South Korean President Moon Jae-in

Korean leaders exchange friendly letters in rare break from tensions

The exchange of letters came against a backdrop of strained cross-border ties since a failed North Korea-US summit in 2019, and flaring tension after Pyongyang launched intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) last month, breaking a self-imposed 2017 moratorium.

Moon sent a letter on Wednesday and promised to continue to try to lay a foundation for unification based on joint declarations reached at summits in 2018, despite the "difficult situation," the North's official KCNA news agency said.