US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Seoul for talks on North Korea's nuclear programme on Saturday, one day after Pyongyang destroyed a cooling tower at its Yongbyon plant, DPA reported. Rice arrived from Japan where she had attended a meeting in Kyoto of the foreign ministers of the Group of Eight, the world's seven leading economies and Russia. The talks in Seoul are aimed at verifying the declaration of nuclear activities which North Korea presented to China on Thursday, and to resume the so-called Six-party talks to end the long-running row over Pyongyang's nuclear programme. Rice will also discuss defense cooperation between Washington and Seoul with her South Korean counterpart Yu Myung Hwan, before traveling on to China on Sunday.