UN nuclear watchdog says now unlikely to visit North Korea

VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday it was now unlikely to visit North Korea after Pyongyang announced it was no longer bound by an agreement with the United States for a moratorium on missile and nuclear tests.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) began talks with North Korea last month over a possible visit to the secretive Asian state but said in early April it needed more information before it could take up an invitation from Pyongyang to travel to the country three years after the agency's inspectors were expelled.

"Given this announcement, we think it is not likely that the agency will dispatch a delegation to (North Korea) in response to its invitation" IAEA spokeswoman Gill Tudor said.