ACCESSION NUMBER:278794
FILE ID:TXT201
DATE:04/20/93
TITLE:NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR DANGER (04/20/93)
TEXT:*93042001.TXT
NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR DANGER
1
(VOA Editorial) (470)
(Following is an editorial, broadcast by the Voice of America April 20,
reflecting the views of the U.S. government.)
The president of the U.N. Security Council recently issued a statement of
concern over North Korea's non-compliance with the International Atomic
Energy Agency's nuclear safeguards agreement and North Korea's decision to
withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. The statement was
supported by a consensus of the U.N. Security Council members. As the U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations, Madeleine Albright, said, the United
States "joins other members of the (U.N. Security) Council in expressing
full and complete support for the International Atomic Energy Agency and
the non-proliferation treaty."
Along with other members of the U.N. Security Council, the United States
supports the North-South declaration on the denuclearization of the Korean
peninsula. This includes a pledge not to possess nuclear-reprocessing
facilities and to accept effective bilateral inspections of nuclear
facilities. Complete implementation by North Korea of its responsibilities
under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, the International Atomic Energy
Agency safeguards agreement, and the North-South declaration is critical to
peace and security on the Korean peninsula.
North Korea's announced withdrawal from the non-proliferation treaty has
added to growing international concern over the Kim Il Sung regime's
nuclear activities. In recent testimony before members of the U.S. Senate,
James Woolsey, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said that the
United States has "every indication that the North Koreans are hiding
evidence of some nuclear weapons-related activities from the international
community.... Of the greatest concern is the real possibility that North
Korea has already manufactured enough fissile material for at least one
nuclear weapon and is hiding this from the International Atomic Energy
Agency."
Though a signatory of the non-proliferation treaty since 1985, North Korea
did not allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect any of its
nuclear facilities until last year. According to International Atomic
Energy Agency public statements, these inspections indicated that North
Korea may have more plutonium -- a key element in nuclear weapons -- than
it has declared. To resolve these uncertainties, the International Atomic
Energy Agency should be given full access to information and facilities
related to North Korea's nuclear program.
As Ambassador Albright said, "we call upon North Korea to revoke its
decision to withdraw from the non-proliferation treaty and fulfill its
responsibilities under that treaty." Ambassador Albright noted that the
United States is prepared to play its part in international efforts aimed
at obtaining North Korean compliance with international nuclear
non-proliferation agreements. The United States calls on other nations to
join in these efforts. The door remains open to improved relations if
North Korea fully removes international suspicions about its nuclear
program.
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