Since the beginning of 2022, North Korea has carried out more than 100 weapons tests. On October 2, North Korea criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for endorsing a resolution urging the cessation of the country’s nuclear programs. The country called it a “conspiracy” by the United States and its allies. At the 67th general conference held from September 25 to 29 in Austria, IAEA member states adopted the measure, calling on North Korea to halt its nuclear weapons programs and abide by the U.N. Security Council resolutions.
The Ministry of Nuclear Power Industry of North Korea strongly rejected the resolution and accused the IAEA of acting as a “paid trumpeter” for Washington. The ministry argued that the IAEA has no qualifications or justification to pass judgments on North Korea’s nuclear programs as the country withdrew from the nuclear agency in the early 1990s. It also stated that North Korea’s status as a nuclear weapons state has become “irreversible” after passing a new law last year allowing the regime to launch a nuclear strike “automatically” against any “hostile forces.”
Regarding the IAEA’s monitoring, it has been unable to enter North Korea since 2009 and now relies on satellite imagery to monitor the country’s nuclear activities. Despite signs of activity at North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated that the agency is completely out of any supervisory control in North Korea.
Speculation arose regarding potential Russian cooperation with North Korea. However, Grossi expressed his disbelief that Russia, as a recognized nuclear weapons state, would engage in trade or transfer of nuclear weapons technology with a country outside the nonproliferation regime like North Korea. He hopes that Russia will uphold its obligations as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council when dealing with North Korea. Concerns about military cooperation between the two nations emerged following North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, during which Kim expressed his full and unconditional support for Russia’s security interests.