The first group of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, which arrived in Pyongyang in mid-July, confirmed last week that North Korea had closed all the facilities at Yongbyon that were used to produce weapons-grade plutonium.

The move has essentially finalized the first phase of the disarmament deal agreed in Beijing on February 13, when Pyongyang was promised economic and diplomatic incentives in exchange for disabling its nuclear facilities.

The second phase will include North Korea providing information on all its nuclear programs, including its uranium enrichment, and shutting down all remaining nuclear facilities.

North Korea now expects Washington to strike it off the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, and to drop its "hostile" policies toward Pyongyang, and for Japan to improve ties with the regime, which it accuses of kidnapping its nationals in the 1970s-1980s. - RIA Novosti