Non-proliferation integral to development, IAEA told.

Non-proliferation and disarmament are "integral to development and progress, and central to international peace", Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said in a message to the thirty-seventh session (27 September-1 October, Vienna) of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

With the end of the cold war, a "new level of cooperation" was now possible, he noted. But "new threats and new challenges" had also arisen, as international concern had "turned anxiously" towards ensuring the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

At a time when substantial disarmament was finally beginning to occur, there could be "no justification for any State, anywhere, to acquire the tools and technologies of mass destruction", the message said.

The international community must remain steadfast in insisting on compliance with the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Iraq's "secret and extensive efforts" to develop nuclear weapons must serve as both a "warning against complacency" and an indication of the world community's resolve to ensure compliance, he said.

The threat on the part of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to withdraw from the NPT and its refusal to comply with its obligations provided "further warning", the Secretary-General indicated. Failure to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons would have far-reaching consequences, potentially "setting off a chain reaction" in their proliferation, he said, All that demonstrated that the NPT - especially its verification and safeguards arrangements - should be strengthened.

Three "unfinished items" remained "high on the international security agenda", the Secretary-General stated. First, the NPT must be extended "indefinitely and unconditionally" at the 1995 review conference.

Second, the de facto moratoria on nuclear testing by nuclear-weapon States must be maintained and a comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty concluded at an early date.

Third, with the momentum gained from reductions in nuclear arsenals, the world community must work towards "a complete cut-off" in the production of fissile material for weapons purposes.

In addition to traditional concerns over disarmament and nonproliferation, increased attention must be given to other aspects of the Agency's mandate, including ensuring the safe storage and disposal of fissile materials, especially those recovered from dismantled warheads; enhancing the safety of nuclear power plants, particularly of Soviet-designed reactors; and addressing the consequences of past nuclear practices.

The Secretary-General hoped that the international safety convention, under consideration by the IAEA and circulated among Member states, would soon be adopted and would serve as the "basic international frame of reference for safety and review procedures of nuclear plants".

In addition to a text on the DPRK (see below), the week-long General Conference adopted resolutions on: denuclearization of Africa; nuclear inspections in Iraq: safeguards in the Middle East; strengthening of IAEA safeguards system and its main activities; nuclear safety: radioactive waste management: practical utilization of food irradiation in developing countries; and a plan for producing potable water economically.

IAEA Director-General Hans Blix of Sweden was re-appointed for a fourth consecutive four-year term.

DPRK urged to cooperate

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been urged by the IAEA to "cooperate immediately" to allow the Agency to verify is declared nuclear activities.

The General Conference also strongly endorsed IAEA action to implement the safeguards agreement with the DPRK concluded under the NPT and in force since April 1992.

The Conference also expressed "grave concern" over DPRK's failure to "discharge its safeguards obligations" and that it had "recently widened the area of non-compliance by not accepting scheduled Agency ad hoc and routine inspection", as require by its agreement.

On 16 September, IAEA Director-General Hans Blix has reported (S/26456) that "inconsistencies" remained between the DPRK's initial report on its nuclear material subject to safeguards and the Agency's findings. The IAEA could not verify the correctness and assess the completeness of that report.

Also, no access had been obtained to additional information or locations which might "help to resolve these inconsistencies", the report stressed.

The IAEA said it had "not been enabled" to carry out its routine inspections since 30 March, and its recent inspection - from 3 to 10 August - had been "limited to containment, surveillance and maintenance activities" in some facilities at the Nyongbyon site.