PREVIEW: IAEA to discuss North Korea, Iran nuclear programme

Mar 5, 2007, 8:27 GMT

Vienna - The International Atomic Energy Agency in its upcoming board meeting to begin Monday is to focus on North Korea's announcement that it will phase out its nuclear weapons programme and allow IAEA inspectors to return to the country.

The session of the IAEA's 35-nation board is also to discuss Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei will inform the board of North Korea's announcement allowing IAEA inspectors back as well as the invitation Pyongyang extended to him.

According to European diplomats, ElBaradei's visit to North Korea will be important in clarifying modalities of future IAEA activities in the country. The board will have to approve formally the resumption of inspections, which it is expected to do after ElBaradei's return.

IAEA inspectors were forced to leave the country in December 2002, when North Korea, pursuing a nuclear weapons programme, renounced its membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. In October 2006 North Korea announced it had conducted a successful nuclear weapons test.

In an agreement reached on February 13 in Beijing, North Korea agreed eventually to mothball its weapons programme in exchange for substantial aid payments. While there is still scepticism about North Korea's intentions, optimism prevails that a solution to this ongoing crisis is within reach, diplomats in Vienna said.

The board will also consider ElBaradei's latest report to the UN Security Council on the agency's investigation into Iran's nuclear programme.

The report, sent to the Security Council on February 23, stated that Iran not only ignored calls to suspend uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, but also forged ahead with its nuclear programme. Due to lack of cooperation on Teheran's part, the UN nuclear watchdog made no progress in resolving outstanding issues.

The IAEA will furthermore report on its implementation of Security Council 1737 that limits technical cooperation with Iran.

Meanwhile the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany held a number of talks during the last days, working on a second, tougher Security Council resolution on Iran.