UN to check 'shut down' Yongbyon reactor
North Korea threw out UN inspectors in 2002
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Sunday, 15, Jul 2007 08:50
UN inspectors will check today to see if North Korea has shut down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, as reported yesterday by the US government.
Department of Defence spokesman Sean McCormack said: "The U.S. has been informed Saturday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea shut down its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon.
"We welcome this development and look forward to the verification and monitoring of this shutdown by the International Atomic Energy Agency team that has arrived."
United Nations (UN) inspectors arrived in North Korea to oversee the shut-down of the reclusive country's main atomic reactor earlier today.
Their arrival was accompanied by the delivery of the first of several oil shipments promised to the North Korean government in exchange for Pyongyang scaling back its nuclear programme.
Speaking outside Pyongyang airport, the head of the ten-member inspection team from the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that the group would be heading straight to the nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, which lies around 60 miles north east of the capital.
Adel Tolba also told broadcaster APTN that the inspectors would remain in North Korea as long as necessary in order to complete their work.
It is the first time in five years that IAEA inspectors have carried out a mission in the country.
North Korea expelled inspectors from the UN's nuclear watchdog in December 2002 after the United States accused Pyongyang of operating a secret uranium enrichment programme in violation of a 1994 disarmament agreement.
The country subsequently restarted the reactor at Yongbyon, with fuel shipments then withdrawn by other states, while North Korean officials also ordered the execution of the state's first nuclear test in October 2006.
However in February Pyongyang agreed to end its nuclear programme and close down the reactor in return for energy aid.
North Korean officials are set to meet again with diplomats from the US, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia on Wednesday to discuss the next state of the disarmament process.
It is currently unclear when the shut-down of the Yongbyon reactor will begin, but US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill told reporters in Japan that he expected it to happen over the next few days, with North Korea later expected to provide a list of all its nuclear facilities as agreed with other nations.
"We expect the comprehensive list in a matter of several weeks, possibly several months,'' he said.