If N. Korea shuts down military nuclear program, IAEA ready to send monitoring mission there - Russia's envoy to IAEA
VIENNA. April 2 (Interfax) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stands ready to send a monitoring mission to North Korea if Pyongyang decides to phase down its military nuclear program similarly to what Iran has agreed to do, Russia's Permanent Representative to the IAEA Vladimir Voronkov told Interfax.
"If North Korea decides to stop using nuclear energy for military purposes and agrees within the framework of the six-party process to reach agreement with its participants [Russia, the U.S., Japan, China, and South Korea], the IAEA stands ready to do the necessary monitoring technical work, as it has done in relation to Iran," Voronkov said.
"Such a team of specialists already exists. The IAEA would help North Korea regain its status as a country pursuing a nuclear program but not a member of the military nuclear club," he said.
Voronkov acknowledged, however, that "this is a distant prospect, and nothing indicates that this might happen in the near future."
