South Korea will attempt to open discussions about formally ending the 68-year-old war with its northern neighbour at a rare summit next week.

'We are looking at the possibility of replacing the armistice regime on the Korean peninsula with a peace regime,' a senior official at the presidential Blue House told reporters.

'But this is not something we can do by ourselves. It needs close discussions with relevant parties including North Korea.'

The comments came after US President Donald Trump said the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in could, with his blessing, discuss a peace treaty to formally close the conflict.

The comments came after US President Donald Trump said the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in could include a discussion about a peace treaty. Pictured: Kim meeting South Korean chief delegator Chung Eui-yong on March 5 during a meeting to defuse tensions between the Koreas

It also comes after reports emerged that CIA Director Mike Pompeo (left) had secretly visited Pyongyang over Easter to meet with North Korea's dictator (right) for high-level talks

While the US-led United Nations command, China and North Korea are signatories to the decades-old armistice, South Korea is not. Pictured: Kim meeting Chinese premier Xi Jinping in late March

The 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two sides technically still at war. The Demilitarised Zone between them (pictured) bristles with minefields and fortifications

It also comes after the president confirmed CIA Director Mike Pompeo had secretly visited Pyongyang last week to meet with North Korea's dictator for high-level talks.

He tweeted: 'Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed. Details of Summit are being worked out now. Denuclearization will be a great thing for World, but also for North Korea!'

The 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two sides technically still at war. The Demilitarised Zone between them bristles with minefields and fortifications.

But while the US-led United Nations command, China and North Korea are signatories to the decades-old armistice, South Korea is not.

Reaching any final treaty would be fraught with complications.

Both Pyongyang and Seoul claim sovereignty over the whole Korean peninsula, but a treaty could imply mutual recognition of each other.

The North would be likely to demand the withdrawal of US troops, while the South's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong said today that Seoul and Washington wanted to see Pyongyang give up its nuclear ambitions.

In meetings with his newly-appointed US counterpart John Bolton, the two had discussed ways to 'establish an ultimate peace regime', but only if the North 'makes the correct decision', he said.

Pyongyang has in the past demanded a peace treaty with the US, describing them as the two direct parties in the conflict.

'South Korea is a direct party. Who can argue that?' the Blue House official said.

The two Koreas could first reach an agreement which would be followed by a meeting between Kim and Trump and a trilateral summit to seal the deal, he suggested.

Over a million soldiers are believed to have been killed during the Korean War. Pictured: UN troops fighting in the streets of Seoul in 1950 after the North Korean invasion

But four-party talks could also be needed, he added, in a reference to China.

But he cautioned 'I am not sure if we will use the expression "ending the war"' at the summit.

'We want to reach an agreement on banning hostile activities between the South and North,' he added.

The two Koreas will hold what will be their third summit since the 1950-53 Korean War next Friday, with a subsequent meeting planned between Kim and Trump - which would be the first time a sitting US president had met the North's leader.

South Korean media had earlier reported that the two sides had been discussing plans for a permanent end to the war at the North-South summit, citing an unidentified Seoul official.

However, White House officials are still skeptical of the anti-American dictator's sudden diplomatic efforts.

Making friends: Kim Jong-Un and his wife Ri Sol-Ju pose with the cast after enjoying the ballet choreodrama 'Red Women Company' performed by a Chinese art troupe at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre in Pyongyang, North Korea, in celebration of Day of the Sun

All cheers: Kim, seen with wife Ri and Song Tao, head of the International Department of Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, is said to be ready for a Korean peace

Last week, Pompeo said North Korea should not expect rewards from talks until it takes irreversible steps to give up its nuclear weapons.

Kim, meanwhile, spent the weekend celebrating 'The Day of the Sun', the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, by watching a performance by a Chinese ballet troupe along with his wife, Ri Sol-Ju.

Unlike previous years, the annual celebrations did not include the military parades displaying ballistic missiles often associated with the dictatorship, and the festivities had an overtone of reconcilliation as shown by the invitation of a Chinese dance group.

Show must go Jong: Kim, his wife, and Mr Song watch the ballet performance on honour of the birthday of Kim's grandfather and founder of North Korea Kim Il-Sung

Kim will become the first North Korean leader to set foot on South Korean soil since the 1950s when he meets President Moon at a summit just inside South Korean territory on April 27

Photos released by state media showed no weapons but instead a weekend of performances, fireworks, dancing and sports.

Kim and his wife were seen applauding, posing with dancers, and laughing with the head of the Chinese Communist Party's international liaison department, Song Tao.

Kim, in a meeting with Song on Sunday, said he was personally meeting the visiting performers out of respect for Chinese President Xi Jinping and said he wanted to launch a 'fresh phase of development' of relations between their countries.

North Korea´s ties with China, its sole major ally, had become strained over the past couple of years over the North´s contentious missile and nuclear tests, of which China disapproves.

But in late March, Kim made a visit to Beijing, his first known journey abroad since he took power in 2011.