Vice Unification Minister Lee Bong-jo says the outlook for resumption of the six-way talks is 'very bright', citing a purported consensus between negotiating parties on the need to reopen the stalled dialogue.

Lee told a radio program Friday that the leaders of China and North Korea have made clear their will to continue the disarmament talks, and that involved nations have been continuously holding contacts.

The official admitted that it was difficult to state a definitive date for the talks' reopening, given numerous factors, including Washington’s financial restrictions on the North. Still, he said he was expecting positive outcomes from ongoing efforts to resume negotiations at an early date.

On North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s recent trip to China, Lee said the visit was meaningful in that it had demonstrated the North's willingness to reform and open up. He was quick to cite Kim's visits to special economic zones in China as evidence of such supposed willingness.