Pyongyang confirms closure of N-reactor
The Korea Herald/ Ann, Seoul
North Korea confirmed Sunday that it had shut down its Yongbyon atomic reactor under UN supervision, the first step in a process designed to rid the communist state of nuclear weapons. The closure of the facility, which produces plutonium for nuclear weapons, is the first step taken by Pyongyang toward ending its atomic programme since 2002 and the first phase of a six-nation disarmament deal reached in February. "We shut down the nuclear facilities at Yongbyon and allowed the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) personnel to monitor it on the 14th, when the first shipment out of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil arrived," a foreign ministry spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency. "We have fulfilled our promises in advance ... which show our commitment to the implementation of the agreement," the spokesman told KCNA. The US State Department said earlier Sunday it had been informed of the shutdown. "We welcome this development and look forward to the verification and monitoring of this shutdown by the International Atomic Energy Agency team that has arrived in North Korea," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
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