US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and visiting South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon discussed the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue Tuesday evening, the State Department said in a statement.

"They discussed regional issues, including the six-party talks. Both agreed that progress had been made during this round of talks, that they had seen a businesslike approach to the talks from the North Korean delegation, and that they looked forward to resumption of the talks," the statement said.

They also discussed the diplomatic way prior to and after the resumption of talks, the statement said, adding that Ban also updated Rice on the state of issues related to the inter-Korean dialogue.

Moreover, they also discussed preparations for the upcoming informal leaders' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which South Korea will host in November, the statement added.

The fourth round of six-party talks, which lasted for 13 days in Beijing, is now in recess. All parties have agreed to resume the talks next week.

South Korea has said that the North has the right to a peaceful nuclear program, a view in apparent conflict with the US. However, both Washington and Seoul have tried to play down any conflict between the two allies.

(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2005)