By RIA Novosti
Tokyo : A second group of US officials and nuclear experts is expected to arrive in North Korea Saturday to continue work on disabling nuclear facilities, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.
In a six-party deal sealed earlier this month, North Korea committed itself to disclosing and disabling its nuclear programme by the end of the year, in exchange for 950,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil or its equivalent.
The deal is part of broader agreements previously reached by South and North Korea, the US, China, Russia and Japan to eventually dismantle the country’s nuclear facilities in exchange for aid and diplomatic incentives.
The first team of US experts, headed by Sung Kim, the state department official in charge of Korean affairs, is expected to leave the Communist state Thursday following a three-day inspection of key nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, about 90 km north of Pyongyang.
Earlier this year, North Korea had shut down its only operational five-megawatt nuclear reactor, a radiochemical lab and a nuclear fuel producing plant.
US President George W. Bush Wednesday said North Korea must keep its commitments under the six-party deal, including a promise to stop proliferation of nuclear technology and weapons.
“If not, there will be consequences for the North Koreans,” he said at a White House news conference.
His comments followed recent allegations that Pyongyang supplied Syria with nuclear parts or technology