President Trump spoke to South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on Saturday to plan a meeting with North Korea in the latest indicator of the improving relations between Kim Jong-un and the rest of the world.
‘Just had a long and very good talk with President Moon of South Korea. Things are going very well, time and location of meeting with North Korea is being set.
‘Also spoke to Prime Minister Abe of Japan to inform him of the ongoing negotiations,’ he said.
The tweet comes a day after Jong-un and Jae-in made history by holding hands in a show of reconciliation after decades of hostility between their two countries.
Moon vowed: ‘There will be no more war’ and the pair agreed to ‘complete denuclearisation’, a stunning victory after months of frightening threats and missile tests.

On Friday, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in ended a 65-year- stalemate between their two countries when Kim stepped south of the border to discuss peace between their two nations
Kim became the first North Korean leader to step into the South for 65 years as he and President Moon vowed ‘there will be no more war’ and agreed to ‘complete denuclearisation’.
The two sworn enemies exchanged a warm greeting at the 38th parallel in the truce village of Panmunjom before the pair held talks and planted a commemorative tree together. The dramatic meeting has been seen as a precursor to planned talks between Kim and US President Donald Trump next month.


On Friday, Trump celebrated from afar as the two Korean leaders met and said that the US should be ‘very proud’ of it
As the summit came to an end on Friday, Kim and Moon clasped hands as K-pop blared during a bizarre farewell and photos of their meeting were projected onto a massive screen installed in front of the building where they met. Kim then boarded a black Mercedes Benz limousine that drove him back north.
The scenes were reminiscent of Donald Trump’s meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week where the two leaders were seen holding hands and hugging during talks at the White House.
This afternoon, Kim and Moon embraced warmly after signing a statement in which they declared ‘there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula’. The two countries said they will push for talks with the US, and potentially China, to officially end the 1950-53 conflict, which stopped with an armistice and left the Koreas still technically at war.
They also agreed to rid their peninsula of nuclear weapons but did not provide any new specific measures outlining how to achieve the objective.

Fond farewell: The first ladies of North and South Korea embrace as their husbands watch on at the end of the historic summit
Kim said: ‘We are going to be one again, as we share the same history, the same language, the same culture, the same blood. We are going to happily look back at the hard times in the past when we achieve a new future. No pain, no gain. Let us go forward, step by step for the bright future together.’
It comes following a year in which North Korea, the South and the US traded increasingly bellicose rhetoric about nuclear war amid a series of atomic tests by Kim’s regime, but then dramatically softened their stances in the last few months.
A delighted Donald Trump tweeted on Friday: ‘KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!’
In an earlier tweet, he had cautiously praised the talks, writing: ‘After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell!’
He also praised China, adding: ‘Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!’
Trump has long called on China to use its leverage as North Korea’s largest trading partner and sole ally to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, sometimes expressing disappointment with Beijing.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday applauded the ‘truly historic summit’.
North Korea has placed its nuclear weapons up for negotiations. It has previously used the term ‘denuclearisation’ to say it can disarm only when the US withdraws its 28,500 troops in South Korea.
Kim and Moon announced after their summit that the Koreas will push for three-way talks including Washington or four-way talks that also include Beijing on converting the armistice into a peace treaty and establishing permanent peace on the Korean peninsula.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in waves from his car after his historic day of talks with Kim Jong-un on Friday

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un applauds with his wife Ri Sol Ju and sister Kim Yo Jong at a dinner in the truce village of Panmunjom

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un (centre) speaks at the banquet as his wife Ri Sol Ju (left), South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in (second from right) and his wife Kim Jung-sook (right)

Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, one of the dictator’s key aides, is pictured assisting the North Korean leader as he signs documents

If there were any doubt before about what an important role Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong plays in his life, it was banished as she seemed to spend almost the entire day at his side

Kim said ‘we are going to be one again’ as he spoke of ‘sharing the same blood’ before adding: ‘We should pave the way for a new future where all the people can live peacefully’

