South Korea and the United States share the goal of peacefully denuclearizing North Korea, Seoul's top diplomat said Tuesday of her meetings with senior US officials.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Washington on Sunday after accompanying President Moon Jae-in to the UN General Assembly in New York last week.

She told reporters she held a series of meaningful talks with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster in New York, and with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton and National Security Council Asia Director Matt Pottinger in Washington.

"The NSC officials I met said South Korea-US coordination is only becoming stronger with the escalating threat of North Korea's nuclear weapons program," Kang said. "I was able to clearly identify the common goal between South Korea and the US of peacefully achieving denuclearization."

US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leadership have exchanged fiery rhetoric that has stoked fears of potential military action on the Korean Peninsula.

"I was able to see that (the US believes) it is essential to secure a strong deterrence posture against North Korea, but that most agree a military solution is a completely different issue," the minister said.

Both sides agreed on the need to manage the situation to prevent an accidental military clash, she added.

Aside from government officials, Kang met with members of Congress and academics to seek bipartisan cooperation on handling the North Korean threat.

Her visit was also aimed partly at preparing for Trump's visit to South Korea in November. (Yonhap)