VIENNA (AFP) - The United Nations atomic agency called for a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East and for North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs.
The 137-nation International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also passed a resolution on fighting "nuclear and radiological terrorism", in which it called for a global effort to stamp out the illegal trafficking of nuclear materials.
On the last day of its week-long annual conference, the IAEA passed a resolution that "affirms the urgent need for all states in the Middle East to forthwith accept the application of full-scope agency safeguards to all their nuclear activities ... as a step in enhancing peace and security in the context of the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone".
The IAEA's call for a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, which was adopted by consensus, did not name Israel specifically but was clearly aimed at the Jewish state, which is thought to be the only nation in the region with atomic weapons, estimated at up to 200.
An IAEA member, Israel neither confirms nor denies that it has nuclear weapons and is the only state in the region which has not signed the international nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).
The agency also called on North Korea "to completely dismantle any nuclear weapons program" and to allow international inspectors to return to monitor nuclear activities there, after they were kicked out in December 2002.
North Korea, which says it has nuclear weapons, withdrew in January 2003 from the NPT, which sets the safeguards the IAEA is meant to enforce.
Chang-Beom Cho, South Korea's ambassador to the IAEA, said North Korea "must give up all its nuclear weapons and related programs, including its uranium enrichment program in a thorough and transparent manner ... so that this issue does not arise again in the future".
Under a compromise deal worked out under US moderation, Israel agreed to support the resolution calling for nuclear-free zone in the Middle East in return for an Arab proposal for the IAEA to discuss "Israeli nuclear capabilities and threat" being shelved until next year.
The resolution was passed in time for the Israeli delegates to leave for the start of the Jewish Yom Kippur festival, the holiest day in the Jewish year.
But the head of the Israeli atomic energy commission, Gideon Frank, stressed Israel's view that there must be an overall peace agreement in the Middle East before the creation of a nuclear-free zone and that "no progress compromising national security is viable".
Meanwhile Egypt's IAEA ambassador, Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, insisted a nuclear-free zone in the region was "something that cannot wait until there is a just and comprehensive peace but it is the very axis (of such a peace)".
This year's IAEA conference saw a showdown on Tuesday between the UN watchdog and Iran, which defied an IAEA ultimatum to immediately halt all uranium enrichment activities.
The United States has accused Tehran of engaging in an "unrelenting push toward nuclear weapons capability".
The IAEA's 35-nation board of governors had last week adopted a resolution for Iran to "immediately" suspend all parts of the nuclear fuel cycle.
But Iranian atomic energy chief Reza Aghazadeh said this week that Tehran had begun the conversion of substantial amounts of uranium ore into the gas needed to enrich uranium, which makes nuclear fuel for reactors but can also be used to produce the explosive core of atomic bombs.
The IAEA has set a deadline of November 25 for a definitive review of Iran's nuclear program. Washington is pushing for Iran to be sent before the UN Security Council, which could impose punishing sanctions.
Later on Friday, the IAEA adopted a resolution calling for greater border and security cooperation in the face of potential terrorist attacks using nuclear or radiological weapons.
Also passed by consensus, it called on "all member states to continue to provide political, financial and technical support... to improve nuclear and radiological security and prevent nuclear and radiological terrorism".
It came in response to growing fears that extremist groups could use nuclear materials to build a "dirty bomb", a device which would spew radioactive debris over a city, making parts of it uninhabitable for years.
IAEA records point to a dramatic rise in the smuggling of radiological substances, the raw material for a dirty bomb, and the United States claims that the Al-Qaeda extremist network is seeking to acquire such weapons.
The resolution followed others adopted since the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001.
In other developments at the conference, the IAEA elected a new board of governors and cleared the way for Chad, Mauritania and Togo to join, bringing the watchdog's members to 140.