Amid growing differences over its denuclearisation pact with South Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Russia, the reclusive Stalinist state told the International Atomic Energy Agency it would restart the Yongbyon plant next week, an IAEA spokeswoman said.

In a closed session of the IAEA's 35-member board, deputy director general Olli Heinonen said North Korea had informed inspectors it would "introduce nuclear material to the reprocessing plant in one week's time," according to spokeswoman Melissa Fleming.

Pyongyang also barred inspectors from the plant and removed IAEA seals and surveillance equipment on Wednesday, Fleming said.

IAEA inspectors themselves removed around 100 seals and 20-25 cameras, diplomats told AFP but stressed that seals and cameras were still in place at other parts of the site.

Similarly, IAEA inspectors were only being denied access to the reprocessing plant and three inspectors remained in Yongbyon, the diplomats said.

Under the six-country pact announced in February 2007, North Korea agreed to disable and dismantle key nuclear facilities and allow UN atomic inspectors to return in lieu of one million tonnes of fuel aid and its removal from a US list of terrorist states.

But North Korea announced last month it had halted the process in protest at Washington's refusal to drop it from the US blacklist of countries supporting terrorism, as had been promised.

"We strongly urge the North to reconsider these steps and come back immediately into compliance with its obligations as outlined in the six party agreements," said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

"The North Korean actions are very disappointing and run counter to the expectations of the members of the six party talks and the international community," he said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The North Korean move "will only deepen their isolation," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned in New York but appeared in no way ready to give up on a legacy of nuclear non-proliferation in Asia.

"By no means," Rice said when a reporter asked if the negotiations were dead. "We have been through ups and downs in this process before but I think the important thing is this is a six-party process."

Rice said she had already spoken about North Korea with Foreign Ministers Yang Jiechi of China, the party with the most influence on North Korea, and Yu Myung-Hwan of South Korea who are attending the UN talks.

Yongbyon is 60 miles (96 kilometres) north of Pyongyang and includes a Soviet-style five-megawatt reactor which began operating in 1987, a fuel fabrication facility and a plutonium reprocessing plant, where weapons-grade material could be extracted from spent fuel rods.

Earlier this month, CIA director Michael Hayden said that before Yongbyon was shut down North Korea had produced enough plutonium for at least a half-dozen weapons.

During the closed-door discussion in Vienna, several countries had expressed "concern" about North Korea's decision to bar inspectors from the reprocessing plant, one diplomat said.

"They urged the DPRK to refrain from such actions, to resume its disablement activities and to provide the necessary access to agency inspectors without delay," the diplomat said.

South Korea's foreign ministry expressed alarm and urged Pyongyang "to resume work on disablement at an early date and actively cooperate for an agreement on the verification protocol.

related report
North Korea bars UN inspectors from reprocessing plant: watchdog
North Korea is preparing to restart a key nuclear reprocessing plant used for the production of weapons-grade material as its crucial six-party disarmament-for-aid deal stalls, the UN atomic watchdog revealed Wednesday.

Amid growing differences over its denuclearisation pact with South Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Russia, the reclusive Stalinist state informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it would restart the plant at its sprawling nuclear complex in Yongbyon next week, an IAEA spokeswoman said.

In a closed session of the IAEA's 35-member board, deputy director general Olli Heinonen said that North Korea had informed inspectors that it planned to "introduce nuclear material to the reprocessing plant in one week's time," according to spokeswoman Melissa Fleming.

In addition, Pyongyang had barred inspectors from the reprocessing plant and had had IAEA seals and surveillance equipment removed, Fleming said.

Yongbyon is 60 miles (96 kilometres) north of Pyongyang. It comprises a Soviet-style five-megawatt reactor which began operating in 1987, a fuel fabrication facility and a plutonium reprocessing plant, where weapons-grade material could be extracted from spent fuel rods.

Under the six-country pact announced in February 2007, North Korea agreed to disable and dismantle key nuclear facilities and allow UN atomic inspectors back in in return for one million tonnes of fuel aid and its removal from a US list of terrorist states.

But North Korea announced last month it had halted the process in protest at Washington's refusal to drop it from the US blacklist of countries supporting terrorism, as had been promised.

Earlier this month, CIA director Michael Hayden estimated that before Yongbyon was shut down North Korea had produced enough plutonium for at least a half-dozen weapons.

IAEA spokewoman Fleming said that the process of removing the IAEA seals and cameras had been completed Wednesday.

"There are no more IAEA seals and surveillance equipment in place at the reprocessing facility," she said.

IAEA inspectors themselves removed around 100 seals and 20-25 cameras, diplomats close to the agency told AFP.

Nevertheless, seals and cameras were still in place at other parts of the site, the diplomats stressed.

Similarly, IAEA inspectors were only being denied access to the reprocessing plant and three inspectors remained in Yongbyon, the diplomats said.

During the closed-door discussion, several countries had expressed "concern" about North Korea's decision to bar inspectors from the reprocessing plant, one diplomat said.

"They urged the DPRK to refrain from such actions, to resume its disablement activities and to provide the necessary access to agency inspectors without delay," the diplomat said.

South Korea also expressed its deep concern at the latest developments in a statement issued in Seoul.

"The government is very concerned about North Korea's continued move to restore nuclear facilities in Yongbyon," the foreign ministry said.

"The government urges North Korea to resume work on disablement at an early date and actively cooperate for an agreement on the verification protocol.

"The government is paying keen attention to the situation and is in close cooperation with other countries involved in six-party negotiations."

The United States was similarly worried.

"North Korean moves to halt and reverse disablement and, most recently, remove IAEA seals and cameras from the reprocessing facility, are unsettling," said US envoy Gregory Schulte.

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