The International Atomic Energy Agency chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, has said he hopes North Korean nuclear disarmament talks would restart quickly. Speaking at a conference in Beijing, China, he said he hoped
IAEA inspectors would be allowed back into North Korea.
Pyongyang last week expelled all international monitors and threatened to re-start its nuclear programme after UN criticism of its recent rocket test.
Officials from 65 nations are debating nuclear energy in the 21st Century.
Dialogue
China is hosting this conference, but its neighbour North Korea is taking up much of the attention.
Mr ElBaradei said the only hope for progress lay in re-starting the six-party talks - involving North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the US - to try to find common ground with Pyongyang.
NUCLEAR CRISIS- Feb 2007 - North Korea agrees to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for fuel aid
- June 2007 - North Korea shuts its main Yongbyon reactor
- June 2008 - North Korea makes its long-awaited declaration of nuclear assets
- Oct 2008 - The US removes North Korea from its list of countries which sponsor terrorism
- Dec 2008 - Pyongyang slows work to dismantle its nuclear programme after a US decision to suspend energy aid
- Jan 2009 - The North says it is scrapping all military and political deals with the South, accusing it of "hostile intent"
- 5 April 2009 - Pyongyang launches a rocket carrying what it says is a communications satellite
- 14 April 2009 - After criticism of the launch from the UN Security Council, North Korea vows to walk out of six-party talks
Engage, appease, oppose N Korea a problem for Obama Timeline: North Korea
"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," he said.
"There is no other solution apart from dialogue... The only way to resolve these issues is not through flexing muscles but to try to engage the root causes," he said.
Inspectors from the UN's nuclear watchdog went to North Korea following a landmark deal in which it agreed to end its nuclear ambitions in return for aid and diplomatic concessions.
North Korea partially disabled its Yongbyon reactor in 2008 and handed over what it said was a complete declaration of its nuclear activities.
But talks have stalled in recent months, as Washington and Pyongyang accused each other of failing to meet their obligations.
Later this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is to visit North Korea - a move diplomats say they hope will propel efforts to re-start nuclear talks.
Officials from South and North Korea are to meet on Tuesday - at the North's invitation - at the Kaesong industrial estate which straddles their tense border.
China expansion
In a separate development, the conference host Beijing announced it intends to build at least five new nuclear plants.
The five were Sanmen in Zhejiang province and Haiyang in Shandong, both based on Westinghouse's AP1000 technology; Taishan in Guangdong province, using Areva technology; Changjiang in Hainan province and Rongcheng in Shandong province.
"The high temperature gas cooled reactor in Rongcheng will start construction in September," said Sun Qin, deputy chief of China's National Energy Agency.
China has 24 reactors under construction with total generating capacity of 25.4 gigawatts, he said.
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IAEA chief urges N Korea dialogue 
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