After months of stalled negotiations between North Korea and the international community, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Monday it will send a team to Pyongyang next week to discuss how the agency's inspectors will verify the promised shutdown of the country's nuclear reactor.The visit announced by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency is the first concrete step toward North Korea's nuclear disarmament after a weekend breakthrough in a financial dispute that delayed the process for over a year.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack praised North Korea for inviting the IAEA inspectors to the North Korean capital. "That is a good positive step," he said Monday.
Separately, Russia's Interfax-China news agency reported that North Korea plans to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in the second half of July. The report, citing an unidentified North Korean official in Beijing, said the government proposed holding another round of six-nation disarmament talks after the reactor is halted.
Read More
