Sung Kim, director of the Korean affairs desk at the U.S. State Department, speaks to reporters upon his arrival at the Incheon International Airport on Tuesday. North Korea is cooperating with U.S. experts to disable its nuclear weapons-making facilities under an accord with regional powers and should be able to complete the process by the end of the year as promised, Sung Kim said Tuesday./AP N.Korean Nuclear Disablement Proceeding Smoothly Roh: Full Denuclearization 'Unrealistic' Before Peace Talks Six Nations 'Busy With Nuclear Disablement': FM U.S. to Strike N.Korea Off Terror List Under 'Secret Deal' Fukuda, Bush to Seek Common Ground on N.Korea

Kim Sung, the director of the Korean affairs desk at the U.S. State Department, is leading a technical team to disable the facilities. He arrived in North Korea last Thursday, where he has been observing the start of the disablement process.

"I think we are off to a good start," Kim told reporters at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday.

One of the disablement tasks is to extract some 8,000 spent fuel rods from the 5-megawatt atomic reactor at Yongbyon. Preparations for this task are being made right now, Kim said.

Kim said he has not yet received a full list of the nuclear programs that Pyongyang is supposed to declare, but he understands that the list is being compiled now.

On Wednesday the envoy is expected to brief South Korea's nuclear negotiations team on the disablement project.

(englishnews@chosun.com )