Moon -- whose own parents fled the North during the 1950-53 Korean War -- will fly to the North for a three-day trip, following in the footsteps of his predecessors Kim Dae-jung in 2000 and mentor Roh Moo-hyun in 2007.

The rare trip comes amid a rapid diplomatic thaw on the peninsula which has seen Moon and Kim exchange brotherly hugs and warm smiles at their first meeting in April at the Demilitarised Zone dividing the peninsula.

Moon, who met Kim again in May, was instrumental in brokering the historic summit the following month between US President Donald Trump and Kim in Singapore, when Kim backed denuclearisation of the "Korean peninsula".

But no details were agreed and Washington and Pyongyang have sparred since over what that means and how it will be achieved.

The US is pressing for the North's "final, fully verified denuclearisation", while Pyongyang wants a formal declaration the 1950-53 Korean War is over and has condemned demands for it to give up its weapons unilaterally as "gangster-like".

The dovish South Korean president -- who has displayed genuine affection towards Kim at past meetings -- will hold at least two meetings with the North's leader, where he will try to convince Pyongyang to carry out substantive steps towards disarmament.

"We will push for North Korea's advanced denuclearisation and a reciprocal measure from the US by swiftly reviving sincere dialogue aimed at establishing new, peaceful relations," Moon's chief of staff Im Jong-seok said.

Moon will be accompanied by several business tycoons -- including Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong and the vice chairman of Hyundai Motor -- and is scheduled to visit key sites in Pyongyang with his delegation.

He has been pushing inter-Korean economic co-operation but several South Korean newspapers urged caution Monday, with the Korea Herald calling the businessmen's presence on the trip "untimely".

"It is better to postpone economic projects involving the North until after negotiations to remove its nuclear program make substantial progress," it said in an editorial.

And investment in the North was "fraught with risks and uncertainty", it added.

But Moon's office said the inclusion of the businessmen was "not special", given the heads of major conglomerates had been in Pyongyang for the previous inter-Korean summits in the city.

Other issues on Moon's agenda will be improving inter-Korean ties and easing military tensions on the peninsula.

Seoul said that could lay the groundwork for a formal declaration on the Korean War, when hostilities ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty -- implying that such an announcement was unlikely during the trip.