United Nations atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei has called for an early resumption of talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

In a lecture at Tsinghua University yesterday, the start of a four-day visit to Beijing, ElBaradei said global diplomacy was the most effective way to solve the nuclear disputes involving the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also warned in a speech in Japan on Sunday against the diplomatic isolation of Pyongyang and Teheran, advising a "softly-softly" approach to the two countries.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said ElBaradei would meet Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and Sun Qin, the head of China Atomic Energy Authority, host of ElBaradei's Beijing tour.

The IAEA chief is scheduled to visit some nuclear institutes in Beijing and attend the opening ceremony of the establishment of a co-operation centre between the IAEA and its Chinese counterpart in the fields of nuclear guarantee and nuclear security.

He will conclude his tour tomorrow.

"The visit is beneficial for the further co-operation between China and the world's central intergovernmental forum in the fields of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the peaceful utilization of nuclear energy," Qin told a regular press briefing yesterday.

In another development, Qin also announced that talks between China and the Republic of Korea on the boundary of their exclusive economic zones in the East China Sea would open today in Beijing.

The two-day talks are the 11th of their kind and the two nations will continue to discuss the issue of demarcating their maritime boundary.

"China always advocates solving the demarcation disputes with countries including the Republic of Korea through negotiation and consultation in line with international laws and the principle of impartiality," Qin said.

The two countries have been holding talks on the issue since 1996.