The Voice of America(VOA) has reported that Washington wants to keep sanctions on North Korea in case it fails to denuclearize.

The news outlet said on Wednesday that an unnamed U.S. State Department official made the remark when solicited for a comment on President Moon Jae-in's call for eased sanctions on the North as a way of facilitating the regime's nuclear disarmament.  

The official credited the progress so far in dealing with the North to the “full implementation” of the UN Security Council resolutions, adding the sanctions are necessary for a successful outcome of this process. 

The official said U.S. President Donald Trump made it clear that sanctions relief will follow denuclearization, adding "the sooner we get to that point, the sooner we can lift sanctions.”

The VOA also asked whether recent inter-Korean agreements to launch a project to link railways and roads will weaken current pressure on the North.

The official said, “We reaffirmed the Panmunjom Declaration during the Singapore Summit and we did so because progress on inter-Korean relations must happen in lockstep with progress on denuclearization.”