UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei said on Friday that the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) has invited him to visit within the next few weeks for talks on its nuclear program.

ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said he was going to see how the DPRK can establish a "normalized relationship with the agency" and "implement the agreement reached on the freezing of facilities."

Earlier on Friday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said he hoped ElBaradei would be able to discuss "the freezing of nuclear facilities" and the "dismantlement of all weapons and facilities" with the DPRK.

The United States on Friday welcomed the decision by the DPRK to invite Mohamed ElBaradei to visit Pyongyang.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is visiting Canada, said the Bush administration is "very pleased" about the invitation.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2007)