U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said the United States is "very satisfied" with its consultations with South Korea and Japan on the best way to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
Sherman made the remarks on Wednesday in a press conference after a three-way meeting with her South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Choi Jong-kun and Takeo Mori, in Washington.
The deputy secretary said that the three sides discussed their shared commitment to the complete denuclearization of the peninsula.
She stressed that Washington does not harbor hostile intent toward North Korea and it believes that diplomacy and dialogue are essential to achieving the denuclearization goal and establishing permanent peace.
The senior officials of the three nations were originally scheduled to hold a joint press conference at 2 p.m. after the talks, but Choi and Mori did not attend.
Sherman said that a bilateral difference between South Korea and Japan that was unrelated to the meeting led to the change in the format of the press event. She did not elaborate.