State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Monday relations between the United States and North Korea have been at a standstill since Washington cancelled its plan to send a special envoy to Pyongyang in the wake of the June 29 inter-Korean naval skirmish in the West Sea. Although the two sides have maintained contact on a general level, there has been no developments since the scrapping of the envoy's visit, Boucher said. The United States is cooperating closely with South Korea and Japan on North Korea issues, he said, adding that visiting South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Tae-sik met recently with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly to discuss the naval clash and other developments on the Korean Peninsula.