U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korea’s Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn spoke over the phone about the North Korean issue and the state of the U.S.–South Korean alliance, the South Korean Prime Minister’s Secretariat announced on Monday.

During the Monday morning call, Trump said “the U.S. will always be with South Korea, 100%” and that Washington’s alliance with Seoul is “better than ever before”, Hwang’s office said in a written statement.

Trump said he expected the two countries would have “close discussions to strengthen the combined defense capabilities of the bilateral alliance” and find ways to “cooperate on the North Korean nuclear program, ” during