US Still Awaits Concrete Steps From North Korea on its Nuclear Program - Pence

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States is still waiting for North Korea to take specific moves aimed at halting its nuclear program, US Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday.

"While the President [Donald Trump] has started a promising dialogue with Chairman Kim [Jong Un] we still await concrete steps by North Korea to dismantle the nuclear weapons that threaten our people and our allies in the region," Pence said at the US Ambassadors conference in Washington, DC.

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The day before, North Korean Ambassador to Russia Kim Hyun Joong has called to stop military exercises involving foreign forces on the Korean Peninsula, noting that Pyongyang was ready to establish new relations with the United States in accordance with the spirit of the era and wishes of the people.

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The situation on the Korean Peninsula has improved since the beginning of last year. During this time, North Korean leader and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have held several meetings, while Kim even had a historic June summit with Trump in Singapore. This summit yielded an agreement stipulating that North Korea would make efforts to promote the complete denuclearization of the peninsula in exchange for the United States and South Korea freezing their military drills as well as the potential removal of US sanctions.