IAEA chief says North Korea has invited him to discuss dismantling nuclear program

VIENNA, Austria — The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Friday that North Korea has invited him to visit to discuss dismantling its nuclear facilities — a sign of the country's new willingness to subject its atomic program to outside scrutiny.

Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he and North Korean authorities would discuss how to "implement the freeze of (nuclear) facilities" and "eventual dismantlement of these facilities."

IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said ElBaradei would probably visit in the second week of March, after the agency board meets on North Korea and Iran, the other country of international nuclear concern.

While ElBaradei offered no details, his announcement signaled the North's further willingness to open its nuclear program to outsiders for the first time since withdrawing from the Nonproliferation Treaty three years ago and ordering agency inspectors to leave.

Under a Feb. 13 agreement, the North — which said it tested a nuclear weapon late last year — agreed to dismantle its nuclear facilities and to normalize its relationships with South Korea, Japan and the United States in exchange for oil shipments, other aid and security guarantees.

The deal requires North Korea to first shut down and seal its main nuclear reactor, accept international monitors and begin discussions with the United States on its other nuclear facilities. In return, the nations will ship the North an initial load of fuel oil.

If North Korea then declares all its nuclear programs and begins to disable its nuclear facilities, it will get a much larger shipment of fuel oil and aid.

Chun Yung-woo told foreign reporters in Seoul that the North appeared committed to at least disabling its existing nuclear programs under the six-country disarmament agreement last week in Beijing. But whether the country will also relinquish existing nuclear weapons and material, believed enough for as many as a dozen bombs, will depend on the other countries involved — China, South Korea, Japan, the United States and Russia.

"What is important is not to give any excuse to North Korea to delay its denuclearization obligations and for it to avoid implementation of its end of the deal," he said. "What is important is to create a political climate that can address their threat perceptions."