The U.S. State Department said that South Korean and U.S. officials held talks in Seoul on Monday to continue close coordination on North Korea, specifically inter-Korean cooperation and humanitarian issues.

The department said Monday that U.S. Deputy Special Representative for North Korea Alex Wong led the U.S. delegation at the working group meeting as part of the U.S.’ continued close coordination with its ally on issues related to North Korea. He met with Rhee Dong-yeol, director general of the South Korean Foreign Ministry's Korean Peninsula peace regime bureau.

A ministry official said the two sides had extensive discussions on inter-Korean relations and negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang, as well as other North Korean issues. 

In the meeting, Rhee is said to have outlined Seoul's plans to allow individual tourists to visit North Korea, reconnect railways and roads across the border, and turn the Demilitarized Zone into a peace zone. He reportedly sought the U.S.' understanding and cooperation on the plans.

In particular, Rhee stressed that South Korea will prioritize humanitarian purposes in arranging individual tours so families separated since the Korean War will be provided opportunities to visit North Korea. 

A diplomatic source said that the U.S. side responded that they "fully understand."