The United States said after talks with North Korea yesterday that the “path is open” to better relations if the North shows commitment to scrapping its nuclear weapons.

“We reiterated that the path is open to North Korea towards the resumption of talks, improved relations with the United States, and greater regional stability if North Korea demonstrates through its actions that it supports the resumption of the six party process as a committed and constructive partner,” said US envoy Stephen Bosworth after the New York talks.

North Korea made an agreement in principle in 2005 with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia to scrap its atomic weapons programme.

But it staged a nuclear test in 2006, pulled out of the six-nation talks in late 2008 and then exploded a second nuclear bomb in 2009.

The talks between Mr Bosworth and a North Korean delegation led by first Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-Gwan were the first top level contacts between the Cold War rivals since Mr Bosworth went to Pyongyang in December 2009.