SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has invited US President Donald Trump to Pyongyang in his latest letter to the American head of state,  South Korea鈥檚 top diplomat said on Monday.

鈥淚 heard detailed explanations from US officials that there was such a letter a while ago,鈥� Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa told a  parliamentary session. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 not in a position to confirm what鈥檚 in the letter or when it was delivered.鈥�

The foreign minister鈥檚 remarks followed reports by a local newspaper, JoongAng Ilbo, which said that Kim鈥檚 invitation was extended in an undisclosed personal letter sent to Trump on Aug. 15.

If true, the invitation was made as diplomats of the two governments were in a tug-of-war over the resumption of working-level talks for the North鈥檚 denuclearization efforts.

During a surprise meeting at the Korean border village of Panmunjom on June 30, Trump and Kim pledged that working-level nuclear disarmament talks would resume within a month, but no such talks have been held,  with both sides indulging in a blame game instead.

鈥淲e are very curious about the background of the American top  diplomat鈥檚 thoughtless remarks and we will watch what calculations he has,鈥� North Korea鈥檚 first vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said on Aug. 30 in a statement carried by the North鈥檚 official Central News Agency (KCNA). He was referring to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo鈥檚 comments terming Pyongyang鈥檚 rocket launches as 鈥渞ogue.鈥�

However, the tone has changed significantly with the communist state recently offering to return to dialogue with Washington 鈥渁t a time and place agreed late in September.鈥�

鈥淚 want to believe that the US side would come out with an alternative based on a calculation method that serves both sides鈥� interests and is acceptable to us,鈥� Choe said on Aug. 30.

On Monday, the director-general of the North Korean Foreign Ministry鈥檚 department of American affairs said working-level denuclearization talks will likely take place 鈥渋n a few weeks鈥� but demanded security guarantees and sanctions鈥� relief as prerequisites.

鈥淭he discussion of denuclearization may be possible when threats and hurdles endangering our system security and obstructing our  development are clearly removed beyond all doubt,鈥� the statement said. 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in was upbeat about the early resumption of nuclear talks.

鈥淣orth Korea-US working-level dialogue will resume soon,鈥� he said, citing an 鈥渦nchanged commitment鈥� to trust and peace by the leaders of both Koreas and the US. 

The working-level meeting will serve as a 鈥渇orce to advance the peace process on the Korean Peninsula,鈥� he added.

Moon is scheduled to meet Trump on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly session in New York next week.

鈥淚t will be an opportunity to share opinions and gather wisdom with Trump on the direction of further development of South Korea-US  relations,鈥� he said.

The White House offered no immediate comment.

It鈥檚 not clear whether Trump responded to Kim鈥檚 invitation to Pyongyang, but the US commander-in-chief has touted his personal relationship with the young North Korean dictator, who oversaw the test-firings of short-range ballistic missiles and multiple launch rockets more than half a dozen times since late July.

While none of the projectiles are a direct threat to the US continent they still pose threats to US and its allied forces in South Korea and Japan.

鈥淜im Jong-un has been, you know, pretty straight with me, I think,鈥� Trump told reporters on August 24 before flying off to meet with world leaders at the G7 in France. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e going to see what鈥檚 going on. We鈥檙e going to see what鈥檚 happening. He likes testing missiles.鈥�

Experts say the apparent firing of US National Security Adviser John Bolton has also boosted chances of fresh negotiations with the North, which had long criticized him for his hawkish approach toward the regime.

鈥淭he displacement of a 鈥榖ad guy鈥� could be construed as a negotiating tactic to seek a breakthrough in the stalemate of nuclear talks. It鈥檚 a show of a will to engage the counterpart in a friendlier manner from the perspective of negotiation science,鈥� Park Sang-ki, an adjunct professor at the department of business management at Sejong University in Seoul, told Arab News.