SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea plans to send a special envoy to North Korea in response to an invitation from leader Kim Jong Un, South Korean President Moon Jae-in told his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in a phone call on Thursday.

The two presidents discussed recent visits to the South by high-level North Korean officials, the presidential Blue House in Seoul said in a statement.

The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang last month gave a boost to recent engagement between the two Koreas after more than a year of sharply rising tensions over the North’s missile programme and its sixth and largest nuclear test in defiance of United Nations sanctions.

“(Moon and Trump) agreed to continue to make efforts to head towards the Korean peninsula’s denuclearisation by maintaining the momentum of South-North dialogue,” the Blue House statement said.

In Washington, a White House statement on the two leaders’ call said Moon briefed Trump“on developments regarding North Korea and inter-Korean talks” but did not elaborate.

“The president wants to continue working with South Korea. It’s a strong ally. We have no daylight between the two of us. We’re going to continue those conversations,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters later on Thursday.

“The ultimate goal is to denuclearise the peninsula. That’s what we’re focused on and we’re excited about any steps moving forward in that process,” she said.

In sending an envoy to Pyongyang, Moon said he would be seeking to reciprocate for the senior delegations sent to the Olympics by Kim Jong Un, including his sister, Kim Yo Jong, the first visit by a member of the North’s ruling bloodline since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Kim Yo Jong delivered her brother’s invitation for Moon to visit Pyongyang. Such a visit would mark the first inter-Korean summit since 2007.

Moon is considering South Korea’s intelligence service chief Suh Hoon and Unification Minister Cho Myong-gyon as a possible special envoy to discuss the proposal, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Other candidates include Moon’s chief of staff, Im Jong-seok, National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong and Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, the officials said.

Suh and Cho served in an earlier liberal administration that championed the“sunshine” policy of inter-Korean engagement.

A Unification Ministry spokesman told a news briefing on Friday Moon would send an envoy“soon”, once preparations had been made.

Moon also planned to send high-level officials to Washington as early as next week to further facilitate conditions for talks with North Korea, a senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

Senior officials from Pyongyang visiting South Korea for the Olympics said on Sunday their government was open to talks with the United States, while the White House said any talks with North Korea must lead to an end of its nuclear programme.

Moon has urged North Korea and the United States to talk to resolve the issue of Pyongyang’s weapons programme, which Kim has said he will never abandon.

Seoul urged Washington and Pyongyang to give ground to allow for talks in the latest attempt to defuse the crisis over North Korea’s weapons programmes.

The North rejected Trump’s claim that he had helped advance inter-Korean talks with his“maximum pressure” campaign.

Washington unveiled its largest package of sanctions against Pyongyang last week as Trump warned of a“phase two” that could be“very, very unfortunate for the world” if the steps did not work.

The North’s official KCNA news agency described the latest sanctions as Trump’s“desperate” effort to stifle the country economically.

“It is really miserable to see that the Trump group clings frenziedly to the sanctions and pressure, still harbouring an illusion that they would work on us,” KCNA said on Thursday, citing a policy research director at the foreign ministry’s Institute for American Studies.</s>South Korea plans to send envoys to North Korea to encourage talking to U.S.</s>SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed a possible summit with envoys from the South’s President Moon Jae-in, both sides said Tuesday, in the latest step of an Olympics-driven rapprochement on the divided peninsula.

The delegation from Seoul is the most senior to travel North for more than a decade, and comes as Moon tries to broker talks between nuclear-armed Pyongyang and Washington after months of high tensions.

The North’s official news agency KCNA said Kim “warmly welcomed” the South Korean officials, who handed over a letter from Moon.

“Hearing the intention of President Moon Jae In for a summit from the special envoy of the south side, he exchanged views and made a satisfactory agreement,” KCNA added.

But Seoul said no agreement had yet been reached on a meeting between Kim and Moon, which would be the first such summit since 2007.

“It’s not an agreement, it’s discussions,” an official from the South’s presidential Blue House told Agence France-Presse, adding that the two sides had “somewhat shared the view” on other points.

