Yukiya Amano takes helm at IAEA

VIENNA, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Career diplomat Yukiya Amano took over as the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency to face what he said were "difficult challenges."

The 35-member IAEA Board of Governors in July elected Yukiya Amano of Japan to replace Mohammad ElBaradei as the director general. ElBaradei's term ended Monday.

ElBaradei in his final address before the U.N. General Assembly in New York in November praised the international community for putting nuclear disarmament at the top of its list of priorities.

"Nuclear disarmament, which failed to make any headway in the two decades since the end of the Cold War, is now back at the top of the international agenda and there is reason to hope that we may see a breakthrough," he said.

Amano takes the helm at the nuclear watchdog following a declaration by Iran it would begin work on 10 new uranium enrichment facilities. North Korea, meanwhile, continues to test the international community with its nuclear activity.

Amano, who served as Japan's envoy to the IAEA, acknowledged the difficult times ahead for his four-year tenure at the nuclear agency.

"The situation surrounding the agency is stormy now," he said in his inaugural message Tuesday. "We have a lot of difficult challenges, but I would like to do my best."