South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters
SEOUL (Reuters) - The golden doors on the stately North Korean building swung open and leader Kim Jong Un, in a black Mao suit and surrounded by a gaggle of officials, began to descend the steps toward the border.
Not since the 1950-53 Korean War had a North Korean leader set foot on South Korean soil.
With a smile, Kim stretched out his hand toward a waiting, and smiling, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who stood between the squat, light blue buildings that straddle the border at Panmunjom.
The village is one of the few places where there are no high barbed wire fences or minefields between the two countries, separated by a conflict that ended with a truce, not a treaty, meaning they are still technically at war.
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters[/caption]
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters[/caption]
Grasping hands across the border, the two men greeted one another.
"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.
"It was your big decision to make it here," said Moon, dressed in a dark suit and light blue tie, who invited Kim to step over the line in the pavement, which he did.
That's something Kim's grandfather, the North Korean regime's founding leader Kim Il Sung, or father Kim Jong Il, never achieved.
The two previous summits between leaders of the Koreas, in 2000 and 2007, were in Pyongyang, the North's capital.
Shaking hands again, Moon, 65, and Kim, 34, turned to face photographers on the North and then the South before Kim grabbed Moon's hand and, in an unplanned move, invited him to step across the border into the North, where they stood face-to-face to talk a bit more.
The scene unfolded in simple, even run-down surroundings, where a concrete slab marks the border and paint is cracking on the low wooden huts.
The apparent warmth between the men was in stark contrast to the tension between the two countries last year amid North Korean weapons testing.
Since January, however, ties have thawed, including having their Olympics sports teams march together under a common flag at February's winter games in South Korea.
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, where they were expected to discuss denuclearisation and cultural exchanges.
Minutes before Kim entered Peace House, a North Korean security team conducted a sweep for explosives and listening devices, as well as sprayed apparent disinfectant in the air, on the chairs, and on a guest book Kim was to sign.
Kim's written message in the guest book sounded hopeful.
"A new history starts now," he wrote. "An age of peace, from the starting point of history."
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters[/caption]
North Korea's Kim Jong-un crosses into South Korea
Goyang, South Korea, April 27 (IANS) South Korean President Moon Jae-in greeted Kim Jong Un, top leader of North Korea on Friday and become the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea by crossing the military line that has divided the peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Smiling and waving, South Korean President Moon Jae-in met Kim at the border before talks begin, BBC reported.
At the summit venue, Kim said that he hoped for frank discussions. The historic meeting will focus on the North's recent indications it could be willing to give up its nuclear weapons.
In a moment rich with symbolism, Kim and Moon shook hands on both sides of the border in the demilitarised zone.
The South Korean President briefly stepped into the border into North Korea as well - an unexpected moment. "I am happy to meet you," Moon told Kim, reports say.
The leaders were met by an honour guard in traditional costume on the South Korean side. The pair walked to the at the Peace House in Panmunjom, a military compound in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) between the two countries, to begin talks.
