South Korea will start shipping oil to North Korea next week, an official said on Wednesday, a day after U.N. nuclear inspectors said the reclusive state had agreed to steps verifying a shutdown of its nuclear program.
Under a disarmament-for-aid pact reached in six-country talks in February, impoverished North Korea pledged to start closing its Soviet-era Yongbyon reactor in exchange for 50,000 tons of heavy oil from its neighbor.
Implementation of the deal was held up for months because of a standoff over North Korean funds frozen in a Macau bank. Pyongyang said it has received the money.
"The first shipment will start next week and the initial amount will be between 5,000 and 10,000 tons," a South Korean Unification Ministry official said.
(Reuters)