Anchor: The U.S. State Department evaded media requests to clarify its position on Seoul's dialogue proposals to North Korea, saying that the allied countries share the very same goal of denuclearizing North Korea. But in the U.S. Congress, lawmakers argued that Seoul must first secure promises for denuclearization before holding talks with the North. 
Bae Joo-yon has more.  
 
Report: Earlier on Tuesday, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a regular news briefing that Seoul explained its proposal of inter-Korean talks to the U.S. and other major countries in advance and there was a sufficient understanding between them.
 
But the U.S. has refused to confirm that South Korea and the U.S. had prior consultation on Seoul’s dialogue proposal to North Korea.
 
U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said during a regular news briefing on Tuesday that she could not reveal any diplomatic conversations took place.
 
[Sound bite: Heather Nauert - Spokesperson, U.S. State Department]
 "Overall we share the very same goal and that is a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. We both remain very concerned about the activities of the DPRK."
 
Nauert said that the U.S. had a terrific visit from President Moon Jae-in recently and that South Korea is an important partner with the U.S.
 
She added that the two sides hope to see the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea.
 
While the State Department kept it vague, American lawmakers argued that Seoul must first secure promises for denuclearization before holding talks with the North. 
 
During a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Tuesday, Senator Cory Gardner, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs also said military means must remain on the table. 
 
[Sound bite: Cory Gardner - Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs]
"The U.S. will deploy every economic, diplomatic, and if necessary, military tool at our disposal to deter Pyongyang and protect our allies."
 
Gardner said that U.S. policy toward North Korea should be straightforward.
 
He said that despite the Trump administration's earnest efforts to induce China to action, its response has been lacking, and that China must move beyond an articulation of concern and lay out a transparent path of focused pressure to denuclearize North Korea.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News. 
 

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