The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, praised dialogue yesterday that allowed "good progress" to be made in a plan to dismantle North Korea's nuclear programme.
North Korea has agreed to a six-way deal to freeze and then roll back its nuclear arms programs in return for massive aid and better international standing.
"North Korea is now being addressed in the six-party talks and there is good progress going there through dialogue and we already reached (a deal to) shut down or declare nuclear facilities," the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told a nuclear energy seminar in Rio de Janeiro.
Washington has said more talks are needed to complete an inventory of atomic arms programs in North Korea, which tested a nuclear device last year.
Speaking of other nuclear weapons-possessing countries not bound to the global nonproliferation treaty, Mr ElBaradei lamented that the agency could not expect India and Pakistan to join the treaty "any time soon", but saw possible solution in global arms reduction talks.
As for Israel, he expected its nuclear weapons to be addressed within the framework of the Middle East peace process. He made no mention of Iran.
Mr ElBaradei, who visited Brazil's new uranium enrichment plant in Resende on Thursday, said he favored the "multinationalization" of enrichment facilities, which in theory can be used to produce weapons-grade nuclear materials.
He said in Resende he was not concerned about such ambitions in Brazil, whose constitution bans nuclear weapons research, but IAEA inspectors will be monitoring the plant. He said that if several countries shared the so-called full nuclear fuel cycle, that would ward off the temptation to use enrichment units to produce weapons.
"I believe that is something very much to look into ... In Latin America, Argentina and Brazil have the technology and can be partners. Besides additional supply guarantees that is also good for nonproliferation," he said.