North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have met for the first time and agreed to end the Korean war, 65 years after the armistice. At Kim’s beckoning, President Moon briefly stepped over into the North side, in a a highly symbolic moment.
The leaders agreed the Panmunjom declaration committing to seek “complete denuclearisation” of the peninsula. “South and North Korea confirmed the common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean peninsula,” it said.
Donald Trump, who is due to meet Kim Jung-un in the coming weeks, hailed the end of the Korean war. “Good things are happening, but only time will tell,” he tweeted. South Korea praised Trump for bringing the two leaders together.
All the key players in the region have welcomed the agreement including China and Japan. Russia’s Foreign Ministry says it is ready to facilitate cooperation between North and South Korea.
During the closed-door morning meeting, the two leaders discussed denuclearisation and rebuilding relations. Both Kim and Moon expressed a desire for future meet-ups, and Moon hailed it as a “very good discussion”.
After breaking for lunch, Moon and Kim were involved in the ceremonial planting of a tree dating from 1953, the year the Korean war ended. After a discussion in the gardens of Peace House, and another closed-door meeting, Kim and Moon signed the Panmunjom Declaration.
The declaration also agreed to help unite families divided between North and South. And Moon agreed to visit Pyongyang, North Korea, in the Autumn
