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| The IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi talks to reporters covering Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the ministry's headquarters in Seoul, Friday. Joint Press Corp |
Director General Rafael Grossi rules out nuclear war, but voices concerns about possible nuclear accident as consequence of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
By Ko Dong-hwan
The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) top official said Friday in Seoul that his organization will play a "constructive role" in resolving the North Korean nuclear threats as Pyongyang appears to be preparing another nuclear weapon test.
During an interview with Korean reporters, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi shared what the organization recently discovered regarding nuclear hotspots in the reclusive state and how the atomic agency can help ease tensions on the peninsula. He met reporters after his meetings with President Yoon Suk-yeol, Foreign Minister Park Jin, and Science and ICT Minister Lee Jong-ho.
Grossi said Pyongyang's seventh nuclear test, appears to be imminent, as observers anticipate. Introducing his remarks during his communications with the IAEA's team of experts in Vienna (where the organization is based), Grossi said he had highlighted the IAEA's role and endeavor to prepare a workforce of their own to return to North Korea if there is any chance to do so.
"This takes a lot of effort," he said Friday. "I reiterated to the president the IAEA's availability to play even a wider role if needed. To resolve the situation, opening channels of communications is indispensable and the IAEA can play a constructive role in this regard," he added.
The "situation" refers to signs of a looming nuclear test in North Korea. Given that the country's Yongbyon nuclear reactor in North Pyongan Province engaged in an operational cycle that is expected to be completed by 2023 or 2024, Grossi suggested that North Korea is ready to start operating a new chemical laboratory. His analysis, he said, was based on a pattern that the organization had seen in the past. He added that the IAEA also spotted signs of North Korea setting up major components of a light water reactor, although he was unsure when the facility will start operating, as well as preparing Tunnel No.3 at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Hamgyong Province, which the country had destroyed ― streamed live via state TV ― years ago.
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| Rafael Grossi meets President Yoon Suk-yeol at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Korea's Presidential Office. |
"When you put all these pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together, what you see is a concerted effort to move forward to increase the (nuclear) capabilities," he said. "The IAEA can provide a platform to support Seoul and Pyongyang making progress in this very thorny issue."
Grossi, who arrived in Seoul on Thursday, said his main concern in the Russia-Ukraine war is not a potential breakout of a nuclear war as many fear, but a "catastrophic" accident at Ukraine's nuclear power plants.
Grossi said his organization has talked with Russia and inspected Ukraine on whether the two countries were considering nuclear weapons in the ongoing war and has concluded that such concerns were dismissible. The Russian government has indicated that it does not foresee that possibility and the IAEA inspectors dispatched to facilities in Ukraine have determined as well that there were no activities indicating the country was planning to use a radiological dispersal device or "dirty bomb" as alleged during the war ― which, according to the Argentine, would justify Russia to use its nuclear weapons.
His main effort, he said, was to prevent a nuclear accident. Grossi said constant shelling and repeated interruptions in distributing power by 15 nuclear reactors running in Ukraine ― the biggest capacity in Europe, according to the IAEA ― could lead to the cooling systems being stopped and causing a nuclear accident.
"I met President Macron in France (to consult with him about the issue) before coming to Seoul and next week I will be in Moscow to continue my consultation," said Grossi. "I think the possibility of establishing a protection zone is viable. I cannot guarantee that I will be successful, but I hope to get there as soon as I can."
It was the first time Grossi visited Seoul as head of the IAEA. He said the IAEA and Seoul share mutual interests in the development of nuclear energy in the national energy mix, projects related to human health, agriculture and food security, and tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
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