The United States has reiterated that sanctions on North Korea will not be removed before the resumption of the six-way nuclear talks.

Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. position is that it would be inappropriate at this juncture to lift sanctions or to revisit aspects of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874, given the current circumstances.

Campbell said the appropriate next step is for North Korea to return to the six-party talks and to resume deliberations in this context.

Earlier on Monday in a statement issued by its Foreign Ministry, the North said that sanctions, which it claimed caused the disruption of the nuclear talks, must be removed in order to resume the dialogue.