U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun says the U.S. is confident it can close the gap with North Korea through continued negotiations.

According to a Bloomberg report, Beigun told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Sunday that the U.S. is convinced it can make further progress on all the goals that it and North Korea committed to during their first summit last June.

The top official added that he wants to emphasize the commitments Washington has made to Pyongyang, saying the U.S. has made these commitments “directly and indirectly, privately and publicly -- to remain engaged, avoid provocations.” 

Bloomberg said Biegun’s office later clarified the North should remain engaged, refrain from provocations such as recent missile tests and make progress on summit commitments through dialogue.

During his three-day stay in Singapore from last Friday, Biegun held a trilateral meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Lee Do-hoon and Kenji Kanasugi, as well as one-on-one talks with Lee on Saturday.

[Photo : YONHAP News]