UN confirms North Korea shut nuclear plants
KUALA LUMPUR, MALASIA - The UN nuclear watchdog said it had verified that North Korea had closed all five of its nuclear facilities, marking a key step in the effort to get the country to give up its nuclear programmes.
"Yes we now verify that all the five nuclear facilities have been shut down," Mohamed ElBaradei, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency told reporters in the Malaysian capital.
He was speaking ahead of two days of six-party talks set to begin in Beijing after UN nuclear inspectors verified the shutdown of North Korea's Yongbyon reactor.
The reactor produces material that can be turned into weapons-grade plutonium and in February North Korea agreed to close it in return for 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, which began moving there from South Korea.
North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia will now start to explore how to permanently scrap the Yongbyon complex and terminate North Korea's nuclear weapons potential.
Related News
India's electricity demand falls at the fastest pace in at least 12 years
DELHI - India's power demand fell at the fastest pace in at least 12 years in October, signalling a continued decline in the industrial output, according to government data. Electricity has about 8% weighting in the country's index for industrial production.
India needs electricity to fuel its expanding economy but a third decline in power consumption in as many months points to tapering industrial activity in a nation that aims to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024.
India's industrial output fell at the fastest pace in over six years in September, adding to a series of weak indicators that suggests that…
