Seoul, IAEA deepen cooperation on North Korea’s nuclear program

South Korea's deputy nuclear envoy met with the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) deputy director general in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss ways to cooperate on North Korean nuclear issues.

Jeong Yeon-doo, vice foreign minister for diplomatic strategy and intelligence, briefed Massimo Aparo, IAEA deputy director-general and head of IAEA's safeguards department, on the recent situation on the Korean Peninsula and Seoul's efforts for peaceful coexistence with North Korea, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Jeong noted that the IAEA has been drawing international attention to the North Korean nuclear issue, including through reports issued by the IAEA director-general, the ministry said.

Aparo expressed support for South Korea's diplomatic efforts to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and stressed that the North Korean nuclear issue is an important agenda item for the IAEA.

He also explained the IAEA's efforts to maintain enhanced readiness to verify North Korea's nuclear program, according to the ministry.

"The two sides agreed to strengthen communication and cooperation on the North Korean nuclear issue," the ministry said in a release.

The IAEA has not had inspectors on the ground in North Korea since Pyongyang ended cooperation with the agency and expelled its inspectors in 2009.

Pyongyang withdrew from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 2003, while IAEA monitoring had already been disrupted before then. The agency has since been unable to conduct on-site verification of the North's nuclear activities.

Yonhap