"Our view is that, of course, we can't get back to the Six-Party Talks until we see a much greater degree of willingness on the part of North Korea to take the steps that it has already promised to take," Davies, the US envoy, told reporters on Monday, after arriving at the ROK's Incheon Airport.

"So, our concern now is with North Korean attitudes towards denuclearization," he said. "They've gone in the opposite direction from the commitments that they've made before."

Davies will be in Beijing on Sept 11 for meetings with senior Chinese government officials, including Wu Dawei, according to the US State Department.

Meanwhile, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel made a similar comment on Sunday in the ROK, where he was as part of his first East Asia tour in his new capacity.

"It's understandable after so many cycles of broken promises by North Korea that the international community would have high standards of evidence with a call on North Korea to make convincing indications of its seriousness and purpose," said Russel, who will also visit Beijing and Tokyo later this week.

The US State Department said Russel will arrive in Beijing on Sept 13 to meet with senior Chinese officials to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual concern.

While senior US officials are travelling to East Asia, former NBA star Dennis Rodman said on Monday that he has been invited to bring a team of 12 former NBA players for a basketball tournament in the DPRK in January of next year.

Rodman, who just returned from his second trip to the DPRK, meeting again with leader Kim Jong-un, said his team will include former stars such as Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen.

The Hall of Fame player was criticized in the US for his first visit to the DPRK in February, when a picture showed him laughing and eating with Kim.

Rodman is not shy about his closeness with Kim. "I held their baby Ju-ae and spoke with Ms Ri (Sol-ju, Kim's wife) as well. He is a good dad and has a beautiful family," Rodman told the Guardian on Sunday.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 09/10/2013 page1)