President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Sunday at the Demilitarized Zone. He became the first US President to cross into North Korea as he met Kim at the DMZ and crossed into North Korean territory.
The US president says he did not expect this, but that “stepping across that line is a great honour”.
He remarks on his “great friendship” with the North Korean leader. On his arrival, Kim said: “I never expected to meet you at this place.”
Trump then took Kim into South Korean territory and invited him to visit the United States.
No North Korean leader has ever visited the US. It would be a colossal diplomatic achievement for Kim, who already achieved what none of his predecessors did in sitting down with a US leader when he met Trump for the first time in Singapore.
North Korea has long demanded to be treated as an equal by other countries, particularly the US. A summit in Washington would be be the greatest example of that and one that would be seen as a huge victory for Kim.
The meeting happened in the presence of South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
The Kim and Trump have had two summits – one in Singapore and one in Vietnam.
However the last summit, in Vietnam, collapsed without any agreement, as the pair disagreed over definitions of denuclearisation.
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, after their historic meeting at the DMZ, then started meeting privately at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the Koreas, shortly after they shook hands and walked on either side of the military demarcation line which has split the Peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
After the meeting, the two leaders announced that they agreed to set up teams to resume stalled nuclear talks.
Negotiators from the two countries will meet in the next weeks to resume discussions about North Korea’s nuclear programme, Trump told reporters, saying he was “not looking for speed [but] looking to get it right.”
Sanctions on North Korea, he added, would remain in place though he appeared to leave open the possibility of easing them as part of the talks. Mr Trump also said he had invited Mr Kim to visit Washington.
Earlier, American President Donald Trump said he is still hoping to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un when he visits the fortified strip dividing the two Koreas on Sunday in a quickly arranged meeting.
At the DMZ, Trump said that it was a scheduled visit from a number of months ago, “we came from G20, I said to Mr Moon we have to see the DMZ.”
“Then yesterday I had the idea, maybe we would call Chairman Kim and see if he wants to say hello.
“He has agreed to meet, and in four minutes, so I’m going to cut my speech a little short – but you’re fantastic and we’re with you all the way.”
