( CNN ) -- North Korea has made another move toward possibly restarting its suspended nuclear program , the U.N. nuclear agency reports . A South Korean looks at the demolition of a cooling tower at the North 's Yongbyon nuclear complex , June 27 , 2008 . At the reclusive nation 's request , the International Atomic Energy Agency has removed surveillance equipment and seals from the Yongbyon nuclear facility , agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said . The move clears the way for North Korea to reintroduce nuclear material to the facility . The North has told the IAEA that it will do that in a week or so . The U.N. nuclear watchdog will no longer have access at Yongbyon and will not be able to monitor any activities at the nuclear reprocessing facility . Mohamed ElBaradei , director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency , said Monday that agency inspectors had observed that `` some equipment previously removed by ( North Korea ) during the disablement process has been brought back . '' ElBaradei said then that he was hopeful that conditions could be developed for North Korea `` to return to the Non-Proliferation Treaty at the earliest possible date and for the resumption by the agency of comprehensive safeguards . '' Last week , a South Korean news agency reported that North Korea was restoring a reactor at Yongbyon nuclear complex and no longer wanted to be removed from a U.S. list of countries that sponsor terrorism . Hyun Hak-Bong , a chief North Korean negotiator at the six-nation talks aimed at halting the country 's nuclear program , told reporters his country was `` thoroughly preparing to restart '' the reactor and that reporters would `` know soon '' when his country would do that , the Yonhap news agency said . But a senior U.S. diplomat has said the announcement could simply be a bargaining ploy in the long-running negotiations . The U.S. had seen no indications North Korea was actually rebuilding its reactor , the diplomat said . The U.S. envoy to North Korea addressed the fresh standoff with reporters Monday , saying the U.S. was still trying to strike a deal with Pyongyang to come clean on its nuclear claims . `` The six-party process has had its difficult moments and we are certainly experiencing one now , '' Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill told reporters . Although North Korea has threatened to restart its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon , `` We do n't expect any dramatic developments in the next few days , '' he said . Hill said U.S. officials had the impression North Korea wanted to reach agreement with Bush administration before it left office . Earlier , a senior State Department official told CNN that in recent weeks the North Koreans had taken a `` harder-line stance toward the six-party talks . '' U.S. intelligence officials told CNN last week that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been suffering serious health problems , and may have had a stroke . North Korea had agreed to disable the Yongbyon nuclear complex by October in exchange for a pledge from the U.S. to lift some sanctions and remove North Korea from a list of countries that sponsor terrorism .
IAEA : The United States and Russia have agreed to a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in Vienna today. U.N. nuclear watchdog will no longer have access to the plant . N. Korea had agreed to abandon its atomic weapons program for energy aid .