North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expressed gratitude to South Korean President Park Geun-hye for his efforts to repair relations, a rare show of goodwill that observers say may not be enough to defuse rising tensions between the two Koreas.

President Moon Jae-in received the warm words from North Korea in a letter exchanged less than three weeks before stepping down to be replaced by a conservative leader who has already signalled a harder stance on North Korea.

Analysts were sceptical that North Korea’s statement signalled a wider improvement in relations, warning that the praise for Moon could be a ruse to blame his successor, Yoon Suk-yeol, for any subsequent deterioration.

North Korean official media was the first to publish the exchange, as well as the surprising North Korean praise for Moon and his liberal administrations stalled engagement efforts.

“Kim Jong UN praised Moon Jae-hardships in’s and effort till the end of his term of office for the great cause of the nation,” North Korea’s KCNA state news agency stated.

It stated that the letter exchange was an “expression of their strong trust.”

The letters come amid rising tensions between North Korea and the United States, which were heightened last month when North Korea tested intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), breaking a self-imposed 2017 moratorium.

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