VIENNA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog is prepared to give up his office prematurely, according to a diplomatic source here.
Yukiya Amano, Director General of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will resign in March 2020 for health reasons, a diplomatic source based in Vienna revealed to Xinhua on Thursday.
He would notify the Board of Governors of his early resignation next week, said the source.
The 72-year-old Japanese has served as head of the IAEA since 2009, overseeing, among other things, compliance with the international nuclear agreement with Iran. He is currently in his third term, which expires in 2021.
Since last year, Amano has been in poor health, Japanese Kyodo news agency reported.
The IAEA has 171 member states. The head is elected by the representatives of the 35 states, which together form the Board of Governors.