Kim’s talks with the South Koreans lasted more than four hours, and included dinner at the North’s ruling Workers Party headquarters in Pyongyang, according to the Blue House.

Details will be made public after the delegation returns late Tuesday, it said.

The North’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers Party, devoted its entire front page Tuesday to the visit under the headline “Comrade Kim Jong Un receives special envoys from the south’s president”.

The main picture showed Kim with the five South Korean officials in the delegation, and it carried seven other front-page images of the talks — at which Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong sat to his left — with more coverage inside.

The Seoul delegation’s visit comes after the North’s leader sent his sister to the Winter Games in the South and invited Moon to a summit in Pyongyang.

Kim Yo Jong’s trip was the first visit to the South by a member of the North’s ruling dynasty since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, and her appearance at the Games’ opening ceremony — where athletes from the two Koreas marched together — made global headlines.

At the time Moon did not immediately accept the invitation to Pyongyang, saying that the “right conditions” were needed.

Moon has sought to use the Pyeongchang Games to open dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang in hopes of easing a nuclear standoff that has heightened fears over global security.

But while Pyongyang has long said it is willing to talk to the US without preconditions, it is also adamant it will not give up the “treasured sword” of its nuclear weapons, which it says it needs to defend itself from a possible invasion by the United States.

Washington insists that the North must take concrete steps towards denuclearisation before negotiations can take place.

It was not clear whether the two Koreas discussed denuclearisation on Monday. Asked if the topic had come up, a senior Blue House official was quoted by Yonhap as saying: “I assume so.”

The Winter Olympics were held by “fellow countrymen of the same blood” and provided “a good atmosphere of reconciliation, unity and dialogue between the north and the south,” KCNA quoted Kim Jong Un as telling the South Korean envoys.

Before leaving for Pyongyang, the South’s national security advisor Chung Eui-yong said: “We plan to hold in-depth discussions for ways to continue not only inter-Korean talks but dialogue between North Korea and the international community including the United States.”

It is a challenging task — in defiance of UN sanctions, the isolated and impoverished North last year staged its most powerful nuclear test and test-fired several missiles, some of them capable of reaching the US mainland.

US President Donald Trump dubbed Kim “Little Rocket Man” and boasted about the size of his nuclear button, while the North Korean leader called Trump a “mentally deranged US dotard.”

They traded threats of war and sent tensions soaring before a thaw in the run-up to the Winter Olympics, which were attended by athletes, cheerleaders and officials from the North, and the two Koreas fielded a unified women’s ice hockey team. AFP</s>South Korea's spy chief will visit North Korea as a special envoy of President Moon Jae-in, a report said Sunday, the latest in the Olympics-driven detente between the two Koreas.

An intense rapprochement saw the two Koreas march together at the South's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics that ended February 25, with the North's leader Kim Jong Un sending his sister as a special envoy to the event.

Kim Yo Jong's appearance at the Games' opening ceremony made global headlines, marking the first visit to the South by a member of the Kim family since the end of the Korean war.

Moon has sought to use the Pyeongchang Games to open dialogue between the US and the North in the hopes of easing a nuclear standoff that has heightened fears over global security.

Suh Hoon, the chief of the South's National Intelligence Service, will jointly lead Seoul's delegation of about five to six officials along with Moon's top national security advisor Chung Eui-Yong, Yonhap news agency said, citing an unnamed official at Moon's office.

"They will visit the North early this week," it said.

The isolated, impoverished North staged its most powerful nuclear test and test-fired multiple missiles last year, including some capable of hitting the US mainland, in defiance of UN sanctions.

The North's leader Kim and US President Donald Trump have also traded threats of war and personal insults, sending tensions soaring.

Moon, who advocates dialogue with the nuclear-armed regime, said last week that Washington needs to "lower the threshold for talks" with Pyongyang.

But the US has ruled out any possibility of talks before the North takes steps towards denuclearisation, and imposed what Trump hailed as the "toughest ever" sanctions on Kim's regime late last month.

Suh, a veteran in dealings with the North, is known to have been deeply involved in negotiations to arrange two previous inter-Korea summits in 2000 and 2007.

