PYONGYANG -- Pyongyang and Washington have agreed to have preliminary contact on Oct 4 and hold working-level negotiations on Oct 5, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

First Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said in a statement released by the official Korean Central News Agency that the DPRK delegates are ready to enter into the working-level negotiations.

"It is my expectation that the working-level negotiations would accelerate the positive development of the DPRK-US relations," the statement said.

The denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington have hit a stalemate since the second summit between top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi in February ended without any agreement.