US says six-party talks should resume "as soon as possible"

The US position on the six-party talks is that it should resume as soon as possible, State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said at a news briefing on Friday.

"It is our view that the talks should resume as soon as possible. That is the point that Special Envoy (Joseph) DeTrani is making in his visits to the (East Asian) region. We think it is in the interests of all parties to return to talks as soon as possible," Ereli said.

DeTrani is visiting the East Asian region on resuming the six-party talks.

Ereli said that publicly the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has committed to coming back to the six-party talks. "They did it at the last round. And that is their public position," he said.

Ereli said the DPRK side is making conflicting statements on the six-party talks. "You have, on one hand, a commitment to return to talks. You have on the other hand statements that they are not ready to return to talks at this time," he added.

Three rounds of six-party talks, hosted by China, have been held to try to end the nuclear confrontation between the DPRK and the United States.

Source: Xinhua