A senior North Korean diplomat says North Korea is willing to hold talks with the United States.

It is the first comment made by a North Korean official since former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Pyongyang last week.

The North’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong-il told reporters in Hanoi, Vietnam that their door is always open to negotiations.

It is unusual for a senior official from the communist state to make comments to reporters while traveling overseas.

Kim is visiting Vietnam to participate in the second vice ministerial policy exchange between the two countries.