South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday said North Korea wants to join international financial institutions like the IMF and the World Bank, telling an audience in New York that DPRK leader Kim Jong Un hopes to trade his nuclear weapons for economic development.

Speaking at a discussion hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the Asia Society Policy Institute, and Korea Society, Moon said Seoul plans to support the DPRK's national economic development should sanctions be lifted following "substantive denuclearization."