Moon calls for efforts to prevent another Korean war

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday stressed the need for efforts to prevent another war in the peninsula.

He said that the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice, is not formally finished, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Moon made the comments while holding a luncheon meeting at the Presidential office -- Cheong Wa Dae -- with 182 South Korean, American and other foreign veterans who participated in the Korean War. It also came a day ahead of the 69th anniversary of the outbreak of the war.

"June 25 (incident) is a bitter history, but the Republic of Korea has kept its identity by overcoming North Korea's invasion," Moon said while referring to South Korea's official name.

He underlined that the "best way to repay the sacrifice of all the war veterans is to make the Korean peninsula peaceful without worrying about a war."

Moon has been undertaking active efforts in order to increase and strengthen bilateral cooperation with North Korea. He has also played the role of a mediator between the US and North Korea over denuclearisation talks, which have now come to a standstill.

Talks between the two countries hit a roadblock after the Hanoi summit ended abruptly in February with no joint statement being released. The two sides reportedly failed to resolve their differences on sanction waivers.

Pyongyang has repeatedly insisted that the removal of penalties will help spur economic growth, whereas Washington has maintained that sanctions will not be removed till the communist country completely stopped its nuclear weapons programme.

No signs of progress can be seen as yet, especially after North Korea tested multiple short-range missiles last month as a sign of its apparent frustration over the stalled negotiations and continuing sanctions.

Meanwhile, Moon's presidential office announced on Monday that US President Donald Trump will make a two-day visit to South Korea after attending the G20 summit in Japan.

Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Ko Min-jung told reporters that Trump is scheduled to arrive on Saturday (June 29) and will hold talks with Moon.

"They plan to have in-depth discussions on methods for close coordination between the two nations for the establishment of permanent peace through the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, while further solidifying the South Korea-US alliance," she said.