U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that the U.S. has not been able to arrange working-level denuclearization talks with North Korea in September, but Washington stands ready for talks. 

Pompeo made the remarks at a news conference on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York when asked about the talks. 

The top U.S. diplomat said that Washington has not been able to make the talks happen this month, adding it doesn't have a date yet when the two sides will be able to get together.

However, he reaffirmed that the U.S. "stands ready" for talks, and that his team is prepared to meet with the North Koreans. 

Pompeo said that Washington hopes the phone rings and gets that chance to find a place and a time that work for the North Koreans and that they can deliver on the commitments that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump made.

North Korea said this month it was willing to restart nuclear talks with the U.S. in late September but warned that dealings between the two sides could end unless Washington adopted a fresh approach.

[Photo : YONHAP News]