WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that North Korea's willingness to hold talks with South Korea could be "good news," although he also expressed skepticism.

A day earlier, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country is open to dialogue with Seoul and could take part in the Winter Olympics in South Korea's PyeongChang next month. Kim's remarks raised hope that tensions on the peninsula could be eased following the North's repeated testing of nuclear weapons and increasingly powerful ballistic missiles.

"Sanctions and 'other' pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea," Trump tweeted, referring to international sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. "Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea. Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time."

He added: "Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not -- we will see!"

The US president has used the derisive nickname "Rocket Man" to refer to Kim.

The South Korean government responded to Kim's overture by proposing inter-Korean talks next Tuesday. They would be the first such talks since December 2015 and likely center on the North's participation in the Olympics.