The United States downplayed on Monday suggestion from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) that it might not attend the upcoming round of six-party working-level talks aimed at ending the nuclear standoff on the Korean peninsula.

"The last round of six-party talks, everyone agreed in principle that we would hold a plenary before the end of September,and we would hold working group meetings presumably some time before then," State Department spokesman Tom Casey told a news briefing.

"We have not heard anything from the North Koreans at this point that would change our assumption about holding those talks. And at this point, we are working with the Chinese, with the other parties, and I think we will be moving forward on this shortly," Casey said.

"Where we are today is pretty much where we have been in the past," Casey said.

It is reported that the DPRK government said on Monday it wouldnot attend working-level meetings ahead of the six-party talks andblasted the United States for demands that the DPRK fully discloses its nuclear activities.

"It is clear that there would be nothing to expect even if the DPRK sits at the negotiating table with the United States under the present situation," an unnamed DPRK foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

China has hosted three rounds of the six-party talks to try to resolve the nuclear standoff between the DPRK and the United States.

Source: Xinhua