The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohammed ElBaradei, arrived Monday in Libya to review progress in verifying that all of Libya's nuclear activities are placed under safeguards and designed exclusively for peaceful purposes, according to reports reaching Cairo.  

During his two-day visit, ElBaradei will also check the progress of work since Libya pledged to dismantle its illegal weapons of mass destruction in December.

He will meet with senior Libyan officials during the visit, his second one since Tripoli announced in December that it would fulfill all obligations under regimes covering the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

"The purpose of my visit is to take stock of where we are and to deal with them (Libya) on the next set of inspections and to hopefully move forward, " ElBaradei said upon leaving Vienna.

On Friday, the IAEA said in a report that Libya had imported uranium and refined a small amount of plutonium in a secret nuclear program that extended from the 1980s until the end of last year.

ElBaradei initially described Libya's nuclear programs as "at an early stage of development" after his first visit.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2004)