North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has thanked South Korea's outgoing president for trying to improve relations, a rare gesture of goodwill but one that analysts said may not be enough to head off growing tension between the two Koreas.
The warm words from North Korea to President Moon Jae-in came in an exchange of letters less than three weeks before Moon leaves office to be replaced by a conservative leader who has already signalled a tougher line on North Korea
Analysts were sceptical that North Korea's message heralded a broader improvement in relations, and warned that the praise for Moon could be a bid to portray his successor, Yoon Suk-yeol, as responsible for any further deterioration in ties, reports Reuters.
North Korean state media was the first to report the exchange and the unexpected North Korean plaudits for the stalled effort by Moon and his liberal administration to engage.
"Kim Jong Un appreciated the pains and effort taken by Moon Jae-in for the great cause of the nation until the last days of his term of office," North Korea's KCNA state news agency reported.
The exchange of letters was an "expression of their deep trust", it said.
The letters come against a backdrop of tension since a failed North Korea-US summit in 2019, exacerbated last month when North Korea launched intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), ending a self-imposed 2017 moratorium.
Moon sent a letter on Wednesday and promised to try to lay a foundation for unification based on joint declarations reached at summits in 2018, despite the "difficult situation", KCNA said.
Moon's office confirmed that he had exchanged "letters of friendship" with Kim.
Moon said the "era of confrontation" should be overcome with dialogue, and inter-Korean engagement was now a task for the next administration, his spokeswoman told a briefing. Moon also expressed hope for the swift resumption of US-North Korea denuclearisation talks.
Kim said in his reply on Thursday that their "historic" summits gave the people "hope for the future", and the two agreed that ties would develop if both sides "make tireless efforts with hope", KCNA reported.
The exchange came as US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim was in South Korea for talks. The US envoy has said he is open to sitting down with the North at any time without preconditions, but it was unclear whether Moon's letter specifically proposed a meeting.