eastern on c-span. #lanthe conversation, dmarkcases. follow us at c-span, and we have a companion book, a link to the interactive constitution and the landmark cases pot case -- podcasts at c-span.org/landmarkcases feud -- landmarkcases. mikecretary of state pompeo and the south korean foreign minister held a press conference yesterday. this is 15 minutes.

>> good afternoon. it is my honor to welcome foreign minister kang to washington. it is important to meet with such a critical ally so early in my time as secretary at this critical time. our alliance with the republic of korea was a force in the crucible of war 65 years ago. tens of thousands of koreans and americans sacrificed their lives in pursuit of freedom for south korea. the citizenssince, of south korea took the hard-earned freedom and transformed their war shattered country into an economic wonder. it is the 11th largest economy on the globe, and a key force multiplier for u.s. leadership in the world. koreas.-republic of alliance has been fortified by the trials of history and is unequivocally stronger than ever.

women of theen and u.s. are deployed in korea as part of the ironclad commitment to korea and the entire region. the prospect of peace and security in the korean peninsula and asian region is why we have stood shoulder to shoulder for more than six decades. i have had productive discussions with kim jong-un in preparation for president trump's summit within feud -- summit with him. it was my honor to return with three u.s. citizens and return them to freedom. we wish these americans and their families the best as they reconnect after a very difficult time apart. on behalf of the american people, we say welcome home. these threeof citizens helped set the conditions for successful meeting between president trump and chairman kim.

we look forward to continued preparations to make the summit in singapore on june 12 a true success for the american and korean people and the world. i congratulate south korea and north korea on the historic meeting last month. the united states is encouraged by their stated goal of complete denuclearization. today, foreign minister kang and i discussed the summit and the bold steps president trump is about to take when he meets with chairman ken. -- chairman kim. we would not be here today without the coordination of president trump and president moon. we want to achieve the verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the korean peninsula. there is a future brimming with peace and prosperity for north korea and the north korean people. america's track record of support for the korean people is

second to none. takes bold action to quickly denuclearize, the united states is prepared to work with north korea to achieve prosperity on par with our south korean friends. united states look for to continue" ration with our south korean allies on this issue and many others. foreign minister, thank you for being with me today, it was a pleasure to work with you. >> thank you very much, mr. secretary, for the warm welcome. let me reiterate my congratulations on your becoming the top diplomat of the united states at this historic moment. secretary, pale, you have -- secretary, you've already been deficit or of our joint efforts with north korea in i look forward to working with you. we spoke on april 28 right after the momentous korean summit and today we met just after their return from pyongyang. during our meeting i

congratulated him and president trump on the successful release of three american citizens, all korean-americans, from north korea. week, both korea and the united states have been engaged in intensive diplomatic efforts regarding north korea and we have briefed each other on the latest endeavors. including, the secretary's visit to pyongyang, and the trilateral summit in tokyo. we have prepared a special statement welcoming the summit and expecting the stronghold for the success of the upcoming u.s.-north korea summit. in this context, the secretary and i discussed preparations for the summit meeting between president trump and chairman kim and singapore on june 12. we agreed that the summit would be a historic opportunity for

resolving the north korean nuclear issue and securing enduring peace on the korean peninsula. we reaffirmed our goal is to achieve the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization on the korean peninsula. in this regard, the secretary and i agree that the next few weeks will be critical, requiring airtight coordination between our countries. president moon will visit washington, d.c. soon to meet with president trump. the close communication and trust between the presidents has been the driving force that has brought us to this point of breakthrough for the denuclearization and peace on the korean peninsula. their meeting on the 22nd will be instrumental in preparing for a successful u.s.-north korean summit. havetary pompeo and i hasrmed that our alliance

long served as the linchpin for peace and stability on the korean peninsula in the region. we also reaffirmed that for the last 65 years, the united states forces in korea have played a crucial role for deterrence and peace and stability in the region. we would like to emphasize again that the u.s. military presence for our alliance first and foremost. after this meeting i am even more confident that our alliance is more robust than ever and there is no daylight in our cooperation in the denuclearization of the peninsula. once again, i would like to think secretary pompeo for today's food from discussion and look forward -- today's fruitful discussion and look forward to

