North Korea also kicks US nuclear monitors out

WASHINGTON (Agencies) - North Korea has ordered US nuclear monitors out of the country, dealing a harsh, early setback to the Obama Administrations efforts to disarm the defiant regime.
Monitors have been asked to depart DPRK, State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters.
Its a step backward. Were obviously concerned about this, he said.
The announcement came one day after North Korea ordered UN inspectors to leave the country as soon as possible and said it would never again take part in denuclearisation talks.
Wood said as far as I know, the US monitors had not yet left North Korea.
Incensed by a UN Security Councils condemnation of its April 5 blast-off, Pyongyang pledged Tuesday never to rejoin six-party disarmament talks. It vowed to restore and reopen Yongbyon and to reprocess spent reactor fuel rods.
The White House said the Obama Administration and members of the six-party nuclear talks process were anxious for NKorea to return to the negotiating table.
The Administration and I believe all those involved are anxious for the North Koreans to come back to the table, the same place where in September 2005, they made an agreement to dismantle their nuclear programme, said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
Meanwhile, a diplomat close to the IAEA said Wednesday in Vienna that UN inspectors have removed seals and switched off surveillance equipment at North Koreas Yongbyon nuclear facility and are preparing to leave the country.
Theyre out of Yongbyon and are currently in Pyongyang and will probably leave the country tomorrow (Thursday), the diplomat told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Inspectors have removed (UN) seals and turned surveillance cameras to the wall, the diplomat said.
On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) was ceasing all cooperation with the UN watchdog and had asked its inspectors to leave the country as soon as possible.
The move came after Pyongyang quit six-nation disarmament talks in protest over the UNSCs condemnation of its rocket launch on April 5.
North Korea also informed the IAEA that it had decided to reactivate all facilities and go ahead with the reprocessing of spent fuel.
Pyongyang had been disabling plants at Yongbyon that produced weapons-grade plutonium as part of a February 2007 six-nation deal.
Pyongyang hailed what it called the historic launch of a communications satellite over a week ago.
But the United States and its allies say no satellite has been detected in orbit and the Norths real aim was to test a long-range missile.
Meanwhile, Russia said Wednesday it still opposed sanctions against North Korea after the Communist state further alarmed the international community by quitting nuclear talks, Interfax reported.
We dont need to talk about stronger sanctions, but how to restart the six-party negotiations. That is the most important task, said Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin.
Borodavkin Wednesday insisted that the accent of the UNs statement of condemnation had been on continuing disarmament talks.
When we prepared the UN Security Council reaction to North Koreas rocket launch, the focus was that our reaction would contribute to the continuation of the six-party process, he said.