UN nuclear chief on N Korea visit

“This is a very complex process and there is a lot of confidence that needs to be built” ElBaradei, International Atomic Energy Agency

Last month, North Korea agreed to give up its weapons programme and dismantle the main nuclear reactor by April and readmit the inspectors in exchange for economic aid and political concessions.

 

 

But ElBaradei cautioned against expecting any quick breakthroughs in the North’s nuclear crisis saying that efforts would be “a very incremental process”.

 

“This is a very complex process and there is a lot of confidence that needs to be built.”

 

“There are lot of issues to consider, security issues, economic issues and political issues, and you will have to bear with us,” he added.

 

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On ElBaradei’s agenda is a proposal to resume Pyongyang’s membership in the IAEA, which the North backed out of in 1994.

 

A new round of nuclear disarmament negotiations are due to begin in Beijing on Monday.

 

Christopher Hill, the US chief nuclear negotiator, is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday and is expected to meet with ElBaradei before the talks, the US state department said.

Under last month’s deal, North Korea would eventually receive the equivalent of one million tonnes of fuel aid if it completely and permanently disbands its nuclear weapons programme.