North Korea is fully prepared to shut down its nuclear facilities and allow inspections, a South Korean official said in New York. North Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan has been on a visit to the United States since Thursday, becoming the highest-ranking official to do so since 2000.

?I don?t think there?s any doubt about the North?s readiness to execute the initial steps,? South Korean envoy Chun Yung-woo was quoted as saying in New York.

In Beijing, US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said he hoped Pyongyang would not delay in fulfilling its commitments but declined to comment further.

Kim is scheduled to meet US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill to-day to discuss improving ties. It will be the highest-level meeting on US soil since a top military officer and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il?s special envoy, Jo Myong-rok, visited Washington in 2000. That was followed by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright?s visit to Pyongyang and eased tensions ? until George W. Bush took office in 2001 and labelled North Korea as part of an ?axis of evil?.

Tomorrow, International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed ElBaradei will be in Pyongyang to discuss the mechanics of North Korea?s deal to close down its nuclear programme and readmit inspectors from the UN watchdog.

<B>Jack Kim</B>