The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has held talks with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha in Washington DC. They say they discussed the Korean peninsula situation, the US-South Korea alliance and the planned summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. Kang said sanctions against the DPRK would not be lifted before the leaders' summit. Pompeo said that if Pyongyang gives up the nuclear weapons, Washington is willing to provide economic aid to the DPRK. 

MIKE POMPEO US SECRETARY OF STATE "The United States and the Republic of Korean remain committed to achieving the permanent, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization on the Korean peninsula. If chairman King chooses the right path, it's a future brimming with peace and prosperity for the North Korea, North Korean people."

KANG KYUNG-WHA SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER "We agreed that the summit would be a historic opportunity for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and securing enduring peace on the Korean Peninsula. We reaffirmed that our goal is to achieve the complete verifiable and irreversible denuclearization on the Korean peninsula."