China voiced its hopes on Thursday for a successful inter-Korean summit as the leaders of South and North Korea prepare for a historic meeting to negotiate denuclearization and a lasting peace.

"The inter-Korean summit is poised for tomorrow, and the two Koreas are briskly preparing for the talks. ... (China) hopes that the two countries will have success from the latest talks," Hua Chunying, spokeswoman at the Chinese foreign ministry said.

"I hope that good news will continue to flow on Korean Peninsula issues and they will lead to the right path toward the resolution of these issues," she noted.

The message came ahead of what will be the third inter-Korean summit on Friday, at which President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jong-un will discuss the fate of North Korea's nuclear weapons program and the countries' armistice, which halted the 1950-53 Korean War but did not end it.

(Yonhap)