The chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog will visit Seoul from October 4th to the 7th.
Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Friday he will visit Seoul to attend an international disarmament conference. And on the sidelines, he said, he hoped to meet South Korean officials to discuss Seoul's nuclear experiments.
Elbaradei announced his planned Seoul visit at a news conference on Friday after a meeting of the IAEA's governing board during which Seoul's past nuclear experiments were discussed.
A team of IAEA inspectors is scheduled to arrive in Seoul next week for a week-long additional inspection.
The inspectors will carry out investigations needed to prepare a complete report, to be submitted at the next IAEA board meeting in November.
Early this month, South Korea voluntarily acknowledged that some local scientists conducted isolated nuclear experiments in 2000 and 1982, raising international concerns over Seoul's nuclear ambitions.
Seoul has been repeatedly saying the experiments were for purely academic purposes.