North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly dropped his demand that US troops leave the Korean Peninsula in return for giving up his nuclear weapons, potentially removing one of the biggest obstacles to a peace deal.

The US has about 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea, which has long been a thorny issue with the North Koreans and used by Pyongyang as a justification for building its nuclear programme as a deterrent.

However, on Thursday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who will meet with Mr Kim at a summit next Friday, said the reclusive leader was now willing to give up the troops’ removal as a precondition for denuclearisation.

“The North Koreans did not present any conditions that the United States could not accept, such as the withdrawal of American troops in South Korea,” Mr Moon told newspaper publishers in Seoul, reported the New York Times.

“They only talk about an end to hostilities against their country and about getting security guarantees,” he said. “It’s safe to say that the plans for dialogue between the North and the United States could proceed because that has been made clear.”