U.S. Envoy Says Deal Reached on Closing N. Korea's Nuclear Reactor

Jun 23, 07:27 AM

Current Headlines: By HIROKO TABUCHI

By Hiroko Tabuchi

The Associated Press

TOKYO

The top U.S. nuclear negotiator arrived in Japan to day to discuss his surprise visit to North Korea, which he said yielded an agreement that could lead to a shutdown of the communist state's plutonium-producing reactor in July.

Christopher Hill - the chief U.S. negotiator at international talks on North Korea's nuclear programs - said that the Yongbyon reactor would be shut down after the North and the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agree on how to monitor the process.

"We expect this to be soon, but probably within three weeks ... though I don't want to be pinned down on a date," Hill told reporters in Tokyo, after briefing his Japanese counterpart on the outcome of his two-day surprise trip to the North Korea capital.

Hill told U.S. cable broadcaster CNN on Friday that the shutdown could be expected "within two weeks" of the arrival there next week of U.N. inspectors, putting the date sometime in July.

Hill said he intended to brief his Japanese counterpart on the outcome of his two-day trip to North Korea this week.

The trip came amid growing optimism that North Korea may finally be ready to take concrete steps toward fulfilling a promise to dismantle its nuclear programs.

Meanwhile, the North's state media reported that the country held "comprehensive and productive" discussions with Hill.

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