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BEIJING: The head of the UN atomic watchdog said here Monday he hoped North Korean nuclear disarmament talks would restart quickly and that his inspectors would be allowed back into the country.
"Maybe we will have to go through a period of confrontation, if you like, but I hope that will be short and I hope that the six-party (talks) will be resumed and the IAEA can return," Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters.
ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said a lot of "mismanaging" had been done in the long international drive to rid North Korea of its nuclear programmes.
These efforts have largely centred around six-nation talks involving the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.
Even though North Korea said last week it would restart its nuclear drive and abandon the talks in protest at UN condemnation of its missile launch on April 5, ElBaradei said he was optimistic about the situation.
"I am optimistic about the (six-party) approach. The approach is not to go for confrontation but to try to find common ground for working together," he said.
ElBaradei insisted there was no other option but for nations to talk with North Korea.
"The only way to resolve these issues is not in flexing muscles and not necessarily in going to the (UN) Security Council, but to try to address the root causes and engage in direct dialogue," he said.
ElBaradei was speaking to reporters in Beijing at the start of a three-day conference organised by the IAEA that gathers energy ministers or other representatives from more than 60 countries to discuss nuclear power's future.
- AFP/yb
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