Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Adoption of IAEA Board of Governors' Resolution concerning Libya's Nuclear Issue

March 11, 2004

Japan welcomes the adoption without a vote of a resolution concerning Libya's nuclear issue at the March meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
This resolution welcomes Libya's voluntary decision made on December 19, 2003 on the elimination of its nuclear weapons program, finds that the past failure to meet the requirements of the relevant IAEA Safeguards Agreement constituted non-compliance under the Agreement, and requests the IAEA Director General to report the matter to the U.N. Security Council for information purposes only. Japan has become a co-sponsor of this resolution together with the U.S., the U.K. and other countries, since it believes that the adoption of this resolution is significant in ensuring that Libya's decision is firm and promoting disarmament and nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), and their delivery means in the international community.
Japan welcomes Libya's decision on December 19 and calls upon it to continue its cooperation with IAEA activities in accordance with this resolution. Japan also strongly hopes that North Korea and other countries suspected of developing WMDs and their delivery means will follow Libya's posture of observing the international disarmament and nonproliferation regime, including its signing of the IAEA Additional Protocol yesterday.

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