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US, UN discuss new North Korea nuclear inspections
Vienna, March 20: The United Nations and United States are working closely together on a plan for the eventual return of nuclear inspectors to North Korea, the head of the UN`s International Atomic Energy Agency said.
Vienna, March 20: The United Nations and United States are working closely together on a plan for the eventual return of nuclear inspectors to North Korea, the head of the UN's
International Atomic Energy Agency said.
Any new programme would be more rigorous than previous UN inspections missions to the secretive communist state, Mohamed Elbaradei told reporters yesterday.
In a sign of renewed cooperation following tensions over the Iraq war, the North Korean nuclear programme was among issues Elbaradei discussed with US President George W. Bush on Wednesday, the IAEA chief said as he flew back from Washington to the UN body's Vienna headquarters on Friday.
''We are working closely with the US on developing a plan on how to verify the programme as and when the time comes.''
Before being thrown out by the Pyongyang authorities at the end of 2002, the IAEA had only limited inspection rights at the Yongbyon nuclear complex. Afterwards, North Korea withdrew from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Elbaradei said this week that his inspectors should have unfettered access if ever they were to return to North Korea.
''We need to consult to see how we can come up with a plan that avoids the pitfalls of the past and makes sure that we have a comprehensive, verifiable action plan that ensures we will be able to have a complete survey of their nuclear programme,'' Elbaradei said.
The IAEA and Washington believe North Korea may already have an atom bomb.
After his meeting with Bush, Elbaradei said that if six-party talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan -- reach any deal on the north's nuclear programme, it should include unfettered UN inspections. ''We need a robust system where we can go at short notice and do environmental sampling, and do all it takes to make sure that we are not being cheated,'' Elbaradei said in Washington.
Asked to describe relations between Washington and the IAEA a year after the tensions caused by the Iraq war, Elbaradei said the United States seemed committed to cooperation.
''The highlight of my visit is the feeling that there is a true commitment in the US, at all levels, to work in partnership with the agency,'' he said. ''I sense at all levels, from the president down, a sense of commitment.''
Bureau Report
In a sign of renewed cooperation following tensions over the Iraq war, the North Korean nuclear programme was among issues Elbaradei discussed with US President George W. Bush on Wednesday, the IAEA chief said as he flew back from Washington to the UN body's Vienna headquarters on Friday.
''We are working closely with the US on developing a plan on how to verify the programme as and when the time comes.''
Before being thrown out by the Pyongyang authorities at the end of 2002, the IAEA had only limited inspection rights at the Yongbyon nuclear complex. Afterwards, North Korea withdrew from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Elbaradei said this week that his inspectors should have unfettered access if ever they were to return to North Korea.
''We need to consult to see how we can come up with a plan that avoids the pitfalls of the past and makes sure that we have a comprehensive, verifiable action plan that ensures we will be able to have a complete survey of their nuclear programme,'' Elbaradei said.
The IAEA and Washington believe North Korea may already have an atom bomb.
After his meeting with Bush, Elbaradei said that if six-party talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan -- reach any deal on the north's nuclear programme, it should include unfettered UN inspections. ''We need a robust system where we can go at short notice and do environmental sampling, and do all it takes to make sure that we are not being cheated,'' Elbaradei said in Washington.
Asked to describe relations between Washington and the IAEA a year after the tensions caused by the Iraq war, Elbaradei said the United States seemed committed to cooperation.
''The highlight of my visit is the feeling that there is a true commitment in the US, at all levels, to work in partnership with the agency,'' he said. ''I sense at all levels, from the president down, a sense of commitment.''
Bureau Report