A working-level group of government officials will depart for Austria Thursday to explain to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Seoul's stance on a controversial uranium enrichment experiment conducted four years ago.

The team, comprised of officials from the Foreign Affairs and Science and Technology ministries, is expected to stress to IAEA officials that the controversial experiment was a one-time test that involved only a few scientists. The group will also emphasize that Seoul will take tougher preventive measures against such activities in the future.

The group's visit comes ahead of next week's 48th IAEA board meeting, set to run for three days from Monday.

Seoul's Ambassador to Austria Cho Chang-bum is expected to lead the South Korean delegation to the board meeting.

Last Thursday, Seoul announced that a group of IAEA inspectors were in the country to look into Seoul's voluntary declaration that a South Korean team of scientists had successfully separated 0.2 grams of uranium in 2000.