US ready for N Korea talks: Envoy

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL (AA) - The United States envoy charged with negotiating a denuclearization deal with North Korea said Wednesday that Washington is ready to resume talks with Pyongyang.

"We are prepared to engage as soon as we hear from our counterparts in North Korea," Special Representative Stephen Biegun told reporters while visiting South Korea, according to local news agency Yonhap.

Washington and Pyongyang are overdue working-level talks based on an agreement reached during June's surprise border meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un.

The denuclearization talks were delayed amid the tensions from the joint U.S.-South Korean military drills this month, said the news report.

Biegun said his president has given him the task of rebooting a dialogue process that has stuttered since two unprecedented Trump-Kim summits failed to produce a clear roadmap for North Korea's denuclearization.

The U.S. envoy is holding talks with senior South Korean officials during his stay this week, but it has not been confirmed whether he is planning to head to the border to speak with a representative from North Korea.

Rejecting a speculation that he might be about to take up the role of American ambassador to Russia, Biegun stressed he is "fully committed" to his North Korea denuclearization mission and promised to "get this done."