Seoul: Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has urged North Korea's Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump to seize the opportunity for dialogue during the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in South Korea.

According to Yonhap News Agency, speculation has arisen about a potential meeting between Trump and Kim during Trump's planned visit to South Korea on October 29-30 for the APEC event. While the likelihood of such a meeting remains uncertain, Chung emphasized the importance of not missing this chance, suggesting that a meeting could facilitate peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Chung highlighted the logistical challenges of organizing a meeting between the two leaders if the opportunity in South Korea is missed. Trump and Kim have previously met three times, including summits in Singapore and Hanoi, and a brief encounter at Panmunjom.

The minister also noted the absence of confirmed information regarding any current contact between North Korea and the U.S. However, he mentioned "signs" of potential preparation for talks, pointing to recent cleanup activities by North Koreans at Panmunjom and the U.N. Command's temporary suspension of visits to the truce village.

Chung observed that this marked the first instance of such cleanup activities at the truce village this year, with North Koreans engaged in tasks like plucking grass, arranging flowerbeds, and taking photographs.

Trump, since returning to the White House, has expressed his hope for another meeting with Kim "within this year." Meanwhile, Kim, at a parliamentary meeting in September, reminisced about his "good memories" of Trump and expressed openness to talks, contingent upon the U.S. dropping its demand for North Korea's denuclearization. The denuclearization talks have been stalled since the Hanoi summit, which ended without an agreement due to disagreements over sanctions relief conditions.