The United States says North Korea’s uranium enrichment program should be part of discussions about the denuclearization of the communist state.

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters in Washington on Thursday that the U.S. is discussing the North’s denuclearization issue with countries in the region as well as in the context of the U.N. Security Council, adding that Washington strongly believes that uranium enrichment should be part of that discussion.

Crowley then urged North Korea to "take a permanent step to denuclearize" and "give up its nuclear programs" if it wants to have normal relations with its neighbors and the United States.

Crowley’s remarks come after the U.N. Security Council’s committee that oversees sanctions on North Korea failed to adopt on Thursday a report on Pyongyang’s uranium enrichment program following opposition from China.