'Serious concern' over Pyongyang's nuclear activities; 103 nations vote in favor as China, Russia oppose

[Getty Images]
[Getty Images]

Member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency have reaffirmed that North Korea cannot hold nuclear-weapon-state status under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The IAEA adopted a resolution on the implementation of the NPT safeguards agreement between the agency and North Korea at its 70th regular general conference in Vienna, Austria, on Thursday (local time), with 103 votes in favor, 6 against and 14 abstentions. Russia and China were among those that voted against.

The resolution said North Korea's nuclear activities "continue to be a matter of serious concern" and called on Pyongyang to "immediately cease all related activities."

The resolution also specifically enumerated recently observed activities at North Korean nuclear facilities, singling out the continued operation of the 5 MW reactor and light-water reactor at Yongbyon as matters of serious concern. It also said there were signs of expanded mining, refining and uranium concentrate production at the Pyongsan uranium mine and processing plant, and noted that the Punggye-ri nuclear test site remains capable of supporting a nuclear test.

The IAEA general conference has consistently raised concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons program through annual resolutions.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a report submitted to the conference that additional uranium enrichment facilities had been identified at the Yongbyon nuclear complex — previously believed to have been dismantled but restarted in 2021. The report also said an annex building added to the Kangson enrichment complex appeared to have begun operation in January, indicating a further expansion of North Korea's capacity to produce weapons-grade nuclear material.

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

Meanwhile, Kim Yo-jong, a senior Korean Workers' Party official and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, pushed back against the IAEA conference's call for denuclearization, saying the country's status as a nuclear state "cannot be reversed by anything."


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