The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump's shift in rhetoric on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reflects changes in Kim's actions. 

Deputy press secretary Raj Shah said during a regular news briefing on Monday that Kim has stepped forward and made pledges to halt nuclear and ICBM tests and has released three prisoners, adding these are signs of good faith, and the U.S. hopes to build on that.

Shah also stressed that the U.S. policy has been to pursue the complete, irreversible and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. 

Late last month, Trump praised the North Korean leader for being "very open and honorable." Last week he called the North's plan to dismantle its nuclear test site a "very smart and gracious gesture." 

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