SEOUL, July 15 (Xinhua)-- The South Korean government on Sunday welcomed the reported shutdown of the nuclear facilities in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

    The reported shutdown was "an encouraging progress in the denuclearization process," said a statement of the South Korean Foreign Ministry, which was the country's first official response to the facility close.

    "The shutdown of the nuclear facilities and the return of inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the North (DPRK) are initial steps toward the denuclearization on the peninsula with great importance," the statement said.

    Earlier Saturday, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the DPRK had informed the United States of the shutdown of the DPRK's Yongbyon nuclear facilities.

    The Yongbyon reactor, located some 90 km north of Pyongyang, is regarded as DPRK's leading nuclear research center.

    The U.S. announcement came shortly after a South Korean ship delivered 6,200 tons of heavy fuel oil to the DPRK and a 10-member team of the IAEA arrived in DPRK's capital of Pyongyang to verify and monitor the sealing of the nuclear facilities.

    Christopher Hill, U.S. chief negotiator for the six-party talks, arrived in Seoul on Sunday for discussion on the nuclear issue with South Korean officials.

    China announced earlier that a new round of six-party talks, composing China, the United States, the DPRK, South Korea, Russia and Japan, will open in Beijing on July 18.

    Under the February agreement reached during the six-party talks, the DPRK pledged to shut down the Yongbyon reactor within 60 days in exchange for 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil or equivalent aid.