The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency said Monday he was “seriously concerned” about covert nuclear experiments conducted by South Korean scientists dating back to the 1980s and promised to investigate further.
Mohammed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, described a pattern of repeated violations by South Korea over the years. Others familiar with the United Nations agency’s investigation said that South Korean researchers tried to block inspections and cover up the evidence of nuclear experiments before finally admitting them this year.
Among the most damaging charges in ElBaradei’s report was that South Korea had three undeclared nuclear facilities, one of which was used in the 1980s to produce more than 330 pounds of uranium. South Korea has admitted that its scientists enriched a small amount of that uranium in 2000.
“It is a matter of serious concern that the conversion and enrichment of uranium and the separation of plutonium were not reported … as required,” ElBaradei said.
Meanwhile, the United States, buoyed by growing European support, lobbied the IAEA to send Iran before the United Nations Security Council for refusing to freeze work that can produce nuclear weapons.
A European diplomat said Washington had revised a resolution originally drafted by France, Germany and Britain, adding an Oct. 31 deadline and toughening language meant to force Iran to dispel all suspicions it is trying to make nuclear arms in violation of treaty commitments.
On Monday, U.S. and European diplomats at a weeklong meeting of the IAEA’s board of governors shuttled between conference rooms to negotiate strategy on Iran.
ElBaradei said Tehran had gone a long way to cooperate with inspectors, but he urged the Islamic Republic to avoid measures that would raise already heightened suspicions about its nuclear ambitions.
“They have everything to benefit by showing full transparency,” ElBaradei told reporters after opening the board meeting.
ElBaradei said he couldn’t set a timeline for completing the Iran investigation but said wanted to see much of the issues clarified by the end of the year.
The South Korean investigation is just getting under way and ElBaradei said he expects a first full report to be ready for the November board meeting.
The IAEA discovered traces of plutonium at a shuttered laboratory on the outskirts of Seoul, the capital. The material apparently was produced in unauthorized experiments in 1982.
Under its non-proliferation commitments, South Korea is not allowed to make plutonium or enriched uranium, fuels for nuclear bombs.
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South Korean officials maintain all these experiments were done on a laboratory scale by a handful of scientists without approval from the government.
“Some people can make mistakes and in this case, some scientists, very ambitious in terms of … their scientific inquisitiveness in certain of the aspects of nuclear materials, went a little bit further without any authorization of the government,” said Cho Chang Beom, South Korean ambassador to the UN nuclear agency.
Although South Korea’s infractions appear to be relatively minor, the diplomatic fallout could be enormous.
Nuclear-related activities by a U.S. ally could undermine the Bush administration’s efforts to rein in programs in North Korea and Iran. And South Korea’s actions could set a dangerous precedent for other countries that might question their commitment to non-proliferation.
In Washington on Monday, the Energy Department said that 24 pounds of highly enriched uranium, enough for a crude nuclear weapon, was secretly flown to Russia last week from a research lab in Uzbekistan where U.S. officials had long feared terrorists could obtain the material.