THE Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is fully prepared to shut down its nuclear facilities and allow inspections, a South Korean official said Saturday in New York, where envoys from Pyongyang and Washington are set to begin rare talks on improving ties.

DPRK’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan has been on a visit to the United States since Thursday, becoming the highest-ranking official to do so since 2000.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt about the DPRK’s readiness to execute the initial steps,” South Korean envoy Chun Yung-woo was quoted as saying in New York, referring to measures Pyongyang has agreed to on shutting down its nuclear activities.

“The DPRK has agreed to the initial steps and has the intention to fully do its part,” Chun was quoted as saying by South Korean media after he met Kim at a hotel Saturday.

Chun, South Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator, is accompanying Foreign Minister Song Ming-soon’s visit to the United States.

Kim is scheduled to meet with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill today to discuss improving ties.

It will be the highest-level meeting on U.S. soil since a top military officer and DPRK leader Kim Jong-il’s special envoy, Jo Myong-rok, visited Washington in 2000.

That was followed by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s visit to Pyongyang and eased tensions — until George W. Bush took office in 2001 and labeled the DPRK as part of an “axis of evil.”

In a breakthrough Feb. 13 agreement in Beijing, the DPRK agreed with South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan to shut down within 60 days its nuclear facilities and allow inspectors in return for 50,000 tons of fuel oil.

The DPRK is also set to hold similar discussions with Japan in Hanoi next week.

(SD-Agencies)