During the June 29-July 3 visit, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young plans to meet U.S. leaders to brief them on the outcome of his recent meetings with North Koreans, including supreme leader Kim Jong Il.

"Minister Chung is scheduled to explain pending issues to and exchange opinion with U.S. government officials and congressional leaders, based on his recent meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and the outcome of Cabinet-level talks," ministry spokesman Kim Hong-je told reporters.

Chung hopes to focus his visit on a meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney who is seen to favor a hard-line stance against North Korea. Chung hopes to win Cheney's promise not to describe North Korea as an "outpost of tyranny" and call Kim an "irresponsible leader" who "runs a police state."

Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon backed Cung's U.S. trip, saying South Korea will step up diplomatic efforts to resume the six-nation nuclear talks that bring together officials from China, Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and the United States. Talks have been stalled since last June.

In a news briefing following Chung's departure, Ban said recent inter-Korean talks would help force North Korea to return to nuclear talks.

"From various perspectives, I think positive atmospheres have been created. Taking all this into account, our government believes it is desirable for North Korea to come back to the talks without further delay and it is worth anticipating so," he said.

Chung's visit comes amid growing optimism in Seoul after last week's talks that followed a rare meeting between Chung and the North Korean leader.

During the June 17 meeting, Kim told Chung North Korea could rejoin the stalled six-nation talks as early as July if it gets "respect" from the United States. Chung, South Korea's chief security policymaker as the chairman of the presidential National Security Council, was the first top South Korean official to see the reclusive Kim in more than three years.

Kim's demand for "respect" from the United Sates was ambiguous, but a senior North Korean diplomat in New York told Seoul's semi-official Yonhap News Agency Pyongyang wants U.S. officials to stop calling North Korea an "outpost of tyranny," as a sign of respect.

During last week's inter-Korean talks, North Korean delegates also promised to comply with commitments to keep the Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons.

While Chung is in Washington, North Korea's senior nuclear negotiator, Ri Kun, will come to New York and likely meet with U.S. officials at an academic conference, in which U.S. deputy chief nuclear negotiator Joseph DeTrani is likely to participate. But much of the optimism was tempered when U.S. Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky repeated the "tyranny" remark.

Fretting the repeated criticism could disrupt hard-won momentum, South Korean officials reached out to U.S. officials and urged calm in dealing with Pyongyang.

Ban traveled to Brussels last week to meet U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was attending an international conference on Iraq. He told her to refrain from criticizing North Korea, saying Washington's rhetoric may serve an excuse for North Korea to further stall talks.

Just before leaving for Brussels, Ban expressed regret at the U.S. criticism of North Korea as "never helping create an atmosphere of dialogue." Ban said all six-nation dialogue partners should try to create an atmosphere for the six-way talks to reopen at the earliest possible date.

"It's necessary for all concerned parties to be extra careful not to make remarks or do action that could provoke North Korea," Ban said.

South Korea's ruling lawmakers also denounced Washington's policy toward North Korea.

"The (hostile) remarks by Secretary Rice have poured cold water on the prospects of the resumption of the six-nation talks," said Choi Sung, a lawmaker from the ruling Uri Party, during as a parliamentary session.

Seoul's moves, however, have raised concerns among South Korean conservatives who say the they may hurt policy cooperation between Seoul and Washington.

"North Korea's recent gestures toward South Korea may be aimed at forging the united Korean stance toward the United States and driving a wedge between Seoul and Washington," said Kim Tae-hyo, a political science professor at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.

Kim Tae-hyun, a professor at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, said North Korea may intend to use improved ties with South Korea to buy time and block the United States from seeking sanctions on Pyongyang.

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