US to verify North Korea reactor shutdown
US military officials will seek to verify whether North Korea shuts down its nuclear reactor as promised and if it tries to move the operations elsewhere, it was announced today.
US Pacific Commander Timothy Keating said the most recent intelligence information indicated some kind of activity at the Yongbyon reactor, but it was not yet clear whether it was related to the promised shutdown.
Washington will initially rely on the findings of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, who have been allowed into North Korea to discuss and monitor the expected shutdown, but the US will also seek its own confirmation, he said.
“You bet, we’re gonna pay very close attention along with other countries,” Keating told a news conference in Manila.
“We will try to verify the shutdown of Yongbyon in support of and in co-ordination with other agencies such as the IAEA,” he said.
Japan and South Korea have expressed keen interest in making sure that Yongbyon is really shut down, he said.
“They will be paying close attention as well,” Keating said, referring to the two countries, who along with the US, Russia, China and North Korea have been involved in disarmament talks.
Keating is in Manila for annual talks with top Philippine security officials on enhancing defense and counterterrorism cooperation.
North Korea is allowing IAEA inspectors to visit the Yongbyon facility tomorrow and Friday in the latest sign that it will soon comply with the promised shutdown, according to Japan’s Kyodo News agency.
North Korea, which carried out its first nuclear test explosion in October, promised in February that it would shut down Yongbyon by mid-April.
However, progress on the deal was stalled by a financial dispute between North Korea and the US which was recently resolved.
