South Korea on Tuesday asked North Korea to contact the South through inter-Korean communication channels if it intends to retrieve the body of a man believed to be a North Korean national discovered along South Korea's west coast last month.

Bringing stability back to the Korean Peninsula is a necessity for South Korea’s president, but North Korea is refusing to play ball.

North Korea has said relations between its leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump are “not bad”, signalling potential willingness to enter into talks with the new US administration for the first time.

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Tuesday that the relationship with President Donald Trump was "not bad," but rejected nuclear talks.

The country appeared to signal an openness to talks, but said it must be recognized as a nuclear power and would not discuss abandoning its arsenal.

Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi has told his South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun that he hopes to steadily develop bilateral ties, at their first in-person meeting in Tokyo.