ⓒYONHAP News

U.S. President Donald Trump says his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will take place after the U.S. midterm elections.

On board Air Force One bound for Iowa Tuesday, Trump told reporters that the second summit will be held after the November sixth elections, saying he just can't leave now.It is the first time a timetable has been specified.

As for possible venues, Trump said at the White House earlier in the day that the next summit will not likely be in Singapore, the site of the first meeting, but at a different location. 

Asked whether his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida could be an option, Trump said both he and Kim would like it. 

“He'd probably like that. I'd like that too. I think it would be good. But we'll see. We're -- we're talking about three or four different locations.”

Trump said he expects "lots of meetings" to take place in the future both in the U.S. and in North Korea.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said his recent trip to Pyongyang yielded “real progress.”

“While there is still a long way to go and much work to do, we can now see a path where we will achieve our ultimate goal which is the full, final and verified denuclearization of North Korea.”

However, critics say North Korea has not done enough to show that it is sincere about scrapping its nuclear program, which potentially poses a threat to the U.S.

North Korea maintains that it demolished a nuclear testing site in May, has plans to permanently shut down a missile engine testing site and will also shut down its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon if the U.S. takes "corresponding" steps.

Despite apparent progress in dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea, Washington and Seoul may be at odds over sanctions on the North. In response to South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha's remarks about possibly lifting the so-called May 24th sanctions, which constitute a portion of South Korea’s unilateral sanctions against the North, U.S. President Donald Trump said it won't happen without the approval of the U.S. 

Surrounded by reporters at the Oval Office on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump responded to the South Korean foreign minister's remarks that Seoul is mulling ways to lift its sanctions on North Korea.   

"There is a report from Seoul today that the South Korean government is considering lifting sanctions on North Korea." 

"They won't do that without our approval. They do nothing without our approval." 

Commonly known as the May 24th sanctions, Seoul in 2010 slammed the brakes on all inter-Korean economic cooperation, following North Korea’s torpedo-sinking of the naval corvette Cheonan, which killed 46 sailors at sea.

At the parliamentary audit session on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha also said that ending the cross-border penalties would permit individual South Korean tourists to visit the North without violating the UN Security Council sanctions.

Hours later, the South Korean Foreign Ministry sought to tone down the implications of Kang's remarks, saying any government reviews on easing sanctions are yet to be substantiated.

The South Korean presidential spokesman, meanwhile, tried to downplay Trump's hawkish remarks, saying Seoul recognizes the comments are aimed at ensuring consultations and consent with South Korea.

But the growing rift is already apparent. Foreign Minister Kang confirmed to lawmakers Wednesday that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo complained during telephone talks about last month’s inter-Korean military agreement aimed at easing border tensions. 

Amid growing calls from the North, China and Russia to adjust the strength of the sanctions, the U.S. remains adamant that North Korea will not be compensated during the process of abandoning its nuclear and missile programs.