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S. Korean President Moon Eager for Visit from N. Korean Leader


FILE - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in inside the Peace House at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, April 27, 2018.
FILE - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in inside the Peace House at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, April 27, 2018.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in says a potential visit to his country by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would be "very meaningful."

President Moon expressed his opinion on the matter Tuesday during a visit with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Wellington. Moon and Kim have held three summits this year, including a visit to Pyongyang by Moon back in September, where Kim promised to reciprocate by visiting Seoul in the near future.

Moon told reporters no timetable has been set for such a visit, which would be the first by a North Korean leader to South Korea since the Korean peninsula was divided after World War Two. He said whenever the visit took place, it would "accelerate the denuclearization" of the peninsula, and help improve relations between Pyongyang and the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un signed a vague agreement during their historic summit in Singapore in June that calls on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons program. But the two sides have been at odds over North Korea's intentions and how soon it would carry through with its promise.

North Korea has warned it will consider reviving its nuclear weapons program if Washington fails to lift its crippling economic sanctions against the regime. North Korea is also seeking a peace treaty with the United States and South Korea that will formally end the 1950-53 Korean War.

The fighting ended with an armistice, leaving North and South Korea in a technical state of war.

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