The remarks by nuclear negotiator Ri Gun are the communist nation's first public reaction to Mr Obama's election.

Mr Ri spoke on Thursday in New York after a meeting with Mr Sung Kim, the US special envoy to the international negotiations on Pyongyang's nuclear programmes.

'We have dealt with various US administrations, including an administration that sought dialogue with us and an administration that attempted to isolate and contain us', Mr Ri told reporters.

North Korea 'is ready to deal with' whatever policy the incoming administration implements, Mr Ri said.

'We will have dialogue if (the US) seeks dialogue. If it seeks isolation, we will stand against it,' he said later on Thursday after a dinner meeting with the chief US nuclear envoy, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.

South Korea's news channel YTN showed Mr Ri speaking to reporters.

Mr Ri and Mr Kim talked about the next steps in implementing Pyongyang's pledge to dismantle its nuclear programme.

The stalled nuclear talks began moving again after Washington removed North Korea from its terrorism blacklist last month as a reward under a disarmament pact.

Mr Hill told reporters after the dinner meeting with Mr Ri that they agreed to convene a new round of six-nation nuclear talks as early as possible, according to YTN.

Mr Ri bristled when reporters asked him about the health of leader Kim Jong Il, saying speculation about the leader's health is 'all nonsense'.

The autocratic leader is believed to have suffered a stroke in mid-August. North Korea has denied it.

The North's state media carried a series of reports this week about mr Kim's public appearances - at a soccer game, a military unit and a classical music concert. The reports were seen as an effort by Pyongyang to quel lingering speculation about Mr Kim's health.

During his campaign, Mr Obama tried to distance himself from the hard-line policies President George W. Bush adopted in his first term on North Korea's nuclear weapons. He has emphasised his willingness to continue direct talks with the North - a policy Mr Bush himself has now embraced.

On Friday, Mr Obama spoke by telephone with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and pledged to work closely together with the Asian ally to help resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff and the global financial turmoil.

Mr Obama called the US alliance with Seoul a 'cornerstone' of Asia's peace and stability, Mr Lee's office said.

Mr Lee congratulated Mr Obama on his election and said he fully agreed with Mr Obama's views.

The United States is South Korea's No. 1 ally, having helped defend the country during the 1950-53 Korean War.

About 28,500 American troops are still stationed across South Korea to deter threats from the North.

Tension rose in the alliance during the recent Bush administration, whose once hard-line stance on Pyongyang clashed with the policies of South Korea's two previous liberal leaders who sought detente with the North with massive aid.

Mr Lee, who took office in February, is a conservative with a harder stance on Pyongyang than most of his predecessors.

Whether Mr Lee's views on the North would mesh well with Mr Obama's is one of the issues that South Korean media have focused attention on following the election this week.

Seoul's Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan told reporters on Friday that there would be 'no big difficulties' in coordinating North Korea policies with the Obama administration, because both countries share the same goal of denuclearising Pyongyang and want to achieve that through dialogue. -- AP