Rim Kap-soo, head of an interagency task force on South Korea-U.S. nuclear cooperation, visited Washington last week and met with U.S. officials.

Diplomatic sources said Monday that Rim traveled to the United States on Thursday of last week and met with Christopher Yeaw, assistant secretary at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control and Nonproliferation, as well as officials from the Department of Energy.

During the meetings, the two sides discussed a prospective negotiation schedule. 

Rim conveyed Seoul’s position that talks should begin soon, and the U.S. side agreed that the sooner negotiations start, the better.

It is not yet clear who will lead the U.S. delegation.

The task force was launched earlier this month to coordinate nuclear cooperation talks with the U.S., including discussions on Seoul’s uranium enrichment and spent fuel-reprocessing rights.