The leaders exchanged greetings as Kim stepped across the military demarcation line in Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone to stand side by side with his South Korean counterpart. (Source: AP)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made history by crossing over to the southern side of the world’s most heavily armed border to meet rival South Korean President Moon Jae-in. It’s the first time a member of the Kim dynasty has set foot on southern soil since the end of the Korean War in 1953 and the latest bid to settle the world’s last Cold War standoff.
Surrounded by bodyguards and other members of his delegation, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un emerged right on cue from a large building on the northern side of the border in the truce village of Panmunjom, walked down a wide flight of stairs and strolled confidently toward South Korean President Moon Jae-in to begin the historic meeting.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, walks to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the military demarcation line at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone on Friday, April 27, 2018. (Source: AP)
At the historic moment when the two leaders shook hands across the Military Demarcation line that bisects the rivals, Kim said that his heart “keeps throbbing.” Moon replied to Kim’s thanks by saying that the North Korean leader made a “very courageous decision” to come to the South.
Kim reached out to hold Moon’s hands while they took a step over a cracked slab of concrete into North Korean territory at the world’s most heavily armed border. (Source: AP)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also signed a guestbook with a message wishing for peace between the Koreas as he arrived for a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Kim wrote in the guestbook: “New history starts from now, at the historic starting point of an era of peace.”
An honor guard and a red carpet ceremony marked this historical first time a North Korean leader crossed over to the southern side of the DMZ since the Korean War ended in 1953. (Source: AP)
The meeting between Kim and Moon is only the third-ever summit between the rivals who remain technically at war.
Smiling broadly and exchanging greetings, the two shook hands for a long time, exchanging greetings and looking from outward appearances like old friends.
After a year of tensions, the first North-South Korea summit in more than a decade began on Friday with a handshake. (Source: AP)
Moon had awaited Kim’s arrival at “Freedom House,” a building on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone. As soon as he 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 that separates North from South.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un thanked South Korean President Moon Jae-in for greeting him at a “historic place” ahead of their meeting at the border truce village of Panmunjom. (Source: AP)
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 an ankle-high strip of concrete.
The overwhelming focus of the summit, the country’s third-ever, will be on North Korea’s growing arsenal of nuclear weapons. (Source: AP)
After he did, Kim, in return, gestured for Moon to step into the North. They both did, and then returned to the South together, hands held.
Kim was then met by South Korean children bearing flowers and a military honor guard before he headed into the summit hall to sign a guestbook, visibly out of breath.
During the closed-door talks between the leaders, the North’s nuclear weapons were expected to top the agenda. (Source: AP)
It was the second big North-South handshake in as many months — coming after Moon and Kim’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, who accompanied him on Friday, shook hands at the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the South in February.
Seoul officials said the two leaders had a “sincere and candid” talk on denuclearization, but it’s still not clear whether the leaders can make any progress on the issue that has bedeviled Korean relations for decades. (Source: AP)
The Koreas have a host of difficult and often seemingly intractable obstacles ahead of them, but no matter the outcome of the summit, they seemed acutely aware that the photos of Kim and Moon’s handshake will be bound for the history books.
According to AP, the image of the two beaming with pride stood out all the more because U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, representing the White House, sat stone-faced nearby.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (Source: AP File Photo)