World

North Korea agrees to nuclear checks

by Amy Judd | July 12, 2008 at 03:04 pm

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North Korea has ofically agreed to nuclear checks, as officials from China, the US, Russia, Japan and North and South Korea all agreed that Pyongyang (the capitla of North Korea) would finish disabling its main nuclear facility by this October.

The other nations will complete deliveries of fuel and economic aid ahead of visits by verification teams.

The deal comes after South Korea's leader proposed reviving direct talks with the North in a major policy shift.

President Lee Myung-bak told parliament on Friday he was willing to carry out previous bilateral summit accords and provide the impoverished North with food aid.

Fine details

The agreement is the latest stage of a six-party deal reached in February 2007, when the North said it would scrap its nuclear ambitions in return for aid and diplomatic concessions.
Last month, North Korea handed over a long-delayed list of its nuclear activities and demolished the cooling tower at its main plutonium-producing Yongbyon nuclear reactor, in a symbol of its commitment to talks on ending its nuclear programme.

Announcing the latest agreement, the head of the Chinese delegation Wu Dawei said the verification process would include experts from the six nations visiting facilities, reviewing documents and interviewing technical personnel.

He said the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, could also be asked to help if necessary.