South Korea plans to ship 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) if Pyongyang accepts U.N. nuclear inspectors, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported on Thursday.

The South Korean government are mulling a one-time shipment of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to DPRK in three vessels when the inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) enter into the DPRK, Yonhap quoted an unnamed South Korean official as saying.

The remarks came after IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei's two-day visit to DPRK. ElBaradei said in Beijing on Wednesday that DPRK expressed a willingness to cooperate with his agency, as required under the latest joint document adopted during the six-party talks in February.

The visit to Pyongyang "cleared the air" and "opened the door for a normal relationship between IAEA and DPRK", ElBaradei told a press conference in Beijing.

Under the latest joint document of the six-party talks, DPRK can receive up to 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil, or equivalent aid. The first shipment of 50,000 tons should be provided within 60 days of the agreement. In exchange, DPRK promised to give up its nuclear weapons program and to shut down its Yongbyon reactor by mid-April.

Source: Xinhua