North Korea has cooperated fully with a team of UN nuclear experts who were monitoring the shutdown of the country’s sole plutonium-producing reactor, the leader of the team said today.

North Korea has told the United States it has shut down its nuclear reactor, the US State Department said today, hours after a ship cruised into port loaded with oil promised in return for the country’s pledge to disarm.

UN inspectors have arrived in Pyongyang to monitor the shutdown of North Korea’s nuclear reactor, official Xinhua News Agency reported today.

EFFORTS to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear programme moved ahead yesterday, with the chief US envoy saying he wants the North’s reactor completely disabled by year’s end and UN inspectors heading to Pyongyang to supervise the shutdown.