North Korea closes nuclear plant

North Korea has shut down all five nuclear facilities at its main Yongbyon complex says the head of the International Atomoc Energy Agency.

North Korea shut down its sole working reactor at Yongbyon on Saturday.

After a day of international talks in Beijing, a South Korean official said Pyongyang had agreed to disable all its nuclear facilities by the year's end.

Chun Yung-woo, Seoul's envoy at the talks, said North Korean negotiator Kim Kye-gwan also indicated Pyongyang's willingness to declare all aspects of its nuclear programme.

Chief US negotiator, Christopher Hill, was unable to confirm the North's offer, but he did describe the talks as open and substantive, saying there had been "a lot of agreement around the table about what needs to be done in this phase".

He cautioned against premature optimism, saying "there has to be a follow-on phase, and that is the actual abandonment of the fissile material and explosive devices on the DPRK's (North Korea's) side".

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