Amid a rocky patch between the United States and North Korea, the U.S. Secretary of State has released his take on his recently canceled trip to Pyongyang.
And it seems like North Korea will have to put in more effort towards denuclearization to get Washington on board for further negotiations.
Lee Ji-won has more.
The U.S. stands ready to engage when it is clear that North Korea is prepared to deliver on the commitments it made at the June 12th Singapore summit to completely denuclearize.

This is U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's take on the current situation, following the cancelation of his fourth trip to Pyongang. It was shared by the department's spokesperson Heather Nauert at a briefing on Tuesday.

Pompeo's statement went on to say that the world is united behind the need for North Korea to fulfill that commitment and that members of the UN Security Council have voted to call upon North Korea to abandon all nuclear weapons.
He said the final, fully verified denuclearization of Pyongyang is the world's goal and the world is looking forward to North Korea's compliance with the resolutions for a brighter future for its people.

This comes after a Washington Post report claimed that Trump canceled Pompeo's trip due to a belligerent letter from a senior North Korean official, which convinced the President that the planned visit would not be successful.

When asked if the Secretary spoke to his North Korean counterparts after the cancelation, Nauert did not confirm it.

A reporter, referring to the department's earlier comments that there can be no progress on inter-Korean relations without progress on denuclearization, asked if the U.S. is going to ask South Korean President Moon Jae-in to cancel his planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next month.

Nauert quoted President Moon and said that those things have to take place, and that the U.S. continues to have good, frank discussions with its ally.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.