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Unusual activity seen around NKorea reactor

36 minutes ago

SEOUL (AFP) - US satellites have spotted unusual activity around North Korea's nuclear reactor, South Korea's intelligence service said Tuesday, and news reports said Pyongyang may be preparing to shut it down.

Dong-A Ilbo newspaper said the US images obtained Monday have been shared with South Korea.

"The US took satellite images which captured unusual movements of people and vehicles around the cooling tower and parking lot in the Yongbyon nuclear facility," the paper said.

It said Washington and Seoul believe it is likely the activities are part of operations to close down the reactor.

The National Intelligence Service said it was aware of the activity but did not say what it might mean.

"There were some unusual movements there and we are now following and analysing them," a spokesman told AFP.

Yongbyon is at the centre of a stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament process.

The United States, China, the two Koreas, Japan and Russia reached an agreement in February that North Korea disable its nuclear programmes in exchange for a million tons of fuel oil or equivalent aid, plus security and diplomatic benefits.

Under the first phase it was supposed by April 14 to have shut down and sealed its reactor, which produces the raw material for plutonium to make bombs, in the presence of UN atomic inspectors.

But the deadline slipped without action due to delays in freeing up 25 million dollars in North Korean funds which had been frozen in a Macau bank at US instigation.

The United States said the money at Banco Delta Asia was made available last week.

Unusual activity seen around NKorea reactor (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070417/wl_asia_afp/nkoreanuclearweaponsreactorskorea;_ylt=ArqCWKtw3Tq6iHoKbkOJiLdvaA8F)