DPR of Korea continues to disrupt UN safeguards at nuclear facility

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has unilaterally continued the process of disrupting safeguards installed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the country’s nuclear facilities, the Agency’s top official said today.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said that over the past two days, the DPRK has cut most of the seals and impeded the functioning of surveillance equipment installed at both the fuel rod fabrication plant and the reprocessing facility.

So far, seals have been cut and surveillance equipment impeded at a total of three facilities at Nyongbyong: the 5-MWe reactor, including the associated spent fuel pond, the fuel rod fabrication plant and the reprocessing facility.

Unless the IAEA is able to immediately reinstate its safeguards at these facilities it will not be able to provide assurances that the DPRK is not diverting nuclear material to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, as required by its safeguards agreement pursuant to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, Mr. ElBaradei said, adding that this rapidly deteriorating situation raises grave non-proliferation concerns.

The Director-General is consulting with the Chairman and Member States of the IAEA Board of Governors on ways to address this development.