South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun flew into Washington Thursday for a summit meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush on ways to end DPRK nuclear weapons programs.

Roh and Bush will meet for 40-minutes, followed by a one-hour luncheon, Friday to reconfirm their pledge to resolve the DPRK nuclear issue peacefully through the six-party talks, according to Roh's aides.

The two leaders will also give a 10-minute joint news conference just prior to the luncheon meeting to explain the outcome of the summit, their second in seven months.

Roh will then meet with U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley for about half an hour before boarding an Asiana Airlines charter flight late Friday to return to Seoul.

The summit, their fourth since Roh's inauguration in February 2003, comes against the backdrop of DPRK hinting it intends to return to the multinational nuclear talks in the near future. The talks were last held in June last year.

After a meeting between working-level officials of North Korea and the United States in New York Monday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said DPRK had agreed to return to the six-party talks, although "They did not give a time when they would return."

DPRK has boycotted the six-nation talks since last June, citing a "hostile" U.S. attitude after three rounds of inconclusive negotiations.

Source: Agencies