IAEA Sets Date for North Korea Visit

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit Pyongyang, in the People's Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) on 25 June to talk with the government about monitoring the closure of the nation's main nuclear facility.

The team, headed by the IAEA deputy director general for safeguards Olli Heinonen, will be following out a request made on 16 June by the DPRK director general of the department of atomic energy, Ri Je Son.

US assistant secretary for East Asian affairs Christopher R Hill says while closure of the Yongbyon plant could take place in a matter of weeks, the US, which has requested disablement of Korean plants for decades, will keep pushing towards this goal.

"Disablement would be the next phase [but] we need to get to this first phase, which involves shutting down the reactor for its eventual abandonment," Hill says.

"Then the plan is to have our ministers get together to discuss how we might proceed with the next phase, which has some key elements in it – including disablement."

Hill says he hopes discussions on how North Korea will then provide its people with energy will soon follow.

"On the North Korean side, for their benefit, there's considerable amounts of heavy fuel oil – and it's heavy fuel oil that will be shared right now among four countries – the US, Republic of Korea and Russia and China."

North Korea had previously agreed to the reactor's closure but stalled the process while funds frozen in the Macau bank were debated.

By Penny Jones