North Korea has stuck to its promise and reversed steps to restart its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon after an agreement last weekend between Washington and Pyongyang, the US State Department said today.
"The North Koreans have in their efforts reversed all their reversals in the reactor. All the seals are back on, the surveillance equipment is back, reinstalled. And the equipment that had been removed is back where it had been," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
"In addition, they have moved more rods from the reactor. On the reactor, they have actually gone beyond where they were prior to their reversing the disablement steps," he told reporters, adding that 60 percent of the nuclear fuel rods had been taken out of the reactor.
However, he said in the fuel reprocessing facility, the North Koreans had more to do. "They have not yet gotten to that baseline where they were. There is still work to be done, but progress on it," he added.
The United States took North Korea off its terrorism blacklist last weekend after the two countries agreed on a series of measures to verify the North's nuclear program, including taking samples out of the country and inspections.
Those steps have to be formally agreed on by the two Koreas, the United States, Russia, Japan and China - the six nations handling North Korea's nuclear dossier.
Mr McCormack said China was expected soon to announce a meeting of the six nations to affirm in writing the verification steps agreed on by North Korea and the United States.
Last weekend's deal was a last-ditch attempt by the United States to save disablement talks that were collapsing as North Korea began to reverse previous steps to disable its Soviet-era plant at Yongbyon.
Asked whether the United States was satisfied the North was keeping to its promises on disablement, Mr McCormack said: "Thus far, yes."
Reuters