The United States wants North Korea to return to six-nations talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a U.S. assistant secretary of state said.

North Korea recently invited Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. special envoy to Pyongyang, to visit. Washington has yet to officially accept the invitation, but has said bilateral contacts would be an important step towards resuming the six-nation talks.

"We are interested in seeing a resumption of the Six-Party process. We''re interested in seeing North Korea recommit to its obligations that it''s made in the past few years. We have consultations ongoing in the region," Philip Crowley told a daily press-briefing in Washington D.C.

North Korea abandoned the negotiations in April, in protest against the United Nations'' condemnation of its nuclear bomb and missile tests. The six-party talks have involved the two Koreas, China, the U.S., Russia and Japan.

"We continue our close consultations with the other partners in the Six-Party process, but our position remains the same: North Korea has to eventually come back to the Six-Party process and recommit towards denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Crowley said.

North Korea was reported to have launched on Monday five short-range missiles into the East Sea.