working with him. seoul to see him again in and reciprocate the hospitality very soon. thank you very much. >> we have time for two questions. >> thank you. you mentioned, and have mentioned before, that you are looking for permanent, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization. how does the united states specifically defined that? inspections,? facility dismantling? you have had more substantive conversations with kim jong-un and arguably any other westerner, what is your impression? to think he is rational and what is it like to talk to him? areto the foreign minister, south korea and allies discussing sanctions on north korea before the summit with

president trump and kim jong-un, and what does south korea need to secure its security and does that include the maintenance of u.s. military assets in the region? >> i have spent more time with chairman kim other than perhaps president moon on this challenge that was before the world. president trump and the world have set conditions for the successful outcome on june 12. you asked about my conversations with chairman kim, yes, we had substantive conversations, conversations that involve deep, complex problems, challenges, the strategic decision he has before him about how he wishes his -- if and if he he is prepared to fully

denuclearize. i'm not sure how to define it fully. it is pretty clear what that means. it would be an activity that undertook to ensure we did not end up in the same place we have ended up before. multiple paths to solve this conundrum, to ensure that north korea doesn't possess the capacity the threat not only the united states with the world with nuclear weapons. to achieve that, it will require a robust verification program, and one that we will undertake with partners around the world, which will achieve that outcome in a way that frankly will agreement before has ever said was. they have undertaken before, but have had am and i good conversation about we have an understanding of what our shared objectives are.

i'm sorry? there are some videos that have been released, our conversations were warm. we were each representing our countries, trying to do our best to communicate clearly, having an understanding of what our mutual objectives were. we have good conversations about the histories of our nations, the challenges we have had between us. we talked about the fact that america is often in history had adversaries we are not partners with and i hope we can achieve the same with respect to north korea. questionyou, our next -- >> i'm sorry, can i answer the question about sanctions relief. we are clear that the sanctions remain in place unless we see visible, meaningful action taken by north korea on the denuclearization track. the north korean leader has committed to denuclearization

and formally so through the declaration. we very much hope to see further steps, or concrete steps toward denuclearization being produced at the u.s.-north korea summit. we're not talking about sanctions relief at this point. your question about what are we looking in terms of our security, we are confident in our security, the korea-u.s. joint security stance. oft's why we say the issue the alliance, any issue of the alliance including the troop presence in our country is a matter for our allies to discuss and not to be put on the table with north korea. >> our next question. >> hello. i have two questions for each of you. >> we only have time for one.

one. -- one fr minister or hour minister. was it discussed in your by lateral talks today and washington, d.c. talks, will come of coordination have you made between the -- for the meeting? between theig gap u.s. and [indiscernible] did you actually discuss the and how do you nearer the differences and do you think he is willing to give up his wmds?

>> there was no talk about usfk atg u.s. of k -- all. a discussion about it is discussed between our two in the in alliance, not north korea and talks, which was confirmed by secretary pompeo. along the way, president trump and president moon have a close relationship and trust with each other and played a key role. in the run-up to the north korea and u.s. summit, the two leaders will play a key role in preparing for the talks. we are making our best effort to best prepare for the summit. about werestion was

details discussed. we had quite a conversation about it. i'm not going to share that here, we're not going to negotiate the details of the agreement in this setting, we will do it in conversations between our leaders and working teams who are hard preparing for the summit. i am confident we have a shared understanding of the outcome that the leaders want. certainly president trump and chairman kim, and i think president moon as well. i think we have a shared vision for what we hope, when this process is completed, the korean peninsula looks like. i think we have a good understanding and i think there is agreement on what the ultimate objectives are and we are beginning to work through the modalities of how to achieve that, but i believe that for another time. >> thank you, have a great afternoon.

>> c-span's "washington journal," live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. sunday morning, former aide to president carter stewart eisenstadt will join us to discuss a book about his use the white house. and a senior fellow and program director of a hartford universityprogram -- project on the cold war will join us. 7:00us sunday morning at a.