NKorea needs to take steps to improve ties with South: US

"It is an important opportunity for North Korea to demonstrate its sincerity and willingness to engage in dialogue, and understand that the one delegation walked out today," State Department spokesman P J Crowley told reporters.

"North Korea needs to take meaningful steps to improve inter-Korean relations," Crowley said.

"Clearly, meetings like this are a vehicle to accomplish that and reduce the tensions that have arisen between North and South Korea due to North Korea's provocative actions. So we'll just continue to evaluate what unfolds going forward, but clearly, this was an important opportunity for North Korea to demonstrate its sincerity," he said.

"We certainly do believe that North Korea has to take responsibility for its recent actions, whether it's the sinking of the Cheonan, the shelling of Yeonpyeong, and then demonstrate that it is going to take affirmative steps to reduce tensions in the Korean Peninsula," Crowley said.

"This was an opportunity to do that, and clearly, having North Korea walking out puts them in the category of a missed opportunity," he said in response to a question.

"We continue to monitor the situation in North Korea. We have provided food assistance in the past. We had a program that I believe was underway through the early part of 2009 and was abruptly ended, and we have no plans at this point to resume food aid to North Korea," Crowley said.

"We have made clear what will be needed if there was going to be restoration of food aid, which includes a needs assessment, the ability to effectively manage the program, and the ability to monitor the program on the ground to make sure that the food aid gets to those who need it most and is not diverted to others within the government," he said.