South Korea and the United States may seek to sign a peace treaty with North Korea when and if the communist state completely gives up its nuclear ambitions, Seoul's top security adviser said Wednesday.

Chung Eui-yong, head of the presidential National Security Office, said the allies are considering various ways to reward the North following its denuclearization.

Seoul and Washington are holding "in-depth discussions on various ways to successfully hold the South-North Korea summit and the North Korea-U.S. summit that will be held shortly thereafter," Chung told reporters.

"For instance, we are discussing how we could remove the (security) concerns held by North Korea. We have also held in-depth discussions on how we could guarantee the North's bright future should the North make the right decision," he added.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are set to meet next Friday for what will be a third inter-Korean summit. U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed to meet Kim in May or early June.

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Chung's remarks came shortly after the U.S. president said those discussing an end to the Korean War would "certainly have my blessing."

South Korea and the North technically remain at war as the Korean War ended only with an armistice. Formally ending the war would require replacing the armistice with a peace treaty, which apparently is also viewed as a way to guarantee the security of the communist North.

While meeting Chung in Pyongyang on March 5, the North Korean leader said his country may give up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for a security guarantee. (Yonhap)