North Korea has dropped its request for bilateral talks with the United States regarding its nuclear weapons program.
A foreign ministry spokesman (Saturday) said Pyongyang is unwilling to hold any talks of any kind at this point, because of what he alleged were Washington's attempts to topple the North Korean government.
But he said the North remains committed to resolving the dispute through dialogue.
The comments came as a senior Chinese envoy held talks in Pyongyang in what was seen as an effort to persuade North Korea to return to six-party talks.
Earlier, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations said the reclusive nation would be willing to return to talks in any form if Washington drops its hostile policy toward the North. He said if there were no hostile policy, North Korea would have no need for nuclear weapons.