National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, listens as President Donald Trump (not in frame) addresses the nation from the White House on the ballistic missile strike that Iran launched against Iraqi air bases housing US troops, Jan 8, 2020, in Washington. (ALEX BRANDON / AP)

WASHINGTON — White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien said the United States had reached out to the Democratic People’s Republic Korea (DPRK) seeking to resume talks, according to an interview published on Sunday by Axios. 

O'Brien also said it was a "positive" sign that DRPK leader Kim Jong-un had not delivered on a warning of a "Christmas gift." Some analysts had said that might be a sign Pyongyang was preparing a long-range missile test, while US President Donald Trump said last month the gift "might be a beautiful vase." 

Kim said recently there were no longer grounds for Pyongyang to be bound by a self-declared moratorium on intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear bomb testing 

"We've reached out to the North Koreans and let them know that we would like to continue the negotiations in Stockholm that were last undertaken in early October," O'Brien told the online news site on Friday. 

"We've been letting them know, through various channels, that we would like to get those back on track." 

The ROK is also referred to as South Korea and DPRK as North Korea.

A spokesman for the National Security Council did not immediately comment on Sunday. 

READ MORE: DPRK fires more projectiles, rules out talks with ROK

On Saturday, the DPRK said it had received birthday greetings for Kim from Trump, but their personal relationship was not enough for a return to talks, according to a statement published by state news agency KCNA. 

Trump relied on his personal rapport with Kim to push for denuclearization in talks in 2018 and 2019, but those efforts have largely failed at the working level and sparked new concerns about Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities. 

The DPRK will not discuss proposals such as those Trump made at his last summit with Kim in Hanoi in February 2019, a Foreign Ministry adviser said Saturday. 

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Kim said recently there were no longer grounds for Pyongyang to be bound by a self-declared moratorium on intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear bomb testing and that a "new strategic weapon" would be introduced in the near future.

Moon Jae-in, the president of the Republic of Korea said recently there was an urgent need for practical ways to improve ties with the DPRK, adding he was ready to meet its leader in the country.