The U.N. nuclear agency said on Saturday its inspectors would leave North Korea early next week after the communist state said it would expel them and press on with plans to reactivate a mothballed nuclear research facility. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) described North Korea as a country "in defiance of international obligations" and said Pyongyang had ignored requests for the inspectors to remain in the country.

It said its inspectors would leave on Tuesday on a flight to Beijing, effectively ending the agency's ability to monitor the Yongbyon nuclear complex, 90 km (55 miles) north of Pyongyang, which is able to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged North Korea on Saturday to reverse course and cooperate with the world body's nuclear watchdog agency.

As nuclear powers and neighbors wondered how to tackle the crisis over the unpredictable North's nuclear plans, South Korea said it wanted to discuss the problem with other powers.

In the capital Seoul, about 70 protesters rallied against their communist neighbor and burned a North Korean flag.

The United States, keen to maintain its focus on Iraq, told North Korea it wanted a peaceful end to the crisis on the world's last Cold War frontier but would not negotiate under duress. Pyongyang wants direct talks with Washington.

While other nations searched for ways to defuse the crisis, North Korea's enigmatic leader, Kim Jong-il, relaxed at a concert where an army choir praised him in song.

PHOTO CAPTION

South Korean protesters burn the North Korean flag during an anti-North Korea rally in Seoul December 28, 2002. South Korea outlined plans to intensify diplomatic pressure on North Korea on Saturday, after its unpredictable communist neighbor said it would expel U.N. inspectors and press on with its nuclear program. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)