The United States reiterated its call Monday on North Korea to rejoin the six-party talks on ridding Pyongyang of its nuclear arsenals, following the direct contact between the two nations over the weekend.

The urging came as State Department spokesman Ian Kelly briefed reporters on Saturday's meeting in New York between Sung Kim, U.S. special envoy to the six-party talks, and Ri Gun, director general of the North American affairs bureau of North Korea's Foreign Ministry.

"Ambassador Kim took the opportunity to once again lay out what our position is on the way forward with the ultimate goal of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and that we believe that the best way forward on that is through the resumption of the six-party talks," Kelly said.

Kim and Ri met at the U.S. office of the United Nations in New York, the first direct bilateral contact since the U.S. administration of President Barack Obama was launched in January.

A six-party source said that during the meeting, Ri repeated Pyongyang's position that it will return to the multilateral talks if there is progress in bilateral discussions with Washington.

Ri arrived in the United States to participate in private-sector forums -- one near San Diego, California on Monday and Tuesday and the other in New York Friday. He is due to stay in the United States until Nov. 2.

On the possibility of Kim and Ri having further talks, Kelly said, "There are no plans for further bilateral meetings at this conference, but I don't exclude that there won't be some side meetings with Mr. Ri Gun."

North Korea agreed in September 2005 to dismantle its nuclear programs in an aid-for-denuclearization deal struck at the six-party talks involving North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

But North Korea withdrew from the six-way talks in April to protest the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of its rocket launch, which was widely regarded as a long-range missile test. Pyongyang added to the tension by detonating a nuclear device for the second time in May.

Last month, Washington announced a plan to seek direct talks with Pyongyang as part of efforts to resume the six-party talks.