The world’s eyes were fixed on Singapore Tuesday as President Trump met with Kim Jong-un in the first ever summit between a US President and North Korean dictator.
In South Korea commuters stopped in their tracks to watch the leaders shaking hands on television screens inside a train station in Seoul.
President Moon Jae-in, who kick-started the peace process at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics earlier this year, said the ‘historic’ talks will end ‘the last Cold War conflict.’
Commuters in Seoul stopped in their tracks to watch the moment Trump and Kim met for the first time and shook hands as it was broadcast on TV screens around a train station
South Koreans reacted with joy to the news that the summit between Kim and Trump went well, including Trump’s suggestion that a peace accord could be signed soon
South Korean media was covered with images of the summit on Tuesday, proclaiming the start of a ‘new history’ and an end to ‘hostilities’
President Moon Jae-in, who kicked off the peace process earlier this year but was not at Tuesday’s meeting, hailed the summit as the end of ‘the last Cold War conflict’
‘The June 12 Sentosa Agreement will be recorded as a historic event that has helped break down the last remaining Cold War legacy on Earth,’ he said.
Mr Moon, who did not attend the summit, was shown a live feed of Trump and Kim shaking hands as they met for the first time and smiled.
Marchers in the Philippines expressed their support for the talks and activists gathered outside the White House to celebrate the historic day.
The governments of of South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and Malaysia all welcomed news that talks had gone well.
However, the Iranian regime warned Pyonyang that America cannot be trusted to honor its word after Trump abruptly canceled the nuclear deal signed under Obama last month.
South Korean media was plastered with images from the summit, with a live broadcast being shown to President Moon Jae-in, who smiled as Trump and Kim shook hands.
South Korean newspaper Munhwa Ilbo carried a huge photo of a smiling Kim shaking hands with Trump in front of their national flags on its front page, with the headline: ‘Handshake of the century: From hostilities to peace. New history begins.’
South Koreans watching TV screen in Seoul applaud the handshake between Trump and Kim as the leaders meet for the first time
In Hong Kong all eyes were also on the summit, with the Chinese government saying it supports the talks and would like an end to sanctions
Japanese stockbrokers also took a break from trading to watch the historic moment when Trump shook hands with Kim
Earlier, morning newspapers splashed wide front-page headlines about what they call a ‘fateful day,’ a ‘meeting of the century’ and a ‘first step toward peace.’
Internet sites were also full of stories about the summit.
Ordinary citizens expressed surprise that the unbelievable meeting did really take place.
‘I never imagined I would be able to see Chairman Kim and President Trump being in the same place,’ a 31-year-old office worker said while watching TV.
Japan’s largest newspaper, the Yomiuri, printed a special edition in both Japanese and English that was distributed for free in major cities.
In Tokyo, commuters outside a station snapped up 500 copies in just a few minutes.
An editorial in the state-owned China Daily emphasised China’s role in bringing Trump and Kim together while calling on them to maintain the positive momentum.
‘This would not only reward all those who have spared no efforts in their attempts to make their meeting a reality, it would also enable both to hail it as a success,’ the paper said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said North Korea as a ‘bright future’ if it chooses to walk the ‘right path’ after the summit, while Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said the meeting was creating ‘a new history’
In the Philippines, marchers took to the streets to express support for the talks and call for the reunification of Korea
Commuters in major Japanese cities were given free copies of the Yomiuri newspaper announcing the summit, with those in Tokyo (pictured) going quickly
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the meeting was ‘creating a new history’ as he spoke to reporters after the summit got underway.
‘The United States and North Korea have been in a state of antagonism for more than half a century,’ Wang said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang later said that U.N. sanctions against North Korea could be suspended or lifted in accordance with the North’s actions.
‘We believe the Security Council should make efforts to support the diplomatic efforts at the present time,’ he said.
‘Today, that the two countries’ highest leaders can sit together and have equal talks, has important and positive meaning, and is creating a new history.’
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that North Korea has a ‘bright future’ ahead of itself if it decides to ‘tread the right path’.
He is expected to have an extensive de-brief with Trump this afternoon.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad says his country will reopen its embassy in Pyongyang.
The embassy has been empty since Kim Jong Nam, the North Korean leader’s half-brother, was murdered at the airport in Kuala Lumpur last year.
A mural in Los Angeles appeared depicting Kim Jong-un ‘coming to America’ after Trump said he ‘absolutely’ intends to invite the dictator to the White House
Victoria Kim, a Vietnamese Trump supporter from California, celebrated news of the summit outside the White House on Tuesday
An activist holds up a sign outside the White House expressing his support for the talks
The killing is widely believed to have been carried out on Kim’s orders which led to Malaysia, one of North Korea’s few allies, to remove its diplomats from the country.
India’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it hoped for complete implementation of the agreement signed in Singapore, ‘thus paving the way for lasting peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.’
Meanwhile Russia expressed hopes that the sanctions on North Korea will be lifted while offering to help with dismantling the country’s nuclear weapons.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the meeting was a positive step, but the ‘devil is in the details’.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hailed the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un as a ‘positive’ step.
‘We have not yet seen the documents (signed at the summit). I don’t think they have been published. But the mere fact that this meeting took place is of course positive,’ the agency quoted Lavrov as saying.
The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog welcomed Tuesday the statement issued by US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the end of their summit in Singapore.
‘I welcome today’s Joint Statement of President Trump of the United States and Chairman Kim of the DPRK at the Singapore Summit which includes the DPRK’s commitment towards complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,’ Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said.
‘The IAEA stands ready to undertake any verification activities in the DPRK that it may be requested to conduct by the countries concerned,’ the statement adds.