U.S. lawmaker Curt Weldon said that North Korea appears ready to return to the six-nation nuclear talks, possibly in a "matter of weeks."

After a four-day visit to North Korea with fellow U.S. congressmen, Weldon said at a Friday news conference that throughout his stay in Pyongyang his delegation consistently received the impression that the North is prepared to rejoin the dialogues.

Their trip included high-level meetings with North Korea's second-in-command, Kim Yong-nam, Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun and his immediate subordinate Kim Gye-gwan, during which the two sides engaged in candid talks.

Weldon, a Republican from Pennsylvania, expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the meetings, and said that he made it fully clear to North Korean officials that Washington is not pursuing the overthrow of the North Korean regime, nor does it harbor hostile intentions toward the communist state.

When the U.S. lawmaker emphasized a peaceful resolution to the nuclear standoff, Northern officials reportedly responded that Pyongyang is "sincerely ready to completely dismantle its nuclear weapons program, as long as Washington does not employ hostile tactics against its nation."

Weldon added that the North is currently keeping a close tab on the makeup of the second Bush cabinet, and watching to see whether Washington makes any negative remarks against the Pyongyang regime.

He said that if the present positive relations between the two states continue, resuming the six-way talks would be possible even within a few weeks' time.

In Seoul until Saturday, the five-member U.S. delegation is scheduled to meet with a few South Korean ministers.