Koizumi: N.Korea to allow IAEA nuclear inspections
( 2002-09-19 15:07 ) (7 )

North Korea said at a summit with Japan this week that it would allow international inspectors into the country to examine its nuclear program, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday.

"North Korea ... said it would allow inspections, including by the International Atomic Energy Agency," Koizumi said in a speech in Tokyo.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il reassured Koizumi in talks on Tuesday that Pyongyang would honor all its international pledges concerning its nuclear program, but Koizumi's comments were the first public confirmation that the pledge included inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Some analysts believe North Korea could be using its nuclear energy program to develop nuclear weapons and President Bush has said the country was part of an "axis of evil" with Iraq and Iran.

Iraq agreed last week to allow in nuclear inspectors, a move that may have put pressure on North Korea to do the same. No firm date has been set for the start of the Iraqi inspections.

A 1994 U.S.-North Korean deal froze the North's suspected nuclear weapons program in exchange for two western-financed nuclear reactors and annual supplies of fuel oil.

Under that agreement, Pyongyang undertook to allow in IAEA inspectors, but it has yet to do so.