U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called into several radio programs Thursday, providing a brief update to negotiations with North Korea just hours after DPRK state media released a strongly-worded rebuke of U.S. denuclearization goals.

Mentioning the DPRK in two of his four appearances, Pompeo reiterated expectations of “Chairman Kim’s commitment to denuclearize,” but also characterized talks as part of a “pathway forward toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

In the early morning hours in Washington, an article was published by North Korean state outlet Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) saying Pompeo’s assertion that “‘north Korea committed itself to