HONG KONG, April 8 (RIA Novosti) - North Korea's official announcement that it has nuclear weapons should not be taken seriously, the head of the World Nuclear Association said.

John Ritch, speaking in an interview after the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle 2006 conference in Hong Kong, said the situation in North Korea was similar to that in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, when the Iraqi leader exaggerated the country's military capability for political purposes.

North Korea reconfirmed that it had nuclear weapons on March 21.

A Russian deputy foreign minister said Thursday that the U.S. and North Korea should look for a compromise to resume six-nation talks on the nuclear issue.

At the latest round of talks in September, North Korea agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees, but later refused to return to the negotiating table until Washington lifted financial sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for its alleged involvement in counterfeiting and other illegal activities.