A senior State Department official in charge of U.S. policy in East Asia told Senators at a hearing on Wednesday that the Americans’ message to North Korea is that they are “here to engage.”

The official, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell, made his comments during questioning at a Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing focused on the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA), a sweeping law passed in 2018 that details U.S. policy and positions in the Pacific.

Stilwell’s remarks came in response to questions by Cory Gardner, a Republican Senator from the state of Colorado,