U.S. President Donald Trump will head to Seoul straight from the G20 summit in Japan amid what the chief nuclear envoy of the Republic of Korea (ROK) described as a promising sign, which may suggest that the current denuclearization impasse could come to an end.

"We have witnessed a lot of diplomatic interactions and activities on and around the Korean peninsula recently and we can discuss ways and means on how to translate them into substantive progress on denuclearization and peace on the Korean peninsula," said Lee Do-hoon, ROK's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, ahead of Trump's arrival in Seoul on Saturday.

Lee made the comments after meeting with his U.S. counterpart Stephan Biegun, who will remain in Seoul until the summit between Trump and ROK President Moon Jae-in wraps up on Sunday and potentially longer if there is a serious prospect that working level talks with the DPRK could resume soon.

"I think the most important thing at this point is to ensure the U.S. and the DPRK can resume their dialogue," said Kim Yeon-chul, ROK Unification Minister.

A recent exchange of letters between Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un has raised expectations that denuclearization negotiations could soon restart. 

"The two leaders can talk about the resumption of the U.S.-DPRK working level talks.  If that is not possible Trump will be solid and stick to the previous position, there will be, you know, the U.S. is open for talks but sanctions will be the same," said Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

Trump and Kim's last summit in February ended without a deal after Trump reportedly refused Kim's offer of closing down DPRK's main nuclear processing facility at Yongbyon in return for lifting of sanctions.

If a bigger offer is not on the table, many analysts believe that Trump will use his visit to instead talk about trade and troop cost-sharing.

"Trump kept reiterating that he is not in a rush and he is going to wait and I think that is the U.S. position regarding North Korea (DPRK)," said Woo Jung-yeop from the Department of Security Strategic Studies at the Sejong Institute.

On the other hand, before attending the G20 Summit in Osaka, China's President Xi Jinping held his first official meeting with Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang.

Xi is expected to share insights from his latest talks with Kim Jong Un as well as China's perspective on the ongoing diplomacy during his meetings with Trump and other leaders in Japan.  

After talks with President Moon on Sunday, Trump will visit the demilitarized zone, after bad weather foiled his last attempt two years ago.

(Cover: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and ROK President Moon Jae-in hold a joint news conference at the Blue House in Seoul, the ROK, November 7, 2017. /VCG Photo)