Moon to carry private message from Kim Jong Un to Trump

Kim Jong Un (centre left) and Moon Jae In finished their summit with a trip to Mount Paektu with their wives, Ri Sol Ju (left) and Kim Jung Sook. Photo / AP

A beaming South Korean President Moon Jae In, freshly returned home from a whirlwind three-day summit with Kim Jong Un, said the North Korean leader wants the US Secretary of State to visit Pyongyang soon for nuclear talks, and also hopes for a quick follow-up to his June summit with President Donald Trump.

Only hours after standing with Kim on the peak of a volcano that's at the heart of Kim dynasty propaganda, Moon told reporters in Seoul that he will be carrying a private message from Kim to Trump about the nuclear standoff when he meets the US President in New York next week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.

Both Trump and the North Korean leader have expressed a desire to follow up on the June meeting in Singapore that was meant to settle an impasse that seemed to be edging toward war last year. But there are worries among observers about whether Kim is as committed to denuclearisation as he claims.

Moon faces increasing pressure from Washington to find a path forward in efforts to get Kim to completely - and unilaterally - abandon his nuclear arsenal, which is thought to be closing in on the ability to accurately target any part of the continental United States.

"There are things that the United States wants us to convey to North Korea, and on the other side there are also things that North Korea wants us to convey to the United States," Moon said. "I will faithfully serve that role when I meet President Trump to facilitate dialogue between North Korea and the United States."

Moon, who set up the Singapore summit and is eager for another to happen, also told reporters that he'll convey to Trump his and Kim's desire to get a declaration on ending the Korean War by the end of this year. The war still technically continues because it ended in 1953 with a ceasefire, not a peace treaty.

An end-of-war declaration would be the first step toward an eventual formal peace treaty, but the US is wary about signing off on something that could result in Kim pushing for the removal of US troops stationed in South Korea to deter the North.

Moon and Kim announced a range of agreements on Wednesday. However, their premier accord on the issue that most worries the world - the North's pursuit of nuclear-tipped missiles - contained a big condition: Kim stated that he would permanently dismantle North Korea's main nuclear facility only if the United States takes unspecified corresponding measures.

On Thursday, Kim and Moon hiked to the peak of Mount Paektu, which is considered sacred in the North, their hands clasped and raised in a pose of triumph.

Their trip to the mountain on the North Korean-Chinese border, and the striking photo-op that will resonate in both Koreas,

Mount Paektu is important to the Kim family, members of which are referred to as sharing the "Paektu bloodline", and the volcano is emblazoned on North Korea's national emblem and lends its name to everything from rockets to power stations. Many South Koreans also feel drawn to the volcano, which, according to Korean mythology, was the birthplace of Dangun, the founder of the first ancient Korean kingdom, and has long been considered one of the most beautiful places on the peninsula.

- AP