WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The Barack Obama administration on Thursday welcomed upcoming talks between the two Koreas on their joint economic projects, but it emphasized that Pyongyang should lay the groundwork for any resumption of negotiations with Washington.



“We welcome news that South Korea and North Korea have agreed to talks on Gaeseong industrial complex and other issues,” State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said at a press briefing. “We support and have always supported improved inter-Korean relationship.”



She was responding to reports that the North has accepted the South’s proposal for government-level talks on the future of the joint industrial park. Operations there have been suspended as a result of recent military tensions.



The two sides will hold rare ministerial dialogue in Seoul on June 12 if the North accepts the South’s offer of the format, time and venue.



Psaki, however, said the U.S. remains cautious about the prospects for Washington-Pyongyang talks.



“I would caution you against combining all of the issues here,” she said, asked if she believes such a fresh mood on Korea will help Washington bring Pyongyang back to the nuclear negotiations.



The U.S. has long stressed that denuclearization should be at the top of the agenda in any talks with North Korea.



“There remain a number of steps that the North Koreans need to take, including abiding by their international obligations, by the 2005 joint statement, in order to have further discussion. And we of course, as always, encourage them to do just that,” she said.



She was referring to the Sept. 19, 2005, agreement between North Korea and its five dialogue partners ― the South, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia. The North agreed to abandon all of its nuclear programs in return for political and economic incentives from the five regional powers.



Psaki said the U.S. remains committed to the six-party talks, which have not been held for nearly five years.



She expressed caution about whether the inter-Korean talks will produce a breakthrough.



“They’re still working towards these talks, and I don’t want to get ahead of the outcome,” she said.



Earlier, the North said it would talk with the South on the issues of Kaesong Industrial Complex, the halted joint tour business at Mount Geumgang, and separated families.



The announcement came as a surprise as Pyongyang had spurned Seoul’s offers of talks first made on May 14.



The timing was seen as significant, with the leaders of the U.S. and China scheduled to meet in California later this week.



North Korea is high on the agenda in the two-day meeting between President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping, the first get-together between them since Xi became China’s leader in March.



North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent his top aide, Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, to Beijing last month in an apparent effort to mend bilateral ties impaired by Pyongyang’s nuclear test in February.



Meanwhile, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon described the move towards a new round of inter-Korean talks as an “encouraging development towards reducing tensions and promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” according to his office.



“As the Secretary-General has consistently stated, any differences should be resolved peacefully through dialogue,” it said in an emailed statement. “The Secretary-General is hopeful it is the beginning of a process of trust-building between the parties. He encourages them to build on this opportunity and to generate momentum for further progress.”



The U.S. State Department dismissed media reports that Amb. Robert King, special envoy for North Korean human rights, met with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho in Berlin in late May.



“We have seen those reports, and my understanding is that they’re incorrect,” Psaki said.



King was scheduled to visit South Korea in mid-May but he abruptly canceled his trip, citing an unspecified administrative problem.



King is tasked with dealing with human rights and humanitarian issues on North Korea, which include food aid and efforts to win the release of Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American man jailed in the communist nation.