New York - The world is witnessing a nuclear power renaissance at a time when demands for fossil fuel-based energy and its prices have increased, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Monday.

But the expected increase in civilian nuclear power plants is accompanied by the risk of mounting nuclear material being converted into weapons, IAEA Director Mohamed ElBaradei told the UN General Assembly, which met to discuss the work of the Vienna-based nuclear watchdog.

"Nuclear power is undergoing something of a renaissance," ElBaradei said, comparing the situation to 10 years ago when nuclear power had stopped growing in developed countries because of security and safety risks.

He said there has been a surge in demand for nuclear energy due to the uncertainty of the petroleum supply and prices and concern over the impact of continued fossil fuel consumption on world climate.

Some 50 countries that are members of the Nuclear Non- proliferation Treaty have shown interest in nuclear power and asked for IAEA support in the past two years. There are currently 439 nuclear power reactors in 30 countries, which are also building 36 new power plants in addition to the existing ones.

Countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on average consume electricity at a per capita rate of 8,600 kilowatts per year, or 170 times more than is consumed in Africa. ElBaradei called the huge disparity of energy consumption around the world "dramatic."

ElBaradei said the IAEA is helping governments that are interested in nuclear power to draft national nuclear legislation and train regulators and operators.

"One implication of a nuclear renaissance is the spread of nuclear material to many more countries," he said. "This naturally increases the risk that nuclear material could be diverted to make nuclear weapons."

He called on the UN to set up "multinational control" over the fuel cycle so that every country that wants nuclear energy, provided they abide by safeguards obligations, is guaranteed access to a supply of nuclear fuel without political interference.

ElBaradei called on North Korea to return to and abide by obligations under the NPT now that it has reopened access to IAEA inspectors to its nuclear facilities. North Korea withheld access by the inspectors to plutonium processing plants in a dispute with the United States, which was resolved in October.

Turning to Iran, which has a long-running dispute with the West over the purposes of its uranium enrichment programmes, ElBaradei said his agency had no intention to "pry" into Iran's conventional or missile-related military activities.

"Our focus is clearly on nuclear material and activities," he said, adding that the IAEA wants clarification of remaining nuclear- related issues while respecting Iran's legitimate rights.

"I therefore urge Iran to implement all the transparency measures required to build confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme at an early date," he said. "This will be good for Iran, good for the Middle East and good for the world." (dpa)