North Korea nuclear work a concern: IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency says North Korea's ongoing nuclear program continues to be of "grave concern".

North Korea's ongoing nuclear developments are of "grave concern," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says in a report that gives no indications Pyongyang has curbed its atomic program.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had agreed to work towards a nuclear-weapons-free Korean peninsula when he met South Korean President Moon Jae in April and US President Donald Trump in June.

However, the IAEA report published this week in Vienna contains a detailed list of ongoing activities in various nuclear facilities, including the Yongbyon power plant that is believed to produce the plutonium for North Korea's nuclear test explosions.

Construction of a possible additional reprocessing plant that could extract plutonium from used reactor fuel has continued, according to the report.

In addition, the IAEA said it has been monitoring a site near Pyongyang whose characteristics and construction history "are not inconsistent with a centrifuge enrichment facility."

Enriched uranium can also be used in nuclear warheads.

"The continuation and further development of the DPRK's nuclear program and related statements by the DPRK are a cause for grave concern," IAEA chief Yukiya Amano wrote in the report, using the acronym for the country's official name - the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

IAEA inspectors are not allowed into North Korea, but they have been monitoring the country via satellites and other available information.


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world