SEOUL, July 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said Wednesday that his country strongly supports cooperation between South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) amid Seoul's efforts to resume inter-Korean cooperation.

"The United States strongly supports inter-Korean cooperation, and we believe this plays an important component in creating a more stable environment on the Korean Peninsula," Biegun told reporters in Seoul after talks with Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, according to Yonhap news agency.

"We look forward to fully supporting the government of (South) Korea as it advances its goals with North Korea (DPRK) in inter-Korean cooperation," the U.S. nuclear envoy said.

His comment came as South Korea is seeking a U.S. support for the resumption of inter-Korean cooperation projects that have been suspended under international sanctions toward Pyongyang.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in offered in late April to the DPRK resuming inter-Korean cooperation by jointly tackling the COVID-19 outbreak, before expanding the cooperation.

Moon vowed in his New Year address to seek realistic ways for a broader inter-Korean cooperation while continuing efforts for the success of the DPRK-U.S. denuclearization negotiations.

Citing the vision U.S. President Donald Trump and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un had through summits for the past two years, Biegun said his team will focus on "creating a more durable peace on the Korean Peninsula, transforming relations on the Korean Peninsula, elimination of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula and a brighter future for the Korean People."

Kim and Trump met three times in 2018 and 2019, but the talks between Pyongyang and Washington to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula have been stalled since the Hanoi summit between the leaders in February 2019 ended with no agreement.

"When Chairman Kim appoints a counterpart to me who is prepared and empowered to negotiate on these issues, they will find us ready at that very moment," said Biegun.

"I believe this is very much possible. President Trump has given us his full support to continue this effort," he noted.

Kwon Jong Gun, director general of the Department of U.S. Affairs of the DPRK's Foreign Ministry, said Tuesday that the DPRK was unwilling to talk face to face with the United States, urging South Korea to stay away from meddling in Pyongyang's affairs.

Kwon's remarks reaffirmed the statement issued earlier by Choe Son Hui, first vice minister of foreign affairs of the DPRK, who said last weekend that the DPRK had no interest in holding another DPRK-U.S. summit, which was proposed last week by South Korean President Moon, before the U.S. presidential election in November.

Tensions escalated on the peninsula as the DPRK demolished the inter-Korean liaison office building in the DPRK's border city of Kaesong last month in protest against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent across the border by South Korean civic group activists, mostly defectors from the DPRK. Pyongyang has cut off all communication lines with Seoul.

Biegun arrived here Tuesday for a three-day visit. He paid a courtesy call earlier in the day to South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and held a strategic dialogue with Cho Sei-young, South Korea's first vice foreign minister.