U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell says that it will be critical for there to be some sort of reconciliation between the two Koreas for the six-party process on denuclearization to move forward.

Campbell made the statement during a debate organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Thursday in Washington.

Campbell said that the U.S. has conveyed such a message to members of the nuclear negotiations, adding that the related countries are holding extensive discussions on what to do next in regards to getting the talks back on track.

Campbell’s statement comes as top U.S. diplomats, including Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth and top nuclear envoy Sung Kim, will visit Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo next week.

Campbell’s remarks also came as the U.S. State Department announced President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao will meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly next week to discuss North Korean issues.

The department added that U.S. coordinator of North Korea sanctions, Robert Einhorn, will visit China next week to discuss sanctions against the North and Iran.