Greenpeace would like to express its complete opposition to the plans of the power utility Taipower to ship and dump nuclear waste in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Greenpeace stands in support of the peaceful activities of Korean and Taiwanese environmental groups in their campaign to oppose the dumping plans.

The transboundary export of nuclear waste is one of the most irresponsible acts of the global nuclear industry today. Because of ill-considered plans to build and operate nuclear reactors, governments and industry are confronted with the problem of nuclear waste. The health of both people and the environment of countries producing nuclear waste, receiving it or along transport routes are directly effected by these dangerous wastes. There is no environmentally safe method of managing these wastes, and yet the nuclear industry continues to produce them. This is just one reason why Greenpeace is opposed to nuclear energy in all countries.

After abusing the people of Lan Yu (Orchid) island with a nuclear dump and having unsuccessfully searched for a new dumping ground in the Marshall Islands, Taipower is now seeking to dump this harmful material on the people of the Korean Peninsula.

The decision of Taipower to conclude a nuclear waste dumping deal with the DPRK is exploitation, plain and simple. North Korea is in an economic crisis, and in the short term desperately needs funds to buy food and other essentials for her people. But in the longer term, North Korea could face an environmental disaster and the much greater costs of dealing with poisoned-contaminated land and water supplies, increased rates of cancer and other health problems.

The sole responsibility for managing the waste rests with the authorities of Taiwan, who must consult fully and openly with the people of Taiwan to find an interim solution for dealing with it. Greenpeace believes that the only safe option at this time for managing all radioactive waste produced by nuclear reactors is for on-site storage at the site of production. Thus, the contract between Taiwan and the DPRK must be canceled immediately.

The crisis emerging over this issue merely highlights the wider regional and global crisis over the management of nuclear waste. The ROK itself has no plan to deal with nuclear waste and recently, due to citizen protest, was forced to cancel a proposal to dump nuclear waste on Gulup-do, an island off its own shore. Japan ships its spent nuclear fuel to Europe where weapons-usable plutonium is removed and radioactive waste discharged into the environment. To the opposition of many en-route countries, Japan is currently conducting a secretive transport of high-level waste from France to Japan.

Citizens in Taiwan, Korea and Japan must continue to oppose the short-sighted nuclear waste policies of their governments. All countries in the Northeast Asia region must acknowledge that they are producing a problem for which there is no solution. The only option to avoid making the crisis any worse is for no new nuclear power plants to be built in the region, for all existing plants to be phased out, for reprocessing of plutonium to be halted and for greatly expanded support for both conservation programs and development of alternative forms of energy.

The struggle against nuclear energy being waged by environmental groups and individuals in Taiwan and on the Korean Peninsula is an important part of the world-wide struggle to protect the health and environment of today's and all future generations. Greenpeace applauds the peaceful efforts of the anti-nuclear movement in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan to stop this dangerous development.

Thilo Bode, Executive Director, Greenpeace International

Anne Dingwall, Executive Director, Greenpeace China

Sanae Shida, Executive Director, Greenpeace Japan