U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reiterated Thursday the government's call for a swift shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear facility in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
"We hope now for rapid progress given the beginning, we believe, of the North Korean (DPRK) efforts to meet their initial action obligations," Rice said before meeting South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon at the State Department.
Song, sharing Rice's viewpoint, said South Korea demands quick movement by the DPRK to shut down its nuclear facilities, as the financial dispute which had stalled efforts had now been resolved.
"We will move ahead in shutting down the North Korean nuclear program and disabling facilities and make a new regional security and peace mechanism," Song said.
Pyongyang announced Monday that the frozen funds dispute with the United States has been resolved, and it will start implementing February's disarmament deal.
While Song is in Washington, a team of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have traveled to Pyongyang, the first visit of its kind by the UN watchdog since late 2002. It follows U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill's productive visit to the DPRK last Friday.
