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North Korea: ElBaradei Wants Feb. 12 IAEA Meeting on North Korea The International Atomic Energy Agency’s head is looking to hold an emergency meeting of his governing board on Feb. 12 to discuss the North Korean nuclear crisis, Reuters reported today (see GSN, Jan. 29). “The board of governors of the IAEA should meet on February 12. I hope it will not be postponed,” said Director General Mohamed ElBaradei. “The question must be treated urgently and decisively, if we want to preserve the integrity of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty,” he said. North Korea, which expelled IAEA inspectors last month (see GSN, Dec. 31, 2002) and withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty nearly three weeks ago (see GSN, Jan. 10), dubbed the IAEA the “cat’s paw” of the United States this week (Reuters/MSNBC.com, Jan. 30). ElBaradei’s call comes as South Korean envoy Lim Dong-won returned home after failing to meet with the elusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Despite the snub, Lim insisted progress had been made. “North Korea repeated what it has said to the world: that it has not developed nuclear arms and has no intention to develop them,” Lim said. “They said that if the U.S. wants to conduct its own inspections, they are willing to accept that,” he added (Ward/Jack, Financial Times, Jan. 30). Pyongyang Receives Millions From South South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, meanwhile, asked for understanding after a government audit revealed a $200 million transfer to North Korea shortly before a historic 2000 summit in Pyongyang. Opposition politicians alleged that Kim’s administration bribed North Korea to hold a summit for which Kim won the Nobel Peace Prize. “I request special understanding from the public for the interest of the nation and country,” Kim said. Without making any allegations of wrongdoing, the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection revealed that $200 million was withdrawn from a state-owned Seoul bank and transferred to Pyongyang a week before the summit, Agence France-Presse reported today. The money was reportedly part of a loan to a Hyundai group subsidiary and was “used to finance projects in North Korea,” according to audit board member Sohn Sung-tae. (Charles Whelan, Agence France-Presse/OutlookIndia.com, Jan. 30).
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