An immediate source of friction with Washington is a potent antimissile system the United States has deployed in South Korea, which the liberals opposed.
The North has staged two atomic tests and dozens of missile launches since a year ago in its quest to deliver a nuclear warhead to "imperialist enemy" the US.
"President Moon said the Thaad issue can be resolved when there is no further provocation by North Korea, " Mr Yoon said.
(Korean - ) "The U.S. has stated a possible military action, and even China has been putting pressure on the regime".
The expert explained that while Moon is widely perceived as a supporter of rapprochement with North Korea, his approach has also been pragmatic, the politician avoiding making concrete promises. Mr. Moon is closer in outlook to his late friend and ideological ally Roh Moo-hyun, who as president from 2003 to 2008 pursued a "sunshine policy" of seeking to engage North Korea through dialogue, aid and joint projects.
Moon took office on Wednesday, only hours after his victory in the presidential by-election the day before was confirmed by the election authorities, Yonhap news agency reported.
Stangarone also added that whatever worldwide plans Moon has, the economic situation in South Korea and the fact that he was elected following an impeachment mean that domestic issues will constrain what he wants to do.
In the first conversation in eight months between the leaders of the two countries, Mr Xi reiterated China's opposition to the controversial deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system in South Korea.
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Despite keeping its options open, the Trump administration has said time and again there would not be any sort of negotiations with North Korea unless it agreed to a list of preset conditions.
Moon was part of the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration involved in the last inter-Korean summit of 2007, although almost a decade of conservative rule in Seoul has seen ties sour to the point of zero cooperation amid persistent North Korean nuclear and missile tests. The expenses were to be borne mainly by South Korea, Japan and the USA, which was shipping in heavy oil to fulfill the North's energy needs before the reactor were to go online.
Beijing has asked the deployment be canceled because of THAAD's powerful radar and regional surveillance capabilities.
At the same time the South is embroiled in disputes with China over a United States missile defence system, and former colonial occupier Japan over wartime history.
Moon also called China's Xi Jinping on Wednesday and spoke to the Chinese leader for 40 minutes.
Both sides should respect each other's major concerns and legitimate interests and try best to seek common ground and handle disputes properly, The Global Times quoted Xi, as saying. Moon responded that he's aware of China's concerns and he hopes the two countries can have a greater understanding of each other's positions on the system, it said.
China has denied it is retaliating against South Korean businesses.
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