The U.S. State Department says that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talked with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on the phone and discussed the next steps on engagement with North Korea following the historic Singapore summit.

In a readout by spokesperson Heather Nauert, the department said the top diplomats of Washington and Seoul spoke on the phone Thursday and agreed that "pressure must continue until North Korea denuclearizes."

The spokesperson said that Secretary Pompeo and Minister Kang also affirmed the strength of the bilateral alliance and vowed to continue close coordination.

Seoul's Foreign Ministry earlier said that the two officials coordinated strategies for denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula during their phone conversation.

The ministry said they also discussed concrete strategies to faithfully implement the agreements that came out of the April inter-Korean summit and the U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore earlier this month.

[Photo : YONHAP News]