(September 24, 1993) North Korea refused in mid-August to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect two waste storage facilities believed to hold the key to information about how much plutonium has been separated.
(398.3883) WISE Amsterdam - The IAEA suspects that the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK, the official name of North Korea) has failed to declare a significant portion of its plutonium inventory, and may even have converted some plutonium to metallic form.
It is believed that converted plutonium nitrate separated since 1988 has been converted to pure metallic plutonium in a facility at or near the Yongbyong nuclear complex. If so, this conversion could be reasonably explained only by an intention to develop nuclear weapons. According to US Secretary of State Warren Christopher, any effort by the DPRK to build nuclear weapons would not be tolerated by Washington. The IAEA inspectorate is planning to present a report on safeguard inspections at North Korea to the Board of Governors at their meeting on 21 September.
North Korea signed the NPT (Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty) in 1985 but delayed in negotiating a safeguards agreement and declaring its nuclear facilities. The IAEA has not yet been able to apply full safeguards at Yongbyong. The DPRK notified its withdrawal from the NPT on 12 March, but suspended the effectiveness of that withdrawal on 11 June -one day before it would have taken effect. The refusal to allow inspection at the two facilities appears to be (under Western legal interpretation) a violation of its obligations, since it is still a member of the NPT, having suspended its withdrawal. But the DPRK is taking an opposite interpretation, saying they in fact left the treaty but suspended the effectiveness of that step only to permit talks with the US. Pyongyang says its out of the NPT until it's in, and the West says the country is in until it's out.
Meanwhile, a high ranking North Korean army official who defected to South Korea claims that there has been a dangerous nuclear accident in the DPRK. Although the press reports on his testimony are very vague and brief, it seems that in trying to prevent an inspection by the IAEA at a secret nuclear facility at Pyongyang by removing (!?) it, hundreds of people died. The period in which the accident was said to have happened is unknown (in any case, not published in reports we saw). The defecter, Im Young Sun, said other army officials were present at Pyongyang at the time and told him about it.
Sources:
- Nucleonics Week (US), 2 July 1993
- Nuclear Fuel (US), 30 Aug. 1993
- Die Tageszeitung (FRG), 25 Aug. 1993