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Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik (right) briefs reporters at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, on August 28. Left is Deputy Spokesperson Jeon Eun-soo. / Source: Yonhap News

The presidential office said Thursday it had prior knowledge that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will visit China on September 3 to attend the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japan.

Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik told reporters at Yongsan that morning, “I was briefed that Kim’s trip to China would be announced today. The U.S.-Korea summit was also affected by such developments, and the positive outcome of the meeting can be seen as part of this broader context.”

During the summit, President Lee Jae-myung asked U.S. President Donald Trump to meet Kim Jong-un. Trump responded that he would consider the proposal and expressed willingness for a meeting within the year.

With Trump widely expected to attend the APEC summit in Gyeongju in late October, speculation is growing about the possibility of a U.S.-North Korea summit—or even a trilateral meeting involving South Korea.

“At the very least, President Trump showed his willingness to engage with Kim Jong-un,” Kang said. “The fact that he did not dismiss the possibility is itself helpful in opening channels for inter-Korean dialogue.”

He stressed, however, that discussions had not yet reached the stage of deciding when, where, or how such a meeting would take place.

Addressing concerns about closer ties among North Korea, China and Russia, Kang said, “We hope that China’s relationship with the Korean Peninsula will move toward denuclearization, peace, and stability. Channels for inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation remain open.”