South Korean workers from SK Energy load heavy fuel oil into South Korean oil tanker "Han-chang" at a port in Ulsan, about 414 km southeast of Seoul, July 11, 2007.- Xinhua

A South Korean ship with 6,200 tons of heavy fuel oil left South Korea's Ulsan port for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) yesterday.

It was the first delivery of heavy fuel oil to the DPRK under an agreement adopted in February's six-party talks on the nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula.

The South Korean ship, which left the port at 12 am local time is expected to arrive in the DPRK's northeastern port of Sonbong on Saturday after a 36-hour voyage. It will return to South Korea next Monday or Tuesday after unloading the oil.

The DPRK government announced last week that it will shut down nuclear reactors after receiving the first delivery of heavy fuel oil.

Under an earlier agreement between Seoul and Pyongyang, South Korea will deliver a total of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil within20 days after the first delivery of the oil.

Under the joint agreement reached during the six-party talks in February, the DPRK promised to shut down its nuclear facilities as initial steps of denuclearization, while other parties will provide a total of 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil to the DPRK.