclear buildup poses a "serious and immediate challenge" to non-proliferation efforts, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, warned Monday.

ElBaradei said the UN atomic watchdog could not allay fears about Pyongyang's nuclear programme as it was forced to withdraw its inspectors from North Korea in December 2002.

"The situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea continues to pose a serious and immediate challenge to the nuclear non-proliferation regime," ElBaradei said in his opening address to a four-day meeting of the IAEA's board of governors.

North Korea withdrew from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in December and there are fears that the defiant regime could this week carry out a nuclear or missile test to coincide with national day celebrations.

"Since that time (December) the agency has not performed any verification activities in the DPRK and cannot therefore provide any level of assurance about the non-diversion of nuclear material," ElBaradei said.

He welcomed the six-nation talks between North and South Korea, the United States, Russia, China and Japan to difuse the nuclear crisis as a "step in the right direction" and said he hoped the dialogue would continue.

The last round of talks ended in acrimony in Beijing in late August, and no date has yet been set for them to resume.

The IAEA board of governors meeting is expected to focus on Iran's suspect nuclear energy programme, but spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said there could also be discussion of the North Korean crisis.

The IAEA in February declared North Korea in violation of the NPT and referred the matter to the UN Security Council, which can impose sanctions on Pyongyang.

But China and Russia have so far successfully argued against letting the Security Council intervene in the crisis, favouring multilateral negotiations instead.

http://www.spacewar.com/2003/030908102215.n3u6iyos.html