IAEA Board of Governors
Agenda Item 6(c): Application of safeguards in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
4 June 2024
Statement by H.E Ambassador Ian Biggs, Governor and Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA
Chair
Australia aligns ourselves with the Joint Statement of the DPRK Core Group delivered by Canada and would like to add the following remarks in our national capacity.
Australia thanks the Director General for his updates on the nuclear activities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in his introductory statement. Australia reiterates our concern about the Agency’s recent observations consistent with ongoing commissioning of the Light Water Reactor at Yongbyon, and about other activities indicative of the continuation and further development of the DPRK’s nuclear programme.
Australia continues to condemn in the strongest terms the DPRK’s ongoing pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and delivery systems, with frequent ballistic missile launches and satellite launches using ballistic missile technology. The DPRK’s continued advancement of its illegal nuclear weapons program, in flagrant violation of its obligations under multiple UN Security Council resolutions, poses a grave threat to global stability. It is a serious challenge to international non-proliferation efforts.
Chair
Australia strictly enforces all UN Security Council resolutions in response to the DPRK’s violations. We encourage all countries to likewise abide by their UN Security Council obligations.
Any transfer of ballistic missiles, and of any other weapons and related material to and from the DPRK, constitutes a direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions and undermines the global non-proliferation regime. This Board must be unified in its demand that all countries act responsibly in full compliance with their international obligations, and refrain from assisting the DPRK in any way in its pursuit of an illegal weapons programme.
In this regard, we condemn in the strongest possible terms the continued transfer of weapons from the DPRK to Russia. We share the concern that deepening the DPRK-Russia cooperation is providing technical and military insights to the DPRK, with serious security implications. Russia’s decision to end the mandate of the UN Security Council’s Panel of Experts on DPRK after fourteen years of unanimous support is a matter of grave concern for Australia. We regret that in so doing, Russia condones the DPRK’s illegal pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, to the detriment of the global non-proliferation regime and to international peace and security.
Chair
Australia remains deeply concerned by indications of the DPRK’s continued preparedness to conduct a seventh nuclear test, including the maintenance of the Punggye-ri site. Australia once again calls on the DPRK to refrain from conducting further nuclear explosive tests, and to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty without further delay.
We urge the DPRK to cease provocations, and comply with its obligations under multiple UN Security Council resolutions, by abandoning its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner. We call on the DPRK to engage constructively in diplomacy – the only path to an enduring peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The DPRK cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon state under the NPT. We call on the DPRK to return to full compliance with IAEA safeguards and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear-weapon state, allowing the return of IAEA inspectors.
Finally, Chair
There is no scope within the international safeguards regime to accept the continued misuse of previously safeguarded facilities for the production of nuclear material for weapons use. Through its regular provision of objective technical information and analysis in relation to the DPRK’s nuclear activities, the Agency is making an important contribution to the international community’s collective effort to uphold the global non-proliferation regime. Australia commends the Agency for its continued vigilance, and for maintaining its enhanced readiness to play an essential role in verifying the DPRK’s nuclear program.
Thank you, Chair