The U.S. government is reportedly leaving open its unofficial dialogue channel with North Korea despite Pyongyang’s plan to launch a rocket this month.

A diplomatic source in Washington said Monday that following the North’s announcement over its rocket launch plan, the U.S. and the North have not held any official contacts. However, the source said the unofficial New York channel is being left open at all times regardless of any changes in situations regarding the communist state.

The New York channel has recently played a vital role in U.S.-North Korea negotiations as an unofficial diplomatic route with U.S. special envoy for the six-way nuclear talks, Clifford Hart, and North Korea's deputy ambassador to the UN, Han Song-ryol, serving as chief negotiators.

On Monday, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland explained to reporters there was no government meeting between the U.S. and North Korea last weekend in Berlin. She said there may have been some sort of two-track encounter between Americans and North Koreans but no government meeting.