The U.S. State Department says it isn’t aware of any plans to engage with North Korea at an upcoming United Nations conference, where a DPRK delegation is expected to participate in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The remark follows reports earlier this month that North Korean officials from Pyongyang’s embassy in London, including Ambassador Choe Il, will attend the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow next week.

“Certainly, I’m not aware of any plans that we have at the moment to engage with any delegation from the DPRK,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price