Seoul, Feb 10: The UN nuclear watchdog is "almost certain" to refer the North Korean nuclear dispute to the Security Council this week, a South Korean official said today.

The board of the Vienna-based international atomic energy agency is scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss the dispute over North Korea's nuclear activities. "It is almost certain that it will refer it to the UN Security Council," Chun Young-Woo, director general for international organizations at the foreign ministry, told the Associated Press in a telephone interview.


The Security Council could consider economic and political sanctions against North Korea to pressure it to drop its nuclear development. North Korea has warned that economic sanctions amount to a declaration of war.
If the matter goes to the Security Council, it would constitute a diplomatic victory for the United States. Washington wants to deal with North Korea on a multilateral basis, while the north says the nuclear dispute can only be resolved in direct US-North Korean talks.

North Korea wants a non-aggression treaty as well as economic aid from the united states.

Bureau Report