But the upcoming trip will be focused on creating conditions for potential talks between Washington and Pyongyang, the source quoted by Yonhap said.

"What's most important right now is US-North talks, not inter-Korea talks," it quoted the official as saying.</s>South Korean President Moon Jae-in will send a team of special envoys -- including Seoul's spy chief -- to the North on Monday to push for talks between Washington and Pyongyang on nuclear weapons.

The delegation, announced by Moon's office on Sunday, is the latest chapter in a remarkable Olympics-driven detente between the two Koreas.

An intense rapprochement saw the two foes march together at the South's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics that ended February 25, with the North's leader Kim Jong Un sending his sister as a special envoy to the event.

Kim Yo Jong's appearance at the Games' opening ceremony made global headlines, marking the first visit to the South by a member of the Kim family since the end of the Korean war.

Moon has sought to use the Pyeongchang Games to open dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang in the hopes of easing a nuclear standoff that has heightened fears over global security.

He chose five senior officials -- including national security advisor Chung Eui-yong and spy chief Suh Hoon -- to visit Pyongyang on Monday, Moon's spokesman said.

Suh is a veteran in dealings with the North. He is known to have been deeply involved in negotiations to arrange two previous inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007.

"The special delegates will have extensive discussions over issues including creating conditions for North-US talks to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and improving inter-Korea ties," Yoon Young-chan told reporters.

The 10-member group -- five top delegates and five supporting officials -- would fly to the North's capital Pyongyang Monday afternoon and return to Seoul on Tuesday, Yoon said.

Other members include Suh's deputy at the National Intelligence Service as well as Chun Hae-sung, the vice minister of Seoul's unification ministry, which handles cross-border affairs.

They will meet with "high-level North Korean officials" during the two-day trip, and then fly to the US to explain the result of the talks to officials in Washington, Yoon added.

Last year, the isolated and impoverished North staged its most powerful nuclear test and test-fired several missiles in defiance of UN sanctions. Pyongyang claims its inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) can now hit the US mainland.

The North's leader Kim and US President Donald Trump also traded threats of war and personal insults, sending tensions soaring before a thaw in the run-up to the Winter Olympics.

Moon, who advocates dialogue with the North's nuclear-armed regime, said last week that Washington needs to "lower the threshold for talks" with Pyongyang.

But the US has ruled out any possibility of talks before the North takes steps towards denuclearisation, and imposed what Trump hailed as the "toughest ever" sanctions on Kim's regime late last month.

On Saturday, a foreign ministry spokesman in Pyongyang called on the US drop any preconditions for talks.

"The US is taking preposterous action by continuing to trumpet an insistence that it will not have dialogue unless a right condition is met," the unnamed spokesman was quoted as saying by the state-run KCNA news agency.

The North has stressed that it had no intention of abandoning its nuclear arsenal, hailed by Kim as a "treasured sword of justice" to protect his nation from potential invasion by the US.

Kim Yo Jong, during her visit last month, extended her brother's invitation for Moon to visit Pyongyang for a summit.

But the South Korean president responded by stressing the importance of having the right "conditions" for talks, suggesting a step towards denuclearisation demanded by Washington.

The Pyongyang trip by his representatives may be a first step towards creating such conditions, said Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at the Sejong Institute think tank, said in a statement.

"You can't expect them to produce any major agreement with this trip alone, but maybe they could at least discuss ways to stop the North from conducting any more ICBM tests," he said.

Pyongyang's weapons tests, which demonstrated rapid progress in the country's missile technology, alarmed the US and prompted calls by some in Washington to launch pre-emptive attacks on the North.

"They can start from there... in a bid to eventually discuss potential suspension of the North's nuclear and missile activities in the future," Cheong said.</s>March 4 (UPI) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in will send a special delegation to North Korea on Monday to discuss inter-Korean relations as well as the possibility of dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.

Seoul's presidential office announced Sunday that Moon's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong will lead the five-member delegation, Chosun Ilbo reported.

The country's National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Suh Hoon was selected as one the envoys. The intelligence chief is known for his role in secret negotiations with North Korea which helped set up two inter-Korean summits in the 2000s, according to Yonhap.

