(LEAD) Moon's security adviser to return home from Washington

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SEOUL, March 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in's top security adviser will return home from the United States on Sunday after sharing the results of his recent visit to North Korea with Washington officials.

Chung Eui-yong, head of the National Security Office, went to the U.S. capital with Suh Hoon, chief of the National Intelligence Service, last week to brief policymakers on his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The two met U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time), and conveyed Kim's willingness to meet the U.S. leader. The two had engaged in a heated war of words over Pyongyang's nuclear and long-range missile program with Trump and Kim both threatening to destroy the other side.

"This meeting won't take place without concrete actions that match the promises that have been made by North Korea," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said earlier.

Sources, however, said Trump gave positive responses to the suggestion made by North Korea.

Chung and Suh are set to meet Moon after returning home from the U.S. to discuss details on North Korea's summit with Seoul and Washington.

Suh plans to visit Japan on Monday to share outcomes of the visits to North Korea and the U.S., with Chung also planning on trips to China and Russia.

Chung will start his two-day trip to China on Monday, and then fly to Moscow where he will meet his counterparts through Thursday. Whether he will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping or Russia's Vladimir Putin, however, has not been decided.

Moon's special envoys met Kim on Monday last week amid the latest signs of reconciliation between two Koreas, which technically remain at war, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice not a peace treaty.

colin@yna.co.kr
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