South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in leaves for Washington on Wednesday on an urgent mission to reignite talks between the US and North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme.

The meeting between Mr Moon and Donald Trump, the US president, is the first major move to end a directionless hiatus since the collapse of the US-North Korea summit in Hanoi in February.

The talks will take place as the North Korean parliament – the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly – kicks off its first session since last month’s elections. There has been speculation that Kim may use the occasion to assume the title of head of state.

The assembly will also be closely watched for clues of Kim Jong-un’s future approach to denuclearisation.

State media said the plenary session would discuss the country’s “new orientation,” reporting that Kim had told his ruling politburo this week that the situation was “tense” and urging them to follow through on the party’s new strategic line with a spirit of “self-reliance.”

Analysts believe the remarks mean Kim will continue to focus on economic development despite stalled negotiations over his nuclear weapons and missiles.