UPDATE 1-Trump, South Korea's Moon stress diplomacy for North Korea

U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday stressed the need for diplomacy in getting U.S. nuclear talks with North Korea back on track after a failed summit between the U.S. and North Korean leaders in February. In Oval Office remarks, Trump was asked by reporters whether he was prepared to ease some sanctions on North Korea. He said he and Moon were discussing "certain humanitarian things" and the possibility of South Korea helping the North with food.

He called his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un strong and that a third summit could happen at some point. Trump has met Kim in both Hanoi and Singapore and has persuaded Kim to suspend nuclear and missile tests but gained little in the way of denuclearization. "Hopefully it will end up in a great solution ... for the world," said Trump.

Moon said he does not view the Hanoi summit, held in February, as a failure, but part of a longer “process” with the North. Moon said he agrees with Trump on the “ultimate goal” of total denuclearization by North Korea. Moon arrived in Washington late on Wednesday and held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump's national security adviser John Bolton and Vice President Mike Pence before moving on to the White House.

Ahead of his trip, aides to Moon stressed the need to revive U.S.-North Korea talks as soon as possible after a second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un collapsed in Hanoi on Feb. 28. The White House has said Trump and Moon will discuss North Korea and bilateral issues, but U.S. officials have declined to provide details.

Moon has put his political reputation on the line in encouraging negotiations between the United States and North Korea aimed at persuading Kim to give up a nuclear weapons program that now threatens the United States. Moon has stressed the need to offer North Korea concessions to encourage negotiations, but Washington appears to have hardened its position against a phased approach sought by Pyongyang in which gradual steps would be rewarded with relief from punishing sanctions.

The Hanoi meeting collapsed amid conflicting demands by North Korea for sanctions relief and U.S. insistence on its complete denuclearization. On Thursday, North Korean state media said Kim had told a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea on Wednesday that he would push forward with efforts to make the economy more self sufficient "so as to deal a telling blow to the hostile forces who go with bloodshot eyes miscalculating that sanctions can bring (North Korea) to its knees."

Last month, a senior North Korean official warned that Kim might rethink a moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests in place since 2017 unless Washington makes concessions such as easing economic sanctions. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington and Joyce Lee, Josh Smith, and Hyonhee Shin in Seoul: Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Neil Fullick and James Dalgleish)