Seoul and Washington’s top nuclear envoys reiterated the need to resume diplomatic talks with North Korea, despite several recent setbacks to U.S.-North Korea and inter-Korean relations.

Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean peninsula peace and security affairs, spoke with Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun by phone on Wednesday morning to touch base on the state of negotiations, according to a press release from South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

Lee and Biegun “shared opinions on the importance of resuming inter-Korean and U.S.-DPRK dialogue as soon as possible” and discussed how they can create the right “conditions” to coax