UN nuclear agency says North Korea mission on hold

VIENNA - The Associated Press

This April 29, 2012 satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe shows what appears to be the initial stages of construction of a rocket assembly building at Musudan-ri in northeastern North Korea. AP photo

The head of the U.N. nuclear agency says his organization does not plan to send a mission to North Korea any time soon, despite an invitation from Pyongyang.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano is invoking the North's mid- April launch of a satellite as negating any "immediate prospect of an agency mission taking place." Because of similar technologies, the statellite launch was widely interpreted internationally as a test of North Korean missile capabilities. Pyongyang is prohibited from missile tests by the U.N. Security Council.

The North issued the invitation to the IAEA on March 13. Amano said it became obvious that it could not send a mission to Pyongyang in the near future after recent contacts with North Korean officials.