Anchor: During a press briefing Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted that declaring a formal end to the Korean War is "obviously" part of the process of denuclearizing North Korea. But he hinted that Washington may not have been persuaded by Seoul, which proposed kickstarting the stalled talks by discussing the war-ending declaration before denuclearization.
Kim Bum-soo has more.  

Report: 

[Sound bite: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo]
(Reporter: Recently President Moon Jae-in of South Korea mentioned about the declarations of the end of the war with North Korea. Is it possible that the North, without North Korea nuclear – abandonment?)
"So our position on that set of issues, that suite of issues with respect to denuclearization of North Korea, a brighter future for the North Korean people, which would obviously include documents that would change the status between North and South Korea."

The proposed war-ending declaration is clearly included in Washington's denuclearization timetable. But speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Secretary Pompeo also hinted that Washington may not agree with Seoul's game plan.

[Sound bite: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo] 
"There’s been no change in the way the United States thinks about this. We continue to believe that there’s an important, good outcome for global peace and stability and for the North Korean people, and we hope that we can get back to the table and begin to have those discussions in a serious way and would ultimately lead to what the president of South Korea was speaking to."

Seeking to revive the dying momentum for dialogue with Pyongyang, South Korean President Moon Jae-in proposed on multiple occasions that the two sides officially end the Korean War, which is technically at a ceasefire, and re-embark on the arduous nuclear negotiations. 

Last week, Seoul sent Presidential National Security Adviser Suh Hoon to Washington to hold a series of meetings with his counterpart Robert C. O'Brien and Pompeo but the two sides appeared at odds if the proposed ending of the war should be a kickstarter. 

[Sound bite: S. Korea's National Security Adviser Suh Hoon (Oct. 15, DC / Korean-English translation)] 
"The issue at hand would be about the timing of the declaration in the denuclearization process or how closely linked the two should be. It would be common sense that the two can not be separated." 

[Sound bite: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo]  
(Reporter: And second question, do you have anything about the cost sharing within South Korea, if not it may be enough in – for the United States and DOD still leaving the U.S. troops in South Korea?)
"Yeah, we’re still working our way through it. I don’t have anything to announce today. The discussions, the conversation about appropriate burden sharing there continues." 

During Wednesday's news briefing Pompeo also noted that Seoul and Washington are still undecided on the issue of how much each side should pay for the upkeep of the 28-thousand-500 American troops in South Korea. 

South Korea's conservative main opposition lawmakers are concerned that prematurely ending the Korean War might lead to the withdrawal of U.S. troops, which they say are a key deterrent in preventing another war on the peninsula. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.