The U.S. State Department said on Monday that the United States stands ready to resume negotiations with North Korea.

A department spokesperson told South Korean media that the U.S. welcomes the North Korean commitment to resume negotiations in late September.

The comments came after the director-general for American affairs at North Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a statement earlier on Monday calling on the U.S. to remove all "threats and hurdles" before the two sides discuss the regime's denuclearization.

The North's First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui relayed Pyongyang's willingness to resume talks in late September in a statement last week. 

The U.S. State Department spokesperson said that Washington is prepared to have those discussions at a time and place to be agreed upon, but that there are currently no meetings to announce.

[Photo : YONHAP News]