'All n-material under IAEA's safeguard'

While denying that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has any guideline for nuclear material demand-supply balance, the UN nuclear watchdog said Monday all the nuclear material is under its safeguard.

Responding to the concern that Japan owns large amount stockpile of nuclear material, IAEA Direct General Yukiya Amano said all the nuclear material of Japan is under IAEA's safeguard, and the agency could ensure the nuclear material is for peaceful use, Xinhua reported.

About the supply-demand balance, which Japan's neighbouring countries doubt, Amano said his agency has no guildline for the supply-demand balance of the nuclear material.

According to report, Japan is expected to return 331 kg weapon grade plutonium to the US, but it still has about 44 tonnes of lower-quality plutonium. There are plans to open a new reprocessing plant at Rokkasho, which could separate out about 8 tons of plutonium each year -- enough "to make one thousand Nagasaki-type bombs," according to a report by the International Panel of Fissile Materials.