Nuclear-Monitoring Agency Warns of Cash Crunch

The U.N. agency responsible for preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons is facing a financial crisis and may soon have to cease key operations because the United States and other countries refuse to pay their bills on time, according to senior diplomats here.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, which seeks to ensure that no country--including U.S. foes such as North Korea and Iran--secretly diverts nuclear materials for bomb-making purposes, has already curtailed some aid projects and gone into default on $1 million in travel expenses, officials say. By the end of the month, they warn, the agency might not be able to meet its payroll.

The United States covers about $75 million of the agency’s $300-million annual budget.

The agency is pleading for faster payment at a time when Congress is considering building a national missile defense system--at a cost of more than $60 billion--that would attempt to shield the country from missile attacks.

Congressional officials say the United States is not stiffing the agency, but rather sticking to a long-established schedule of paying dues in the fourth quarter of the calendar year, after Congress passes the budget for the new fiscal year.