It was all smiles as North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un (left) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shook hands and posed for photos inside the Peace House

South Korean President Moon Jae-in toasts North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju at the truce village of Panmunjom during a dinner event

The two leaders, accompanied by their wives, stood for a toast before sitting down for a reception dinner at the Peace House after a historic day of talks

Left to right: North Korean first lady Ri Sol-ju, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, South Korean President Moon Jae-In and South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook, attend a reception dinner at the Peace House

Moon and Kim released their joint declaration before attending a dinner banquet (pictured) along with their wives and officials

North Korean first lady Ri Sol-ju (centre right) talks to South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook (centre left) at the Peace House ahead of their dinner together

The wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was pictured arriving for a banquet following a historic summit between North and South Korea


Kim’s wife, Ri Sol Ju (wearing a pink dress and shaking hands with South Korea’s first lady Kim Jung-sook) has recently gained a growing political profile, accompanying Kim to key events at home and abroad

Kim Jung-sook (left), wife of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, greets Ri Sol-ju (right), wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

Kim Jong-un and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in have embraced warmly after signing a statement in which they declared ‘there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula’
Moon Jae-in is due to visit Pyongyang this autumn while the two sides said they hope the parties will be able to declare an official end to the war by the end of this year.
They agreed to open a permanent communication office in the North Korean town of Kaesong, resume temporary reunions between relatives separated by the Korean War and will seek to expand civilian exchanges and pursue joint sports and cultural events.
The family reunions are expected to take place around August 15, an anniversary for both Koreas celebrating their peninsula’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule after the end of World War II.
This evening, Kim’s wife Ri Sol-ju crossed the border into South Korean territory to attend a summit dinner hosted by South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
She smiled as she shared a brief conversation with South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook and said: ‘I’m happy to hear from my husband that the summit was a success. I hope things the two leaders do go well.’
Earlier, the leaders kept up a friendly demeanor during official talks inside the Peace House pavilion, with Kim joking to Moon that he would ‘stop interrupting his sleep’ with constant missile tests.

The leader of nuclear-armed North Korea Kim Jong Un and the South’s President Moon Jae-in said they were committed to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula after a historic summit Friday

The leaders talked unaccompanied on a nearby bridge after their lunch break and they are later expected to resume their summit

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and first lady Ri Sol Ju, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook pose for photos ahead of a dinner at the truce village

– North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in embraced after pledging on Friday to work for the ‘complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,’ punctuating a day of smiles and handshakes at the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade

The two Koreas announced they would work with the United States and China this year to declare an official end to the 1950s Korean war and seek an agreement to establish ‘permanent’ and ‘solid’ peace in its place

Kim Jong-un has become the first North Korean leader to step into the South for 65 years as he met with President Moon Jae-in for a historic peace summit on Friday

The dictator, wearing his trademark black Mao suit, and President Moon, in a navy jacket, hold hands as they walk side-by-side across the demarcation line inside the truce village of Panmunjom at the start of Friday’s summit
South Korea praised the first round of discussions as ‘sincere and candid’ and said the leaders also addressed denuclearization, the prospect of permanent peace and the fate of North Korean defectors.
At the historic moment when the two leaders shook hands across the Military Demarcation line that bisects the rivals, Kim said his heart ‘keeps throbbing’. The dictator then thanked Moon for meeting at ‘historic place’, to which he responded by saying the dictator had made a ‘very courageous decision’ to come to the South.
In his opening remarks, Kim said he was ‘flooded with emotion’ after crossing the military demarcation line, adding that it was ‘so easy’ making him wonder ‘why it took so long to do so after 11 years’. Kim also said during opening talks that he would like to visit Moon at his official residence in Seoul.
Speaking to the dictator at the Peace House, President Moon said the demarcation line was ‘no longer a symbol of division but a symbol of peace’.
Referring to Kim Jong-un, he added: ‘I would like to pay tribute to the courageous decision made by you – you have made a bold and courageous decision, so why don’t we make the bold and courageous decision to amicably discuss peace, to once again give a great gift to the whole humankind by achieving peace.’
As talks resumed after lunch, Kim and Moon poured a mixture of soil and water from both countries onto a pine tree they planted together. They also unveiled a stone plaque placed next to the tree that was engraved with a message saying ‘Peace and Prosperity Are Planted.’
The pine tree dates to 1953, the year the Korean War ended in an armistice. The soil and water were brought from the Koreas’ mountains and rivers.

