IAEA Board Meeting on NK Nuke Issue Put Off
2003-01-23
The board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to discuss whether to refer the North Korean nuclear issue to the United Nations Security Council has been put off, according to a senior official at the Foreign Affairs-Trade Ministry on Thursday (Jan. 23).
"Due to different positions on the issue among member nations of the international nuclear watchdog body, a board meeting this week has become impossible," the official said on condition of anonymity.
He said the IAEA has informed the South Korean government of the postponement.
The United States has been pushing for the special session of the IAEA board meeting within this week to adopt a resolution to refer the North Korean nuclear issue to the U.N. Security Council.
Russia was reportedly resisting the U.S. move, demanding it be given more time to continue diplomatic efforts to defuse the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula.
Sources foresee the board meeting is unlikely until Jan. 31 as IAEA Director-General Mohamed Elbaradei will make a trip to New York Jan. 27-29 to discuss the Iraqi issue at the United Nations.
The ministry official also rebuffed remarks by U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton during a news conference in Seoul Wednesday that South Korea agreed with the U.S. to refer the North Korean issue to the U.S. Security Council.
"It is not appropriate to mention the referral of the issue to the Security Council as the IAEA has yet to discuss the matter," he said.
Another official maintained that Seoul's stand has been that it will honor the consensus made by member countries of the nuclear watchdog.
"Given the ongoing inter-Korean ministerial talks in Seoul, I think it is proper to wait and see until after the end of the talks," he said.
In the news conference, Bolton, one of most prominent hawks on the North Korean issue in the Bush administration, expressed hope the IAEA would convene a board meeting soon and decide to bring the issue to the Security Council as soon as possible.
Source : www.korea.net
