IAEA Board of Governors Meeting
Statement by HE Dr Brendon Hammer, Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA
Agenda Item 5(c) (DPRK) - Nuclear Verification: Application of Safeguards in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
6 March 2019
Thank you, Chair.
Chair,
Australia remains committed to the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the DPRK as required by multiple UN Security Council resolutions.
Australia welcomed the second summit between US President Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi last week.
We are pleased Kim Jong Un told President Trump that the DPRK will not resume nuclear or ballistic missile tests though ultimately we will judge North Korea not by its words, but by its actions.
History has taught us to be sceptical of the DPRK’s intentions. It has reneged on previous commitments to denuclearise.
That is why Australia remains committed to maintaining pressure on the DPRK until it has taken concrete and verifiable steps towards complying with all relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
Chair,
Australia once again urges the DPRK to return to full compliance with the NPT, to permit an early return to IAEA safeguards inspections, and to abandon its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner.
Moreover, as a co-Chair of the Friends of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Group.
Australia also calls upon the DPRK to sign and ratify the CTBT as soon as possible.
Chair,
It is widely acknowledged that the IAEA would play an essential role in verifying any concrete steps that the DPRK takes towards denuclearisation.
We commend the Agency for its work to prepare for – and to maintain – a high level of readiness to return to the DPRK.
Let me also provide my assurances that Australia stands ready to provide support to any international effort to verify denuclearisation of the DPRK.
Chair,
Australia urges the DPRK to choose the path of denuclearisation, and we look forward to a future where we can normalise relations with the DPRK, and welcome it into the international community.
Thank you.