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"We support a dialogue between North Korea and South Korea and we welcome meaningful steps that lead to a reduction of tension on the Korean peninsula," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.
But he added: "I would not say that we've seen really any progress toward our oft-stated goal and our clear position that we want to engage with North Korea to discuss the denuclearization issue in the six-party context."
North Korea has pushed for one-on-one talks with the United States after months of tension in which the communist state tested a nuclear bomb, fired a missile over Japan and rejected a six-nation denuclearization pact.
Kelly reiterated the US position that Washington would hold bilateral talks with the North but only within the context of the six-party talks, which also include China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
Kelly said that the US delegation to Kim Dae-Jung's memorial service, led by former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, made no contact with the North Koreans.
Former president Bill Clinton visited Pyongyang on August 4 to free two US journalists but President Barack Obama's administration has insisted it was not an overture.
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But he added: "I would not say that we've seen really any progress toward our oft-stated goal and our clear position that we want to engage with North Korea to discuss the denuclearization issue in the six-party context."
North Korea has pushed for one-on-one talks with the United States after months of tension in which the communist state tested a nuclear bomb, fired a missile over Japan and rejected a six-nation denuclearization pact.
Kelly reiterated the US position that Washington would hold bilateral talks with the North but only within the context of the six-party talks, which also include China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
Kelly said that the US delegation to Kim Dae-Jung's memorial service, led by former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, made no contact with the North Koreans.
Former president Bill Clinton visited Pyongyang on August 4 to free two US journalists but President Barack Obama's administration has insisted it was not an overture.
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