U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman says the U.S. has directly reached out to North Korea.

Sherman disclosed the communication in a virtual keynote address to the Korea Society’s Annual Dinner in New York on Tuesday, local time, without providing details on where and when it took place and who it involved.

The contact is viewed along the same lines as an earlier State Department statement that it made "specific proposals" to the North and is awaiting a response.

Additionally, Sherman said the U.S. is focused on the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. She reiterated that Washington holds no hostility toward Pyongyang and is ready to meet without preconditions.

However, she condemned the regime’s recent ballistic missile launches as a violation of multiple UN Security council resolutions and a threat to both the region and the international community.