The delegation also includes NIS official Kim Sang-gyun, Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, and Yun Kyun-young, a presidential official on state affairs.

The team will fly directly to Pyongyang on Monday afternoon for the two-day trip, during which they are expected to meet high-level North Korean officials "to discuss ways to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula and develop cross-border ties," according to Yoon Young-chan, a senior press secretary for the presidential office.

"The delegation, in particular, will hold comprehensive talks on creating conditions for U.S.-North Korea dialogue for the denuclearization of the peninsula and improving South-North relations," he said.

After returning to the South on Tuesday afternoon for a debrief, the delegation will visit the United States to share the outcome of the meeting, Yoon added.

South Korea has been pushing for dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang to broker peace on the Korean peninsula as well as talks on dismantling the North's nuclear program.

However, the possibility of such talks or whether North will change its behaviour still remains unclear.

While a senior North Korean official said the door for dialogue with Washington is open, during his trip to Seoul last week, state media reports have recently asserted the regime is "not begging for talks," rejecting Washington's precondition of committing to denuclearization.

Meanwhile, the U.S. maintains its maximum pressure policy on North Korea, as it remains wary of the regime which has demanded recognition as a nuclear state.

Despite the relatively peaceful atmosphere between South and North Korea, Pyongyang appears to have continued making progress on its nuclear ballistic missiles during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, CNN reported Saturday.</s>SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean delegation led by senior security officials will leave for North Korea on Monday afternoon, a presidential official said, as they aim to bring Pyongyang and Washington to the table for dialogue.

The 10-member delegation, headed by National Security Office (NSO) head Chung Eui-yong, will depart South Korea at approximately 0500 GMT from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam City near Seoul, the official said on condition of anonymity. 

 Chung is expected to give brief remarks on his team's pending visit to the North around 0230 GMT on Monday. He will be accompanied by National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Suh Hoon and Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung. 

 Thawing relations between North and South Korea have prompted speculation of future direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang after months of tension and exchanges of insults between Trump and the North Korean leader that have fueled fears of war.

 North Korea has not carried out any weapons tests since late November when it tested its largest intercontinental ballistic missile, while inter-Korean talks began after its leader Kim Jong Un stated in his New Year's address he wanted to engage the South.

 Since then, North Korea sent athletes to participate in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February, as well as a high-ranking delegation that included Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong.

 Both North Korea and the United States have expressed their willingness to talk to each other, but Washington demands Pyongyang "denuke" first, while the North says it will not sit with the United States under preconditions.

 The South Korean officials will use a special direct flight to Pyongyang and not a chartered jet from a private airline. 

 The decision to use a special aircraft, most like one of the private military jets used by President Moon Jae-in according to administration sources, for the delegation was unrelated to U.S. sanctions that bar vessels and aircraft that have visited North Korea from entering the United States for six months, the official said.

 However, the details of the delegation's flight had already been negotiated with Washington regardless of the sanctions, added the officials.

 Seoul had similar discussions with Washington earlier this year when it sent South Korean athletes and journalists for a joint skiing training session at the North's Masikryong ski resort ahead of the Olympics. Then, the South Koreans had taken a chartered flight operated by Asiana Airlines Inc.

 

 (Reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Michael Perry)</s>SEOUL: The most senior South Koreans to travel North Korea for more than a decade met leader Kim Jong Un on Monday (Mar 5), a Seoul official said, the latest step in an Olympics-driven rapprochement on the divided peninsula.

The delegation, representing the South's President Moon Jae-in, is pushing for talks between the nuclear-armed regime and the United States, after Kim sent his sister Kim Yo Jong to the Winter Games in the South.

"Chairman Kim Jong Un is currently hosting a dinner for the special envoys," Moon's spokesman told a press briefing Monday evening, Yonhap news agency reported.

Kim Yo Jong's trip was the first visit to the South by a member of the North's ruling dynasty since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, and her appearance at the Games' opening ceremony - where athletes from the two Koreas marched together - made global headlines.

