NKorean envoy confirms reactor shutdown

SOUTH KOREA: A North Korean diplomat confirmed Sunday that his country had shut down its sole operating nuclear reactor after receiving an initial shipment of oil aid and said that U.N. inspectors would start to verify the closure later in the day.

Kim Myong Gil, minister at the North’s mission to the United Nations in New York, also raised hope for further progress on disarmament and noted that the next steps included the North making a declaration of its nuclear program and disabling the facilities.

But that would only come if Washington takes actions “in parallel,” including removing wider economic sanctions against Pyongyang and striking the country from a list of states that sponsor terrorism.

“Immediately after the arrival of the first heavy fuel oil, the facilities were shut down and the (International Atomic Energy Agency) personnel will verify that, maybe by now, or from today in Korea,” Kim told The Associated Press by telephone.

“The IAEA personnel will work as they did at the previous visit, they will work for monitoring the shutdown, the status of the facilities.”

“After the shutdown, then we will discuss about the economic sanctions lifting and removing of the terrorism list. All those things should be discussed and resolved,” Kim said.

North Korea also informed the United States it has shut down its nuclear reactor, the U.S. State Department said Saturday.

“We welcome this development and look forward to the verification and monitoring of this shutdown by the International Atomic Energy Agency team,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.

Seoul, Sunday, AP