Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire: IAEA Might be Asked to Verify North Korean Uranium Work

Monday, April 4, 2011

IAEA Might be Asked to Verify North Korean Uranium Work

The International Atomic Energy Agency could be asked by participants in six-party denuclearization talks to verify that North Korea has a uranium enrichment program, the Yonhap News Agency reported on Thursday (see GSN, March 30).

(Apr. 1) - The South Korean warship Cheonan is lifted onto a barge last April following its sinking the prior month. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Friday rejected North Korea's offer of dialogue and pressed Pyongyang to apologize for the incident, which killed 46 sailors (Hong Jin-hwan/Getty Images).
Use of the U.N. nuclear watchdog is being floated as a possible means of securing Chinese support for a U.N. Security Council response to Pyongyang's proclaimed uranium activities. Beijing has argued the Security Council should not address the North's declared nuclear material enrichment as it does not have any hard proof of the effort.
"The idea is that we conduct a joint investigation into the [uranium enrichment program]," a diplomatic source said. "As China, in particular, has taken a position that it cannot recognize the UEP's existence because it did not confirm it by itself, this means we should carry out a joint investigation."
U.S. nuclear weapons expert Siegfried Hecker briefed U.N. officials about a tour he received in November of a North Korean uranium enrichment facility. Pyongyang is forbidden under Security Council resolutions from enriching uranium, which could provide a second avenue for generating weapon-grade material.
The United States and South Korea are seeking a Security Council statement that the North's uranium program is illegal and military in nature in order to block assertions by Pyongyang from that the program is for civilian purposes. China, though, has argued the six-party framework is the more appropriate setting to address the issue.
The diplomatic official said participants in six-party talks and the U.N. nuclear agency should take part in the investigation to ensure it is impartial and balanced.
Beijing, however, does not support a joint investigation, according to sources.
Potential IAEA involvement in a joint inquiry "is not being discussed specifically" by six-party talks participants, a high-ranking government official said (Yonhap News Agency I, March 31).