President Moon Jae-in's top national security adviser Chung Eui-yong says he had "very useful" discussions during his U.S. trip on diverse ways to help the U.S.-North Korea nuclear talks move forward speedily. 

Chung made the remarks to reporters on Sunday at Incheon International Airport after returning from his two-day visit to Washington for talks on Pyongyang’s denuclearization.

The security adviser, who met with his U.S. counterpart John Bolton on Friday, said that the two sides reaffirmed that they have a common goal of establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization.

Chung added that to achieve the goal, Seoul and Washington have agreed to continue to share related information and maintain close cooperation based on their solid alliance. 

He also said that the issue of North Korean coal allegedly shipped to South Korea was not brought up at the meeting. However, Chung refused to confirm whether the two sides had discussions on declaring an end to the Korean War.

A senior presidential official told reporters Sunday that Chung's trip was made to find a breakthrough in denuclearization negotiations as talks between the U.S. and the North are stalling. The official said Chung would have discussed the North Korea situation with U.S. officials and how to make progress on the issue.

[Photo : YONHAP News]