North Korea removes seals from nuclear reactor
Monday, 22 Sep 2008 19:30
North Korea removes seals from main nuclear facility as it pushes ahead with threats to restart reactor
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North Korea has removed seals and surveillance equipment from its main nuclear facility as it pushes ahead with threats to restart the reactor.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Monday that it had accepted Pyongyang's request for the seals and cameras to be removed.
A spokesman for the north's government confirmed to Japan's Kyodo news agency that the seals had been taken off.
North Korea warned last month it was halting disablement work at plutonium-producing Yongbyon after the US refused to take its name off a terrorism blacklist.
In his report to the IAEA board of governors, the UN agency's director general Mohamed ElBaradei said Pyongyang had reassured him no nuclear material would be involved in the tests they now hoped to carry out.
"This morning [North Korea] asked the agency's inspectors to remove seals and surveillance equipment to enable them to carry out tests at the reprocessing plant, which they say will not involve nuclear material," Mr ElBaradei said.
"I still hope that conditions can be created for [North Korea's] to return to the Non-Proliferation Treaty at the earliest possible date and for the resumption by the agency of comprehensive safeguards."
Last Friday North Korea claimed it no longer wanted to be removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Six-party talks involving South Korea, Japan, China and Russia had seen the north agree to unwind its nuclear programme in return for food and fuel aid.
Washington said it would remove the reclusive Communist country from its state terrorism sponsor blacklist as a condition of the agreement but said such a move was impossible until North Korea's declaration of disablement was recognised to an "international standard".
"Now that the US true colours are brought to light, [North Korea] neither wishes to be delisted as a 'state sponsor of terrorism' nor expects such a thing to happen," state media in North Korea quoted Pyongyang's foreign ministry as saying.
"It will go its own way."