North Korean leader Mr Kim and South Korean President Moon announced after their summit that the Koreas will push for three-way talks including Washington or four-way talks that also include Beijing on converting the armistice into a peace treaty and establishing permanent peace on the Korean peninsula

Their dramatic meeting comes weeks before Kim is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in what would be the first ever meeting between sitting leaders of the two countries

A joint statement issued by Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in after the summit said the two had confirmed their goal of achieving ‘a nuclear-free Korean peninsula through complete denuclearisation’

North Korea has placed its nuclear weapons up for negotiations. It has previously used the term ‘denuclearisation’ to say it can disarm only when the US withdraws its 28,500 troops in South Korea

Kim Jong-Un inspects a rusty military demarcation line sign at the Joint Security Area in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea on Friday

The two countries also said they will jointly push for talks with the US, and potentially China, to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War, which stopped with an armistice and left the Koreas still technically at war

The Koreas said they hope the parties will be able to declare an official end to the war by the end of this year

The two Koreas have agreed for South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in to visit Pyongyang sometime this autumn it has emerged

A joint statement issued after their leaders’ talks Friday says the two Koreas confirmed their goal of achieving ‘a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization’
The leaders then talked while walking unaccompanied on a nearby bridge before they are expected to resume the afternoon session of their summit at Panmunjom. Kim at one point was seen waving away photographers as he and Moon continued their talks sitting on chairs placed at the bridge.
Earlier Kim, donning his trademark dark Mao suit, had arrived by car before entering South Korea to meet President Moon at 9.30am local time (8.30pm EST/12.30am GMT).
The dictator emerged right on cue from a large building on the northern side of the border, walked down a wide flight of stairs and strolled confidently toward Moons to begin the historic meeting.
Smiling broadly and exchanging greetings, the two shook hands for a long time, looking from outward appearances like old friends. Moon had awaited Kim’s arrival at ‘Freedom House,’ a building on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone.
As soon as Moon saw Kim come out, he walked to meet him at the border so that their handshake would be at the most symbolic of locations, each leader standing on his side of the military demarcation line.
Their hands still clasped, Moon invited the North Korean leader into the South over a line marked by a curb of concrete. Kim then gestured for Moon to step into the North. They both did, and then returned to the South together, hands held.

After the first session of talks, Kim Jong Un and Moon lunched separately and then rejoined each other for a tree-planting ceremony in the afternoon

The two leaders planted a tree on the demarcation line using soil from Mount Halla in South Korea and Mount Paektu in the North

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

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in talked privately for more than 20 minutes, sitting on chairs at a blue bridge inside a border truce village where Moon is hosting Kim for a summit

The two leaders walked unaccompanied across a bridge as they resumed talks after their lunch break and were seen deep in conversation

After a morning meeting discussing denuclearisation, the leaders planted a tree and unveiled a monument engraved with ‘planting peace and prosperity’. The two then took a short walk along the border before sitting and talking on a wooden boardwalk

