VIENNA, Austria, July 09, SPA -- The U.N. nuclear watchdog's board of governors gathered for a special session Monday expected to approve the return of inspectors to North Korea. On Sunday, diplomats said U.N. inspectors plan to return to North Korea in about a week to help the communist nation dismantle its nuclear program and re-establish a presence that ended when they were expelled five years ago. The diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, emphasized that the dates _ either July 14 or July 17 _ were tentative. Before the start of the meeting, Gregory L. Schulte, theU.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the United States hoped that inspectors would be able to return to North Korea quickly. «Following the board's approval, we hope that IAEAinspectors will be able to return quickly to North Korea,»Schulte told reporters. «The shutdown of the facilities at Yongbyon, togetherwith IAEA monitoring and verification, will be an importantstep toward achieving the common goal of a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons,» Schulte was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/465930