Alwaght- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made history Friday by crossing over the world’s most heavily armed border to greet South Korean President Moon Jae-in for talks on nuclear disarmament. Kim then invited Moon to cross briefly back into the north with him before they returned to the southern side.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un told his Southern counterpart that he is eager to come to Seoul whenever invited, promising not to interrupt the South’s sleep anymore in an apparent reference to missile tests.
Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have concluded the first round of talks out of the two planned for their historic summit on Friday.
During the meeting, Kim said he wouldn’t mind visiting the Blue House, the seat of the South Korean government, for more talks, a South representative said during the follow-up press conference.
For his part, Moon said that he would like to travel to North Korea, to which Kim lamented his country’s poorly-developed traffic system, which would make such a trip uncomfortable.
At the beginning of the meeting, Kim said he hoped the summit would be a new beginning and bring feasible results, unlike the previous meetings between their countries’ leaders that failed to end a decades-old stalemate.
"I wish for it to be a chance for us to walk forward hand-in-hand while looking toward the future with a determination, instead of outcomes like those in the past that could not be implemented," Kim told Moon, as cited by Yonhap News Agency.
Moon, for his part, said he wishes they would strike an agreement and “create a great present for our people and everyone else in the world who wishes for peace."
Joint declaration
"South and North Korea affirmed their shared objective of achieving a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization," said the declaration signed by the leaders of the two Koreas," the declaration runs.
"South and North Korea agreed to completely cease all hostile acts against each other in every domain, including land, air and sea. The two sides agreed to transform the demilitarized zone into a peace zone in a genuine sense," the declaration says. The document also stresses that both sides "will hold dialogue and negotiations in various fields, including at high level."
The militaries of both countries have agreed to maintain constant contacts, including at the level of the defense ministers. Specifically, the two sides have agreed to "convene military talks at the level of general" already on May 15, according to the declaration.
The meeting between Kim and Moon is the third summit meeting between leaders of the two countries, but the first in which denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula tops the agenda.
Kim Jong-un is the first head of the North Korean state to visit South Korea since 1953 as the previous summits were held in Pyongyang.
