The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) destroyed the cooling tower at its Yongbyon nuclear complex on Friday afternoon, South Korean media reported.

MBC TV said the 20-meter-tall facility was blown up shortly after 4 p.m. Friday local time (0700 GMT).

The destruction of the cooling tower symbolized the progress of the disablement phase under the September 2005 agreement of the six-party talks.

About 16 journalists from five countries -- China, the United States, Japan, South Korea and Russia, together with at least three from the DPRK, mainly from TV broadcasters, witnessed the explosion.

They had been told that no press briefings by DPRK officials were to be offered on the spot. They were also asked not to shoot anything else except the explosion of the cooling tower.

(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2008)