US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said "unfortunately, as far as we know, the situation remains stalled, with North Korea not prepared to live up to its commitments to come back to talks."

He spoke after meetings between China's special envoy for North Korean affairs, Ning Fukui, and US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Assistant Secretary for East Asian Affairs James Kelly and special envoy for North Korea Joseph DeTrani.

Boucher said they discussed ways to move forward on the six-party talks, which comprises the United States, Japan, China, the two Koreas and Russia.

North Korea had refused to attend the fourth round of the six-party talks last month, citing Washington's "hostile" policy towards it and South Korea's nuclear experiments.

The talks were intended to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programs and help denuclearize the Korean peninsula.

Boucher said the United States earlier informed China, the host of the six-party talks, that it remain prepared to attend the meeting at an early date.

Ning is on a three-nation tour including South Korea and Japan as part of Chinese efforts to salvage the six-nation talks.

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