IAEA Sees Little Hope of Progress with NK

Director General Yukiya Amano of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has informed the agency’s 35-member board of governors that he sees little hope of a mission being sent to North Korea (aka DRPK) in the near future, confirming in the process international concerns that since “the Agency has not been able to implement any safeguard measures in the DPRK for more than three years… our knowledge of the current status of the country’s nuclear programme is limited.”

Amano revealed the information in a statement to IAEA governors at the beginning of the second IAEA board meeting of the year in Vienna yesterday, stating that recent contact with North Korea has made it “clear that there is no immediate prospect of an Agency mission taking place.”

IAEA talks with North Korea have been on hold since Pyongyang’s decision to launch a long-range rocket in mid April. However, that stands in stark contrast with the atmosphere starting in late February, when North Korea and the U.S. concluded the so-called ‘Leap Day Agreement’. According to Amano, on March 30th he responded to North Korea’s offer to allow a visit to Yongbyon by an IAEA delegation “in a constructive spirit”. However, since then the agency has been reduced to “carefully monitoring the situation” as North Korea’s relations with the U.S. have soured.

In conclusion, Amano added, “I again call upon the DPRK to fully comply with its obligations under relevant Security Council resolutions, to come into full compliance with the NPT and to cooperate promptly and fully with the Agency.”

The sitting IAEA board of governors is made up of officials from 35 countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Niger, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Tunisia, the UAE, the UK and the U.S.

Christopher Green is a researcher in Korean Studies based at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Chris has published widely on North Korean political messaging strategies, contemporary South Korean broadcast media, and the socio-politics of Korean peninsula migration. He is the former Manager of International Affairs for Daily NK. His X handle is: @Dest_Pyongyang.