The US said Monday that it had accepted a two-week postponement of the six-party talks, and that it was ready to come back to the negotiating table on the week of September 12.

"We are prepared to go back the week of September 12 and we are ready," State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said at a news briefing.

McCormack made the remarks after North Korea called for resumption of the six-party talks on the week of September 12.

North Korean Foreign Ministry said Monday that it could not attend the nuclear talks while US-South Korean military drills were in progress. The exercises, which began last week, will end Friday.

About 10,000 American and an undisclosed number of South Korean troops are participating in this year's exercise.

Delegates to the fourth round of six-party talks aimed at persuading Pyongyang to give up nuclear development took a recess earlier this month and had agreed to meet again this week.

The first phase of the fourth-round six-party talks, involving the US, China, Japan, Russia, North and South Korea, failed to agree on a statement of basic principles to guide future negotiations.

"We're prepared to engage in six-party talks in a constructive manner," McCormack said.

"We hope that all the other parties, including North Korea, come back to the table and resume the business-like atmosphere they demonstrated during the most recent session of the talks."

(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2005)