MOSCOW, July 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russia welcomes the shutdown by North Korea of its nuclear reactor and expects an official confirmation from the UN nuclear watchdog, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said Sunday.
"We believe that the shutdown of the nuclear reactor at Yongbyon is a positive factor in the situation around the North Korea nuclear problem. We proceed from the fact that such steps by Pyongyang will make it possible to solve more effectively the issue of the Korean peninsula denuclearization within the framework of six-party talks," Kamynin said.
A team of UN nuclear monitors arrived in Pyongyang Saturday to verify the nuclear reactor shutdown under an aid-for-disarmament deal.
At the six-nation talks held in February between North and South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the United States, Pyongyang agreed to close its reactor in return for international aid. Under the deal, the reclusive regime received Saturday the first shipment of fuel oil from South Korea.
Commenting on the reactor shutdown by North Korea, Christopher Hill, the top U.S. nuclear negotiator, said: "This is just a first step and it will be followed by other steps."
