(LEAD) Presidential office backs N. Korea-U.S. talks but holds firm on denuclearization goal

▲ This composite photo shows President Lee Jae Myung (L) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) presidential office-N Korea

(LEAD) Presidential office backs N. Korea-U.S. talks but holds firm on denuclearization goal

(ATTN: ADDS remarks by spokesperson at unification ministry in paras 8-9)

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- The presidential office said Monday that South Korea is willing to support nuclear talks between North Korea and the United States if they resume, yet reaffirming its goal of denuclearization despite Pyongyang's call for Washington to take that objective off the table.

The comments came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said at a parliamentary meeting that he is open to talks with Washington if it gives up on its demand for the North's denuclearization, recalling a "good memory" of U.S. President Donald Trump from their past meetings in 2018 and 2019.

Kim also made it clear that his country will never abandon its nuclear arsenal and has no intention of resuming talks and seeking unification with the South.

"We will support North Korea-U.S. dialogue," a presidential official said. "The government will work to ease tensions and build trust (with the North) with a long-term perspective, in order to overcome hostility between the two Koreas and move toward peaceful relations."

But the official said the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula remains unchanged.

"We will continue efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons."

The Lee Jae Myung government respects the North's system and does not seek unification by absorption, the official added.

The unification ministry echoed a similar view, affirming that South Korea has no intent to take any action deemed hostile toward North Korea.

"The government will push to remove hostility between the two Koreas and develop their ties in a peaceful manner by easing tensions and restoring trust from a long-term perspective," Koo Byoung-sam, spokesperson at the ministry, told a press briefing.

Kim's message Monday marked the first time he has made direct comments about his ties with Trump, amid speculation that Trump may seek a surprise meeting with Kim, possibly at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom, when he travels to South Korea late next month for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Trump met with Kim three times during his first term, including their first summit in Singapore in June 2018 and another one in Hanoi in February 2019.

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