North Korea says, it is eager to resume six-party talks on its nuclear programme at an early date and without preconditions. North Korea remained “unchanged” in its desire to restart the talks. Six-party talks involving North and South Korea, the US, Russia, China and Japan were last held in late 2008. North Korea's statement came after two days of exploratory talks between the US and North Korea in New York. The week before, North Korean officials met counterparts from the South on the sidelines of a security conference in Indonesia. North Korea pulled out of the six-party talks in April 2009, shortly before carrying out a second nuclear test. The North Korean statement said the government was ready to fulfil commitments it signed up to in 2005 to end its nuclear programme in return for energy and economic aid.