Biden takes office on Wednesday amid a prolonged stalemate in negotiations aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear and missile programs in exchange for U.S. sanctions relief.

Moon, who had offered to be a mediator between Pyongyang and Washington, said he will seek an early chance to promote North Korea as Biden's foreign policy priority.

Trump and Kim vowed at their first summit in Singapore to establish new relations and work towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in that joint statement, but their second summit and ensuing talks fell apart.

"The inauguration of the Biden administration would provide a turning point to newly start US-North Korea dialogue, South-North dialogue, to inherit the achievements that were made under the Trump administration," Moon told a news conference.

"The dialogues can pick up the pace if we restart from the Singapore declaration and seek concrete measures in the negotiations."

Kim vowed to beef up nuclear capabilities at the ruling Workers' Party's congress last week, and that pledge highlighted the need to reopen negotiations for a peace deal, Moon said.

Moon said the issue of joint South Korea-US military drills, which Pyongyang has long condemned as a rehearsal for war, can be discussed by reviving an inter-Korean military panel.

Australian Associated Press