Washington: Seeking international cooperation to curb the spread of weapons of mass destruction, US President George W Bush has proposed a revamp in the UN nuclear agency and said that only the countries that have signed an Additional Protocol should be allowed to import equipment even for their civilian nuclear programmes.

The countries which are under investigation for violating nuclear non-proliferation obligations should not be allowed to serve on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board as Governors, Bush said in a speech unveiling his proposals at the National Defence University.

"Allowing potential violators to serve on the board creates an unacceptable barrier to effective action," he said.

He said Iran, for instance, "a country suspected of maintaining an extensive nuclear weapons programme", recently completed a two-year term on the board. Any State on the board that comes under probe should be suspended, he said.

The Additional Protocol requires countries to declare all their nuclear activities including civilian ones and allow the IAEA officials to inspect them.

Bush described at length the proliferation activities of Pakistan's nuclear scientist A Q Khan and his associates, whose network, was penetrated by British and American intelligence at great risk.

Bush cautioned the international community about the possibility weapons of mass destruction falling into terrorist hands and said, "We must confront the danger with open eyes and unbending purpose."

"Every civilized nation has a stake in preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. These materials and technologies, and the people who traffic in them, cross many borders. To stop this trade, the nations of the world must be strong and determined and act effectively," Bush said.

Among the proposals, Bush called for the expansion of "Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI)". The PSI participants and willing nations should use Interpol and other means to bring to justice those who traffic deadly weapons, shut down their infrastructure and freeze assets, he said.

He also called on nations to strengthen the laws that govern proliferation and asked the UN Security Council to quickly pass a resolution requiring all nations to "criminalize" proliferation.

International efforts should be "expanded" to keep weapons from the Cold War and other dangerous materials "out of the wrong hands", the US President pointed out.

"We must also prevent Governments from developing nuclear weapons under false pretences," Bush said, adding that the loopholes in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, exploited by countries like North Korea, should be closed.

Observing that the world must create a safe, orderly system to field civilian nuclear plants without adding to the danger of weapons proliferation, Bush said the 40 nations of the Nuclear Suppliers Group should refuse to sell enrichment equipment and technologies to any State that does not already possess full-scale functioning plants.