IAEA / BOARD OF GOVERNORS

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano today delivered a statement to the Agency's Board of Governors, where he briefed Member States on nuclear verification issues in Iran and in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. IAEA

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:48
• Production Date: 4 March 2013
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY - IAEA
• Subject Topical: POLITICAL CONDITIONS; NUCLEAR SCIENCE
• Geographic Subject: DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA; IRAN; JAPAN; AUSTRIA
• MAMS Id: U130304c

Description

STORY: IAEA / BOARD OF GOVERNORS
TRT: 2.48
SOURCE: IAEA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 4 MARCH 2013, VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano arrives to the meeting
2. Med shot, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano takes his seat
3. Pan right, photographers taking shots of Director General Yukiya Amano
4. Wide shot, of the Iranian Permanent Representative at the meeting
5. Wide shot, meeting
6. Med shot, audience
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Yukiya Amano, Director General, IAEA:
“The Agency continues to work hard to help Japan deal with the consequences of the accident. Member States are also making serious efforts to implement the lessons learned from this and from previous accidents.”
8. Cutaway, meeting
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Yukiya Amano, Director General, IAEA:
“I reiterate my call for the DPRK to fully comply with the NPT and to cooperate promptly and fully with the Agency. The IAEA remains ready to contribute to the peaceful resolution of this issue by resuming its nuclear verification activities once political agreement is reached among the countries concerned.”
10. Cutaway, meeting
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Yukiya Amano, Director General, IAEA:
“Iran is not providing the necessary cooperation to enable us to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities. The Agency therefore cannot conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.”
12. Cutaway, meeting
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Yukiya Amano, Director General, IAEA:
“Iran has recently begun installing IR-2m centrifuges at the Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz. This is the first time that centrifuges more advanced than the IR-1 have been installed for production purposes. Construction of the IR-40 Reactor continues and Iran has stated that the reactor is expected to begin operating in the first quarter of 2014.”
14. Cutaway, meeting
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Yukiya Amano, Director General, IAEA:
“I request Iran once again to provide access to the Parchin site without further delay, whether or not agreement has been reached on the structured approach. Providing access to the Parchin site would be a positive step which would help to demonstrate Iran’s willingness to engage with the Agency on the substance of our concerns.”
16. Wide shot, meeting

Storyline

The United Nations is working hard to help Japan deal with the consequences of the March 2011 nuclear power plant accident, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today, as he presented a report at the Organization's headquarters in Vienna, Austria. in which he also voiced concern about issues relating to Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Next Monday (March 11) is the second anniversary of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan. The incident was reported to be the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Director General Yukiya Amano told the Agency’s Board of Governors as it began its first meeting of the year that the Agency continued to work hard to help Japan deal with the consequences of the accident. Amano added that, “Member States are also making serious efforts to implement the lessons learned from this and from previous accidents.”

The 35-nation Board is meeting to discuss the IAEA’s work on nuclear verification, safety, security and the peaceful use of nuclear technologies.

Amano also voiced deep regret at the announcement by DPRK on 12 February that it had conducted a third test of a nuclear weapon, despite calls from the international community not to do so.

He reiterated his call for the DPRK to fully comply with the NPT and to cooperate promptly and fully with the Agency. He said that “The IAEA remains ready to contribute to the peaceful resolution of this issue by resuming its nuclear verification activities once political agreement is reached among the countries concerned,” he stated.

Amano also reported that the Agency continued to verify the non-diversion of nuclear material declared by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement.

However, Amano noted that “Iran is not providing the necessary cooperation to enable us to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities.”

Amano said that the Agency therefore could not conclude that all nuclear material in Iran “is in peaceful activities”.

He also said that Iran had recently begun installing IR-2m centrifuges at the Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz. He noted that that was the first time that centrifuges more advanced than the IR-1 had been installed for production purposes. Amano added that “construction of the IR-40 Reactor continues and Iran has stated that the reactor is expected to begin operating in the first quarter of 2014.”

The Director General requested Iran once again to provide access to the Parchin site without further delay, saying that doing so would be “a positive step” which would help to demonstrate Iran’s willingness to engage with the Agency on the substance of its concerns.