Senior presidential officials from South Korea and the United States met in Washington on Monday to discuss planning for next week's summit between the countries' leaders.
Kim Hyun-chong, the new No. 2 deputy chief of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, held talks at the White House with U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Charles Kupperman.
The South Korean official's visit came ahead of President Moon Jae-in's April 11 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, which is expected to focus on ways to revive nuclear talks between North Korea and the U.S.
At their second summit in Vietnam in February, Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un failed to reach an agreement on how to dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program in exchange for sanctions relief from the U.S.
The South Korean official did not respond to reporters' questions about his discussions with Kupperman.
Upon arriving at Washington's Dulles airport on Saturday, he said he planned to meet with his American counterpart to set the agenda for next week's summit.
Seoul has been eager to help bridge the gap between Washington's demands for North Korea's complete and verifiable denuclearization and Pyongyang's demands for sanctions relief.
Last week the deputy chief also traveled to Russia to meet with officials there on a possible trip to the neighboring country by North Korea's leader.(Yonhap)