US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference with Afghan president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani (not in the picture) in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, July 9, 2018. The visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday said that the United States supports an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace negotiations. (Photo: Xinhua)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday he hopes the United States and the Taliban can resume talks in the future.

Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News that talks are dead "for the time being" after one US soldier was killed in Afghanistan on Thursday.

"I hope we get them started back," Pompeo said, referring to the talks, adding the Taliban "have got to demonstrate that they are prepared to do the things that we asked them to do in the course of those negotiations."

The reconciliatory message came after US President Donald Trump pulled the plugs on the talks Saturday, citing the deadly attack. In a flurry of tweets, Trump said a secret meeting with Taliban leaders and the Afghan president scheduled for Sunday had been scrapped due to the attack.

The United States and the Taliban are reportedly close to a deal to end the over-18-year-old US war in Afghanistan.

Both the Taliban militants and the Afghan government forces have intensified operations in the war-torn country recently.