The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog is visiting North Korea to discuss when his inspectors will be allowed back into the country.
Mohamed ElBaradei's visit comes four years after Pyongyang expelled a team of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"I hope that we can agree with [North Korea] to get our inspectors back in time to implement the agreement," he said on Monday in Beijing.
Pyongyang severed ties with agency in 1994 and withdrew from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty after the inspectors were told to leave in 2002.
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"This is a very complex process and there is a lot of confidence that needs to be built"
ElBaradei, International Atomic Energy Agency |
Last month, North Korea agreed to give up its weapons programme and dismantle the main nuclear reactor by April and readmit the inspectors in exchange for economic aid and political concessions.
Complex and slow
But ElBaradei cautioned against expecting any quick breakthroughs in the North's nuclear crisis saying that efforts would be "a very incremental process".
"This is a very complex process and there is a lot of confidence that needs to be built."
"There are lot of issues to consider, security issues, economic issues and political issues, and you will have to bear with us," he added.
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"It is stubbornness and pride on Iran's part that has led to this impasse, and it can only lead to disaster for Iran"
Diom1982, Cork, Ireland
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On ElBaradei's agenda is a proposal to resume Pyongyang's membership in the IAEA, which the North backed out of in 1994.
A new round of nuclear disarmament negotiations are due to begin in Beijing on Monday.
Christopher Hill, the US chief nuclear negotiator, is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday and is expected to meet with ElBaradei before the talks, the US state department said.
Under last month's deal, North Korea would eventually receive the equivalent of one million tonnes of fuel aid if it completely and permanently disbands its nuclear weapons programme.