North Korea accepts US inspection team

NORTH KOREA has agreed to allow a US delegation to visit its main nuclear complex next week, the first such inspection since the isolated communist country expelled UN monitors more than a year ago.

The visit appears to be an effort by North Korea to prove that it has built a nuclear bomb or capable of doing so and strengthen its negotiating position ahead of planned talks with the United States and four other nations on ending the nuclear standoff.

Pyonyang could also be signalling its willingness to allow more extensive inspections in the future if Washington meets its demands for humanitarian aid and a promise not to attack the North.