New Delhi

A US special envoy to North Korea said on Friday that Washington was ready to hold constructive talks with Pyongyang to follow through on a denuclearisation agreement reached by the two countries last year during Singapore summit, Reuters report said quoting South Korea's foreign ministry.

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According to the report, Stephen Biegun told his South Korean counterpart, Lee Do-hoon, that Washington wanted to make "simultaneous, parallel" progress on the agreement reached at a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore last year, the ministry said in a statement.

Both sides agreed to establish new relations and work towards denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

However, negotiations have stalled since a second summit in Vietnam in February collapsed as both sides failed to reach an agreement after North Korea asking US to lift all sanctions for denuclearisation but US disagreed.

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The envoys met ahead of Trump's visit to South Korea this weekend, during which Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are expected to discuss ways to kick-start the stalled dialogue with the North.

Lee offered positive views on a recent cordial exchange of letters between Trump and Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping's summit with Kim early this year.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised hopes for a revival of talks after the letters, while Xi told Moon on Thursday that Kim's resolve for denuclearisation and dialogue remained unchanged.