Rice encouraged on North Korea nuclear progress

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed cautious optimism Thursday that North Korea would stick to a deal to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.

"I do believe that the North Koreans will shut down the reactor. They say that they have made a strategic choice to get rid of their nuclear weapons programs," she said in an interview with Fox News.

Nine months after the hardline communist state shocked the world with its first atomic test, hopes are rising for the imminent closure of North Korea's Yongbyon reactor, which produces bomb-making raw material.

Rice said "at some point in time, that there's got to be an accounting for whatever was made out of the activity at Yongbyon."

"I think we're going to know a lot about that in this next phase where they will have to declare what they've done, where they will have to disable the programs and the facilities in a more irreversible way than simply a shutdown.

"But I think we are seeing good signs that they're going to invite the IAEA inspectors in," the secretary of state said.

Ten inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were expected in North Korea Saturday after a stopoff in Beijing, the UN agency said.

North Korea has said it will consider shutting the Soviet-era Yongbyon facility as soon as it receives the first shipment of oil promised in a breakthrough deal with the United States and five other powers in February.

The two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan have been negotiating since 2003. They will meet again in Beijing on July 18 and 19, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

"They're going to shut down Yongbyon and then there will be considerable pressure, I think from the six parties," Rice said.

"It's a very good thing that we're in this with the other big regional players -- China, Japan, Russia, South Korea."