The United States on Friday welcomed the decision by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to invite Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit Pyongyang.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is visiting Canada, said the Bush administration is "very pleased" about the invitation.

"We are really very pleased that the IAEA (will) ... be able to go back into North Korea to be able to verify compliance with the agreement that is to take place over the next 60 days that would shut down the Pyongyang reactor and would seal it," Rice said.

ElBaradei's visit will pave the way for the realization of the full denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, she said.

ElBaradei said earlier in the day that the DPRK has invited him to visit within the next few weeks for talks on its nuclear program. He said he would see how the DPRK can establish a " normalized relationship with the agency" and "implement the agreement reached on the freezing of facilities."

In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Fratto also described Pyongyang's invitation as "a positive sign" to implement a February 13 deal under which the DPRK would shut down a key nuclear facility in exchange for energy aid.

"It shows that we're beginning to execute the terms of the agreement.... We'll be interested in hearing his (ElBaradei's) report when he gets back," Fratto said.

The six-party talks, involving China, the DPRK, the United States, South Korea, Japan and Russia, ended in Beijing on Feb. 13, 2007, with a joint statement on the first step toward the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

Under the document, the DPRK will shut down and seal the Yongbyon nuclear facility, including the reprocessing facility and invite back IAEA personnel to conduct all necessary monitoring and verifications.

In addition, the parties also agreed to the provision of emergency energy assistance to the DPRK in the initial phase, and the assistance equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil will commence within 60 days.

Source: Xinhua