The United States' new envoy for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Monday he looks forward to a "positive response soon" on dialogue from the DPRK, according to Yonhap news agency of the Republic of Korea (ROK).  

U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK Sung Kim made the remarks in Seoul during his trilateral talks with Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs of the ROK, and Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

"We continue to hope that the DPRK will respond positively to our outreach and our offer to meet anywhere, anytime without preconditions," he said.  

DPRK leader Kim Jong Un said on Thursday at a plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea that his country should get prepared for both dialogue and confrontation with the U.S., especially for confrontation, to protect the DPRK's dignity and interests for independent development, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Friday. 

Read more: 

Kim: DPRK must prepare for 'dialogue and confrontation' with U.S.

The U.S. said on Sunday it saw DPRK leader's comments as an "interesting signal," but added that Washington was still waiting for direct communication from Pyongyang to start any talks related to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. 

Sung Kim's visit came after the Biden administration completed the review of its policy towards the DPRK. The White House said that it had reached out to Pyongyang through several channels but had not yet received any response. 

Kim Jong Un and former U.S. President Donald Trump held their first summit in Singapore in June 2018, agreeing on a complete denuclearization of and a lasting peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula. 

Denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington have been stalled since the second Kim-Trump summit ended without agreement in February 2019 in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. 

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U.S. national security adviser says comments by DPRK leader 'interesting signal' 
 

(With input from agencies)