UN confirms North Korea shut nuclear plants
"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.
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Power Demand Seen Holding Firm In Europe’s Latest Lockdown
BERLIN - European power demand is likely to hold up in the second round of national lockdown restrictions, with fluctuations most likely driven by changes in the weather.
Traders and analysts expect normal consumption this time around as home heating during the chilly season replaces commercial demand.
Last week electricity consumption in France, Germany and the U.K. was close to business-as-usual levels for the time of year, according to BloombergNEF data. By contrast, power demand had dropped 16% in the first seven days of the springtime lockdown.
How power demand performs has significance outside the sector. It’s often seen as a proxy for…
