RESOLUTION B3-0562, 0570, 0594 and 0607/93

Resolution on the nuclear policy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The European Parliament,

A.concerned at the North Korean Government's announcement on 12 March 1993 that it intends to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),

B.noting the declaration by the Member States condemning this decision,

C.noting that the decision on withdrawal was taken without consulting other parties to the Treaty,

D.recalling that as recently as 30 January 1992 North Korea signed an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) authorizing the inspection of nuclear sites on its territory,

E.gravely disturbed by the refusal of the North Korean Government on 17 February 1993 to allow officials of the IAEA to carry out inspections of two sites at Yongbyon, where it is suspected that atomic weapons are being developed, and the repetition of this refusal on 31 March 1993 at the end of the period of grace granted by the IAEA,

F.recalling that in October 1992 the Russian authorities prevented a group of former Soviet strategic missiles experts from travelling to North Korea to join ten other experts who had gone there in August 1992,

1.Reiterates its attachment to the principle of non-proliferation and urgently calls on all States to adhere to it;

2.Condemns in the strongest terms North Korea's withdrawal from the NPT and calls on the North Korean authorities to reconsider this decision, which constitutes a real threat to peace in the region;

3.Supports wholeheartedly the declaration by the Member States;

4.Calls on North Korea to grant access to the IAEA inspectors;

5.Calls on the IAEA and the UN Security Council to explore all opportunities for negotiations to prevent North Korea withdrawing from the Treaty for good in June;

6.Stresses the need for the permanent Members of the Security Council to exercise extreme vigilance in seeking to prevent North Korea from acquiring weapons of mass destruction;

7.Calls on all parties to the Treaty to suspend all scientific and technological links with the Government of North Korea and with scientific and industrial institutions on its territory;

8.Regrets the harmful effects of the North Korean attitude on diplomatic, economic and commercial relations in the region and emphasizes that the economy of Pyongyang is most at risk;

9.Stresses the need to maintain guarantees for the security of those countries which are threatened by the Government of Kim Il Sung;

10.Considers, in particular, that countries that are parties to the NPT should apply fully all the provisions of the Treaty, particularly Article 6, as a confidence-building measure;

11.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, European Political Cooperation, the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and the IAEA, and the Government of North Korea.