The United States says it is waiting for North Korea’s response over resuming high-level bilateral talks which were stalled after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death.

U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters on Wednesday that the North is in a period of mourning and that Washington is waiting “for some signal from the North Koreans.”

Toner added that no additional contacts with the North had been held through the New York channel.

The deputy spokesman said the U.S. will wait and see in coming days and weeks any developments regarding the future leadership of the communist state, noting that the U.S. doesn’t have a lot of insight given the North’s opaque system.

Toner also said visiting South Korean top nuclear negotiator, Lim Sung-nam, met with U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies to discuss the situation in North Korea. He added that the two officials will be briefed by U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues Robert King on the North’s food situation.