The Voice of America says the United States has offered North Korea assistance in excavating and preserving cultural heritage sites.

The U.S.-based broadcaster said Saturday that the U.S. made the offer when its officials met with a North Korean delegation for held high-level talks in New York late last month.

The report said the U.S. delegation conveyed to the North that it is willing to assist in preserving cultural heritages as part of efforts to improve bilateral relations. The U.S. was represented by Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth in the New York talks while First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-kwan represented the North.

The VOA also reported that the U.S. delegation laid out various ways to cooperate and promote exchanges on preserving North Korea’s cultural relics, including sending to the North a group of experts in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Voice of America said signs that the U.S. and the North are making headway in discussions on excavating remains of U.S. soldiers in North Korea and allowing exchanges of letters between ethnic Koreans living in the U.S. with their relatives living in the North are encouraging.