Under increasing pressure to bargain with the international community, Pyongyang has invited Stephen Bosworth, the US special representative for North Korea, to attend talks on its nuclear programme, according to South Korean media.

North Korea has long been eager for bilateral talks with the US, with officials reminding Washington this month of its interest in meetings with Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, and Bill Clinton, the former US president. But the US has sought to address the nuclear issue through multilateral talks that pull in South Korea, Japan, China and Russia. Pyongyang vowed this year never to return to these six-party talks.

Although there was no immediate comment on the report from the Obama administration, it followed an acknowledgement by the state department of “helpful steps” towards a thaw between North and South Korea.