Inspectors from the UN nuclear monitor, the International Atomic Energy Agency, have been ordered by the North Korean authorities to leave the country as a row over Pyongyang's nuclear programme continues.
The agency's Director General, Mohamed El Baradei, said North Korea was preparing to open facilities capable of producing weapons grade plutonium.
He said that North Korea's 1994 agreement to halt its nuclear programme was now over.
Mr El Baradei accused Pyongyang of breaking its international commitments and said it set a worrying precedent for efforts to avoid the spread of nuclear arms.
The Agency has said its nuclear inspectors will fly out of the country on Tuesday.
