US, N Korea seek to clarify as Pompeo holds 2-day talks on nuke programme

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began a second day of talks in North Korea on Saturday attempting to agree details on how to dismantle the country's nuclear programme, and both sides said they had things to "clarify" from the previous day.

After spending his first night in the North Korean capital in three visits so far this year, Pompeo left the government guest house where he spent the night to make a secure phone call to US President Donald Trump to provide an update on the talks.

Pompeo then sat down again with Kim Yong Chol, a top North Korean party official and former spy agency chief who played a key role with Pompeo in arranging the June 12 summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore.

Kim Yong Chol said that the two had had "very serious discussion on very important matters yesterday" and joked that as a result, Pompeo "might not have slept well last night at the prestigious Paekhwawon, or 100 Flowers Garden, guest house.

Pompeo replied: Director Kim, I slept just fine. We did have a good set of conversations yesterday. I appreciate that and I look forward to our continued conversations today as well.

Pompeo reiterated that Trump was "committed to a brighter future for North Korea."

"So the work that we do, the path toward complete denuclearization, building a relationship between our two countries, is vital for a brighter North Korea and the success that our two presidents demand of us," Pompeo said.

Kim agreed that the work was important. "There are things that I have to clarify, he said.

There are things that I have to clarify as well,Pompeo responded.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters that US and North Korean officials had set up working groups to deal with nitty-gritty stuff, including verification of efforts to achieve denuclearization, which would be headed on the US side by Sung Kim, a Korean-American who is also ambassador to the Philippines.

Nauert said Pompeo's discussions with North Korean officials also included repatriation of American Korean War remains.