S.KOREA-U.S. SUMMIT

[Anchor Lead]

Ahead of the resumption of North Korea-U.S. working-level talks, South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a summit with his U.S. counterpart in New York Tuesday morning, Seoul time. Moon voiced hoped that North Korea and the U.S. will soon hold a third summit. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump touted his "good relationships" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

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President Moon Jae-in held his ninth summit with his American counterpart Donald Trump. Denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington topped the agenda. The summit lasted for slightly over an hour. Moon pointed out Trump's leadership helped improve inter-Korean ties and enabled continued dialogue with the regime. The South Korean leader then expressed hope that Pyongyang and Washington will soon hold working-level talks to help prepare for a third Kim-Trump summit.

[Soundbite] PRES. MOON JAE-IN : "A third summit between North Korea and the U.S. will be an international breakthrough and an achievement that creates a new order for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

While highlighting that South Korea-U.S. alliance is being upgraded with Trump's cooperation, Moon proposed frankly discussing various measures to further develop it. Regarding questions about the prospect of another summit with his North Korean counterpart, Trump touted his "good relationship" with Kim and stressed the need to wait and watch what will happen.

[Soundbite] DONALD TRUMP(U.S. PRESIDENT)

The commander-in-chief also explained that despite an increase in sanctions on the communist state, American hostages were released by the North and there has been no nuclear testing for a long time. He anticipates more things can be done in the future. The U.S. President also reiterated that Pyongyang's recent launches of short-range ballistic missiles and other projectiles is not a serious issue. Noting progress in Seoul-Washington trade negotiations, Trump said South Korea is America's biggest buyer of military equipment. Following the Moon-Trump summit, Cheong Wa Dae assessed that the meeting reaffirmed unwavering, solid alliance between the two countries, which serves as a linchpin for security and peace in Northeast Asia.

[Soundbite] KO MIN-JUNG(PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESWOMAN) : "The two leaders have agreed to maintain close cooperation to effectively address various challenges the Korean Peninsula and the region face."

However, the meeting did not address in detail inter-Korean economic cooperation and security guarantees for the North. There were no discussions on the termination of Seoul's military intel sharing pact with Tokyo. The two leaders did touch on maintaining sanctions on the communist state as well as South Korea's purchase of U.S. weapons.