The U.S. and North Korea have agreed to hold talks on Sunday to discuss the repatriation of the remains of American troops killed in the Korean War. 

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement that the North Koreans contacted the U.S. on Thursday to propose the date after failing to attend a meeting on the issue scheduled for the same day. 

Nauert added that the U.S. "will be ready" for the talks. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to the repatriation in his historic summit with U.S. President Donald Trump last month. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Pyongyang to follow up on the agreement. 

After talks with Vice Chairman Kim Yong-chol of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Pompeo said that they agreed to hold working-level talks on the repatriation of the war remains on or around Thursday at the truce village of Panmunjeom. 

North Korea, however, did not show up at the scheduled working-level talks on Thursday, and reportedly proposed upgrading them to general-level military talks.

[Photo : YONHAP News]