North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a knowledgeable and well-mannered negotiator who wants his country to be regarded as a serious dialogue partner, a high-ranking official from South Korea's presidential office said yesterday at an event in Singapore.

The official, who made his remarks about Mr Kim on the basis of the North Korean leader's two meetings recently with South Korean President Moon Jae In, was speaking after a panel discussion titled "Peace talks and the Korean peninsula" organised by the Korea Press Foundation.

South Korea is not involved in the summit today between Mr Kim, who is Chairman of the State Affairs Commission in North Korea, the nation's highest decision-making body, and United States President Donald Trump, but has a keen interest in its outcome.

"In the process of dialogue with North Korea, respect and app-ropriate expression of manners will be needed, and that was what was discussed among working-level officials," the South Korean official said.

Earlier at the same event, South Korean government spokesman Nam Gwan Pyo told reporters that his government hopes the summit can put an end to the Korean War and the division of the peninsula.

"I believe that the arrival of the two leaders in Singapore on Sunday to kick off the summit itself carries a huge significance," said Mr Nam, deputy director of the presidential National Security Office.

"We have come a long way, and we are well aware that we still have a long way to go.

"I hope that tomorrow's summit can put an end to the structure of the world's last remaining Cold War and division of the Korean peninsula ," he added.