VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Monday it needed more information before it could take up an invitation from North Korea to visit the country three years after its inspectors were expelled.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) began talks with North Korea last month over a possible visit.
The invitation appeared to be an attempt by Pyongyang to show it was serious about a nuclear moratorium deal with the United States even though it drew international condemnation for saying it would launch a long-range rocket carrying a satellite.
"The IAEA sent a response to the DPRK on 30 March," the agency's spokesman Greg Webb said in an email. North Korea is known formally as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
He said issues that would need to be discussed with the reclusive Asian nation included "the timing of the visit; level and composition of the delegation; technical points and other information for the agency's review".
On March 16 North Korea announced plans for a satellite launch this month using ballistic missile technology the United States says is banned by United Nations sanctions. Washington in turn suspended planned food aid to North Korea.
Asked what impact such a satellite launch would have on the potential IAEA visit, Webb said: "We are following up the invitation we received in a constructive spirit. You will appreciate that we can't simply jump on a plane and go, there are a number of technical aspects that require proper preparation."
It is unclear how much scope for inspections the IAEA would get despite Pyongyang's assurances it would grant access to the Yongbyon nuclear complex to verify a moratorium on uranium enrichment.
The country has limited the inspectors' access during two previous periods.
North Korea expelled the IAEA a decade ago when a 1994 deal with Washington unravelled. It threw the organisation out again in April 2009 after rejecting intrusive inspections agreed under a 2005 aid deal with five regional powers.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Alessandra Rizzo)
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