UN nuclear inspectors leave North Korea

Published Apr 16, 2009

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Tokyo - United Nations nuclear inspectors left Pyongyang on Thursday, Japan's Kyodo news agency said, after being ordered out by North Korea, which has raised tensions by vowing to quit disarmament talks.

The UN Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket on April 5 as contravening a UN ban and demanded enforcement of existing sanctions against Pyongyang.

North Korea told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday that it had decided to revive all its facilities at its Soviet-era Yongbyon nuclear complex, including the reprocessing plant that produces plutonium for nuclear weapons.

The United States has said the North has also asked American experts overseeing the Yongbyon shutdown under the deal to leave the country.

Analysts have said that the North could have the plant operating again in as little as three months. - Reuters

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