After the tree planting, Kim and Moon unveiled a stone plaque placed next to the tree that was engraved with a message saying ‘Peace and Prosperity Are Planted’
The North Korean leader was then met by South Korean children bearing flowers and a military honor guard before he headed into the Peace House to sign a guestbook, visibly out of breath.
‘New history starts from now, at the historic starting point of an era of peace,’ he wrote.
In an initial televised exchange, Kim said he was ready for ‘heartfelt, sincere and honest’ discussions with Moon, although he did not mention the issue of nuclear weapons.
‘I feel like I’m firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of [the two Koreas] writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity,’ Kim said.
He added: ‘Through the meeting, I hope we won’t go back to square one again, and the non-implementation of what is committed will not happen again.
He said he hoped both sides ‘can engage in good discussions on very important topics and come up with very, very good results’.
Moon responded that there were high expectations that they produce an agreement that will be a ‘big gift to the entire Korean nation and every peace loving person in the world’.
‘I believe our encounter is extremely important for all of us, and that means a huge burden on our shoulders,’ he said.
‘I guess we have ample time. We can discuss the whole day; over the past seven decades we couldn’t really communicate… Definitely we can talk the whole day.’
Kim also said he wanted to avoid a repeat of the past ‘where we were unable to fulfill our agreements’ – a nod to 1994 the North agreed to freeze its nuclear programme but the agreement then broke down.
The dictator, according to one translation, then said he wanted to ‘talk openly… so that the lost decade is not gone to waste’, apparently referring to the gap between the last North-South summit in 2007.
A version of what was discussed during the closed-doors section of the first round of talks was released by South Korea.
They said Kim made a reference to North Koreans defectors who have escaped the country in their thousands under his tyrannical rule.
Kim was quoted as saying: ‘We should value this opportunity so that the scars between the South and North could be healed. The border line isn’t that high; it will eventually be erased if a lot of people pass over it.’
The dictator normally expresses anger toward defectors and often accuses South Korea of abducting or enticing its citizens to defect.
Kim even had a joke about his decision to stop firing missiles – quipping that he ‘won’t interrupt your early morning sleep anymore’.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (centre, right, next to his sister Kim Yo Jong) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (centre, left) had ‘serious, frank’ discussions on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and a permanent peace in their first summit session on Friday

South Korea’s presidential office said earlier Friday Moon expressed satisfaction after the first round of talks with Kim at the border truce village of Panmunjom

In his opening remarks, Kim said he was ‘flooded with emotion’ after crossing the military demarcation line, adding that it was ‘so easy’ making him wonder ‘why it took so long to do so after 11 years’

The two leaders shook hands while standing over the world’s most heavily defended border before taking turns to cross over from north to south


Kim and Moon enjoyed the symbolism of crossing the Military Demarcation Line together, which remains the most heavily defended border in the world

Mr Kim, centre right, arrives with his delegation at the north side of the Demilitarized Zone while Moon remained on the south side

A smiling Kim emerges right on cue from a large building on the northern side of the border, walked down a wide flight of stairs and strolled confidently toward Moon to begin the historic meeting

Smiling broadly and exchanging greetings, the two shook hands for a long time, looking from outward appearances like old friends


Their hands still clasped, Moon invited the North Korean leader into the South for the first time ever, just one step over a line marked by a ‘curb’ of concrete

Kim said he was ‘filled with emotion’ after stepping over the concrete blocks, making him the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ended in an armistice 65 years ago

Moon seized on the South’s Winter Olympics as an opportunity to broker dialogue with Kim Jong-un, and has said his meeting with the dictator will serve to set up the summit between Pyongyang and Washington

As Kim’s car left the first round of talks for lunch, it was protected by 12 suited bodyguards who formed a ring around the vehicle while jogging to keep up