Moon has sought to use the Pyeongchang Games to open dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang in hopes of easing a nuclear standoff that has heightened fears over global security.

In Seoul, Kim Yo Jong invited him to a summit in Pyongyang on her brother's behalf. But Moon did not immediately accept, saying the right conditions were necessary first.

Before leaving for Pyongyang, the South's national security advisor Chung Eui-yong said: "We plan to hold in-depth discussions for ways to continue not only inter-Korean talks but dialogue between North Korea and the international community including the United States."

It is a challenging task - in defiance of UN sanctions, the isolated and impoverished North last year staged its most powerful nuclear test and test-fired several missiles, some of them capable of reaching the US mainland.

US President Donald Trump dubbed Kim "Little Rocket Man" and boasted about the size of his own nuclear button, while the North Korean leader called Trump a "mentally deranged US dotard".

They traded threats of war and sent tensions soaring before a thaw in the run-up to the Winter Olympics.

"We will deliver President Moon's firm resolution to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and to create sincere and lasting peace," delegation leader Chung told reporters.

Chung is one of five senior officials who flew to Pyongyang on Monday.

It was the first ministerial-level South Korean visit to the North since December 2007, when Seoul's then-intelligence chief travelled to Pyongyang.

Conservative Lee Myung-bak was elected the South's president the following day and took a markedly harder line on relations with the North.

Monday's delegation included spy chief Suh Hoon, who is a veteran in dealings with the North. He is known to have been deeply involved in negotiations to arrange two previous inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency also announced their impending visit in a one-paragraph dispatch.

The 10-member group - five top delegates and five supporting officials - will return to Seoul on Tuesday.

Other members include Suh's deputy at the National Intelligence Service as well as Chun Hae-sung, the vice minister in Seoul's unification ministry which handles cross-border affairs.

The delegation will fly to the US on Wednesday to explain the result of the two-day trip to officials in Washington, according to the South's presidential office.

Moon, who advocates dialogue with the North's nuclear-armed regime, said last week that Washington needs to "lower the threshold for talks" with Pyongyang.

But the US has ruled out any possibility of talks before the North takes steps towards denuclearisation, and imposed what Trump hailed as the "toughest ever" sanctions on Kim's regime late last month.</s>The most senior South Koreans to travel to North Korea for more than a decade met leader Kim Jong Un Monday, a Seoul official said, the latest step in an Olympics-driven rapprochement on the divided peninsula.

The delegation, representing the South's President Moon Jae-in, is pushing for talks between the nuclear-armed regime and the United States, after Kim sent his sister Kim Yo Jong to the Winter Games in the South.

"Chairman Kim Jong Un is currently hosting a dinner for the special envoys," Moon's spokesman told a press briefing Monday evening, Yonhap news agency reported.

Kim Yo Jong's trip was the first visit to the South by a member of the North's ruling dynasty since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, and her appearance at the Games' opening ceremony - where athletes from the two Koreas marched together - made global headlines.

Moon has sought to use the Pyeongchang Games to open dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang in hopes of easing a nuclear standoff that has heightened fears over global security.

In Seoul, Kim Yo Jong invited him to a summit in Pyongyang on her brother's behalf. But Moon did not immediately accept, saying the right conditions were necessary first.

Before leaving for Pyongyang, the South's national security advisor Chung Eui-yong said: "We plan to hold in-depth discussions for ways to continue not only inter-Korean talks but dialogue between North Korea and the international community including the United States."

It is a challenging task - in defiance of UN sanctions, the isolated and impoverished North last year staged its most powerful nuclear test and test-fired several missiles, some of them capable of reaching the US mainland.

US President Donald Trump dubbed Kim "Little Rocket Man" and boasted about the size of his own nuclear button, while the North Korean leader called Trump a "mentally deranged US dotard".

They traded threats of war and sent tensions soaring before a thaw in the run-up to the Winter Olympics.

"We will deliver President Moon's firm resolution to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and to create sincere and lasting peace," delegation leader Chung told reporters.

Chung is one of five senior officials who flew to Pyongyang on Monday.

