N Korea Agrees To Dismantle Nuclear Facility By End Of October

BEIJING (AFP)-July 12-North Korea on Saturday agreed to completely disable its main nuclear facilities by the end of October as the latest round of six-nation disarmament talks concluded in Beijing.
In return for Pyongyang dismantling its Yongbyon reactor, the other five parties guaranteed delivery of all heavy fuel oil promised in exchange by the end of the same month, a joint communique said.
North Korea 'will work to complete the disablement of the Yongbyon nuclear facilities by the end of October 2008,' the statement said.
The head of the Chinese delegation, Wu Dawei, read out the broad details of how the parties will verify that North Korea keeps its word.
The parties also agreed to a verification mechanism that would include experts from the six nations visiting facilities, reviewing documents and interviewing technical personnel, Wu said.
He added the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, could also be asked to assist in verification if necessary.
U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill said the technical details of the verification process were yet to be decided, but that Washington hoped it would be finalized by the end of next month.
'We'd like a protocol to be reached within 45 days and secondly to actually begin the verification within 45 days,' Hill told reporters. 'We're anticipating that and don't see any obstacles.'

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