IAEA chief Grossi says 'reestablishing dialogue' crucial to denuclearizing North Korea

SEOGWIPO, Jeju — Rafael Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general, reiterated that it is crucial to “reestablish the dialogue” with North Korea in approaching denuclearization, adding that resuming inter-Korean dialogue would be one of his “priorities” if elected as the United Nations’ next secretary-general. 

He furthermore called North Korea’s reported expanded uranium enrichment activities in Yongbyon a “concerning trend.” 

“We all know that there are numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions urging [North Korea] to stop these activities, but this unfortunately doesn’t seem to be the case,” Grossi, a UN secretary-general candidate, said during an interview with reporters on the margins of the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity 2026 at a hotel in South Korea’s southern Jeju Island on Thursday. “In any respect, the IAEA will continue providing a technical assessment of what is going on there.” 

There needs to be a “detailed assessment of the situation on the ground,” he said, and to “take into account the fact that the denuclearization dialogue seems to have been changing.” 

“North Korea has adopted a more defiant attitude and one that seems to be no longer considering getting rid of these nuclear weapons,” he added. “In any case, stability and peace will largely depend on an arrangement which will have to also include this aspect.” 

Regarding South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s recent suggestion to U.S. President Donald Trump at the Group of 7 summit in France that Washington should take a sequenced approach to denuclearization, Grossi called it “wise, in that it recognizes that there is a change in the dynamic and [North Korea] seems to be insisting on a status of a de facto nuclear weapon state.” 

“The approach that adopts initiatives and opens different ways for dialogue, in my opinion, is the right approach,” he continued. “In order to solve the problem, you have to recognize it. This is my approach; I’m a realist.” 

When asked what South Korea’s role is in strengthening the global nuclear nonproliferation regime, Grossi acknowledged that the country has a “unique status.” 

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South Korea is one of the world’s most prominent nuclear energy countries, as it recently greenlit plans to build two new large-scale nuclear reactors and commission the country’s first small modular reactor. It also has goals to export 10 nuclear reactors by 2030. 

“[South Korea] is a country that is one of the few successful exporters of nuclear technology in the world,” he said, adding that the days of nuclear stigmatization are “completely over” as the energy source is “returning very strongly in Europe, North America, South America and even in Africa.” 

As the upcoming edition of the International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power is set to be held in Incheon in October, that feat itself “tells you how central [South] Korea has become in the global nuclear energy debate” as “[the event] normally takes place in important nuclear countries,” Grossi said. 

This year’s Jeju Forum, now in its 21st edition, is co-hosted by the Jeju provincial government and, for the first time, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event is held through Friday under the theme “Reinventing Cooperation in a Fragmented World,” with a series of sessions covering topics including navigating cooperation amid geopolitical uncertainty, economic and digital transformation, climate action and local governance.

During the opening ceremony on Thursday morning, Jeju Governor Oh Young-hun, who is also chair of the Jeju Forum Organizing Committee, said this edition is special in that it has also been 21 years since the government designated Jeju as a “World Peace Island.”

South Korean President Lee, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar congratulated the inauguration of the forum via separate video messages. 

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s minister of external affairs, gave a keynote speech in which he asked leaders to “recognize two facts. One, that fragmentation is here to stay. And two, that it is not altogether bad; in some ways, even good. After all, it means less dominance, more space and greater democratization.” 

In addressing such “fragmentation,” an assessment is required of whether it runs counter to efficiency, stability and security, he said. 

“Surely, those issues can be addressed through deeper cooperation,” he said. 

The event was followed by a World Leaders Session, moderated by Gareth Evans, former foreign minister of Australia and distinguished honorary professor at Australian National University. 

Participating panelists were Ban Ki-moon, former UN secretary-general; Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, former president of Indonesia; Yukio Hatoyama, former Japanese prime minister and president of the East Asian Community Institute; Zandanshatar Gombojav, former prime minister of Mongolia; and Philipp Rösler, former vice-chancellor of Germany. 

“As a former secretary-general, I am deeply concerned and really worried about what will happen to the future of the United Nations and international organizations,” Ban said, underscoring two more agendas: the climate change crisis and growing rivalry among major powers.

Citing the United States’ recent formal withdrawal from 66 international organizations, including 31 UN bodies, he urged the country to “please return.” 

“The United States is the most powerful, resourceful country,” Ban said. “But my experience tells that not a single country in this world can live alone without working together with other neighboring members of the international community.”

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]