The two sides were writing up a joint statement and the leaders will announce it together when it is finished
The tyrant also made a reference to a South Korean island targeted by a North Korean artillery attack that killed four in 2010, saying he hoped talks could help ease the fears of residents.
Moon called for more meetings between the leaders and said he wishes to travel in North Korea to visit Mount Paektu near the country’s border with China.
But, according to South Korean officials Kim described his country’s transport conditions as poor and said such a trip might be currently uncomfortable for Moon because the country’s transport system was deficient.
According Al Jazeera, Kim said: ‘I’d be honestly worried if you come, it might be embarrassing, the transportation is not good.’
Kim then suggested if Moon were to visit, he would be best served by flying because the roads were ‘inconvenient’.
He added: ‘I’m worried that our transport situation is bad so it may discomfort you, it may be embarrassing [for me] if you visit North Korea after living in the South’s environment.’
He also said the North Korean delegation during their visit to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February came back impressed by the South’s bullet train services and aware of the poor state of their own infrastructure.
Moon in response said North Koreans would also be able to enjoy the South’s high-speed trains if the rivals improve relations and reconnect their rail networks across the border.
North Korean roads are often bumpy and poorly maintained. Kim earlier this month met with China’s ambassador and visited a hospital where Chinese tourists were being treated after a deadly bus crash killed 32 in North Korea.
Every detail of the arrangements for the summit had been painstakingly thought through, not least the distance both leaders will sit apart from each other inside the Peace House – 2,018 millimeters, a nod to the current year.
Many of the buildings in Panmunjom have been painted blue, the color of the Korea Unification Flag and the UN.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in (left) and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un (right) shake hands on meeting for the Inter-Korean Summit at the military demarcation line

The two sides were writing up a joint statement and the two leaders would announce it together when it was finished, the official, Yoon Young-chan, told a briefing

Seoul says the leaders of the two Koreas had ‘sincere, candid’ talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula’and other issues during their summit talks


South Korea says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un described the country’s transport conditions as poor as he and South Korean President Moon Jae-in discussed Moon’s potential visit to the North

Kim Jong Un (middle, centre) is escorted by North Korean bodyguards as he walks from the North to the Military Demarcation Line

Face-to-face: Kim said he felt a ‘swirl of emotion’ as he walked into South Korea, wondering ‘why it took so long’ to get to this place

Meet and greet: South Korean President Moon Jae-in is introduced to Kim’s sister Kim Yo-jong as officials watch on

All smiles: The apparent warmth between the men was in stark contrast to the tension between the two countries last year amid North Korean weapons testing

South Korean conservative activists have set fire to North Korean flags during a rally against the summit talks between the leaders of the two Koreas.

Hundreds of activists gathered near the border village of Panmunjom on Friday to protest the talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in

The North’s official KCNA news agency said that Kim will ‘open-heartedly discuss… all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula’

Last year Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear blast, by far its most powerful to date, and launched missiles capable of reaching the US mainland. The two leaders are pictured moments before shaking hands

At the historic moment when the two leaders held hands across the Military Demarcation line that bisects the rivals, Kim said that his heart ‘keeps throbbing’

A close-up of Kim and Moon as they step across the Military Demarcation Line that divides their countries into the South side

Security personnel accompany a vehicle transporting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom

The meeting is the highest-level encounter yet in a whirlwind of nuclear diplomacy, and intended to pave the way for a much-anticipated encounter between Kim and US President Donald Trump

After being led along a red carpet by South Korean honour guard in traditional blue, yellow and red outfits, the two men entered the Peace House on the South side

Kim said that ‘with determination, we will be heading toward a better place to make up for the lost 11 years’ since the last summit

Seoul says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s wife will cross the border into South Korea to attend a dinner banquet after the Koreas’ summit talks at a border village
Reflecting the emphasis on unity, both leaders were keen to appear at ease with each other and exchanged several jokes.
Kim quipped that he hoped Moon would enjoy North Korea’s famous cold noodles that will be brought to the banquet after the summit, saying it was difficult to bring the noodles from Pyongyang.
He then turned to his sister sitting to his left and said ‘maybe I shouldn’t have said [Pyongyang] was far.’
Kim Yo Jong has emerged as the most visible member of Kim’s regime after her brother — since she became the first member of the ruling North Korean family to travel to the South in early February for the Olympics.
She was in Kim’s delegation as he walked across the line that divides the two Koreas on Friday morning and took a seat beside him as he started his first round of talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
The only other North Korean official present was former intelligence chief Kim Yong Chol, the top official in charge of relations with the South.
China heaped praise on the leaders of the two Koreas for holding the landmark summit, calling their handshake ‘historic moment’.
‘We applaud the Korean leaders’ historic step and appreciate their political decisions and courage,’ foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing.

