S. Korea's Moon: a peace treaty 'must be pursued'

A peace treaty to formally end the Korean War "must be pursued", South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday, ahead of a summit next week with Kim Jong Un, leader of the nuclear-armed North.

"The armistice that has dragged on for 65 years must come to an end," Moon told media company representatives at the presidential Blue House, adding: "The signing of a peace treaty must be pursued after an end to the war is declared."

The 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two sides technically at war, and the Demilitarised Zone between them -- where Moon and Kim will meet next Friday -- bristles with minefields and fortifications.

But Moon signalled that a treaty would depend on the North giving up its nuclear weapons.

"If the inter-Korean summit or North Korea-US summit lead to denuclearisation," he said, "I think that it won't be too difficult to reach practical agreements in the big picture on creating a peace regime, normalising North Korea-US ties, or providing international aid for the improvement of the North Korean economy."

Moon spoke after US President Donald Trump warned that his own much-anticipated summit with Kim would be called off if he did not think it would be "fruitful".

"If I think that it's a meeting that is not going to be fruitful, we're not going to go," Trump said.