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IAEA Director General Urges North Korea to "Seize Opportunity"

In Board Statement, He Says "Compliance not Defiance" is Way Forward

Staff Report

06 January 2003
DPRK talks

IAEA Director General ElBaradei and Ambassador Nabeela Al-Mulla. (Credit: D. Calma/IAEA)

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei urged North Korea "to seize another opportunity" and reverse its course, open dialogue, and allow Agency safeguards inspectors to verify the country's nuclear programme. Dr. ElBaradei today addressed the Agency's Board of Governors, which is meeting at IAEA headquarters in Vienna on the North Korea nuclear issue. In recent weeks, North Korea has expelled IAEA inspectors and disrupted verification activities, following moves to restart its nuclear programme in defiance of obligations under its safeguards agreement with the IAEA.

"This is clearly an unsustainable situation and sets a dangerous precedent," the Director General said. "All cases of non-compliance must be consistently addressed in a uniform fashion -- namely zero tolerance." He urged the DPRK to understand that "the settlement of disputes cannot be linked to the threat of the use of nuclear weapons or other forms of nuclear brinkmanship....I do hope the DPRK will understand that it is compliance rather than defiance that will open the way to a dialogue to address its security and other concerns."

He said he was "encouraged" by the expressed readiness of all concerned parties to enter into a dialogue "once the DPRK has reversed course", and by the readiness of the IAEA Board to "afford the DPRK another opportunity to come into compliance". The Board adopted a resolution that, among other points, deplored in the strongest terms the DPRK's unilateral actions and called upon the DPRK to cooperate "urgently and fully wi1th the Agency" in its verification efforts.

"I hope the DPRK will seize this opportunity and thus create the conditions for an agreed resolution of all outstanding issues," he said. He emphasized that "any lack of cooperation to implement all the required safeguards measures will constitute further non-compliance" and result in further consequences.

See the Related Links on this page for the full text of the Director General's statement, his report to the IAEA Board, and the Board resolution on North Korea.