<Anchor>

US Secretary of State Pompeii, who asked Pyongyang to be out of the negotiating team publicly, said he would continue to lead the negotiating team, but he was nailed. North Korea says it will continue to push for sanctions and denuclearization.

Kim is a correspondent in Washington.

<Reporter>

At a news conference on the outcome of the US diplomatic and defense ministerial meeting, Secretary of State Pompeii dismissed North Korea's demand for exclusion of its negotiations.

[Pompeii] / Secretary of State: Nothing has changed. We will continue to negotiate. I will still direct the negotiating team. Mr. Trump is the general manager, but the negotiations will be done by our team.]

Minister Pompeii made it clear that he would not be hit by North Korea, but he avoided any direct criticism that could stimulate North Korea.

The two sides have said they will continue sanctions on North Korea for the complete denuclearization of North Korea.

[Pompeii / US Secretary of State: We will continue to press for North Korea to give up programs and facilities related to weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missiles, etc.]

[KONODO / Japanese Foreign Minister: We agreed that we need to deal with illegal transhipment at sea. We need to work with other countries to stop the illegal transit of North Korea.]

CNN quoted a diplomatic source as saying that "Moon Jae-in received a message from Trump President Kim Jong-un."

The source did not disclose details, but said it would lead the North American summit in a positive direction.