The United States says it’s considering direct talks in North Korea in hopes of paving the way for Pyongyang to return to the six-way nuclear talks.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters in Washington Tuesday that Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Bosworth is considering a visit to the North to jump-start the talks that have been stalled since December.

Kelly said Bosworth is due to be back in Washington on Wednesday and will be briefing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the results of his trip to South Korea, China and Japan.

The spokesman added that U.S. special envoy for the six-party discussions, Sung Kim, will arrive in Moscow Wednesday to meet with his Russian counterpart Grigory Logvinov for related consultations.