North Korea has reportedly expelled inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from the Yongbyon nuclear facility.

The Associated Press quoted a source close to the U.N. nuclear watchdog as saying Thursday that IAEA inspectors have left for Pyongyang after North Korea kicked them out of Yongbyon. The source added that, in line with Pyongyang’s requests, the inspectors removed IAEA seals and cameras from facilities before they left.

On Wednesday, North Korea announced its plan to expel both IAEA and U.S. nuclear inspectors in response to its opposition to the U.N. Security Council’s adoption of a presidential statement denouncing the North’s April fifth rocket launch.

The agency’s verification team, comprised of three inspectors, had been in Yongbyon since July 2006 in line with six-way nuclear dismantlement agreements to monitor five nuclear facilities in Yongbyon.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters that the U.S. officials monitoring the North's disablement of the Yongbyon nuclear plant are also making preparations to leave.