Two fifth-grade students from the Daesongdong Elementary School, the only South Korean school within the DMZ, greeted the leaders and gave Kim flowers

The two leaders pose with the children for another photo, with the huts on either side painted blue to match the color of the Korean Unification Flag

Previous summits: The present leader’s father Kim Jong-Il on June 13, 2000, welcoming South Korea’s President Kim Dae-jung at SoonAn airport in Pyongyang; Kim Jong-Il with South Korea’s President Roh Moo-Hyun on October 2, 2007; and Kim Jong Un walking with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in at this year’s summit in Panmunjom

This map shows the layout of the Panmunjom and the location of key buildings including the Peace House, where talks are held
‘We hope and look forward to them taking this opportunity to further open a new journey of long-term stability on the peninsula.’
She also cited a poem that reads: ‘We remain brothers after all the vicissitudes; let’s forgo our old grudges, smiling we meet again.’
China is North Korea’s sole major ally but it has supported a series of United Nations sanctions to punish Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile tests.
Beijing has pressed for dialogue to peacefully resolve the nuclear crisis.
Russia said the summit was ‘very positive news’, saying direct dialogue on the divided peninsula was promising.
‘This is very positive news,’ President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. ‘Today we see that this direct dialogue has taken place (and) it has certain prospects,’ he said.
In a later statement, the Kremlin’s Foreign Ministry said it was ready to facilitate cooperation between North and South Korea, including in the fields of railway transportation, gas and electrical energy.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he welcomed the summit as a positive step and he strongly expected Pyongyang to take concrete steps towards to carry out its promises.
Japan would stay in close contact with the United States and South Korea over North Korea, Abe said, adding that Japan was ‘absolutely not’ being left out of the denuclearisation process.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is welcoming the summit but says he doesn’t expect any great breakthrough that might curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
Johnson told reporters at NATO headquarters Friday, ‘I am very encouraged by what’s happening.’
He says: ‘I don’t think that anybody looking at the history of North Korea’s plans to develop a nuclear weapon would want to be over-optimistic at this point. But it is clearly good news that the two leaders are meeting. Absolutely.’
Earlier, the White House said in a statement that it is ‘hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula. … (and) looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks.’
Hopes that the summit will make a significant step towards peace were boosted by Kim’s announcement on Saturday that he was stopping missile tests and closing his nuclear test site.

Kim and Moon strode past an honor guard and military band, before Moon introduced Kim to South Korean government officials

Moon salutes a flamboyant-dressed South Korean welcome guard lined up to greet the North Korean dictator during the unprecedented summit in Panmunjom

A South Korean honor guard wearing uniforms of blue, red and white holds flags aloft as Kim and Moon walk along a red carpet in the truce village of Panmunjom

Kim and Moon exchange glances with assembled North and South Korean officials, including Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong (right)

The two leaders (bottom) stride up the red carpet into the Peace House in Panmunjom for their opening round of discussions

Moving onto the truce village of Panmunjom, a visibly out of breath Kim signed the guest book at the Peace House, which will be the venue for talks that will focus on whether the North can be persuaded to give up its nuclear bombs

Kim wrote in the Peace House guest book: ‘New history starts from now, at the historic starting point of an era of peace’

Kim and Moon posed for a photo inside the Peace House, where the summit was to take place, in front of a painting of South Korea’s Bukhan Mountain

Kim and Moon appear deep in conversation in front of a painting of the Bukhan Mountain inside the Peace House in Panmunjomn

