S Korea in 'secret' nuclear trial
Experts say the technique used could have military implications, but a government official denied any intention to build a weapons programme.
A European based diplomat said the work was a violation of South Korea's international nuclear commitments.
The discovery could lead to calls for South Korea to be referred to the UN Security Council, like North Korea.
It is also likely to cause severe embarrassment to Seoul, and its key ally the US.
A team of inspectors from the IAEA secretly rushed to South Korea last week, after the government revealed that the country had broken its commitments on nuclear proliferation.
“ According to the ROK (South Korea), these activities were carried out without the government´s knowledge at a nuclear site in Korea in 2000 ”
IAEA statement
Seoul made the admission under the terms of a tougher inspection regime that is just coming into effect.
A South Korean government official told the BBC that the research, which involved the use of lasers to enrich nuclear fuel, was not authorised by the government.
The official said it was a "rogue" operation which ended four years ago, and concerned the production of a tiny amount of highly enriched uranium, which could be used for an atomic bomb.
The official said the research was for the domestic production of nuclear fuel for the country's civil programme.
However, according to analysts, there is no credible civilian use for the technique, which uses lasers to create weapons-grade uranium.
'Same as Iran'
South Korean officials said the government only found out about the experiments in the last few months, and were now investigating the scientists responsible.
A European-based diplomat said their actions were a clear violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and could put South Korea into the same category as Iran.
South Korea abandoned a nuclear weapons programme in the 1970s, under intense pressure from the United States.
It has since committed itself to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, and has been at the forefront of efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its development of atomic bombs.
The finding is likely to cause deep embarrassment to the US, which regards Seoul as a close ally in its attempts to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
According to IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky, the inspectors will leave South Korea early next week, and their findings will be presented to the agency's Board of Governors on 13 September.
BBC Newsより
まぁこれ、平たく言うと韓国は極秘で核燃料濃縮実験を行ったってことなんですよ。
それでいて
潘国連事務総長が長崎を初訪問 爆心地から核廃絶訴え
「核の傘の下は大きな矛盾」 広島県知事が見解
まぁ偽善に満ちた核武装反対派が多いんですが、これどういうことかというと
日本：非核五原則（政府は核兵器を持たず、作らず、持ち込ませず、考えさせず、議論させず）
特亜＋ロシア：核兵器保有国
つまり日本は核兵器保有の仮想敵国に取り囲まれ、その上に核の傘から離脱？
広島の県知事やおからにも聞きたいのですが
丸腰状態の日本が仮想敵国に攻め込まれた場合、どうやって国民を守るのか？
まぁ選択肢は大してないのですが
１）無条件で不条理な条約を結ぶ
２）主権の献上と属国化を条件に生きながらえる
３）日本国の消滅
ちなみに９条が守ってくれると未だに思っている９条教信者や政治なんかどうでもいい、今の生活さえよければいいと思ってる無関心層の皆さんにもお聞きしたいのですが。
日本語しか話せず、国内反日メディアだけを鵜呑みにし、海外に見聞や長期滞在に行く気もなく、今さえよければいいと思っていたら国がなくなった。どうやって生活します？
これ現実問題として着々と進んでいるんですけど。それも現在進行形で…
