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In relation to the foreign news coverage that report Korean researchers¡¯ plutonium abstraction experiment conducted in the early 1980s, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) officially announced, ¡°We have confirmed that with the research-use atomic reactor, ¡®TRIGA Mark III,¡¯ which was set up at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, in Gongnung-dong, Seoul, a plutonium abstraction experiment was carried out from April to May in 1982, and plutonium was extracted. The amount of plutonium, however, was assumed to have been at the several milligram level.¡±
As the above facts have been disclosed when MOST carried out a self-investigation into the problem in accordance with a request from the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), which discovered traces of plutonium in the process of regular investigations of the facility back in 1997 and 2003, depending on the outcome of investigations, the possibility that this problem might grow cannot be excluded.
At an official press briefing that was held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, the nuclear safety deliberator of MOST, Kim Young-sik, explained that, ¡°The experiment was conducted by some of the scientists belonged to the institute, and the object of the experiment seemed to have been to analyze the chemical traits of plutonium.¡±According to MOST, the institute reported this to IAEA in September 1983, and requested that the nuclear substances used in the research be excluded as a target of safety measures because they had been destroyed.¡±
MOST explained, however, that the report, which the institute submit to IAEA, had a critical error in it. As the substances consumed in the research should have been marked as the ¡°post-use nuclear fuel (G),¡± it was mistakenly marked as "new fuel" (F), stirring up a problem. According to Kim, this problem was discussed at the Korea-IAEA safety measures study conference that was held back in December, 2003. MOST sent explanatory documents to IAEA in March, and IAEA carried out an investigation once more from Aug. 29 to Sept. 4.
In the meantime, the Associated Press (AP) reported Wednesday that Korea conducted a secret plutonium experiment with a minimum amount of plutonium more than 20 years ago.
Asserting that it has confirmed this fact from an anonymous high-ranking U.S. government official, AP quoted the official as saying that Korea is discussing these problems with the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA).
U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said he was aware that Korea had reported everything abut its past experiments, adding that he was certain the IAEA would deal with the situation well. He also emphasized that Korea's past activities should not be repeated again, and that he was very pleased that Korea was facing this problem with a transparent attitude. He added that Korea's project turned out to be much smaller than that of North Korea or Iran.
(Lee Ja-yeon achim@chosun.com )
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