ⓒKBS News

The leaders of South Korea and the United States held summit talks for half-an-hour on Friday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Leaders' Summit in Buenos Aires in Argentina, where they agreed that it's important to maintain existing sanctions on North Korea until complete denuclearization is achieved.

President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump also agreed that a visit to Seoul by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could create momentum for peace-building efforts on the Korean Peninsula.

Trump also hoped for a swift second summit with the North Korean leader to continue progress in the denuclearization process. Moon echoed this sentiment during his speech to the G-20 summit on the same day.

Moon and Trump agreed that the denuclearization and peace-building process on the Korean Peninsula was moving in the right direction and vowed to closely coordinate based on the firm Seoul-Washington alliance to achieve their joint goals at an early date.

Regarding whether Moon's agreement to maintain sanctions on Pyongyang was a change in his stance as he had called for easing sanctions, a senior presidential official told reporters that Moon has continuously said that it's necessary to boost mutual trust and this belief remains unchanged.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders issued a statement on the summit on Friday, saying "the two leaders agreed on the importance of maintaining vigorous enforcement of existing sanctions to ensure North Korea understands that denuclearization is the only path to economic prosperity and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula."

Moon also spoke at the G-20 summit about his administration's policy guideline of a "people-centered economy.”

He said a people-centered economy can lead to more inclusive economic growth with benefits that are evenly distributed, moving a step closer to achieving the "strong, sustainable and balanced growth" mentioned in the G20 leaders' statement in 2009.