South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae welcomed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's ongoing trip to Beijing on Tuesday, saying the North Korea-China summit may help efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and establish lasting peace.

"We hope the exchange between China and North Korea will contribute to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace," spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a daily press briefing.

His remarks followed reports that Kim arrived in the Chinese capital earlier in the day for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said the Seoul government was told in advance of the visit by Pyongyang and Beijing.