Nuclear Pattern Seen in S. Korea
VIENNA — The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Monday that he was "seriously concerned" about covert nuclear experiments conducted by South Korean scientists dating back to the 1980s and promised to investigate further.
Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, described a pattern of repeated violations by South Korea over the years. Others familiar with the agency's investigation said South Korean researchers had tried to block inspections and cover up the evidence of nuclear experiments before finally admitting to them this year.
Among the most damaging charges in a report ElBaradei made to a meeting of the IAEA board of governors was that South Korea had three undeclared nuclear facilities, one of which was used in the 1980s to produce more than 330 pounds of uranium. South Korea has admitted that its scientists enriched a small amount of that uranium in 2000.
The agency discovered traces of plutonium at a shuttered laboratory on the outskirts of Seoul. The material was apparently produced in unauthorized experiments in 1982.
Under its nonproliferation commitments, South Korea is not allowed to make plutonium or enriched uranium, which can be used to make nuclear bombs.
South Korean officials maintain that all these experiments were conducted on a laboratory scale by a handful of scientists without approval from the government.
"Some people can make mistakes, and in this case some scientists, very ambitious in terms of
Although South Korea's infractions appear to be relatively minor, the diplomatic fallout could be enormous.
Nuclear-related activities by a close U.S. ally could undermine the Bush administration's efforts to rein in nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran. And South Korea's actions could set a dangerous precedent for other countries that might question their commitment to nonproliferation.
"South Korea didn't have a full-fledged weapons program, but clearly they wanted to hedge their bets," said Daniel Pinkston, a nuclear expert and visiting professor at Korea University in Seoul. "As the world becomes more unstable, one wonders if other states as well will do the same, fearing they don't want to be the one country caught without a nuclear deterrent."
