At the June summit, the first meeting between a serving U.S. president and a North Korean leader, Kim agreed in broad terms to work toward denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. But North Korea has given no indication it is willing to give up its weapons unilaterally as the Trump administration has demanded.

On Friday Trump called off a trip to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just hours after Pompeo had announced it and publicly acknowledged for the first time that his efforts to get Pyongyang to denuclearise had stalled.

North Korea has been seeking relief from tough international sanctions and a formal conclusion to the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

But Washington says North Korea must give up its nuclear weapons first.

"We believe that denuclearization has to take place before we get to other parts, and that's been a part of our policy," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert reiterated on Wednesday.

U.S. officials say North Korean officials warned in a letter to Pompeo last week that talks with the United States risked falling apart. They now worry that Pyongyang may concentrate on trying to cut a separate deal with South Korea and in doing so driving a wedge between the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

"They basically don’t think we’re doing enough,” a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday, referring to the North Koreans. He said that the tone of the letter was "if you’re not willing to give something, then don’t come.”

U.S. intelligence and defence officials have repeatedly expressed deep doubts about North Korea's willingness to give up its nuclear weapons and had not expected Pompeo's trip to yield positive results.

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