Timed with the arrival in Pyongyang on Tuesday of International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei, signs were detected that North Korea had started shutting down its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon. Reuters quoted a U.S. official as saying that North Korea was apparently preparing to shut them down, and a diplomatic source in Seoul said Pyongyang probably did so to negotiate with the IAEA director-general in compliance with the Feb. 13 six-party agreement. A South Korean official said, "If North Korea has suspended operation of its nuclear facilities, it’s a very positive step indeed." The six-party agreement stipulates that North Korea shuts them down under IAEA supervision by April 13.
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International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei’s sits in a car on the way to Beiing Airport before flying to North Korea on Tuesday./REUTERS-Newsis
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Meanwhile, ElBaradei is accompanied by IAEA Deputy Director-General Olli Heinonen, who has dealt with the North Korean nuclear issue since the first crisis in the 1990s. Since 1992, Heinonen has visited North Korea several times, pointing out significant inconsistencies in North Korea's initial statement on its nuclear facilities by using cutting-edge equipment. The first nuclear crisis erupted when North Korea rejected IAEA special inspections in protest at Heinonen's report. On return to Beijing on Thursday, ElBaradei will meet the top U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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