"In terms of the timing, we're looking at the end of the week," Nuland told reporters at a regular briefing. "I don't know whether the precise date, Thursday or Friday, in New York has been set."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday invited the DPRK's vice foreign minister Kim Kye-Gwan to New York for talks on the potential resumption of the six-party talks on denuclearization of the Korean peninsular, which has been on hold for more than two years.

Hillary's announcement came after the Republic of Korea's chief nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac and his DPRK counterpart Ri Yong-ho held a bilateral meeting in Bali on July 23, during which, the two sides agreed to work to resume the long-stalled six-party talks.

Nuland said the US sees this as "a preliminary session," where it will lay out its "expectations" for the resumption of the six-party talks and for the improvement of "direct engagement" between the US and the DPRK.