This comes weeks after former US National Security adviser, John Bolton, was sacked by Donald Trump on Twitter for his differences with the US president on North Korea, Afghanistan and Iran.

Citing a statement issued by North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, KCNA reported the two countries will make preliminary contact on Friday before sitting down for working-level talks Saturday.

Choe said “The delegates of the DPRK side are ready to enter into the DPRK-U.S. working-level negotiations,” Choe said in the statement, according to Reuters. The foreign minister used North Korea’s official name, which is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). It is my expectation that the working-level negotiations would accelerate the positive development of the DPRK-U.S. relations,”.