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North Korea says it will close its reactor once a funds row is resolved

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the offer was a "good step". But the IAEA said it had not yet received the invitation from North Korea.

North Korean state media said the move was in response the release of funds frozen in a bank account in Macau.

A row over the funds stalled a February deal agreed on the reactor in Yongbyon.

Earlier, US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said the $24m (£12.1m) transfer of the funds had been delayed by technical problems in Russian banks.

The North Korean funds were frozen for nearly two years after the US said they were the result of drug smuggling and counterfeiting, making other banks unwilling to touch them.

On Thursday, Macau government officials said the money had been transferred from Banco Delta Asia (BDA) to the US Federal Reserve.

It was then to be sent on to a North Korean account at a bank in Russia.

Technical talks

After Mr Hill's announcement, a statement on North Korean news agency, KCNA, said the country's atomic energy chief, Ri Je-son, had written a letter to the director general of the IAEA, Mohammed ElBaradei, inviting UN inspectors.

"He in the letter noted that a working-level delegation of the IAEA has been invited to visit the DPRK [North Korea] as it is confirmed that the process of de-freezing the funds of the DPRK at the Banco Delta Asia in Macau has reached its final phase," the agency said.

N KOREA NUCLEAR DEAL N Korea to 'shut down and seal' Yongbyon reactor, then disable all nuclear facilities In return, will be given 1m tonnes of heavy fuel oil N Korea to invite IAEA back to monitor deal Under earlier 2005 deal, N Korea agreed to end nuclear programme and return to non-proliferation treaty N Korea's demand for light water reactor to be discussed at "appropriate time" Q&A: The bank row

The UN inspectors were to visit for "discussions of the procedures of the IAEA's verification and monitoring of" shutting down the Yongbyon reactor, KCNA said.

Mr Hill told reporters in Mongolia that the funds had been transferred to Russia and he expected them to be paid into the North Korean account in the next few days.

"They're having some technical problems in getting it to the bank where the actual North Korean accounts are," he said.

Mr Hill did not provide details of the problems, however, but he said the US had first learned of them from the North Koreans.

The US envoy said he hoped the transfer would prompt Pyongyang to act on its pledge at the six-party talks to shut down and seal its Yongbyon nuclear reactor.

"We hope they will get on with what they need to do in terms of implementing the February agreement," he said.

North Korea has said in the past that it will begin the process of closing its reactor once it has received its funds.

IUCN's nominations for the UN World Heritage List In pictures

A biodiversity-rich rainforest in Madagascar and Tenerife's volcanic landscape are among the sites favoured by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

A total of 37 natural and cultural sites will be considered by the UN World Heritage Committee.

The committee will make its final decision at its annual meeting, which begins on 23 June in New Zealand.

The prestigious list, co-ordinated by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), was set up to ensure the long-term protection of globally important cultural and natural sites.

The five locations selected for consideration by the IUCN, an official advisory body to Unesco, are:

• South China Karst: described as being unrivalled for the diversity of its karst features - a unique underground landscape formed by water eroding limestone and marble rocks
• Rainforests of Atsinanana, Madagascar: home to a unique array of species, 80-90% of which are only found on the island nation. Deforestation has destroyed more than 90% of the original forest
• Jeju volcanic island, Korea: includes a shield volcano that is about 1.2 million years old, and an "impressive and significant" system of lava tubes (underground tunnels formed by lava flows)
• Primeval beech forests, eastern Europe: found in Slovakia and Ukraine, the woodlands are "an outstanding example of undisturbed, complex temperate forests"
• Teide National Park, Spain: situated on the island of Tenerife, the park was nominated for its "mature, slow-moving and geologically complex volcanic system"

The IUCN will also propose that the committee considers taking action to improve the level of protection for existing World Heritage sites that have been identified as being at risk.

These include the Galapagos Islands, where the number of tourists have increased to more than 120,000 per year - a three-fold increase over the past 16 years.

The islands were made a World Heritage Site 30 years ago for their unique plant and animal life.

The diversity of species found on the Pacific archipelago inspired naturalist Charles Darwin and helped him develop his theory of evolution.

Down not out

Charles Darwin's home and workplace in southern England, Down House, has been formally removed from this year's nomination list by the UK government.

Darwin heritage bid stopped

Culture Minister David Lammy made the decision after receiving advice from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos).

The assessment raised questions about the "outstanding universal value" of the bid.

However, the government said it felt the council failed to recognise the site's significance to the heritage of science and confirmed that a renewed submission would be presented in 2009.