US President Donald Trump has invited North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to meet him at the fortified area that divides North and South Korea.

In what Mr Trump described as a spontaneous gesture, he said on Twitter he could “shake [Mr Kim’s] hand and say hello” during his visit to South Korea.

North Korea has described it as a “very interesting suggestion”.

The US president has arrived in South Korea to discuss the flagging North Korea denuclearisation talks.

If Mr Trump and Mr Kim were to see each other at the demilitarised zone (DMZ), it would be their third meeting in just over a year, and their first since a summit in Vietnam broke down in February.

Mr Trump – who is visiting South Korea after attending the G20 summit in Japan – conceded that the pair could see each other only “for two minutes”, leading one analyst to dismiss the potential meeting as “pointless theatre”.

However, despite the apparent lack of any diplomatic preparation, some have suggested another face-to-face meeting between the pair could help reset relations and set the scene for future talks.

After some very important meetings, including my meeting with President Xi of China, I will be leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon). While there, if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2019

Response from North Korea?

Only a few hours later, North Korea’s first vice-minister for foreign affairs, Choe Son Hui, said in statement: “We see it as a very interesting suggestion, but we have not received an official proposal in this regard.”

Such a meeting, it added, “would serve as another meaningful occasion in further deepening the personal relations between the two leaders and advancing the bilateral relations”.

It remains unclear whether officials with Mr Trump were briefed in advance about his overture to the North Korean leader, and South Korea’s presidency said nothing was yet confirmed.

But last week, a South Korean official said Mr Trump was considering a trip to the DMZ, prompting speculation a meeting with Mr Kim could be possible. Mr Trump attempted to make a surprise visit to the area in November 2017, but was forced to abandon the plans due to bad weather.