(LEAD) President Moon returns home from Washington meeting with Trump

Politics 22:12 April 12, 2019

(ATTN: ADDS photo)

SEOUL, April 12 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in returned home Friday after a two-day visit to the United States for talks with President Donald Trump on ways to restart denuclearization dialogue with North Korea.

Moon's trip to the U.S. came after the second U.S.-North Korea summit, held in Hanoi in February, ended without a nuclear deal.

The president apparently sought to win U.S. concessions on easing international sanctions against the North that are said to be the cause of the collapse of the Hanoi summit.

Trump refused to budge, only offering to meet North Korea's Kim Jong-un for a third summit when conditions are right.

Moon has agreed to push for a meeting with the North Korean leader in the near future, apparently to help broker a nuclear deal and arrange a third Trump-Kim summit.

The U.S. president welcomed the offer, asking Moon to let him know the outcome of his meeting or dialogue with the North Korean leader.

Moon and Kim have held three inter-Korean summits with their latest meeting in Pyongyang in September.

The North Korean leader earlier agreed to visit South Korea for their fourth meeting.