A meeting between U.S. and North Korean officials could take place soon, following the arrival of North Korean foreign ministry director Ri Gun in New York.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told a regular news briefing he would not exclude the possibility of U.S. officials meeting with Ri over the weekend before the Northeast Asia Cooperative Dialogue in San Diego, which will take place next Monday and Tuesday.

A high-ranking diplomatic source in Washington expects that U.S. special envoy to the six-way nuclear talks Sung Kim will likely meet with Ri in San Diego.

If such a meeting were to occur, it would be the first meeting between the U.S. and North Korea since President Barack Obama took office in the beginning of this year.

Ri arrived in New York on Saturday as the head of a five-member North Korean delegation. He told reporters he came to the U.S. in order to attend the dialogue in San Diego and expressed his willingness to meet with U.S. officials.

The delegation will fly to San Diego on Sunday and will return to New York to attend a debate on North Korea on Friday.