By Xu Aiying and Lee Jihae

Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Yoon-je on June 18 said he sees a "ray of hope" for the resumption of stalled dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea.

In a meeting at the Korean Cultural Center in Washington, Cho mentioned that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a written letter to U.S. President Donald Trump and condolences to South Korea over the death of former South Korean first lady Lee Hee-ho.

"These are the first direct communications North Korea has had with the U.S. and (South) Korea since the (North Korea-U.S.) Hanoi summit," Cho said.

The ambassador also noted a slew of high-level diplomacy this month including Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Pyeongyang, the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, and talks between South Korea and China, China and the U.S., and Seoul and Washington.

"I think the (South) Korea-U.S. summit will be very important as the leaders of both countries will discuss (peace on the) Korean Peninsula," he said.

"Korea and the U.S. should do their best in these summits to facilitate the resumption of dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea as well as between the two Koreas."

On the schedule of the Seoul-Washington summit, the ambassador said, "We're still at the stage of fixing the schedule. Both countries will release the details once they're finalized."

"I'll do my best to help revitalize the stagnant diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula."

xuaiy@korea.kr