North and South Korea have agreed to hold summit talks next month, according to officials in Seoul.
South Korea’s presidential office also said the countries have agreed to set up a telephone hotline between their leaders.
South Korea’s presidential national security director, Chung Eui-yong, said Pyongyang has also made it clear it would not need to keep its nuclear weapons if military threats against the country were resolved and it received a credible security guarantee.
The comments came hours after a South Korean delegation led by Mr Chung returned from a visit to the North, where they met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Mr Chung said Pyongyang had suggested it was ready to have “heart-to-heart” talks with Washington on issues regarding the North’s potential denuclearisation and the normalisation of relations between the two.
He said the North had promised not to use conventional or nuclear weapons against South Korea.
