South Korea accepts IAEA report on nuclear -experiments

South Korea is satisfied with the IAEA report on its unauthorised nuclear experiments and expects an "impartial" conclusion from the UN agency's upcoming board meeting, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. The International Atomic Energy Agency report confirmed on Thursday that South Korea had enriched a tiny amount of uranium in 2000 to a level close to what could be used in an atomic weapon.
Seoul only recently revealed the experiments, saying that they had been conducted without government knowledge or approval.
"Although the quantities of nuclear material involved have not been significant, the nature of the activities - uranium enrichment and plutonium separation - and the failures by (South Korea) to report these activities in a timely manner ... is a matter of serious concern," said the report, obtained by Reuters.
Song Young-wan, a senior Foreign Ministry official who has been dealing with the IAEA, said: "We think the report is objective and impartial." He noted that the agency had not accused Seoul of failing to comply with its obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).
"It did not say non-compliance but described the event as a failure to report," Song said, adding that Seoul's close co-operation during the IAEA probes had been positively factored in.
The agency had found no signs that the experiments had gone beyond small-scale laboratory activities, the report said.
South Korea's Science Ministry provided a summary of the report on Friday, adding that the document was in line with "what we have explained so far".
Some diplomats in Vienna, where the UN agency is based, say Seoul's concealment of its plutonium and uranium experiments was a violation of its NPT obligations which could require the IAEA board of governors to refer the matter to the UN Security Council.But the IAEA has said it has no reason to doubt Seoul's declaration that it had no ambitions to develop nuclear weapons. The agency's board of governors will discuss the case on November 25.
"I don't want to predict the board's decision, but we expect an impartial conclusion from the board as well," said Song.
North Korea has latched on to the issue, saying it wants the South's experiments discussed before it agrees to further talks about its own nuclear programmes at six-way talks involving the United States, Japan, China and Russia as well as the two Koreas.