(Adds U.S. comment, details, paragraphs 2, 10-13, 19)

By Chris Buckley

BEIJING, July 3 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il said on Tuesday each party should take "initial actions" in an aid-for-disarmament deal, China's Xinhua news agency reported amid signs Pyongyang was preparing to shut down its main nuclear plant.

Under a six-party agreement on Feb. 13, North Korea agreed to shut its Yongbyon reactor in exchange for 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. Those steps, to be taken "in parallel," are meant to lead to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

In Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency indicated North Korea was preparing to close the Yongbyon reactor, which can make plutonium for nuclear weapons.

An IAEA report, obtained by Reuters and circulated to the watchdog's board members on Tuesday, said Pyongyang had agreed to wide-ranging U.N. measures to verify a shutdown of its nuclear program. It was unclear when the North may act.

In remarks to visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, the usually reclusive Kim appeared to give a reassurances but reminded other parties of their obligations.

"Recently, there have been some signs of easing in the situation on the Korean peninsula," Xinhua cited Kim as saying. "Each party should implement initial actions."

Kim praised China's efforts to settle the dispute, which escalated after Pyongyang held its first nuclear test explosion last October.

Besides host China and North Korea, the six-party talks include South Korea, the United States, Japan and Russia.

Officials in Washington have told Reuters that Pyongyang had advised South Korea, which is providing the oil, and U.N. nuclear inspectors that it wanted at least some of the aid before closing the reactor.

In a concession, the U.S. State Department said it did not object to this.

"Our understanding is that the North Koreans have asked for some small portion of that overall 50,000 tonnes earlier on in the process," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. "From our view, this is ... something that we don't oppose."

The Bush administration made the decision despite criticism that it has already given North Korea too much, including the return of $25 million in frozen funds and a visit to Pyongyang by a senior U.S. diplomat, without getting enough in return.

"Pyongyang hopes -- and given American conduct recently has every reason to expect -- that assistance will arrive whether or not it complies with other central terms of the Feb. 13 agreement," former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

CONSULTATION AND DIALOGUE

China's Yang told Kim all of the countries involved in the deal should "conscientiously carry out their commitments and implement the initial steps in a full and balanced way," Xinhua said.

Yang's trip, due to end on Wednesday, follows a visit by IAEA officials last week.

The IAEA report by agency director Mohamed ElBaradei described an 11-part "understanding" reached with Pyongyang for a return of U.N. nuclear inspectors who were kicked out more than four years ago.

"The agency will install, and service as necessary, appropriate containment and surveillance and other devices to monitor and verify the status of the shutdown and/or sealed facilities and equipment," the report said.

Inspectors would have access to all affected facilities, highlighted by the Yongbyon reactor, and Pyongyang would provide a list of sites mothballed.

The IAEA board will hold a special one-day session on Monday that is expected to authorize the North Korea mission.

Pyongyang and Beijing appeared eager to stress harmony after deep tensions over the North's nuclear ambitions.

"Friendship between China and North Korea is our shared precious wealth," Yang told Kim, according to Xinhua.

Kim rarely meets visiting dignitaries but has held discussions with envoys from China and South Korea in recent years which have sometimes helped ease tensions.

Communist China supported the North during its 1950-53 war against the South and U.S.-led forces and is still a key supplier of aid. (Additional reporting by Jon Herskovitz and Kim Yeon-hee in Seoul, Mark Heinrich and Karin Strohecker in Vienna and Arshad Mohammed in Washington)

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