US envoy confident about achieving N Korea denuclearization

The top US envoy for North Korea on Monday expressed confidence about achieving North Korea's nuclear disarmament, despite worries about the slow pace of nuclear diplomacy in recent weeks.

Meeting with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul, Stephen Biegun said that Washington and Seoul have a shared goal of ending seven decades of hostility on the Korean Peninsula.

"The primary requirement for us to get to that endpoint is to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea," Biegun said.

"So I am absolutely confident that this is within the reach, and I think our two presidents are singularly focused on this goal." South Korea's chief nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon said that "denuclearization process is at a critical juncture and we need to meet up as often as possible."