The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is ready to rejoin the six-party nuclear talks, according to a US congressional delegation that visited Pyongyang recently.

The delegation, headed by Curt Weldon, vice-chairman of the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives, made the remarks on Friday during a Republic of Korea (ROK) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade press conference.

"Our unanimous impression is that the DPRK is ready to rejoin the six-party process," Weldon told reporters.

"I am convinced... that if in fact we move on the process that we move in today, the six-party talks can or will resume in a matter of weeks as opposed to months, years."

Weldon also expressed his satisfaction over the meetings with DPRK officials, calling them "outstanding and positive."

DPRK's official KCNA news agency, reporting the visit, said Pyongyang would be ready to go back to the stalled talks if Weldon's explanations were reflected in the policy of President George W. Bush's new team.

His inauguration for his second term is on January 20.

"The DPRK side assured the US side that the DPRK would opt for finding a final solution to all the outstanding issues between the two countries, to say nothing of the resumption of the six-party talks and the nuclear issue, if what the US congressmen said would be formulated as a policy of the second Bush administration," KCNA said.

The six-way nuclear talks, aimed to peacefully resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, have been stalled since September. The scheduled fourth round of the multilateral talks have been delayed.

The US delegates arrived in Seoul earlier on Friday after a three-day visit to Pyongyang from Tuesday.

They met the DPRK's President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, Kim Yong-nam, DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun and Ri Chan-bok, chief representative of the Panmunjom Mission of the Korean People's Army, who is in charge of DPRK-US military affairs.

Before leaving ROK at the weekend, the delegates will meet ROK Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young and Defence Minister Yoon Kwang-ung.

On Thursday, ROK President Roh Moo-hyun said there were no remaining obstacles to restarting the talks, which should resume once Bush completes a new lineup of diplomats.

(China Daily January 15, 2005)