Inspectors call on North Korea

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors are due in North Korea on Tuesday, over four years since they were expelled. Pyongyang's invitation to the monitors was a step towards fulfilling its commitments under the February 13 multilateral agreement on the country's nuclear programme.

Yet doubts remain about the credibility of the deal -- under which North Korea agreed to close its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in return for energy aid and other concessions -- and over Pyongyang's commitment to it.

Kim Jong-il's government  should have shuttered the reactor by April 13, according to the six-party accord reached with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States. A dispute over the fate of millions of dollars frozen by the United States because of concerns about money laundering and counterfeiting gave North Korea cause for delay. But the funds have since been released, prompting Pyongyang to approach the IAEA.

Seoul and Washington will want the reactor to be shut down within weeks. This is unlikely. Shortly after it invited in the inspectors,  North Korea  test-fired a short-range missile -- its third in a month -- illustrating its appetite for defiance.  

Much will now depend on the outcome of the IAEA visit. Its chief Mohamed ElBaradei was denied access to North Korea's lead nuclear negotiator when he arrived in Pyongyang in March. Other unresolved issues could also provide Kim with an excuse  to delay  shutting the reactor down. There is a still a long way to go before the North Korean leader will be ready to surrender his nuclear arsenal.