The United States has welcomed the agreement between South and North Korea to hold high-level military talks.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Thursday that South Korea’s decision to agree to North Korea’s proposal for such talks “is an important step forward.”

Gibbs said that clearly, conditions were created during a Wednesday summit between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao that showed South Korea that China and the U.S. were aligned in dealing with the aggressions of the North Koreans.

Hu joined Obama in expressing concerns during the summit in Washington about Pyongyang’s uranium enrichment program in a joint statement released after their meeting.