South Korea welcomed on Saturday the UN nuclear watchdog's decision not to refer Seoul's atomic experiments to the Security Council and said it should not affect nuclear talks with North Korea.
The board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), meeting in Vienna on Friday, rebuked South Korea for secret experiments that could have helped it develop an atom bomb, but spared it the humiliation of being hauled in front of the Security Council.
Seoul had lobbied hard to avoid being referred to the Security Council, and officials expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
"It was a result of what we have done to ensure the case is treated in a fair and objective manner and wrapped up at the IAEA's board meeting," Lee Kyu-hyung, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, told Reuters by telephone.
The IAEA said in a report this month that South Korea had enriched a tiny amount of uranium in 2000 to a level close to what would be useable in an atomic weapon - contradicting previous denials by Seoul.
South Korean scientists also separated a tiny amount of bomb-grade plutonium in 1982 without notifying the IAEA.
IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei noted Seoul's explanation that the work had been carried out by researchers "for scientific interest, without the knowledge of the government".
He also told reporters South Korea had taken "corrective measures", including tightening controls on nuclear materials and special training for atomic scientists.
The foreign ministry spokesman rejected suggestions that the IAEA finding might prompt Pyongyang to avoid quickly resuming six-way talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear programmes.
"We don't think the decision would affect the six-way nuclear talks. The six-way talks are to deal with the North's nuclear programme," Lee said.
"We believe that all involved countries except the North have shared the view that it is not an issue to be tabled at the multilateral talks," he said.
North Korea has tried to exploit the issue, saying it wanted the South's experiments discussed before agreeing to further six-way talks on its own nuclear programme involving the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia.
The six nations have held three rounds of talks in Beijing but a fourth round scheduled for September fell through because Pyongyang declined to attend.
A flurry of reports have hinted the stalled talks could resume soon. Seoul's KBS television said the six parties will meet in Beijing next month to set a date for a formal round.
Experts say North Korea has already developed a small nuclear arsenal.
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