North Korea has begun disabling its nuclear installations under the supervision of a team of nine US experts, reports Agence France Presse. Work started at plutonium production facilities in the Yongbyon complex, where North Korea has already shut down a reactor. "Obviously, it is going to take some time," said a State Department spokesman. North Korea currently has enough plutonium to build several bombs.
The totalitarian regime staged its first nuclear test last year amid fears in the West that it could hand off the technology to terrorists. Instead, five negotiating partners agreed on a disablement program. After North Korea dismantles its plants and give up its plutonium stockpile and any nuclear weapons, it can expect millions of dollars in aid and normalized relations with Washington. (More North Korea stories.)