NEW YORK -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha left New York on Saturday following the 73rd United Nations General Assembly without crossing paths with her North Korean counterpart.

Kang held talks with US State Secretary Mike Pompeo and top diplomats from other nations during her stay here. But Ri Yong-ho, North Korea's foreign minister, declined Kang's earlier proposal for a meeting in New York.

South Korean government sources said Kang, who accompanied President Moon Jae-in to the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang earlier this month, spoke to Ri on that trip and suggested they meet during the UN General Assembly.

Sources said that North Korea may be reluctant to discuss denuclearization at the foreign ministerial level, though Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have discussed the topic in their three summit meetings in 2018.

Kang also failed to set up a meeting with Ri during the ASEAN Regional Forum in Singapore in August. (Yonhap)