Unification Minister Chung Dong-young says the United States should allow North Korea to pursue nuclear development for peaceful purposes.

In a Thursday interview with an Internet service provider, Chung said the North has a basic right to use nuclear power for farming, medical services and power generation.

Washington has rejected the North's demand on the peaceful use of atomic power after Pyongyang breached the 1994 Agreed Framework in 2002 and said it had nuclear weapons.

Chung said Seoul believes Pyongyang is entitled to peaceful nuclear development as long as it returns to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and allows inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Before the fourth round of the six-way nuclear talks, he said the main goal was getting the North to drop its nuclear ambition, but the target now is the North's peaceful use of nuclear power, which he said is resolvable through dialogue and negotiation.