US to Disable North Korean Plutonium Facilities

A team of US nuclear experts is due to arrive in North Korea this weekend to disable weapons-grade plutonium facilities under a multinational disarmament deal, a US envoy has announced.

The US has warned sanctions for North Korea's nuclear test last year will only be lifted after Pyongyang scraps its atomic weapons programme, US officials have told Reuters.

Last year, the UN Security Council imposed a ban on international trade to disable North Korea's weapons programmes after the country defied international warnings and conducted its first nuclear test.

North Korea is required to disable its reactors and account for its fissile material and nuclear arms programme by the end of this year under a deal reached with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the US.

By staff writer