South Korea's foreign minister told a US news programme on Sunday that Seoul was "surprised" by how quickly US President Donald Trump accepted an invitation to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Kang Kyung-wha told CBS's Face the Nation that Trump's decision was "courageous."

"I think we were all quite surprised by the readiness of that decision (to meet with Kim), said Kang.

"I think it was an extremely courageous decision on the part of President Trump. We believe the North Korean leader is now taking stock. We give them the benefit of the doubt, and the time that he would need to come out with some public messaging."

Kang also said she believes the two sides are communicating behind the scenes.

"There is a channel of communication now established. So I'm sure there are back and forth messages," Kang said.

Trump has agreed to meet with Kim by the end of May. Kim is also scheduled to hold a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April.

Meanwhile, the North Korean and Swedish foreign ministers on Saturday ended three days of talks on the security situation on the Korean peninsula which may help prepare the way for the Trump-Kim summit.

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