Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North Korean policy, said Sept. 8 that the United States will consider over the next few weeks how to respond to North Korea's eagerness to hold bilateral talks.

Stephen Bosworth KYODO PHOTO

"We've not reached a decision on how to respond to (North Korea's) invitation and we will be considering that in Washington over the next few weeks," Bosworth told reporters in Tokyo.

But he stressed that the United States does not consider "in any way" that such bilateral engagement will be a substitute for the six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing Pyongyang.

Bosworth was on the final leg of a three-nation East Asia tour, which also took him to China and South Korea. His visit to Japan came at a time when North Korea appears to be frustrated with the U.S. stance of not engaging in direct bilateral talks amid Pyongyang's refusal to return to the six-party negotiations.

While North Korea recently showed eagerness for dialogue as indicated by the release of two detained U.S. journalists, it also raised regional concerns in early September by claiming that its uranium-enrichment experiment had progressed to the final phase.

North Korea said it would quit the six-party talks with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia earlier this year to protest a U.N. Security Council statement denouncing its rocket launch, which was widely seen as a disguised missile test.

On May 25, North Korea staged a second nuclear test and the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution aimed at punishing the country.