Pyongyang agrees nuclear-reactor deal

Washington - North Korea, after months of stiff resistance, agreed to take South Korean nuclear reactors as part of a nuclear freeze deal negotiated last year, but an agreement reached in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, must be reviewed by officials in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo before the details are released.

North Korea had threatened to scuttle the deal rather take nuclear reactors from its rival, but Seoul has insisted that since it is meeting most of the $4bn cost, it should supply the reactors. The aim of the agreement is to replace Pyongyang's existing reactors with light-water technology which produces less weapons-grade plutonium. AFP