Chapter 6
Nuclear waste and the role of government in the field of nuclear safety
B
13. Source: http://www.ieanea.org/newsroom/north-mac-teachers-locked-out/ 14 February 2012
ecause
of the nuclear waste the atmosphere of North Korea is so polluted
that other countries do not want to handle it. Remains of production
are isolated and are not sufficiently numerous, but very toxic, so
that in 1996 North Korea signed a contract with Taiwan on the
utilization of proceeds from the nuclear power plants [7].
It
was not the only case of government involvement in matters of nuclear
energy. It has actively participated in the field of nuclear safety.
Signed several treaties and agreements with various countries [8]:
Conclusion
The development of nuclear power in Northern Korea began in the 1950th years. The big help in development of this branch was rendered by the Soviet Union. Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center was constructed with technical help of the USSR. The development of nuclear branch grew rapidly. In December, 1985 North Korea signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Despite it Korea started the nuclear missile program, and in February in 2005 Korea openly declared about the creation of nuclear weapon. After this in 2006 and in 2009 Democratic People's Republic of Korea carried out nuclear tests. And safety became the main problem of nuclear branch of the country. [9]
In 2010 the list of 32 countries was made. The list displayed a situation in the field of nuclear safety in the countries where there were nuclear materials. North Korea took the last place. It showed that a little attention is paid to nuclear safety.[10]
North Korea remains a big problem of the world community. The failure in nuclear safety on North Korean nuclear objects can turn a disaster for all Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia as a whole.[11]
Tremors are the frequent phenomenon in the Korean peninsula despite that there is no strong earthquakes there. A power cut in the Yongbyon center is the biggest danger in case of seismic activity. It will lead to failure which can be compared to failure on Fukushima in Japan in 2011. not only inhabitants of North Korea but also the nearby provinces of China and South Korea will suffer .
The foreign expert Siegfried Heck who has visited Yongbyon in 2010 said that he was concerned about the situation concerning nuclear safety. The expert considers that Korea shouldn't finish reactor construction because of the absence of communication with the international safety community.[12]
Thus, ensuring nuclear safety remains an important question for the government of Democratic People's Republic of Korea and all world community. The international summit in Seoul will become one of the main events in this question. The decisions on improvement of safety of nuclear branch of North Korea will be considered there.[13]