South Korea described the breakdown of nuclear talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday as unfortunate, but expressed hope that the two countries can continue an active dialogue.
The collapse of the Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam is a setback for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, whose desire for closer relations between the Koreas hinges on a nuclear breakthrough between the US and North Korea.
Moon had planned to announce new proposals for inter-Korean engagement, possibly including economic cooperation, in a ceremony Friday marking the 100th anniversary of a 1919 uprising by Koreans against Japanese colonial rule.
Moon has been held back in his drive for inter-Korean engagement by tough US-led sanctions against North Korea which prohibit many kinds of economic ties.
Trump told reporters in Hanoi that his summit with Kim collapsed after North Korea demanded a full removal of the sanctions in return for limited disarmament steps. Washington sees economic pressure as its main leverage with the North.
North Korea's state media have yet to comment on the summit.
South Korea's presidential Blue House said in a statement that it believes the U.S. and North Korea deepened their understandings of each other during their "long and deep discussions" in Hanoi.
It said Trump's willingness to offer sanctions relief in exchange for broader nuclear disarmament steps by the North shows that the nuclear negotiations have entered an "elevated level."
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