"The United States has no better friend than the Republic of Korea, a great democracy and an ever more promising and prosperous economy," Rice said. "We believe that the sustained support and the sustained friendship of the United States and South Korea has helped to bring South Korea to this point."

Rice spoke to the press after meeting with visiting South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan for an hour and a half in Washington. She used superlative words to describe Seoul-Washington relations, which have improved since the Lee Myung-bak administration's inauguration.

Rice said, "I just wanted to say to you, Minister, and to the Korean press that is here that, really, one of the most profoundly impressionistic times that I've had as Secretary was to go to the inauguration of President Lee because South Korea is such a vibrant democracy, such a vibrant economy."

Rice continued, "And so thank you for the opportunity to have been with you on that very special day, and by the way, to listen to Beethoven done really quite beautifully by the national orchestra. Thank you very much."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (R) walks with South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan after their bilateral meeting on Wednesday at the State Department in Washington, DC. /AFP

Rice reiterated the closeness of the alliance throughout the press conference in an apparent effort to emphasize the U.S. government's welcome of the Lee Myung-bak administration, as the Seoul-Washington summit scheduled for April approaches. She also seemed to want to take the bilateral relationship to a higher level.

Rice and Yu commented on North Korea missing the deadline for the declaration of its nuclear programs and stockpiles, saying that their patience is reaching its limit. "I think time and patience are running out. I hope North Korea will submit a declaration as soon as possible, so as not to lose good timing," Yu said.

Rice agreed with Yu that the declaration phase has been drawn out too long. She said, "It is really time now for there to be movement on the declaration so that, with that declaration in hand, we can move forward on the next phase in the agreed statement, which is to actually dismantle the North Korean program and account for all of the programs and materials and the like."

Also on Wednesday, U.S. President George W. Bush talked with Chinese President Hu Jintao by phone. The two leaders pledged to cooperate in helping North Korea declare its nuclear programs and stockpiles.

Rice and Yu, however, took different views on South Korea's participation in the Missile Defense program and the Proliferation Security Initiative. Rice said, "Obviously, as we continue to talk about the threats of the future, whether they be proliferation or the proliferation of missiles which leads to the need for missile defense, we look forward to consultations with our Korean partners."

But Yu said, "Korea supports the purpose of the PSI, but because of the unique circumstances of where we are located, we are limiting our participation as of now."

(englishnews@chosun.com )