The U.S. State Department says no bilateral contact with North Korea is in sight.

A senior State Department official says that any interactions between the U.S. and North Korea must be more substantial that just a one-time meeting. The department has made it clear that in order to hold a meeting with the North, preparations must be discussed and extensive coordination with related countries is required.

The official said all parties to the six-way nuclear talks, excluding North Korea, agree that any U.S.-North Korea meeting should be used as a starting point to resume the multilateral nuclear negotiations.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il Monday stated his nation’s willingness to return to the six-way nuclear talks based on the outcome of a bilateral meeting with the U.S.