SEOUL, South Korea — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed the U.S.’s intent to resume diplomacy on North Korea’s denuclearization, saying Tuesday the North flatly opposes any attempt to deny its position as a nuclear weapons state.

Iranian diplomats have met their counterparts from the UK, Germany, and France for nuclear talks, for the first time since Israel launched attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities in June. The strikes triggered a 12-day war, which also saw the US bomb a number of Iran's nuclear sites, bringing US-Iran nuclear talks to an abrupt end.

European and Iranian diplomats have arrived in Istanbul in a renewed effort to resolve the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program. The talks mark the first formal engagement since June's 12-day war between Iran and Israel, a conflict that included U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and heightened tensions across the region.

Three European powers met with an Iranian minister to try to reopen negotiations over the limits of its nuclear activities.

Iranian diplomats said they held "frank and detailed" nuclear talks on Friday with counterparts from Germany, Britain and France, who have threatened to trigger sanctions if Tehran fails to agree a deal on uranium enrichment and cooperation with UN inspectors.

Diplomatic meeting in Istanbul between Tehran and E3 countries is first since Israel and US attacked Iran in mid-June.

Germany, France and the United Kingdom are coordinating plans to hold nuclear talks with Iran in the coming week, a German diplomatic source told Newsweek.

Iran says it is ready to engage in talks with the United States, but only if Washington takes meaningful steps to rebuild trust. The comments by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi

The talks, to be held in Istanbul on Friday, will be the first since a ceasefire was reached after a 12-day war waged by Israel against Iran in June, which also saw the United States strike nuclear-related facilities in the Islamic Republic. A similar meeting had been held in the Turkish city in May.

The Iranian government continues to insist that enrichment is a "matter of national pride," and any nuclear capabilities would be used for scientific purposes rather than weapons. Iran’s state media has continued to say that the country will pursue uranium enrichment as it is "a key policy of the current government,