Nuclear waste and the role of government in the field of nuclear safety

1. In 1985, under international pressure, Pyongyang acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Nevertheless, North Korea refused to sign a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and to accept the obligations, which are formed during the nuclear non-proliferation policy.  

2. In late 1991, North and South Korea signed an agreement on reconciliation, nonaggression, exchange and cooperation, as well as the Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The Joint Declaration called for a bilateral regime to verify the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Agency (IAEA) and to accept the obligations, which are formed during the nuclear non-proliferation policy.  

3January 30, 1992 the Government of the DPRK signed a nuclear safeguards agreement with IAEA. This was to allow IAEA inspectors to conduct inspections on the territory of the DPRK.  

4. In order to reinforce the progress already made May 11, 1993 UN Security Council passed a resolution urging the DPRK to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) developed and implemented as early as 1991 the North-South denuclearization of the program by mutual consent. North Korea has given good, and then immediately followed by several visits by IAEA inspectors with inspections.  

5. The Framework Agreement was signed between the U.S. and North Korea's October 21, 1994 in Geneva, in which North Korea froze its nuclear program (this point repeatedly violated the agreement), to cooperate with the United States and pursue a policy of nuclear non-proliferation.  

6. In early October 2002 the Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly said the United States was right in asserting that North Korea had its program to enrich uranium for use in nuclear weapons.  

[Made by Kolenova Tatyana and Evstigneeva Anastasia]  

13. Source: http://www.ieanea.org/newsroom/north-mac-teachers-locked-out/ 14 February 2012  

Because of the nuclear waste the atmosphere of North Korea is so polluted that other countries do not want to handle it. Remains of production are isolated and are not sufficiently numerous, but very toxic, so that in 1996 North Korea signed a contract with Taiwan on the utilization of proceeds from the nuclear power plants [7]. It was not the only case of government involvement in matters of nuclear energy. It has actively participated in the field of nuclear safety. Signed several treaties and agreements with various countries [8]:

Conclusion

The development of nuclear power in Northern Korea began in the 1950th years. The big help in development of this branch was rendered by the Soviet Union. Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center was constructed with technical help of the USSR. The development of nuclear branch grew rapidly. In December, 1985 North Korea signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Despite it Korea started the nuclear missile program, and in February in 2005 Korea openly declared about the creation of nuclear weapon. After this in 2006 and in 2009 Democratic People's Republic of Korea carried out nuclear tests. And safety became the main problem of nuclear branch of the country. [9]

In 2010 the list of 32 countries was made. The list displayed a situation in the field of nuclear safety in the countries where there were nuclear materials. North Korea took the last place. It showed that a little attention is paid to nuclear safety.[10]

North Korea remains a big problem of the world community. The failure in nuclear safety on North Korean nuclear objects can turn a disaster for all Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia as a whole.[11]

Tremors are the frequent phenomenon in the Korean peninsula despite that there is no strong earthquakes there. A power cut in the Yongbyon center is the biggest danger in case of seismic activity. It will lead to failure which can be compared to failure on Fukushima in Japan in 2011. not only inhabitants of North Korea but also the nearby provinces of China and South Korea will suffer.

The foreign expert Siegfried Heck who has visited Yongbyon in 2010 said that he was concerned about the situation concerning nuclear safety. The expert considers that Korea shouldn't finish reactor construction because of the absence of communication with the international safety community.[12]

Thus, ensuring nuclear safety remains an important question for the government of Democratic People's Republic of Korea and all world community. The international summit in Seoul will become one of the main events in this question. The decisions on improvement of safety of nuclear branch of North Korea will be considered there.[13]

Bibliography:

1. “North Korean Missile Exports” 14 February 2012

<http://www.wisconsinproject.org/countries/nkorea/north-korea-missile-exports.html>

2. “Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center” 14 February 2012

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yongbyon_Nuclear_Scientific_Research_Center>

3.“ North Korea Makes Significant Progress in Building New Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR)” 14 February 2012

<http://38north.org/2011/11/elwr111411/>

4. “2006 North Korean nuclear test “14 February 2012

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_North_Korean_nuclear_test>

5. “2009 North Korean nuclear test” 14 February 2012

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_North_Korean_nuclear_test>

6. “North Korea and weapons of mass destruction” 14 February 2012

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction >

7. “North Korea in bid to recycle toxic waste” 14 February 2012

< http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/3345854/North-Korea-in-bid-to-recycle-toxic-waste.html >

8. “Nuclear Weapons Program” 14 February 2012

< http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/dprk/nuke/index.html >

9. Nuclear Power in North Korea

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_North_Korea#Nuclear_weapons_program> 10 March 2012

10. Pakistan’s nuclear safety better than North Korea only

<http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/national/12-Jan-2012/pakistan-s-nuclear-safety-better-than-north-korea-only> 10 March 2012

11. DPRK NUCLEAR SAFETY: CHINA’S PARAMOUNT CONCERN ON THE FRONTIER?

<http://sinonk.com/2012/01/14/dprk-nuclear-security-china-frontier/ > 10 March 2012

12. North Korea’s new nuclear plant a safety concern: expert

http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/north-koreas-new-nuclear-plant-a-safety-worry-expert-194769.html 10 March 2012

13. Using the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit to Denuclearize the DPRK: A Dialogue on Radiological Source Security

<http://38north.org/tag/nuclear-safety/> 10 March 2012

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30