N. Korea says reactor shut down

WASHINGTON — North Korea told U.S. officials Saturday it had shut down its nuclear reactor, a major move by the nation's reclusive and unpredictable leaders toward scaling back their controversial nuclear program.

U.S. State Department officials made the announcement as a team of U.N. inspectors arrived in North Korea to begin monitoring the Yongbyon nuclear complex.

The statement came just hours after North Korea received an initial shipment of oil from South Korea that had been promised, along with other economic aid and better diplomatic ties, in exchange for disabling its nuclear facilities.

"We welcome this development and look forward to the verification and monitoring of this shutdown by the International Atomic Energy Agency team," U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

The Vienna, Austria-based IAEA serves as the nuclear watchdog for the United Nations.

The United States, South Korea, China, Russia and Japan have engaged North Korea in six-party talks since 2003 in an effort to halt Pyongyang's nuclear program.

McCormack said Saturday that the U.S. was looking forward to meetings set for this week to discuss implementing North Korea's pledge to disable "all its existing nuclear facilities."

North Korea, which began seeking to develop nuclear weapons two decades ago, pulled out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in December 2002 and evicted U.N. arms inspectors. It then restarted the Yongbyon reactor, which had been dormant under a treaty signed in 1994 during the Clinton administration.

Given the high value the North Korean government has placed on its nuclear program, analysts who watch its activities warned that while Saturday's developments were a positive sign, upcoming negotiations probably will be difficult and complex.

"Many people share the concern of whether North Korea will go to the next step, (and continue dismantling its nuclear facilities)," said John Park, coordinator of the Korea Working Group at the nonpartisan U.S. Institute of Peace. "For now, the shutting down of the reactor has been happening relatively smoothly, with the arrival of the oil and of the IAEA team, but this is just one of many steps."

The next phase of negotiations is to take place Wednesday in Beijing, where the six nations will meet to discuss the details of how and when North Korea's nuclear facilities would be disabled in a way that renders them unusable.