Ambassador Joseph de Trani, special envoy to the six-party talks, had "a positive meeting" with the North Korean delegation, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

"We look forward to resuming the talks," the spokesman said.

He did not identify the North Korean delegates or provide further details of the encounter.

China, which is hosting the next round of talks, has not yet announced their exact start date. The talks, involving both Koreas, China, the United States, Russia and Japan, are supposed to resume in the week of August 29 after a three-week break.