Updated

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has taken office and says he is open to visiting North Korea under the right conditions to talk about Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear-tipped missiles.

Moon's softer stance could create friction with Washington, which has swung from threats of military action to hints of dialogue with North Korea.

Moon also said Wednesday he'll "sincerely negotiate" with the United States and China over the deployment of a U.S. missile-defense system. China is concerned the system could be used to spy on its own military operations.

At his first news conference at the presidential Blue House, Moon introduced his nominees for prime minister, spy chief and presidential chief of staff. He was moving quickly to replace officials who were holdovers from the ousted former president's tenure.