North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his desire to denuclearise the Korean peninsula remained “unchanged, consistent and fixed”, according to state media, hours after America’s top diplomat urged Pyongyang to seize an historic opportunity to shutter its nuclear programme.

As American and North Korean leadership work to arrange a meeting between Mr Kim and Donald Trump next month, the North Korean leader announce that his country would hold a bilateral summit with Russia. He made the pledge while meeting with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

In a whiplashing week of diplomatic manoeuvring, Mr Trump declared the meeting with Mr Kim off before reversing and saying his administration was working with Pyongyang to hold the summit as planned.

Even as Mr Trump and administration officials projected confidence that the meeting would proceed, Mr Kim used his meeting with Mr Lavrov to both underscore his commitment to a nuclear deal and to chastise the US.

The North Korean leader reportedly bemoaned “US hegemonism” to Mr Lavrov. Pyongyang has long denounced what it calls America’s imperialistic aggression, warning that joint military exercises with South Korean troops are rehearsals for an invasion.

But Mr Kim also reiterated his willingness to wind down North Korea’s nuclear programme, a condition he backed in proposing the extraordinary meeting to Mr Trump.

North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Show all 13 1 /13 North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Pyongyang residents react after the news of the successful launch of the new intercontinental ballistic missile AFP/Getty Images North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un signing an order to test-fire the newly developed inter-continental ballistic missile KRT via AP Video North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch A news broadcast displays Kim Jong Un's signed document AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch People cheer as they watch the news broadcast announcing Kim Jong Un's order to test-fire the new inter-continental ballistic missile AFP/Getty Images North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Residents react after the document signing AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Pyongyang residents celebrate Kim Jong Un's announcement AFP/Getty North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Cheering Pyongyang residents react AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch To counter North Korea's missile test, South Korea fired missiles into the East Sea The Defence Ministry/Yonhap via REUTERS North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch The Hyunmu-2 missiles firing during the drill South Korean Defense Ministry vi North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch The exercise was carried out in an attempt to counter Kim Jong Un's order South Korea Defense Ministry via AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch The South Korean army continue to carry out military exercises AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Where K-9 self-propelled howitzers were taking part in a drill Rex Features North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch US soldiers are also present in the border city of Paju AFP/Getty Images

Earlier in the day, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo emerged from talks with a leading North Korean official to say the regime had a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to relinquish its pursuit of nuclear arms as a means to safeguard its power.

Mike Pompeo confident US and North Korea have 'shared understanding of ultimate objectives from summit'

North Korea has long seen a nuclear arsenal as “providing the security it needed for the regime”, Mr Pompeo said, but he hoped to convince his counterpart that “the real threat to their security is the continued holding onto that nuclear weapons programme, and not the converse”.