N Korea agrees to disable N-facilities

In response, the US commits to work towards removing the country from its list of state sponsors of terrorism

BEIJING: North Korea has agreed to declare all its nuclear programmes and disable its main atomic reactor by the end of the year under US supervision, according to a six-nation agreement released on Wednesday.

North Korea “agreed to disable all its existing nuclear facilities” as the next step in a landmark agreement reached by the six parties in February, according to a copy of the text released by China, the host of the talks. As part of the second phase, North Korea will disable its five-megawatt plutonium producing reactor and two other key facilities at Yongbyon by December 31.

Those facilities were described by US President George W Bush as the “core” of North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme, according to a US government statement released in Washington. The Yongbyon facilities, as well as two other minor ones, were shut down in July as part of the first phase of the February accord.   

“At the request of the other parties, the United States will lead disablement activities,” Wednesday’s statement said, adding that US experts would lead a team to the North within two weeks to begin preparations. North Korea also agreed to provide a “complete and correct declaration of all its nuclear programmes” by December 31.

In return for pushing ahead with disarmament, the five other parties to the talks will provide North Korea with another 900,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil or its equivalent in aid, the pact said.