U.S. Congressman Curt Weldon has met with the number two leader of North Korea in Pyongyang.

The North's official KCNA news agency said that the Pennsylvania Republican and the president of the Supreme People's Assembly, Kim Yong-nam, had held a conversation on pending bilateral issues, but stopped short of providing details. In the North Korean hierarchy, Kim is second only to reclusive leader Kim Jong-il.

Some analysts see the unusually high-level meeting as a sign that Pyongyang may be ready to rejoin the six-nation talks on settling the North's nuclear issue.

Headed by Weldon, a six-member U.S. Congressional delegation arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday for a four-day visit. After wrapping up their stay in the communist state, the delegation will visit Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo.

The delegation's trip is not part of official U.S. efforts to dismantle the North's nuclear programs, but does have White House support.