Japanese media reports that the United States may agree to hold direct talks with North Korea.

The reports cited Japan's Democratic Party's vice chief Seiji Maehara, who is currently visiting the United States.

During a meeting with Stephen Bosworth, the special U.S. envoy to North Korea, Maehara said Bosworth hinted that Washington was mulling the possibility of a bilateral meeting with North Korea while putting in efforts to persuade it to return to the six-party nuclear talks.

The U.S. envoy pointed out that the six-party talks were the best way to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a verifiable manner. He also stressed the importance of cooperation with Korea and Japan as well as China’s role in the six-party framework.