By Xinhua
Pyongyang : A working-level delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Saturday concluded its visit to North Korea after verifying the sealing of nuclear facilities.
During the five-day visit, the delegation also held a series of talks and reached consensus with North Korea on the issue of ratification and monitoring of the shutdown and sealing of the Yongbyon nuclear facilities.
Olli Heinonen, head of the delegation and IAEA deputy director general, said Friday his delegation has reached a consensus with Pyongyang on the verification procedure of the reactor's shutdown.
The delegation will take about a week to make a report to IAEA board of governors, said Heinonen.
IAEA officials arrived here Tuesday at the invitation of the North Korean government after a frozen fund dispute with the US was resolved Monday.
This was the first visit of IAEA to North Korea since late 2002, when the country expelled nuclear inspectors and later withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Pyongyang announced its first nuclear test last year.
At the six-party talks in February, involving China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, North Korea and the US, Pyongyang pledged to shut down the Yongbyon reactor within 60 days in exchange for 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil or equivalent aid.
However, the denuclearization process was held up as the North Korea insists that its $25 million frozen at the Banco Delta Asia in Macao be returned before shutting down the nuclear facilities and reviving negotiations.