The leaders of the two Koreas made their way to the heavily fortified demilitarized zone between the countries early on Friday, seeking to end their decades-long conflict and ease tensions over the North’s nuclear weapons program. According to Reuters, the South Korean leader, Moon Jae-in arrived first at the Joint Security Area of Panmunjom shortly after 9 a.m. local time, about one hour after he left his presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul.
With precision, North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un arrived at 9.29 am for the historic summit set to start at 9:30 a.m. He crossed from the ~North Korean side of the border by foot to the South. The two leaders shook hands, with Kim inviting Moon to also cross the inter-Korean border.
Kim will be the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War.
The two are expected to talk denuclearization and exchanges between the Koreas and also will plant a memorial tree at the border truce village of Panmunjom as part of the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade.
Friday’s summit will set the stage for Kim to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in late May or early June, in what would be an unprecedented first encounter between sitting leaders of the two countries.
North Korea’s official KCNA news agency reported Kim’s departure from Pyongyang earlier and said Kim planned to “open-heartedly discuss with Moon Jae-in all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula.”
Just days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site.
