The U.S. State Department says a repose in North Korea's provocative threats is a good thing but the broader goal remains a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

Deputy spokesman for the State Department Patrick Ventrell told a regular briefing that "certainly stopping some of the bluster, rhetoric and the threats is a good thing."

But he stressed the broader policy goal of the U.S. is still the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. He said to this aim, Washington has certainly been in close communication with the Chinese as they have some special influence with the North Koreans.

Ventrell said that in addition to quieting rhetoric and easing tensions, the U.S. wants North Korea to "start to make signals that it's going to come in compliance with its international obligations" if it wants to resume dialogue with the U.S.