The U.S. State Department is denying any progress in engaging North Korea to discuss the denuclearization issue in the six-party context.

In a daily press briefing Monday, spokesman Ian Kelly said the U.S. is willing to talk with the North bilaterally, but only in the multilateral context.

He said "the atmospherics of the last month or so are certainly more productive than when the North Koreans were shooting off missiles and detaining journalists."

But he said Pyongyang hasn't made any real specific movement towards resuming the six-party talks, adding that it seems their position not to utilize the multilateral framework has been made clear.