VIENNA-Calling for a ``structural adjustment'' to nuclear nonproliferation, Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on Wednesday proposed a five-year moratorium on constructing uranium enrichment and nuclear reprocessing facilities.

ElBaradei spoke in an interview with The Asahi Shimbun.

He said the proposal would be taken up during a review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) at a May conference in New York.

A comprehensive adjustment of the NPT has become more urgent with recent revelations that a nuclear black market has brought nuclear technology to North Korea, Iran and Libya, he said.

ElBaradei suggested a freeze on constructing new uranium enrichment and nuclear reprocessing facilities would be one way of placing ``some limitation on the right of every country to develop a full (nuclear) fuel cycle.''

He said the moratorium could last for five years, or ``until we have completed our work on how we can have an international arrangement for the fuel cycle.''

He added, ``We have enough capacity in the world for enrichment or reprocessing.''

ElBaradei did not discuss the effect of a moratorium on Japan's push to build a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture. Experiments with depleted uranium began at Rokkasho in December.

He said the moratorium would likely only apply to countries that do not have the capability for enrichment and reprocessing, hinting Japan may be allowed to go ahead with the Rokkasho project.

ElBaradei added that nations with nuclear weapons must convince other nations to stop trying to develop nukes.

``We should not forget the commitment by the weapons states to move toward nuclear disarmament,'' he said, referring to a pledge made at the 2000 NPT review conference.(IHT/Asahi: January 7,2005)