Foreign reporters visit DPRK nuclear site

In the DPRK, a group of foreign reporters were allowed inside the Yongbyon nuclear facility. It's the first time the country has opened its main nuclear reactor to foreign media. The facility is at the heart of a decades old crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

In a news agency exclusive, APTN were given a tour of the facility.

Site officials confirmed disablement work has been slowed down, because the DPRK had not received enough of the fuel and equipment, promised in compensation for this stage of the disablement.

Yongbyon's chief engineer said ten out of the twelve steps for full disablement of the reactor have been completed.

Yu Sun Chol, Yongbyon chif engineer, said, "It has been slowed down. Especially the discharge of fuel rods from the core, has been slowed down."

Yu Sun Chol said the actions taken by other countries participating in the six party talks, will determine when the DPRK finishes disablement.

Yu Sun Chol said, "We think the main reason for that (slow down) is that the United States, and other party countries, have not fulfilled their commitments for the agreement of the six party talks."

The DPRK was promised the equivalent of one million tons of oil and political concessions, at six-nation disarmament talks, in return for disabling and declaring its nuclear programmes.

The US has also said it would remove the country from terrorism and sanctions blacklists.

Yongbyon's central control room was shut down in 2007 as part of the disablement process.

Construction of the five megawatt reactor was completed in 1985.

It was shut down in 1994 as part of an agreed framework during US President Bill Clinton's time in office.

But the reactor reopened again in 2003, before the six-party talks led to last year's shutdown.

Four US Department of Energy officials rotate on two week shifts supervising the disablement.

And three IAEA supervisors are also at the Yongbyon site.

The chief engineer says the DPRK officials have good cooperation with the Americans at the site.