UN wants N. Korea open to all nuclear probes

UN wants N. Korea open to all nuclear probes

UNITED NATIONS (Reuter): All 15 members of the Security Council, including China, issued a mildly worded statement late Thursday calling on North Korea to allow unhampered international inspection of its nuclear facilities.

The Stalinist nation is widely suspected of diverting nuclear materials for a clandestine weapons program. It prevented a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from carrying out a full inspection earlier this month.

North Korea's UN envoy, Pak Gil Yon, who all along opposed any Council involvement and called for dialog instead, told reporters later: "We have nothing more to show to the IAEA inspectors at this stage."

He added: "The issuance of the statement will not help at all the solution of the nuclear issues."

A White House official with President Clinton in San Diego where he is vacationing said the "administration is very pleased with the language that came out of the United Nations today."

He said that "while a Security Council resolution would have been preferable, we are pleased with this development."

Asked why they were pleased since it fell short of what Washington wanted, he said "because China supports the language.

This was a way for China to come forward on this issue."

The statement, read at a brief public session by Council President Jean-Bernard Merimee of France, marked a compromise by the United States and its allies, which had wanted a formal resolution but were also anxious to win the support of China, North Korea's neighbor and ally.

The statement called on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea -- North Korea's official name -- "to allow the IAEA inspectors to complete the inspection activities" agreed with Pyongyang in February.

This was a described as "a step in fulfilling its obligations" under North Korea's nuclear safeguards agreement with the Vienna- based UN agency and in honoring obligations under the 1970 nuclear non-proliferation treaty.