South Korean President arrives in the US for summit with Trump on North Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart Donald Trump will hold a summit today to discuss ways to bring North Korea back to the nuclear negotiating table, after the second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi in February ended without reaching any agreement.

"The US-South Korea summit was held based on the common view that consultation between the two countries is very important to quickly promote dialogue after the summit in Hanoi," said Kim Hyun-chong, deputy director of the South Korean National Security Office.

The official added that President Moon's visit to the US this time is expected to be an opportunity to find concrete ways to completely denuclearize and establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, while maintaining a top-down approach.

President Moon and his wife, Kim Jung-sook, arrived in the United States on April 10. Before the summit with Trump, Moon will hold talks with key US officials involved in denuclearization negotiations, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, and meet with Vice President Mike Pence.

President Trump has asked his South Korean counterpart to help facilitate talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Moon has held three summits with Kim and is pushing for a fourth.

After the Hanoi summit failed to reach an agreement, Trump appeared to be restraining his administration to avoid provoking North Korea, as evidenced by his move to announce the removal of additional sanctions on Pyongyang.

At this US-ROK Summit, Trump and Moon will first meet privately, then officials and assistants from both sides will join in the discussion. A working lunch at the White House is also scheduled. The South Korean president is expected to return home late on April 11.