The U.S. State Department has denied a rumored meeting between Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and North Korean chief nuclear envoy Kim Kye-kwan.

Campbell and Kim happened to visit Beijing concurrently on Thursday and diplomats in Beijing have speculated that the two may hold direct or indirect contact.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters that Campbell’s trip to China was to make preparations for the upcoming Strategic and Economic Dialogue with China and that the senior officials did not meet. Toner added that there were no attempts on behalf of the U.S. to set up any such contact for Campbell during his trip that happened to coincide with the North’s top nuclear envoy.

Washington maintains its stance that there is no dialogue with North Korea before Pyongyang first improve relations with South Korea and take sincere steps toward denuclearization.