South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said Monday he is convinced that the North Korean nuclear weapons problem can be settled quickly, following North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's commitment to denuclearization during their summit in Pyongyang last week.

"The six-nation agreement on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula has been followed by a similar inter-Korean summit agreement. I'm convinced that the North Korean nuclear weapons problem will be rapidly resolved," Roh said in an annual budget speech to the National Assembly read by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

"The inter-Korean relations have entered a new phase, triggering fresh confidence in permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula."

Roh stressed that inter-Korean economic cooperation projects will be mutually beneficial, as they will create new investment opportunities for South Korea and help provide economic growth momentum in North Korea.

"Such (economic cooperation) efforts will accelerate the construction of an inter-Korean economic community. A synergic mixture of peace and economic cooperation will then be established, paving the ground for a huge market in Northeast Asia."

Roh then urged the National Assembly to ratify the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement deal during its ongoing special session.

"The government plans to spend 1.6 trillion won next year to help upgrade the competitiveness of the domestic agricultural sector, which is expected to sustain damage in the wake of the enforcement of the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement," said the president.

He also vowed to expand the volume of South Korea's official development assistance, or ODA, for developing countries by 23.4 percent next year.

SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap)