N. Korea should take 'bold' steps towards denuclearization – Moon

SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea needs to take ''more bold, practical measures for denuclearization'' to ensure sanctions are lifted, the South's President Moon Jae-in said Thursday with negotiations stalling between Pyongyang and Washington.

''Corresponding measures must be devised in order to facilitate North Korea's continued denuclearization efforts,'' he added, such as the US agreeing a ''peace regime'' and formally declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War.

The North has repeatedly pledged to work towards ''denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,'' a vague term that could be taken to also include US forces in the South and in the wider region.

Moon acknowledged that the agreement North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump signed at their first summit in Singapore was ''somewhat vague.''

He also said there was ''skepticism'' that Kim's ''concept of denuclearization'' will be different from that demanded by the US.

''But Kim has assured many foreign leaders, including myself, Trump, Xi Jinping and Putin, that his concept is no different in any way from what the international community demands,'' Moon told reporters at the Blue House in Seoul.

''Kim also stated that denuclearization and the issue of ending the war has nothing to do with the status of US troops in South Korea,'' he added. ''Kim Jong Un understands that the issue is entirely up to the decision of South Korea and the United States.''

US strategic assets in the region involved not only North Korea, ''but also overall stability and peace in Northeast Asia,'' Moon said. ''I don't think it will be discussed in North-US nuclear talks.''

The North Korean leader's trip to China this week was a sign a second Trump-Kim summit was ''imminent'', he added.

''I think Chairman Kim Jong Un's visit to China will have a very positive effect on the success of the second US-North Korea summit,'' he told the press conference.

A second summit should produce an agreement that was ''more clear on actions by each side,'' he added.