U.S. State Department said on Monday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday spoke over phone with South Korean and Japanese foreign ministers to discuss the next step on the engagement with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

　　US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces Steve Biegun as special representative to North Korea at the State Department in Washington, DC, on August 23, 2018. [File photo: AFP/Nicholas Kamm]

　　According to an announcement issued by State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha "reaffirmed the United States and the Republic of Korea remain committed to the final, fully verified denuclearization" of the DPRK.

　　The two diplomats also "pledged to maintain close coordination and agreed that pressure must continue until the DPRK denuclearizes," read the statement.

　　In a separate statement also issued by Nauert, Pompeo and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono also reaffirmed their commitment to the DPRK's final denuclearization, and "agreed that pressure must continue until the DPRK denuclearizes."

　　Pompeo and Kono "affirmed the strength of the U.S.-Japan Alliance and vowed to continue working closely together to address common challenges, seize shared opportunities, and advance the interests of both the United States and Japan" in the region, read the statement.

　　U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted that he had asked Pompeo to cancel his upcoming trip to the DPRK, just one day after Pompeo said he and Stephen Biegun, the U.S. new special envoy for the DPRK, will travel to Pyongyang the following week "to make further diplomatic progress towards our objective."

　　Speaking of the call between Pompeo and Kang, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said on Friday that "Pompeo explained in detail the background behind the postponement of his visit to North Korea."

　　In response, Kang expressed regret over the postponement of the visit, "citing the unswerving commitment of the ROK and the US to a thorough implementation of the measures agreed upon at the inter-Korean and US-North Korea summit talks."

　　She also proposed that South Korea and the U.S. side, "while maintaining the momentum of dialogue, continue efforts to achieve denuclearization and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula," read the statement.

　　In the joint statement after his June 12 meeting in Singapore with DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un, Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.