The International Atomic Energy Agency and the U.S. have hailed North Korea's invitation of IAEA staff to discuss verification of Pyongyang's nuclear shutdown.

An IAEA source said inspectors will need two weeks to enter North Korea, as IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei discussed a sketch of inspection procedures with Pyongyang during his visit there in March.

The nuclear watchdog will dispatch a team of inspectors after its working-level delegates first agree with North Korea on the inspections.

Deputy White House spokesman Scott Stanzel called the North's decision a good development, saying he hopes for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, the goal of the February agreement on nuclear disarmament.