No. M60

Date  25 MARCH 1993

SOUTH AFRICA ADMITS TO HAVING HAD NUCLEAR WEAPONS

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Gareth Evans, said today that President de Klerk's announcement of a former nuclear weapons program confirmed long--held international suspicions about the direction of South Africa's nuclear program over the last twenty years.

"Such suspicions had fuelled regional tensions and undermined global non-proliferation efforts," Senator Evans said.

South African President de Klerk announced on 24 March that South Africa had previously developed six nuclear explosive devices. He said that all the weapons had been dismantled and the nuclear material returned to civilian control prior to South Africa's accession to the Nuclear Non—Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in July, 1991.

Senator Evans said that while Australia was disturbed by South Africa's past nuclear weapons production, the South African government's new—found willingness to provide full information on the country's nuclear activities was a welcome step.

"This and South Africa's submission of its nuclear facilities to international inspection under the NPT provide an important degree of reassurance to the international community," he said.

"South Africa's preparedness to comply fully with its non—proliferation obligations reflects the fact that adherence to the NPT and other international non—proliferation agreements is now the norm for responsible behaviour in the nuclear field."

Senator Evans said that South African transparency about its nuclear program would greatly assist International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors.

He said that after the uncovering of a clandestine nuclear weapons program in Iraq, the IAEA Board of Governors had been carefully monitoring the inspection process in countries of concern, such as South Africa and North Korea.

Senator Evans urged North Korea, which has recently stepped back from its non-proliferation commitments, to follow the South African example and provide the international community with the same degree of transparency and reassurance by rescinding its announced withdrawal from the NPT and cooperating fully with IAEA

inspectors.

CANBERRA

COMMONWEALTH I PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY MICAH

