The presidential office says that South Korea is working closely with the International Olympic Committee(IOC) to persuade North Korea to participate in the upcoming Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

Presidential press secretary Yoon Young-chan said on Sunday in a news briefing that Seoul is not talking directly to Pyongyang, but the IOC and other related agencies are making efforts for North Korea's participation.

At a summit last week, President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping shared the view that the North's participation in the Games would contribute to improving inter-Korean relations and reducing regional tensions, and agreed to work together on it. 

Regarding the possibility of a three-way summit between South Korea, China and Japan, Yoon said that the summit has been delayed due to China's circumstances, but Chinese Premier Li Keqiang expressed a positive attitude about the summit during his meeting with Moon.

Yoon said that if the trilateral summit is delayed, Seoul will look into the possibility of President Moon making a separate visit to Japan.

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