The State Department said Friday there was a contact between U.S. and North Korean officials at a privately sponsored foreign policy conference in New York on Thursday. Spokesman Sean McCormack said State Department North Korea expert Joseph Ditrani spoke with North Korean Foreign Ministry official Li Gun. Both were attending a meeting of the private National Committee on American Foreign Policy, AP reported. McCormack reaffirmed the administration view that North Korea must return to six-party negotiations on its nuclear weapons program.
