A U.S. State Department official says Washington believes inter-Korean dialogue would serve as a vital opportunity for North Korea to demonstrate its sincerity toward making changes.

The official also said on Friday that it is crucial for the North to take significant steps in order to improve its ties with the South.

The State Department official was quick to add that the U.S. believes holding talks for the sake of talks is not appropriate. The official said that the U.S. wants North Korea to show changes in its behavior by improving relations with the South, taking denuclearization steps and measures to suspend provocations, and by fulfilling its obligations under U.N. Security Council resolutions and promises it made during six-way nuclear talks.

The official’s remarks came on the heels of statements former U.S. President Jimmy Carter made upon his arrival in Seoul Thursday, following his trip to the North. Carter expressed that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il wants to hold inter-Korean summit talks.

The former U.S. president was in Pyongyang for three days this week along with three other members of "The Elders," an independent group of former global leaders.

Meanwhile, another government official said that Carter’s trip to the communist state was a private visit and that Carter had not carried any official messages from the Obama administration.