President Roh Moo-hyun has called on North Korea to return to the six-party nuclear talks.

Roh made the comments during a meeting with security-related ministers on Wednesday. The remarks are the president's first public response to North Korea's recent announcement that it has nuclear weapons and was pulling out of the nuclear talks indefinitely.

The president urged the communist North to return to the talks as soon as possible, saying Pyongyang's leadership should make its case at the negotiating table and that differences can be resolved "in a rational manner through serious negotiations."

Roh told the meeting's participants that they should respond to North Korea's moves carefully and with composure without being swayed at every turn of events.