The US Embassy in Moscow said Thursday US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov discussed their respective bilateral relations with North Korea and efforts to achieve a final, fully verified denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Biegun and Morgulov addressed a number of areas of shared understanding with respect to North Korea and committed to continue the dialogue to bridge any gaps on the way forward, the mission added.

The same day, the US State Department announced that the US is ready to talk to North Korea about its demand that Secretary Mike Pompeo be removed as the top US negotiator in future negotiations. The US wants to engage North Korea in a constructive negotiation, said a spokesperson for the US State Department.