North Korea has agreed to UN measures to verify a shutdown of its atom bomb programme, nuclear inspectors said today.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board of governors will hold a special session on July 9 expected to authorise a new inspector mission based on a groundbreaking visit by an IAEA delegation to North Korea last week.
But the IAEA has said North Korea and five powers dealing with the state must settle on a target date for disabling its Yongbyon nuclear complex, source of its bomb-grade plutonium fuel, before inspectors are deployed.
US officials in Washington said Pyongyang was now demanding promised shipments of oil before shutting down Yongbyon, raising the possibility of another delay in implementing a February 13 disarmament accord.
In a report detailing results of the five-day preparatory visit by his deputies, IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei recommended agency governors approve the return of inspectors whom Pyongyang expelled 4-1/2 years ago.
No opposition was likely at the July 9th gathering.
ElBaradei's report, circulated to board members on Tuesday, described an 11-part "understanding" on verifying disarmament in North Korea, which said last year it had test-detonated its first nuclear device.