Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 November 2004
87 Mr. English asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent of information available to him on the North Korean nuclear programme; the contacts being made with North Korea by the EU to curb this programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30060/04]
View answerThere are few sources of reliable and independent information concerning the nature of the nuclear programme in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The most reliable source of information about a country's nuclear activities is the International Atomic Energy Agency which has the responsibility for carrying out inspections under the safeguards agreements, mandatory for states party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Such an agreement entered into force for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in April 1992 but the International Atomic Energy Agency was never permitted to verify that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's initial declaration of nuclear material subject to safeguards was correct and complete.
From November 1994 to December 2002, however, the agency was able to monitor the freeze of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's graphite moderated reactor and related facilities as requested by the UN Security Council and as foreseen in the US-the Democratic People's Republic of Korea agreed framework of 1994. On 31 December 2002, agency inspectors had to leave at the request of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea following its decision to terminate this freeze on its nuclear facilities. Since then, the agency has been unable to draw any conclusions regarding the nuclear activities in that country.
In January 2003 the Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced its withdrawal from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. The International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors in a resolution of February 2003 confirmed that the agency's safeguards agreement with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea remained binding and in force. The board called upon the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to remedy its non-compliance urgently by taking all steps deemed necessary by the agency to this end.
At the International Atomic Energy Agency general conference in September 2004, a further resolution noted with concern the statements of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea declaring its intention to build up a nuclear deterrent force and its announcement in October 2003 that it had completed the reprocessing of over 8,000 spent fuel rods. The resolution urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to reconsider those actions and announcements that ran counter to its international non-proliferation obligations and to completely dismantle any nuclear weapons programme in a prompt, transparent, verifiable and irreversible manner.
At this general conference meeting, the EU expressed concerns that the International Atomic Energy Agency had not been able to carry out its verification activities and was not in a position to confirm that nuclear material had not been diverted to non-peaceful uses. The EU commended the efforts of the agency to seek dialogue with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to find a solution for the implementation of safeguards. The EU urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to come unconditionally into full compliance with all its relevant international commitments. The EU also called for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's compliance with its safeguards agreement by allowing the re-establishment of the required containment and surveillance measures at its nuclear facilities and the full implementation of all the required safeguard measures, including the return of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors.
The issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear programme is also being addressed within the framework of the six-party talks process involving China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States. While not directly involved in these talks, the EU has welcomed this ongoing multilateral process and made clear its firm support for the resolution of the situation by peaceful means. We have availed of every opportunity to confirm the EU's willingness to contribute to these international efforts and have indicated our readiness to consider enhanced co-operation with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea if the present difficult situation can be resolved in a satisfactory manner.
An EU Troika, at official level, visited the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from 13 to 16 November 2004, and held talks with senior Korean officials. The question of the six party talks was among issues discussed, and the EU side urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to re-engage as soon as possible in the six-party talks. However, the Korean side replied that it was not willing to return to the talks so long as the United States maintains its "hostile" attitude to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The EU side persisted in encouraging the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to re-engage. The talks also covered human rights, the question of EU-Democratic People's Republic of Korea relations, humanitarian assistance, economic reforms and inter-Korean relations.
