U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos, who ended a four-day visit to North Korea on Tuesday, said that his talks with top officials there had led him to suspect that North Korea was leaning toward rejoining stalled six-party nuclear talks.

In a telephone interview with Radio Free Asia on Wednesday, the California Democrat said that in 'sincere' talks with the Pyongyang leadership, Northern officials had hinted at the Stalinist state's willingness to rejoin the multilateral talks without saying as much in indisputable terms.

The U.S. legislator emphasized that he made it fully clear to the officials that Washington is not pursuing the overthrow of the North Korean regime, nor does it harbor hostile intentions toward the communist state.

Earlier, Lantos told reporters in Beijing that he felt optimistic about Pyongyang's possible readiness to rejoin the dialogue process.