It was the first ministerial-level South Korean visit to the North since December 2007, when Seoul's then-intelligence chief travelled to Pyongyang.

Conservative Lee Myung-bak was elected the South's president the following day and took a markedly harder line on relations with the North.

Today's delegation included spy chief Suh Hoon, who is a veteran in dealings with the North. He is known to have been deeply involved in negotiations to arrange two previous inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency also announced their impending visit in a one-paragraph dispatch.

The 10-member group - five top delegates and five supporting officials -- will return to Seoul on Tuesday.

Other members include Suh's deputy at the National Intelligence Service as well as Chun Hae-sung, the vice minister in Seoul's unification ministry which handles cross-border affairs.

The delegation will fly to the US on Wednesday to explain the result of the two-day trip to officials in Washington, according to the South's presidential office.

Moon, who advocates dialogue with the North's nuclear-armed regime, said last week that Washington needs to "lower the threshold for talks" with Pyongyang.

But the US has ruled out any possibility of talks before the North takes steps towards denuclearisation, and imposed what Trump hailed as the "toughest ever" sanctions on Kim's regime late last month.</s>Seoul: The most senior South Koreans to travel to North Korea for more than a decade met leader Kim Jong Un Monday, a Seoul official said, the latest step in an Olympics-driven rapprochement on the divided peninsula.

The delegation, representing the South's President Moon Jae-in, is pushing for talks between the nuclear-armed regime and the United States, after Kim sent his sister Kim Yo Jong to the Winter Games in the South.

"Chairman Kim Jong Un is currently hosting a dinner for the special envoys," Moon's spokesman told a press briefing Monday evening, Yonhap news agency reported.

Kim Yo Jong's trip was the first visit to the South by a member of the North's ruling dynasty since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, and her appearance at the Games' opening ceremony - where athletes from the two Koreas marched together - made global headlines.

Moon has sought to use the Pyeongchang Games to open dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang in hopes of easing a nuclear standoff that has heightened fears over global security.

In Seoul, Kim Yo Jong invited him to a summit in Pyongyang on her brother's behalf. But Moon did not immediately accept, saying the right conditions were necessary first.

Before leaving for Pyongyang, the South's national security advisor Chung Eui-yong said: "We plan to hold in-depth discussions for ways to continue not only inter-Korean talks but dialogue between North Korea and the international community including the United States."

It is a challenging task -- in defiance of UN sanctions, the isolated and impoverished North last year staged its most powerful nuclear test and test-fired several missiles, some of them capable of reaching the US mainland.

US President Donald Trump dubbed Kim "Little Rocket Man" and boasted about the size of his own nuclear button, while the North Korean leader called Trump a "mentally deranged US dotard".

They traded threats of war and sent tensions soaring before a thaw in the run-up to the Winter Olympics.

"We will deliver President Moon's firm resolution to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and to create sincere and lasting peace," delegation leader Chung told reporters.

Chung is one of five senior officials who flew to Pyongyang on Monday.

It was the first ministerial-level South Korean visit to the North since December 2007, when Seoul's then-intelligence chief travelled to Pyongyang.

Conservative Lee Myung-bak was elected the South's president the following day and took a markedly harder line on relations with the North.

Today's delegation included spy chief Suh Hoon, who is a veteran in dealings with the North. He is known to have been deeply involved in negotiations to arrange two previous inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency also announced their impending visit in a one-paragraph dispatch.

The 10-member group -- five top delegates and five supporting officials -- will return to Seoul on Tuesday.

Other members include Suh's deputy at the National Intelligence Service as well as Chun Hae-sung, the vice minister in Seoul's unification ministry which handles cross-border affairs.

The delegation will fly to the US on Wednesday to explain the result of the two-day trip to officials in Washington, according to the South's presidential office.

Moon, who advocates dialogue with the North's nuclear-armed regime, said last week that Washington needs to "lower the threshold for talks" with Pyongyang.

But the US has ruled out any possibility of talks before the North takes steps towards denuclearisation, and imposed what Trump hailed as the "toughest ever" sanctions on Kim's regime late last month.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in announces he is sending two officials to meet with North Korea.