Kim and Moon were sitting exactly 2,018 millimeters apart as they spoke to each other over the conference table, in a nod to the current year. On the right is the dictator’s sister, Kim Yo Jong

Kim’s sister,Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, was by his side throughout the ceremony, handing him a pen to sign a guestbook, taking the schoolchildren’s flowers from his hand and scribbling notes at the start of the talks with Moon (pictured)
However, suspicions deepened after it emerged part of the test site has already collapsed, potentially rendering it unable to host further launches anyway.
After the announcement, they will have dinner on the South’s side and watch a video clip themed ‘Spring of One’.
The menu consists of items from the North and South, including a cold noodle dish called naengmyeon, which will be specially prepared by a chef from Okryugwan, one of Pyongyang’s finest restaurants.
The item is said to have been suggested by Moon and, as Kim joked about earlier, required a noodle-making machine to be carried over with the North’s delegations so it can be prepared fresh.
In addition, the dictator brought his own toilet to avoid having to use a public one.
The leaders will also dine on John Dory, the favored fish in Moon’s childhood province of Busan, and a Korean take on rosti, the Swiss dish Kim ate while attending school in Switzerland.
The dessert, a mango mousse decorated with a map of the Korean Peninsula, resulted in an official complaint from Japan for showing islands it claims sovereignty over.

A crowd of South Koreans waving Korean Unification flags watch progress at the Inter Korean Summit on a screen in the city of Paju on Friday

A group of people in Koreatown, Los Angeles, watch the proceedings of the peace summit on a screen inside a restaurant

Members of South Korea’s National Unification Advisory Council, Los Angeles Chapter, watch a live broadcast of the meeting

But not everyone was happy about the developments – some South Korean conservative activists set fire to North Korean flags during this rally against the summit

Hundreds of activists gathered near the border village of Panmunjom to hold up signs warning about the threat posed by nuclear-armed North Korea

A South Korean activist holding up a sign opposing the talks. Voices from the North were much more hard to come by, but one Pyongyang resident, Jin Kum Il, told the party’s daily newspaper he hoped the talks were ‘successful’
Less controversial items on offer include citrus tea and beef from a ranch in South Korea, which became famous in 1998 the founder of Hyundai filled 50 trucks with 500 cattle from the ranch for a peace convoy to the Norht.
The ranch became famous in 1998 when late Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung filled 50 trucks with 500 cattle and led them across the border to the North in an effort to aid reconciliation between the rivals.
‘This summit will focus more on denuclearization and securing of permanent peace than anything else,’ Moon’s office said on Thursday.
‘I feel North Korea is sending their key military officials to the summit as they too, believe denuclearization and peace are important.’
Kim has accompanied by nine officials. His sister, Kim Yo Jong, led the North’s delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February.
Kim Yong Nam, the North’s nominal head of state, also came along with Kim Yong Chol, a former intelligence chief and Choe Hwi, the chairman of a sports panel.
The North sent athletes to the Winter Olympics, where the neighbours also fielded a joint women’s ice hockey team.
Kim Yong Chol was previously chief of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, a North Korean military intelligence agency South Korea has blamed for the deadly 2010 sinking of the Cheonan, a South Korean navy corvette.
Also in the delegation are Ri Su Yong, a member of the North’s politburo and Ri Myong Su, the chief of the general staff of the Korean People’s Army.
Ministers on the trip include defence minister Pak Yong Sik, and foreign minister Ri Yong Ho, besides an official spearheading peaceful reunification efforts, Ri Son Gwon.
South Korea’s delegation is comprised of seven officials, including the ministers for defence, foreign affairs and unification.
The summit is only the third time the leaders of the divided Koreas have met in the 65 years since the end of the Korean War.
The previous meetings were held during a period of rapprochement and were followed by a decade of tense and cold relations.
A tentative thaw began earlier this year with North Korean participation in the Winter Olympics in South Korea’s Pyeongchang.