President Moon Jae-in has expressed deep regret over the canceled U.S.-North Korea summit, urging the leaders of the two nations to directly talk to each other. 

According to presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan, Moon said early Friday that he is very perplexed and it is very regrettable that the summit will not be held on June 12th. 

Moon's remarks came during an emergency meeting of the National Security Council(NSC), which was convened immediately after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to scrap his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. 

Moon said that it may be difficult to resolve the sensitive and difficult diplomatic issues through methods of communication currently being employed, but he hopes the two countries will resolve them through more direct and close dialogue between their leaders.

The president then stressed that realizing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and lasting peace in the region is a historical mission that cannot be postponed, and the commitment to the goals by relevant parties remains unchanged.

The NSC meeting was attended by the foreign, defense and unification ministers as well as presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon and National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong.

[Photo : YONHAP News]