Nuclear negotiators fails to meet in North Korea

The chief UN nuclear negotiator was unable to meet North Korea’s top nuclear negotiator today due to scheduling problems.

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, had been due to meet North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, Kyodo News agency reported, citing IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming.

But the meeting was changed to one with Kim Hyong Jun, another vice foreign minister, as Kim Kye Gwan was said to be busy with preparations for upcoming meetings related to the six-party talks on North Korean denuclearisation, Fleming said, according to Kyodo.

Phone calls to Fleming’s mobile phone went unanswered today. ElBaradei’s visit marks the first time his agency has been allowed into the country since Pyongyang ejected inspectors more than four years ago.

The visit is the latest sign the North is complying with a disarmament agreement for it to take the first steps to disarm since becoming embroiled in an international standoff over its nuclear ambitions in late 2002.