WASHINGTON -- The United States is pushing ahead with preparations for a summit with North Korea despite the regime's silence on its offer to meet, the State Department said Thursday.

Last week a South Korean official told US President Donald Trump that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had expressed a willingness to meet over the denuclearization of the regime.

Trump accepted the offer on the spot. Pyongyang has yet to show a response.


Asked if the US has received a direct message from the North, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said: "Not that I am aware of. I do not believe that to be the case."

Pressed to confirm whether the US has not received word from North Korea on its willingness to discuss denuclearization, she added, "That is the agreement that Kim Jong-un provided to (South Korea)."

"That information was presented to us and so we're going forward in full faith and understanding that a meeting will go forward," she told a regular press briefing.

Preparations for the summit began last Thursday as soon as Trump accepted the invitation, Nauert added.

Earlier in the day North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho arrived in Stockholm, Sweden, sparking speculation the city could serve as the venue for the Trump-Kim summit. Ri reportedly met with his Swedish counterpart.

"We don't have any indication that that meeting is about what we anticipate to be a meeting between the United States, other parties and North Korea," Nauert said. "I'd have to refer you to the government of Sweden for any specifics on that, but we are not sending any representation."(Yonhap)