Washington’s top diplomatic envoy to South Korea has ensured the U.S. is keeping the door open for nuclear negotiations with North Korea. 

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris offered the assurance in a keynote speech he gave at a local seminar in Seoul on Friday. He said the U.S. is ready to take concrete measures to change its relations with the North in step with denuclearization and build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. 

Despite North Korea’s recent missile launches, Harris said U.S. President Donald Trump is continuously reaching out his hands to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, making sure the door to dialogue and negotiation stays open. 

The ambassador also positively assessed the outcomes of the two summits between Trump and Kim, saying they made some progress in Hanoi early this year based on the trust they built in Singapore last year. He noted that although they have not reached an agreement yet, they exchanged detailed stances with each other and narrowed differences in opinions. 

Harris said the governments of the U.S. and South Korea are closely coordinating over every issue regarding inter-Korean relations. 

He added the two allies are also closely cooperating to achieve a shared goal of final, fully verified denuclearization of the North as North Korean leader Kim promised and reaffirmed during his two meetings with Trump.