IAEA head to visit DPRK for talks on closing nuclear facility

Source: Xinhuanet | 03-05-2007 16:38

VIENNA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei will visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on March 13 to discuss the latter's nuclear program, IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said on Sunday.

ElBaradei will go to the DPRK "on the 13th for a two-day visit" at the invitation of the DPRK government to discuss the detailed work of shutting down and sealing the DPRK's nuclear facility, said Fleming.

On Feb. 24, ElBaradei announced, without giving a specific date, that Pyongyang had invited him to visit the DPRK within the next few weeks to see how the DPRK can establish a "normalized relationship with the agency" and "implement the agreement reached on the freezing of facilities."

The latest round of six-party talks, involving China, the United States, the DPRK, South Korea, Russia and Japan, ended in Beijing on Feb. 13 with a joint statement on the first step toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Under the document, the DPRK will shut down and seal its Yongbyon nuclear facility including the reprocessing facility and will invite IAEA inspectors to return to the country for monitoring and verifying its actions.

The parties agreed to give emergency energy assistance to the DPRK in the initial phase, providing Pyongyang 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil within 60 days in return for shutting down the reactor, according to the document.

The next round of the six-party talks is scheduled for March 19 in Beijing.

Editor:Du Xiaodan