U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday that Olympics talks between South and North Korea should not distract from the internationally agreed goal of getting the North to denuclearize. .

According to the Associated Press, Mattis spoke during a photo session with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo at U.S. Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii.

The secretary welcomed the inter-Korean talks but said the "international pressure campaign must continue." He said that "diplomacy should impose reason on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's reckless rhetoric and dangerous provocations."

Minister Song said the talks with the North are about ultimately drawing the regime into dialogue with the United States.

Mattis also praised South Korea's efforts to enforce UN sanctions against the North. He thanked the Seoul government for impounding two ships that were recently found violating UN resolutions against ship-to-ship transfers of certain kinds of cargo.