The government has begun its technical assessment on how to dismantle North Korea's nuclear program.

It will also bolster intelligence activities and monitoring of neighboring countries including North Korea for nuclear tests and radiation leaks.

The Science and Technology Ministry will establish a task force under its Atomic Energy Bureau to provide working-level support on the North Korean nuclear issue.

An official said that the ministry originally sought to establish the task force in case the six-party nuclear talks failed. However, since the parties agreed to disable Pyongyang’s nuclear facilities, the task force will be commissioned to handle technical issues related to dismantling the North Korean nuclear program.

The ministry is also planning to create a manual on how to handle a possible nuclear accident in a neighboring country.