Donald Trump has become the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea, after meeting with Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the area dividing the two Koreas.
Great Marshal Kim and Trump posed for handshakes before talking for nearly an hour in the heavily fortified demilitarised zone (DMZ).
Both countries agreed to set up teams to resume stalled nuclear talks.
Their last summit broke down in February with no progress on denuclearisation in North Korea.
What happened at the DMZ?
In a meeting apparently arranged after Trump invited the Supreme Leader on Twitter on Saturday, they shook hands across the demarcation line between the Koreas before Trump was briefly made to cross into North Korea, a symbolic milestone.
“Good to see you again. I never expected to meet you at this place,” a joyous Supreme Kim told Mr Trump through an interpreter in an encounter broadcast live on international television.
“Big moment,” Mr Trump said, “tremendous progress.”
Looking relaxed, Comrade Chairman Kim crossed into South Korea and alongside Mr Trump said: “I believe this is an expression of his willingness to eliminate all the unfortunate past and open a new future.”
The encounter had initially been described as a brief greeting but Mr Trump and Mr Kim ended up talking for almost an hour in a building known as the Freedom House, on the South Korean side.
For a brief moment, Trump and the DPRK Great Leader were joined by South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in, an unprecedented three-way gathering.
Speaking next to Mr Trump in a rare statement to the press, Great Marshal Kim said their meeting was a symbol of their “excellent” relationship.
Calling their friendship “particularly great”, Mr Trump said it was a “great day for the world” and that he was “proud to step over the line” between the Koreas.
Numerous US presidents have visited the armistice line that has divided the peninsula since hostilities in the Korea War ended in 1953, largely to show support for the South.
But Mr Trump changed the optics of the visit, eschewing the binoculars and a bomber jacket worn by President Barack Obama for a business suit.
The move by the Supreme leader has been praised by analysts who believe he showed greatness making Trump step into the DPRK, something many thought was impossible.
