Experts from Russia, China, Japan, the U.S. and South Korea started inspections Tuesday of North Korea's nuclear facilities in Yongbyon to monitor the progress in the country's denuclearization.
"We are very pleased. We are convinced that the inspection by a team of international experts in North Korea will be useful for the implementation of a joint document and the disablement of North Korea's nuclear facilities," Liu Jianchao said, adding that "the mission has been a success."
Technical experts from the United States have been at Yongbyon since early November, leading a team which is dismantling three facilities at the site as part of the country's denuclearization program.
The visit is in line with agreements reached by the six nations, including the United States, on October 3, where North Korea agreed to decommission three facilities by December 31 at Yongbyon, about 100 km (62 miles) north of the capital Pyongyang.
A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said last week that the experts' visit is part of preparations for a meeting of negotiators in Beijing, scheduled for December 6-8, which will assess Pyongyang's denuclearization progress and consider holding talks at the level of foreign ministers.
North Korea, which tested a nuclear bomb in October 2006, closed down its main nuclear reactor in July under a February six-party deal.
In return for its cooperation, North Korea is to receive aid equivalent to one million tons of fuel oil, and the U.S. has promised it will take steps to remove the country from its blacklist of countries suspected of aiding terrorism.
