The United States is prepared to walk away from negotiations with North Korea unless Washington sees a "right deal" on denuclearization on the table, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday.

"A bad deal is not an option," Pompeo said in a written statement to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "If the right deal is not on the table, we will respectfully walk away."

Referring to his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier this month in Pyongyang, Pompeo testified at the committee that Kim "wanted security assurances from the world."

(Getty/Kyodo)

The United States could provide North Korea with private-sector investment, including business know-how, as well as government aid to boost the economy in return for ridding Pyongyang of nuclear weapons in a verifiable way, Pompeo said.

"When I spoke to him, I could not have been clearer about the scope of the verification work that would be required, all of the elements that would be necessary in order for America to understand that there had been real denuclearization," he said.

Pompeo underlined that the United States will continue its campaign of "maximum pressure" and economic sanctions on North Korea until Washington sees Pyongyang take "credible steps" toward the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The chief U.S. diplomat made the remarks a day after President Donald Trump said his upcoming meeting with Kim may not take place as scheduled, amid growing concerns that Kim might be reluctant to abandon his arsenal.

North Korea abruptly changed its tone last week when it threatened to call off the Trump-Kim summit, slated for June 12 in Singapore, if Washington demands "unilateral nuclear abandonment" by Pyongyang.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Trump said he will decide next week whether he will proceed with the June 12 meeting with Kim, which would be the first summit between the two countries that have no official diplomatic relations with each other.

"It could very well be June 12th. Someday a date will absolutely happen," Trump said. "We'll know next week."

Pompeo said the summit is "still scheduled for June 12."

"We have a generational opportunity to resolve a major national security challenge," he said.