NEW YORK (Yonhap News) ― North Korea’s chief nuclear envoy said Monday that U.N. nuclear monitors will soon be able to return to his reclusive country under a recent deal with the United States.

“I think (it) will be implemented in the near future. Concrete measures are being constantly taken to fulfill the February agreement,” the North’s Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho told reporters.

He was wrapping up a rare visit to the U.S. for an academic forum, reflecting continued dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington after years of tensions.

At high-level talks in Beijing last month, the North agreed to freeze its uranium-enrichment program in Yongbyon, north of its capital, and impose a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests.

In return, the U.S. promised to ship 240,000 tons of nutritional assistance for the North’s people.

Ri also said his government is willing to improve relations with the U.S. if the desire is mutual.

During the seminar, a news report claimed that Ri proposed establishing a liaison office in both nations’ capitals. The vice foreign minister said this was only a repeat of Pyongyang’s basic position.

“We did not put forward a concrete proposal but just revealed a principled position. The end of hostile relations between the North and the U.S. is the most fundamental issue. This is a starting point to resolve all issues and a base for that,” he said.

Ri, however, painted a gloomy picture for inter-Korean ties. He urged Seoul to implement the two inter-Korean summit deals of 2000 and 2007 for reconciliation on the peninsula and the expansion of joint economic projects.

“We are willing to go hand in hand if the South respects the declarations and has a resolve to implement them. But (the South) does not seem to have such a will yet,” he said.