VIENNA, Nov 25: South Korea urged the UN's nuclear watchdog on Thursday not to report it to the Security Council over its work with atom bomb-grade material, and diplomats said any such decision was likely to wait until March.

Amid a furore over Iran's nuclear programme, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors meeting in Vienna would most likely defer its decision on South Korea's undeclared nuclear experiments, the diplomats said.

Earlier this month, the IAEA said in a report that South Korea enriched a tiny amount of uranium in 2000 to a level close to what would be useable in an atomic weapon, contradicting previous denials by Seoul.

South Korean scientists also separated a tiny amount of bomb-grade plutonium in 1982 without notifying the IAEA. "Korea does not have any nuclear programme other than for peaceful purposes," Vice Foreign Minister Choi Young jin said in a speech prepared for delivery to the IAEA governors' meeting.

"Our non-proliferation credential is exemplary beyond any doubt," Choi said. Western diplomats said South Korea "would lose face" if referred to the Security Council, which could impose sanctions, especially in view of allegations against North Korea.

North Korea, which has cited South Korea's experiments as one reason for holding up multilateral negotiations aimed at ending its own nuclear arms work, was referred to the Security Council last year after Pyongyang expelled IAEA inspectors. The Security Council has taken no action.

SERIOUS CONCERN: Several diplomats on the IAEA's board of governors, which was discussing the nuclear violations of South Korea and Iran, said a postponement of any decision on South Korea was likely.