By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter

The Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry on Friday played down the significance of a secret uranium-enrichment experiment conducted four years ago by South Korean researchers but refused to comment on whether Seoul had violated international nuclear safeguards.

Oh Joon, director general for international organizations at the ministry, denied allegations that the separated uranium was of weapons grade and sought to distance the government from the experiment. ``These scientists conducted the experiment without authorization from the government,’’ he said during a media briefing at the Press Center in Seoul.

The equipment used to conduct the experiment was dismantled and destroyed by the researchers a few months after the successful uranium separation, Oh said, hinting that this was done to avoid detection by the government.

In a shock revelation Thursday, the Ministry of Science and Technology admitted that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA) had arrived in Seoul on Aug. 29 to investigate the separation of 0.2 gram of uranium produced by scientists working at the state-run Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute in early 2000.

``We found out about the experiment belatedly,’’ another government official said on condition of anonymity. ``To avoid unnecessary misunderstanding we reported it to the IAEA and promised such an event would not occur again,’’ he said.

The government made the disclosure to the IAEA on Aug. 17 in its initial declaration on a new nuclear protocol. The additional protocol ratified in February requires member countries to divulge uranium separation by all research institutes, not just large-scale nuclear facilities.

``The whole truth will be revealed by the IAEA investigation,’’ the official said. ``Until the IAEA finds the truth, I hope the media will stop sensationalizing the story.’’

The United States, currently pressing Iran and North Korea to abandon their nuclear ambitions, also sought to minimize the damage done by Seoul’s admission.

``They are cooperating fully and proactively in order to demonstrate that the activity has been eliminated and it is no longer cause for concern,’’ US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said during a briefing Thursday.

He said the amount of uranium separated was very small and rejected suggestions that it will hurt ongoing multilateral efforts to convince Pyongyang to scrap its nuclear programs.

However, Boucher said it is important that the IAEA fully investigates the experiment. ``What (the South Korean scientists) had done in the past should not have occurred,’’ he said. ``Suspicion must be eliminated, and we are glad that South Korea is working in a transparent manner to do that.’’

IAEA inspectors are set to conclude their investigation on Saturday before making a report to the nuclear watchdog’s board of directors around Sept. 13 in Vienna.

The board will take up to three months to determine if South Korea violated nuclear protocols. If it is found to have done so, the IAEA will report the issue to the U.N. Security Council.

rjs@koreatimes.co.kr