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South Korea Still Supports Diplomatic Solution to Iran Nuclear Issue

Posted on: Sunday, 5 February 2006, 06:00 CST

Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap

Seoul, 5 February: South Korea said Sunday [5 February] that it still supports a diplomatic resolution of Iran's nuclear programme, although the UN nuclear watchdog referred the issue to the Security Council for possible sanctions.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's [IAEA] 35-nation board of directors voted Saturday to report Iran to the top UN body after Iran had refused to stop its suspected nuclear weapons development. South Korea was among the 27 nations that voted for the IAEA decision.

"We expect that the Iranian nuclear issue will be resolved at an early date through negotiations among nations concerned," South Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Choo Kyu-ho, said in a statement.

Choo said South Korea supported the IAEA resolution to join global efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons. The decision was in line with Seoul's aim to resolve a similar crisis involving North Korea, he said.

Amid prolonged tension with the international society, North Korea declared early last year that it succeeded in producing nuclear weapons. There is no scientific evidence to prove the North's claim but the US intelligence regards it as true.

North Korea has been boycotting six-way talks on its nuclear programme with the US, South Korea, China, Russia, and Japan for months, citing Washington's financial sanctions against it.

Only a day after North Korea agreed in principle to abandon its nuclear programme on 19 September last year, the US announced restrictions on a Macao-based bank accused of circulating fake greenbacks allegedly printed in North Korea. The following month, Washington also blacklisted eight North Korean firms suspected of spreading weapons of mass destruction.

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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