The foreign ministry said Monday that it will focus its diplomacy on facilitating an early resumption of working-level nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea and substantive progress in them.

In a report to the National Assembly, the ministry also said that it would maintain close coordination with Washington through bilateral consultations, including at the UN General Assembly in New York.

"(The ministry) will concentrate its diplomatic capacity on ensuring that the working-level negotiations will promptly resume, and that they will lead to substantive progress in the efforts for complete denuclearization and the establishment of lasting peace," the ministry said.

"Through communications at each level of the South and the US, (the allies) will coordinate working-level negotiation strategies and send a coordinated message," it added.

Pyongyang has recently expressed its willingness to return to the negotiation table late this month after a period of tensions caused by its furious reaction to the combined military exercise between Seoul and Washington.

The venue and date for the nuclear talks have yet to be announced.

The ministry also said that it would encourage neighboring countries, including China, Russia and Japan, to play a "constructive role" in the Korean peace process. (Yonhap)