U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance Rose Gottemoeller says she thinks it's time to resume discussions with North Korea in the six-party context.

Gottemoeller made the comment on Monday during a seminar in Washington as she expressed deep concerns over recent movements spotted near the North’s nuclear facilities in Yongbyon.

A source in Washington said it is too early to assess the significance of Gottemoeller’s remarks, saying that the focus remains on the extent of change the North is willing to make in its attitude. The source said that, as has been stressed repeatedly by Seoul and Washington, discussions between the two Koreas must precede discussions between Washington and Pyongyang.

Meanwhile, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters that the U.S. is prepared to resume multilateral discussions if it feels the talks can be constructive.

Crowley added that U.S. President Barack Obama is looking forward to his visit to South Korea this week, saying that North Korea will be a major topic of discussion as the president will meet with many of the leaders of the six-party process.