Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 February 2005
105 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the efforts being undertaken at European and United Nations level to examine the level of nuclear capability of North Korea; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2659/05]
View answerThe issue of the nuclear programme of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, DPRK, is kept under close and regular scrutiny within the European Union. There are, however, very few sources of reliable and independent information concerning its nature.
Generally, the most reliable source of information about a country's nuclear activities is the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, which has the responsibility for carrying out inspections under the safeguards agreements which are mandatory for states parties to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, NPT. Such an agreement entered into force for the DPRK in April 1992 but the IAEA was never permitted to verify that the DPRK'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 DPRK's graphite moderated reactor and related facilities as requested by the United Nations Security Council and as foreseen in the US-DPRK Agreed Framework of 1994. On 31 December 2002, agency inspectors had to leave at the request of the DPRK 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 DPRK announced its withdrawal from the NPT. The IAEA board of governors in a resolution of February 2003 confirmed that the agency's safeguards agreement with the DPRK remained binding and in force and called upon the DPRK to remedy its non-compliance urgently by taking all steps deemed necessary by the agency. At the most recent meeting of the IAEA general conference, in September 2004, a further resolution noted with concern repeated official DPRK statements declaring its intention to build up a nuclear deterrent force, and its announcement in October 2003 that it had completed the reprocessing of over 8000 spent fuel rods. The resolution urged the DPRK to reconsider those actions and announcements which 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 European Union expressed its concern that the IAEA 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 DPRK in order to find a solution for the implementation of safeguards and strongly urged the DPRK to come unconditionally into full compliance with all its relevant international commitments. In particular, the EU called for the DPRK'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 IAEA inspectors.
The issue of the DPRK's nuclear programme is also being addressed within the framework of the six party talks process involving China, the DPRK, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States. Three rounds of talks have taken place to date, but the process is currently stalled. The DPRK has said in recent weeks that it is waiting for the new US Administration to settle in before taking matters forward. Ireland, together with the EU, supports the six party talks process and continues to urge the DPRK to co-operate with the international community to find a solution to the nuclear issue.
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 current situation by peaceful means. We have availed of every opportunity to confirm the Union's willingness to contribute to these international efforts to move matters forward and have indicated our readiness to consider enhanced co-operation with the DPRK if the present difficult situation can be resolved in a satisfactory manner. This approach was conveyed by the EU Regional Director Troika to the DPRK, which took place between 13 and 16 November 2004.
