VIENNA, Sept. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- The UN nuclear watchdog Friday called for a peaceful resolution of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to cooperate with it.

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) made the statement in a resolution adopted at the end of a five-day annual meeting.

    It lauded the joint statement adopted in the recent concluded fourth round of six-party talks on the nuclear issue as the first step toward the goal of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula by the means of peace and inspection.

    In the joint statement reached on Sept. 19, the DPRK agreed to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and allow international inspections in exchange for energy aid, economic cooperation and security guarantees.

    The IAEA expressed the hope that the nuclear issue will be resolved peacefully through dialogues to realize denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and safeguard peace and stability of the region.

    The agency said it supports international peaceful efforts for a resolution of the issue at all possible and proper forums, and urged Pyongyang to cooperate with it.

    The IAEA meeting also endorsed resolutions calling for technical cooperation, measures against nuclear terrorism and IAEAnuclear controls in the Middle East.

    After the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue arose in the early 1990s, the IAEA started to inspect the DPRK's possible nuclear program in May 1992.

    In December 2002, the DPRK announced that it would dismantle inspection cameras on frozen nuclear facilities and the IAEA stopped its inspection in the country. Enditem