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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) meets with New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters at U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C., the United States, on Dec. 17, 2018. Mike Pompeo met with Winston Peters here on Monday, discussing bilateral ties and issues of mutual concern, said the U.S. State Department. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with his New Zealand counterpart Winston Peters here on Monday, discussing bilateral ties and issues of mutual concern, said the U.S. State Department.

Pompeo and Peters talked about the strategic relationship as well as trade and commercial ties between Washington and Wellington, said Robert Palladino, deputy spokesperson for the department, in a statement.

They also discussed the denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula and the anti-terrorism actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other issues of mutual concern, Palladino added.

Peters, who departed Wellington on Thursday, was on a week-long trip to the United States. He was expected to meet senior U.S. officials and deliver a speech focusing on bilateral cooperation to address challenges in the Pacific, said the New Zealand government last week in a statement.