South Korea and the United States stressed that the summit between Pyongyang and Washington will proceed as planned, downplaying speculation that the meeting will be postponed following a major shake-up in the Trump administration.

Seoul’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Friday that there has been no request from the US to postpone the summit scheduled to take place by May -- a decision made by Trump after meeting with South Korean envoys who delivered North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s invitation for a summit.

“President Trump said he would hold the summit by May so we believe it is mere speculation by the media,” a senior presidential official told reporters under the customary condition of anonymity. “The US has yet to officially inform us (about a postponement).”

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders also gave reassurance that there are “no vulnerabilities” to the historic summit and that Trump will make sure to have the “right people in the right places for the right time.”

The remarks came amid concerns that the summit was hastily arranged by Trump and the latest cabinet shakeup would impact its preparation. Skepticism has grown in Washington over whether the summit will take place due to a lack of established channels and seasoned diplomats dealing with North Korea.

Over the past few months, senior Korean experts in the Trump administration have left their posts either by force or voluntarily. Victor Cha was dropped from nomination for US ambassador to Seoul and US nuclear envoy Joseph Yun retired last month.

Trump this week dismissed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, naming CIA Director Mike Pompeo as his replacement. Pompeo is expected to undergo a weekslong confirmation process before he is able to establish contact with Pyongyang and Seoul.

“I just don’t understand why there’s such a rush to move ahead” on the meeting with North Korea, said Bill Richardson, former US ambassador to the United Nations, whose past diplomatic missions included negotiations with Pyongyang.

“Pompeo is going to take a least a month to get confirmed. He’s got to get up to speed,” Richardson said. “He’s an intelligence official … but he’s got to learn about Asia, diplomacy. He’s got to learn about many issues relating to the State Department,” Richardson said in the interview with CNBC.

Meanwhile, the US government downplayed Trump’s controversial remarks about US troops stationed in South Korea, which had seemed to indicate that he was interested in pulling US troops out of the Korean Peninsula if he could not get a better trade deal with South Korea.

In a fundraising speech in Missouri on Wednesday, Trump is reported to have told donors that “let’s see what happens” to the US troops in South Korea unless the US strikes a better deal with South Korea over the amendment of their free trade agreement signed in 2007.

“Our focus is that our relationship with South Korea is the strongest it’s ever been. There’s no space between Washington and Seoul, and so we’ll continue to support them and work together,” Pentagon spokesperson Dana White at a press briefing Thursday.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)