A Cheong Wa Dae official has announced that the leaders of South Korea and the United States agreed Thursday to use upcoming six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear programs to try to resolve the nuclear impasse with Pyongyang peacefully.

In a telephone conversation, President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush made the agreement to work to make the six-way talks slated to convene next Wednesday a turning point in the nuclear standoff.

Presidential Spokesman Yoon Tai-yong also said Bush thanked Roh for his leadership in the parliamentary passage of a bill authorizing South Korea to send additional troops to Iraq to help U.S. reconstruction efforts there.

Bush was quoted as saying, "It shows that the alliance between the United States and South Korea is rock solid and that South Korea is playing a crucial role in the international community."