Washington  - The US envoy for nuclear talks with North Korea met Saturday in New York with a top North Korean official to discuss the stalled denuclearization talks, the US State Department said.

Ri Gun, the deputy chief North Korean negotiator to the six-party talks, met in New York with Sung Kim, the US special envoy to the talks, according to a statement from Noel Clay, a spokesman for the State Department.

Clay emphasized that Ri Gun had travelled to the US "on the invitation of US private organizations."

"During his visit, ambassador Sung Kim took the opportunity to meet with him in New York on October 24 to convey our position on denuclearization and the six party talks," Clay said.

After pulling out of international talks on ending its nuclear weapons programme earlier this year, Pyongyang recently indicated willingness to re-engage in the six-party talks.

Ri Gun and Sung Kim will apparently meet again on Sunday at the North-east Asia Cooperation Dialogue (NEACD) meeting in San Diego, California.

Clay said that from the US side, Derek Mitchell, a deputy assistant secretary of defence, would attend the NEACD meeting along with Sung Kim. (dpa)