Nuclear watchdog expects N. Korea reactor shutdown to go 'smoothly'

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog expressed optimism Thursday about his agency's coming mission to monitor the shutdown of North Korea's sole operating reactor, which generates material for bombs.

"I expect that operation to move smoothly," Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said of the visit by inspectors to North Korea expected to begin Saturday, after the arrival of a shipment of oil aid from South Korea. "I am quite optimistic that this is a good step in the right direction." (AP)