North Korea says to hold nuclear talks with US on Saturday

[SEOUL] NORTH Korea and the United States will hold working-level nuclear talks on Saturday, Pyongyang said, signalling the resumption of dialogue that has been effectively stalled since the collapse of a summit in February.

The two sides agreed to have "preliminary contact" on Oct 4 and hold negotiations the following day, the North's Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

"It is my expectation that the working-level negotiations would accelerate the positive development of the DPRK-US relations," she added, without disclosing a venue.

US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus later confirmed the talks, which she said would happen "within the next week".

Negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have been gridlocked since a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in February ended without a deal.

AFP