The United States has no hostile intent toward Pyongyang and is open to meeting any time and any place, Washington's special envoy for North Korea said on Monday during a visit to South Korea.
"The United States does not have hostile intent toward (North Korea)," Sung Kim, who arrived in Seoul on Saturday for a four-day visit, told reporters after meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk.
The visit comes as a brief thaw in inter-Korean relations in July gave way to a new standoff over US-South Korean military exercises that North Korea has warned could trigger a security crisis.
"The ongoing (US-South Korea) combined military exercises are longstanding, routine, and purely defensive in nature and support the security of both our countries."
The United States supports efforts to improve ties between the two Koreas and remains open to direct talks with Pyongyang, Kim said.
"I continue to stand ready to meet with my North Korean counterparts anywhere at any time," he said.