Next round of pre-summit talks between US and North Korea likely to take place next week

The United States and North Korea will be holding the second round of pre-summit talks next week in a third Asian nation, South Korea announced on Sunday.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will be holding discussions with his US counterpart Donald Trump over the latter's impending meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 27 and 28. The talks are expected to take place over the phone, Yonhap News Agency has reported.

"We are going to announce details as soon as preparations are complete," Seoul's Presidential spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom has been quoted by the news agency, as mentioning.

The second round of discussions over Vietnam meeting, however, comes after the US special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, visited Pyongyang recently. He held the first round of discussions with his North Korean counterpart Kim Hyok-chol during his three-day visit to North Korea, which concluded on Friday.

"I heard Representative Biegun received a warm welcome in Pyongyang," the South Korean official stated.

"I heard that the North-US talks this time were a useful opportunity where the North and the US talked openly and fully about their specific positions on what they want in a very detailed manner," Eui-kyeom put forth.

The second US-North Korea summit is seen as a breakthrough amid the prevailing impasse between Pyongyang and Washington over sanctions, which led to impeded growth in denuclearisation efforts in the Korean peninsula.

The recent talks held regarding preparations for the second landmark summit have been hailed by Biegun himself, who labelled his Pyongyang meetings as "productive.