SEOUL: US President Barack Obama said Thursday he would send US envoy Stephen Bosworth to North Korea for direct talks on December 8, naming a date for the mission for the first time, during a visit to Seoul.

"We will be sending Ambassador Bosworth to North Korea on December 8 to engage in direct talks with the North Koreans," Obama told reporters after talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.

Speaking at the Seoul visit Obama addressed the issue of a free trade deal with host nation South Korea saying that a number of issues still needed to be worked out before it could be ratified in Congress.

During the event Obama also said the United States and its partners were now discussing "consequences" in the form of toughened sanctions on Iran after its apparent rejection of a nuclear deal.