IAEA chief calls for dialogue on N Korea nuclear issue

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei on Monday called for dialogue to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei on Monday called for dialogue to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

"The only way to resolve the issues is through dialogue," ElBaradei told reporters at a conference on nuclear energy in Beijing. "There is no other solution apart from dialogue."

He said dialogue should be conducted through the United Nations Security Council to resolve such issues in Iran, North Korea and Cuba, instead of 'flexing muscles'.

North Korea last Tuesday asked IAEA inspectors to stop work and leave the country as soon as possible, a day after the Security Council condemned the North Korea's April 5 'rocket' launch. The country claimed it was a satellite launch while US, Japan and South Korea viewed it as a front for testing ballistic missile technology.