Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon says the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has shown a "friendly" reaction to Seoul's explanation of its past nuclear activities.

Ban, who is accompanying President Roh on an official visit to Kazakhstan and Russia, made the remarks Sunday in the Kazakh capital of Astana.

Ban added that nonaligned members of the U.N. nuclear watchdog have also expressed understanding of Seoul's commitment to eschewing nuclear armament after recent revelations that its scientists carried out unauthorized nuclear experiments in the 1980s and in 2000.

Ban said that discussions on Seoul's nuclear experiments were carried out in an objective and neutral manner at last week's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna. As an example, he cited the fact that the IAEA ended its board meeting without adopting a chairman's statement on the issue as had been initially feared.

Ban said that the international agency's final decision on Seoul's nuclear activities will be reached in November when the Board of Governors will review the findings of a second round of ongoing on-site inspections on South Korea's past nuclear experiments.