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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will make every effort to stop North Korea's nuclear program and preserve the international non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

This was assured by the head of the UN agency for nuclear supervision, Rafael Grossi, quoted by Reuters.

The statement by Grossi, who is visiting the South Korean capital Seoul, was in response to South Korean President Yoon Sook-yeol's request that the agency join efforts to deter the North's "nuclear provocations" and achieve the country's nuclear disarmament by strengthening of surveillance activity and inspection readiness.

Grossi noted that he shares the concern of the international community regarding the nuclear issue regarding North Korea, South Korea's presidency said.

South Korea and the United States fear North Korea has completed preparations for its first nuclear test since 2017.

IAEA: North Korea is preparing a nuclear test

The IAEA has not had access to North Korea since the secretive communist state expelled the agency's inspectors in 2009.

nuclear program

IAEA