The chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations says he expects Vice President Kamala Harris to pursue the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as a foreign policy goal should she win the presidential election.

Democrat Senator Ben Cardin made the remarks on Thursday in a press briefing in Chicago where the Democratic National Convention was in progress.

Asked about his opinions on how Harris would handle threats from North Korea, the senator said that the Korean Peninsula is very important and that the U.S. believes the peninsula should be denuclearized, adding there shouldn’t be nuclear weapons on the peninsula. 

Cardin also underscored China's role to address the North Korean challenge, expressing hope that China would also be engaged with the U.S. in dealing with that challenge.

Asked if Harris set the North’s denuclearization as a goal, the senator said that that’s always been the U.S.’ goal, adding Washington believes that the North's denuclearization is an "issue that has to be achieved."

The remarks come amid speculations surrounding the omission of the U.S. pursuit of denuclearization on the peninsula in the recently approved Democratic Party’s policy platform.