N Korea to close nuclear facilities in 2 weeks: US

The United States expects diplomats to start planning the shutdown of North Korea’s nuclear facilities within the next two weeks despite

The United States expects diplomats to start planning the shutdown of North Korea’s nuclear facilities within the next two weeks despite a surprise missile test by the communist country, the chief US nuclear envoy said on Wednesday.

South Korea, meanwhile, said it was preparing promised fuel oil shipments for its impoverished neighbour, as efforts to resolve the nuclear dispute gathered steam after more than a year of gridlock. Both South Korea and the US downplayed Tuesday’s short-range missile test by North Korea, which coincided with the breakthrough in a banking dispute that had held up nuclear negotiations.

The launch was part of regular military exercises and not meant as a political provocation, US envoy Christopher Hill told reporters in Tokyo. “The North Korean army has these tests from time to time,” he said. Hill said the focus now should be on making up for time lost during the financial stand-off and closing down the North’s reactor.

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UN nuclear inspectors were expected to arrive in North Korea next week to get the ball rolling. “We’ll have a lot of work do and very little time to do it,” Hill said.

The next stage of the nuclear dispute will turn on dismantling the North’s nuclear reactor and delivering badly needed fuel oil to the country in exchange. Bilateral talks to arrange the logistics should begin over the next two weeks, with a full meeting of the top nuclear envoys resuming soon after July 4, Hill said.

The RJD’s key face and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tejashwi Yadav, party supremo Lalu Yadav’s son, will again contest from his stronghold Raghopur.

Amid Mahagathbandhan crisis, RJD unveils list of 143, drops 36 MLAs, focuses on ‘M-Y’

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The RJD, lead player of the Mahagathbandhan, released its full list of 143 candidates for the November Bihar Assembly elections. Its key face Tejashwi Yadav will contest from Raghopur, and 41 sitting MLAs have been renominated. The party has dropped 36 sitting MLAs and fielded young leaders, signaling a bid to consolidate its core Muslim-Yadav vote base. The Congress has fielded 60 candidates.

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