The U.S. State Department said on Monday that the United States is not preparing any new proposals for negotiations to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program. 

A department spokesperson told Seoul-based Yonhap News that no new proposals are currently being put together, adding its goal remains the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.

The spokesperson made the comment when asked about a Sunday New York Times article suggesting Washington may accept the North freezing its nuclear program as a "first step" in fostering a new round of negotiations.

Hours after the historic meeting between the leaders of North Korea and the U.S. at the inter-Korean border, the U.S. paper reported the nuclear freeze idea had been taking shape inside the Trump administration "for weeks” before Sunday’s meeting.

However, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun denied the report, calling it “pure speculation.”

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton also flatly rejected the piece, saying on Twitter that "neither the National Security Council staff nor he have discussed or heard of any desire to settle for a nuclear freeze by North Korea."