UNITED NATIONS, Sept 28, (AP): The world must recognize that North Korea possesses nuclear weapons and pursue dialogue despite its violations of UN sanctions and international law, the United Nations' nuclear chief said Thursday. In an interview with The Associated Press. Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, wondered whether slamming the door on Kim Jong Un’s government has solved anything - "or are we, on the contrary, exacerbating the conditions for a situation that may go out of hand?”

He said North Korea’s nuclear program should be condemned for violating Security Council sanctions and international law. But there has been no international engagement since 2006 when the country became "a de facto nuclear weapon possessor state” and since then its nuclear program has expanded significantly. Grossi said it’s very important to keep reiterating that North Korean has to stop its nuclear activities, but "at the same time, we need to start thinking seriously about stopping to talk past each other.”

"We must be proactive, and we must open doors for dialogue,” he said. "My credo .. for many, many years, has always been engage, talk, try things.” What is happening in North Korea is extremely concerning, Grossi said. But at the same time, it should be a call for diplomatic action. He said engagement with North Korea will require "very careful, diplomatic preparatory moves” to regain trust. "I hope that will be possible.” Grossi said. He said one possible issue for engagement with Pyongyang is on nuclear safety.

North Korea offered a very rare glimpse into a secret facility to produce weapons-grade uranium about two weeks ago. Grossi said it confirmed that the IAEA’s analysis of Pyongyang’s nuclear program is "very, very solid.” "As these pictures show, and beyond that, they have a vast nuclear program, which is perhaps the only one in the world on which there is no visibility in terms of the observance of the basic international nuclear safety standards,” he said, pointing to tons of material being handled at its nuclear facilities.

During the North Korean leader’s visit to the secret facility, the country’s official news agency, KCNA, said Kim called for stronger efforts to "exponentially” produce more nuclear weapons. Grossi asked what Kim means by "exponentially,” saying there is speculation on whether North Korea has 30 or 50 nuclear warheads.