SEOUL (BLOOMBERG) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to respond to calls from the United States for the latter's regime to return to the negotiating table after the recent breakdown in talks between Mr Kim and US President Donald Trump.

"I expect North Korea to respond to efforts made by South Korea and the US," Mr Moon said during a meeting with his senior advisers on Monday (April 1).

Mr Moon is travelling to the US next week for his first summit with Mr Trump since the February Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi fell apart without a deal to denuclearise North Korea.

Mr Moon also responded to critics of the talks, saying it would be "irresponsible" and "unhelpful" to national interest to return to the past when nuclear tests and exchanges of sharp rhetoric between Mr Trump and Mr Kim stoked fears of reigniting war on the peninsula.

"Some are trying to reverse the tide of peace on the Korean peninsula and widen a crack between the US-South Korea alliance," Mr Moon said.