US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at a press conference in Washington, DC (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Mr. Pompeo said complete denuclearization remains the objective as the two countries head to a summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, next week. He added that to keep the American people safe, the US has to reduce the threat from a nuclear-armed North Korea, and then in turn the US can work on peace and security on the Korean peninsula. 

In another development, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Secretary Pompeo agreed Thursday in a telephone conversation to continue to back UN sanctions on North Korea, and discussed past abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents. Mr. Kono urged North Korea to take concrete actions to dismantle all weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles of all ranges in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner.