IAEA General Conference Adopts Resolution Reaffirming North Korea Cannot Have Nuclear Weapons State Status

Member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have reaffirmed that North Korea cannot hold the status of a nuclear weapons state under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

During the 70th General Conference held in Vienna, Austria, on the 17th local time, the IAEA adopted a resolution titled "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement between the Agency and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," with 103 votes in favor, 6 against, and 14 abstentions.

Russia and China were understood to have cast dissenting votes.

The resolution stated that "North Korea's nuclear activities continue to cause grave concern" and urged the North Korean government to "immediately cease all related activities."

Specifically listing recent activities observed at North Korean nuclear facilities, the resolution highlighted the continued operation of the 5-megawatt reactor and the light-water reactor at Yongbyon as matters of serious concern.

It also noted that signs of expanded mining, milling, and uranium concentrate production activities have emerged at the Pyongsan uranium mine and concentration plant, and pointed out that the Punggye-ri nuclear test site remains maintained to support nuclear testing.

The IAEA General Conference has consistently raised concerns over North Korea's nuclear weapons program through annual resolutions.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated in a report submitted to the General Conference that additional uranium enrichment facilities have been identified at the Yongbyon nuclear complex, which was previously known to have been shuttered but was restarted in 2021.

The report also analyzed that an expanded annex building at the Kangson enrichment complex appears to have begun operations last January, further expanding North Korea's capacity to produce weapons-grade nuclear material.

Since IAEA inspectors were expelled from North Korea in 2009, the agency has been monitoring Pyongyang's nuclear activities using satellite imagery and open-source information.

Meanwhile, Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Workers' Party of Korea and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, responded to the IAEA General Conference's call for denuclearization by reiterating the justification for possessing nuclear weapons, claiming that "the status as a nuclear weapons state cannot be reversed by anything."

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.