Most eyes may now be on the nuclear crisis in Japan. But North Korean defiance and Iran’s stalling remain the IAEA’s big headaches.
The insistence last week by the US representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency that North Korea must allow the organization’s inspectors back into its nuclear facilities before Six-Party Talks can resume further underscored the continued importance of IAEA verification as the ‘gold standard’ in confirming nuclear disarmament.
The comments by Glyn Davies came just a few days before Washington’s top diplomat for the region prepared to meet South Korean officials to discuss North Korea’s new uranium enrichment programme. They were also made at a time when Seoul and Washington have been looking to the UN Security Council to increase pressure on Pyongyang.
But while Davies’ comments highlighted the centrality of the IAEA in resolving key nuclear issues, they also served as a reminder about just how serious a challenge Asia poses to non-proliferation efforts.
Three of the four countries that aren’t currently Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty parties are in Asia, with India, Pakistan, and North Korea having all tested nuclear weapons while continuing to strengthen their nuclear arsenals.
Under the NPT, these nuclear forces are illegal as the countries weren’t recognized as nuclear weapons states at the time the treaty entered into force, in 1970. India and Pakistan have never signed the NPT, while North Korea flounced out in 2003 and has since twice detonated a nuclear device. In addition, the IAEA Board of Governors has found Iran noncompliant with its safeguard obligations. With India and Pakistan also engaging with the IAEA to only a limited extent, it’s hardly surprising that Asia is proving such a headache for international policymakers.
North Korea is the only state to have withdrawn from the NPT, unilaterally disabled IAEA containment and surveillance systems, and expelled IAEA inspectors from its territory. But even before it withdrew, Pyongyang had already been in chronic noncompliance with its safeguards agreement since 1993, when the IAEA was unable to verify that it had declared all its nuclear material. When the IAEA demanded a special inspection that year, the North Korean government issued notice of its intention to withdraw from the NPT.
It was at this point that the United States intervened and negotiated the 1994 Agreed Framework, which held until 2002, when North Korea, citing the failure of the other parties to provide Pyongyang with adequate energy assistance, seemingly acknowledged US government claims that it was conducting an undeclared uranium enrichment programme. Pyongyang expelled its IAEA inspectors in December of that year and announced its withdrawal from the NPT the following January.
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Indian.bully
India should share the nuke tech with taiwan, s korea, phillipines and ‘vietnam’ just the way this rougue china did with pakistan, n korea, iran and libya.
JD
What is good for the goose is good for the gander.What is so special about the five declared nuclear countries? NPT is discrimanatory.The countires which should go nuclear pronto are Japan,South Korea,Taiwan.USA is not going to provide any Nuclear Umbrella to them.They are already talking of leaving Taiwan to its fate.Japan and South Korea are next in the line.
The root cause of all problems is USA foreign policies .They helped China against USSR and now they don’t know what to do about North Korea and Pak nuclear programs.USA took out Saddam and now they don’t know what to do about Iran’S Nuclear program.
Stakes may be too high but pressure is not going to help,only Fairness will.
Grant
You’ll note that all five have reduced their arsenals since the 1980s. Also Taiwan is an undecided territory that China considers to be a part of it. South Korea and Japan are recognized states. Not quite the same thing.
Michael
“Taiwan is an undecided territory”….you must have just awoken form a coma or something! Taiwan is recognized as a territory of China by the entire UN under the ” ONE CHINA POLICY!” so where are you coming from???
Big CAD
Tell you what Michael, we can meet on the beach at Xiamen, there I will give you a rubber dinghy, paddle and a compass. Please make sure to bring your passport with appropriate visa for China or you’re hukou depending on your nationality. From there you can row south, when you see the large landmass go directly towards it. On arrival show you’re proof of ID at the nearest police station. Oddly enough I think you would be flying the next plane bank to the middle kingdom.
You see with a different country comes a different passport, flag, currency, government and culture. Having been surrounded by the dalu ren for many years I understand the one nation thing has been drilled into you since birth, so I will be unable to dissuade you from your fanaticism. However the rest of the world believes otherwise, this is unfortunately not represented at the UN or relayed to us by our governments mainly for political and economic expediency (you can’t ignore such a large up and coming first world nation with a third world mindset).
An example of the culture gap between the mainland and Taiwan (HK as well) is that I can happily make friends and have relations with those Chinese raised outside of China, yet am unable to do so with mainlanders due to the huge cultural gap generated by a stilted and lop sided education coupled with parenting values one generation detached from the fields. You aren’t born nuts, the mainlands culture just causes you to be, my condolences.