North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met at the heavily fortified demilitarized zone between the countries today, pledging to pursue peace after decades of conflict.
Kim became the first North Korean leader since the 1950-53 Korean War to set foot in South Korea, stepping over a concrete curb marking the border at the truce village of Panmunjom to shake hands with his counterpart.
The dramatic meeting comes weeks before Kim is due to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.
"We are at a starting line today, where a new history of peace, prosperity and inter-Korean relations is being written," Kim said before the two Korean leaders and top aides began talks.
The two leaders discussed denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula during their morning session, and are expected to sign a joint declaration after they reconvene Friday afternoon, a South Korean official said.
During their private meeting, Kim told Moon he came to the summit to end the history of conflict and joked he was sorry for waking Moon up with his early morning missile tests, a South Korean official said.
Kim told Moon he would be willing to visit the presidential Blue House in Seoul, invited Moon to Pyongyang, and said he wanted to meet "more often" in the future, the official said.
Two earlier summits between the leaders of North and South Korea, in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, failed to halt the North’s weapons programs or improve relations in a lasting way.
"Today, rather than create results we won’t be able to carry out like in the past, we should make good results by talking frankly about current issues, issues of interest," Reuters cited Kim as saying.
After closed-door talks lasting more than 90 minutes, Kim was driven back to the North side in a black limousine flanked by guards who ran alongside. Crossing the border, the vehicle had to drive across a lawn, as there is not a road linking the two sides at that spot.
Following lunch, the two leaders are scheduled to plant a memorial tree before resuming their meeting, finishing the evening with dinner and a film.
In an unplanned move, Kim invited Moon to step briefly across into North Korea, before the two leaders crossed back into South Korea holding hands.
"I was excited to meet at this historic place and it is really moving that you came all the way to the demarcation line to greet me in person," Kim said.
"A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history," Kim wrote in a guest book in the South’s Peace House before talks began.
Moon said the people of both Koreas would be able to enjoy high-speed train services if relations improve and the countries connect their rail networks across borders.
Minutes before Kim entered Peace House, a North Korean security team conducted a sweep for explosives and listening devices, and sprayed what appeared to be disinfectant in the air, on the chairs, and on the guest book.
The latest Korean summit has particular significance not least because of its venue: the Demilitarised Zone, a 160-mile (260-km) long, 2.5-mile (4-km) wide strip of land created in the 1953 armistice to serve as a buffer between the South and North.
