IAEA Chief Says Direct Talks With Iran, N. Korea Essential

IAEA Chief Says Direct Talks With Iran, N. Korea Essential

WASHINGTON -- Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said North Korea's nuclear test was "a cry for help", and Iran's defiant refusal to halt its nuclear program is aimed at forcing the United States to normalize relations between the two countries.

Speaking at Georgtown University in Washington Monday, the winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize told a gathering of foreign policy specialists and college students that testing a nuclear bomb was "the only trump card" North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il had. The North Koreans "feel isolated and threatened," ElBaradei said. Their message was "we could do more harm unless you come and talk to us."

The Vienna-based U.N. agency monitors nuclear activity throughout the world through on-site inspections, but is "out of the game" in North Korea because it has no inspection teams there.

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