IAEA Board of Governors Meeting
Statement by HE Mr Richard Sadleir, Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA
Agenda Item 7(c): Application of Safeguards in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
3 March 2021
Australia remains deeply concerned by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s ongoing commitment to developing weapons of mass destruction.
The international community calls upon the DPRK to comply with UN Security Council resolutions requiring it to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.
The DPRK’s ongoing development of these programs presents an unacceptable challenge to the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament framework as established under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
The IAEA would, of course, have a crucial verification role to play should the DPRK finally agree to concrete actions and timeframes towards denuclearisation.
Australia commends the Agency for its ongoing work to intensify its readiness to return to the DPRK, within available resources.
The DPRK’s recent unveiling of new ballistic missile systems at military parades and Kim Jong Un’s recent report to the 8th Party Congress, where he outlined the regime’s ongoing commitment to developing nuclear weapons, represent a clear threat to global peace and security.
We continue to call on the DPRK to avoid provocations that risk instability and urge the DPRK to make a sustained commitment to dialogue and engagement.
In this regard, it is imperative that all countries implement UN Security Council sanctions against the DPRK. Sanctions cannot be effective unless they are universally enforced. Australia remains committed to implementing sanctions against the DPRK until it takes clear step towards complying with relevant UNSC resolutions.
We will continue to work alongside our partners to this end.
Australia once again urges the DPRK to return to compliance with the NPT, return to IAEA Safeguards, and implement its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions.