North Korea Hands Over Documents Detailing Its Nuclear Program

Panmunjom, Korea (AHN) - The U.S. welcomes North Korea's move to hand over documents detailing the country's nuclear program as the U.S. envoy left the region on Saturday with boxes full of papers.

The documents contain North Korea's detailed activities at the nuclear reactor that has been under international discussions for many years.

"The United States and the other parties continue to press [North Korea] to fulfill its declaration commitment," said the State Department statement, according to BBC News.

Sung Kim, the U.S. State Department's senior North Korean specialist, reached South Korea on early Saturday with around 18,000 secret papers, which will be taken to Washington for examination.

"We have to take them back and see," Kim told reporters without elaborating was quoted saying by South Korea's Yonhap news agency, according to AP.

Kim along with four officials crossed the heavily fortified border with seven cardboard boxes at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, according to AP news agency.

The documents date as far back as 1986 with information that is reportedly full declaration of the North Korea's weapons-grade plutonium program.

With the latest move, North Korea has completed eight out of 11 promised steps towards the complete disabling of nuclear reactor in the presence of American experts who have been overseeing the site since November.

As a part of a six-country accord, North Korea was asked to provide a full accounting and details of its nuclear program.