N.Korea agrees to nuclear moratorium, IAEA inspections

North Korea agreed on Wednesday to stop nuclear tests, uranium enrichment and long-range missile launches and to allow nuclear inspectors to visit its Yongbyon nuclear complex to verify the moratorium has been enforced.    

The announcement, made simultaneously by the U.S. State Department and North Korea's official news agency, paves the way for the possible resumption of six-party disarmament negotiations with Pyongyang and follows talks between U.S. and North Korean diplomats in Beijing last week.    

It also marks a significant policy shift by North Korea's reclusive leadership following the death in December of veteran leader Kim Jong-il.    

"The DPRK, upon request by the U.S. and with a view to maintaining positive atmosphere for the DPRK-U.S. high-level talks, agreed to a moratorium on nuclear tests, long-range missile launches, and uranium enrichment activity at Yongbyon and allow the IAEA to monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment while productive dialogues continue," North Korea's official KCNA news agency said.   

 North Korea is known formally as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).    

The State Department said that in return the United States was ready to finalize details of a proposed food aid package of 240,000 metric tonnes of nutritional assistance, and that more aid could be agreed based on continued need.    

"The United States still has profound concerns regarding North Korean behavior across a wide range of areas, but today's announcement reflects important, if limited, progress in addressing some of these," a State Department statement said. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded to the moratorium by describing it as a “modest step in the right direction”.    

The State Department said Washington reaffirmed that it did not have hostile intentions toward North Korea and was prepared to take steps to improve bilateral ties and increase people-to-people exchanges.    

The surprise announcement was a step forward for Washington's campaign to rein in renegade nuclear programs around the world and comes as the Obama administration steps up pressure on Iran over its atomic ambitions, which western governments fear are aimed at producing nuclear weapons.  

Reuters