D/NCPC MEETING WITH IAEA DG-DESIGNATE AMANO

S E C R E T UNVIE VIENNA 000374 NOFORN SIPDIS ISN/RA FOR NEPHEW, NCPC FOR STROH E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/06/2034 TAGS: AORC KNNP IAEA ENRG TRGY SUBJECT: D/NCPC MEETING WITH IAEA DG-DESIGNATE AMANO Classified By: CDA GEOFFREY PYATT FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (S//NF) Summary. Ambassador Kenneth Brill, Director of the National Counterproliferation Center (NCPC),on August 5 met with IAEA Director General-designate, Yukiya Amano, to emphasize to Amano the U.S. government's commitment to support the IAEA in its efforts to ensure the safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear energy. The discussions centered on bolstering the IAEA as an institution, strengthening safeguards, preventing nuclear terrorism, and encouraging suitable developing country candidates to consider nuclear power projects. Amano reaffirmed the priority he will place on nuclear security and agreed strongly on the need for the IAEA to develop a more robust safeguards regime. On the question of intelligence sharing, Amano argued that "these things have been talked about too much in the Board room." End Summary ¶2. (SBU) During his meeting with IAEA Director General-designate Yukiya Amano on August 5, Ambassador Kenneth Brill, Director of the NCPC, opened discussions by congratulating Amano on his recent election as DG. Amano expressed his personal gratitude and that of his government of the U.S.'s support for his candidacy. Amano intimated that the election process was "difficult" but added that he was happy that it ended well. ¶3. (SBU) Brill informed Amano that the U.S. values the IAEA's role in helping to stem the proliferation of nuclear weapons technology. Brill assured Amano that the U.S. remains committed to supporting the IAEA in its efforts to accomplish its mission. -------------- Bolstering the IAEA -------------- ¶4. (S//NF) Amano told Brill that earlier in his career he was involved in G-8 efforts to counter nuclear proliferation, specifically with regard to the decommissioning of ex-Soviet nuclear submarines. Amano wondered if the U.S. would consider using the G-8 process to help achieve the goal of strengthening the IAEA. Amano suggested that an agreement within the G-8 on a roadmap to bolster the IAEA could then be extended to the G-20 countries, a number of whom are members of the IAEA board. Amano offered no specific proposals but suggested that consideration of such a plan early in the G-8 process was essential to its success. -------------- Strengthening Safeguards -------------- ¶5. (S//NF) Amano told Brill that we are living in an environment where proliferation risks are increasing. He mentioned that over time the technology and know-how to develop nuclear weapons is becoming easier to acquire. He stated that the IAEA DG has the authority to implement new technologies and/or procedures aimed at improving the performance of the IAEA's safeguards system. Amano stated that Japan currently is "the most heavily safeguarded country" in the world, and as a result, it has developed technologies that can be shared with and employed by the IAEA to increase the likelihood of detecting undeclared nuclear activities. Amano emphasized that he intended to use his authority as DG to increase the overall effectiveness of the Safeguards Department. -------------- Preventing Nuclear Terrorism -------------- ¶6. (S//NF) Brill informed Amano that the security of nuclear materials is a key concern for the U.S. government, because multiple terrorist groups have expressed their intent to acquire nuclear material with the intent of developing an improvised device. Amano responded that he understood the U.S.'s concerns in this area, particularly after he learned of President Obama's proposal for a global nuclear security summit. Amano stated that he would be meeting with the IAEA Office of Nuclear Security next week to better understand the IAEA's efforts in this arena, emphasizing the need to find IAEA "value added." Amano did convey his happiness over the increase in funding for the IAEA's nuclear security efforts. He added that the amount of the increase was not as important as the principle behind member states demonstrating their commitment to this aspect of the IAEA's mission. -------------- Encouraging Nuclear Energy -------------- ¶7. (S//NF) Amano stated that one of his goals as DG will be to have a "visible contribution" to the expansion of nuclear energy into the developing world during his four-year term. Amano asserted that encouraging developing countries to engage in nuclear power generation would require them to accept long-term obligations, not just in financial or human capital terms but also with regards to the requirements imposed under a safeguards regime. Amano reasoned that countries that who abided by such requirements would serve as a model for other countries aspiring to develop their own nuclear energy production capability. -------------- Proliferation Risks in Asia -------------- ¶8. (S//NF) Amano shared with Brill his view that Asia is an important region of proliferation concern. Amano's remarks on this topic made clear his concerns about the DPRK's role as a proliferator of nuclear technology. Amano speculated that increased scrutiny of its maritime traffic forced North Korea to turn around a ship bound for Burma. Amano stressed that such more efforts should be employed to force the North Koreans to abandon some of their illegal activities. Amano also separately mentioned his worries about North Korea supplying terrorist groups with nuclear material. Amano stated that he had previously warned the GOJ that given the history of North Korean infiltrations into Japanese territory, it is quite possible that the DPRK could smuggle nuclear material into Japan for use by terrorist groups. -------------- Handling US Information -------------- ¶9. (S//NF) Brill expressed to Amano the U.S.'s preparedness to continue to supply the IAEA with U.S. information that would be of assistance to IAEA inspectors. He cautioned Amano, however, that the U.S.'s willingness to continue with this arrangement is contingent on the IAEA protecting the information we provide. Amano assured Brill that he would emphasize the importance of this issue during upcoming discussions with his future staff at the IAEA. Amano stated that he did not think that open discussion of member state-provided information at the IAEA board was a good policy. Amano suggested that he would instead opt for "quiet" discussions of such information. Brill also noted that it helped the U.S. assist the IAEA if the IAEA gave feedback related to information the U.S. provided. A dialogue about issues being discussed and how information was used was useful to the U.S. in understanding how it could support the IAEA. ¶10. (SBU) Finally, Amano expressed his desire to visit the U.S. at the earliest possible date after he takes over as DG. Amano revealed that he will have a raft of meetings and events scheduled for 2010, but he clearly would like an opportunity to personally convey his gratitude to U.S. counterparts and coordinate an agenda early in his tenure. PYATT