Korean Summit: Kim & Moon pledge to end Korean War; denuclearise Korean Peninsula

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in a historic summit on the South Korean territory at the truce village of Punmumjeom on Friday, April 27, marking a new beginning in the relationship between the two Koreas which has been mostly hostile over the decades.

Kim became the first North Korean leader to arrive in South Korea since the two countries fought their war in 1950-53 and pledged to improve ties with the neighbour in the days to come. He was received by Moon on the border on Friday morning and the two leaders then proceeded to review a welcoming ceremony followed by their first meeting of the day.

Kim signed a guestbook before sitting with the South Korean leadership in a closed door meeting where the duo discussed denuclearisation and rebuilding the relations between the two countries. Moon called the discussion as "very good".

The two planted a tree on the border symbolising peace and prosperity and then broke for lunch with Kim returning to North Korea.

The leaders returned to the discussion at the Peace House, the venue for the summit and after another round of closed-door talks, signed a joint statement called the 'Panmunjeom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula'.

The two leaders hugged each other after the signing of the declaration - marking the culmination of a historic day of events and half-an-hour of private conversation between the two leaders at a blue bridge inside Punmunjeom.

Through the declaration, Kim and Moon vowed to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula and bring a formal end to the Korean War which is technically still on since the two sides did not sign a peace treaty to conclude it and rather an armistice was signed to halt it. The two countries said they would work with the US and China this year to officially end the war and pave way for "permanent" and "solid" peace, Reuters added.

The two leaders also pledged to help families divided between the two Koreas unite.

It was also said that Moon will pay a reciprocating visit to North Korea in autumn.

Kim and his spouse were set to be hosted by President Moon and his wife for a dinner on Friday.