Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in summit: creating Korean history, hand in hand

North and South Korea have signed a declaration agreeing to a goal of ‘complete denuclearisation of the peninsula’.

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in hold hands. Picture: AFP

The leaders of North and South Korea last night signed a declaration agreeing to a goal of ­“complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” and “permanent” peace after a historic summit.

In the space of 24 hours the world yesterday witnessed the unthinkable. The first pinch-yourself ­moment was the sight of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un holding hands with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in as he ­became the first leader of the rogue state to walk across the heavily fortified border with the South since the Korean War in 1953.

The second was a photo, ­released by the White House, of Kim and the then CIA chief and now the new US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shaking hands during a secret visit to Pyongyang early this month.

Together they hold the promise of a tectonic shift in the world’s — and Australia’s — most urgent ­security crisis after Kim yesterday declared a new era of peace was at hand. In an unprecedented ceremony, the South Korean President held the hand of his young North Korean counterpart and walked across the world’s most militarised border for the first talks between leaders of both Koreas in more than a decade.

“South and North Korea confirmed the common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean peninsula,” the pair said in a joint statement last night.

The declaration includes a promise to seek this year a permanent cessation of the Korean War, which ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty 65 years ago, and to seek meetings with the US and possibly China, both of them parties to the ceasefire.

They also pledged to pursue military arms reduction, cease “hostile acts”, turn their fortified border into a “peace zone” and seek multilateral talks with other countries, such as the US. The leaders warmly embraced after signing the statement in which they declared “there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula”.

Kim approaches the border.

In remarkable scenes earlier in the day, Kim was presented with flowers by children, an honour guard was on hand, and a band played Korean folk songs beloved on both sides of the border.

After crossing the border, Kim signed a welcome book in which he declared a “new history from now on, (we are) at the start of a historic new peace era”.

As Kim sat down with Mr Moon for closed-door talks, he told him: “I feel like I’m firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity.”

Mr Moon said he hoped the talks would lead to an agreement that would be a “big gift to the ­entire Korean nation and every peace-loving person in the world”. The talks will be crucial in paving the way for the most anticipated political summit in modern history, between US President ­Donald Trump and Kim, tentatively planned for late May or early June. In Washington, Mr Trump said it was clear North Korea wanted the summit ­between he and Kim to go ahead. “It could be that I walk out quickly — with respect — but ... it could be that maybe the meeting doesn’t even take place,” he said. “Who knows. But I can tell you right now they want to meet.”

Kim and Mr Moon make a historic handshake. Picture: AFP

Malcolm Turnbull said he hoped the meeting between the Korean leaders would be the ­beginning of steps leading to denuclearisation, but warned that the world had seen “false dawns” from North Korea before.

“We welcome, but with caution, these meetings and the remarks that have been made by Kim Jong-un, but we have seen this before, we have had false dawns before on the Korean Peninsula, so that is why it is really important to maintain the pressure of the sanctions,” the Prime Minister said. “It is the economic sanctions that have brought this apparent change in attitude, and that pressure has to be maintained, but the goal is denuclearisation of the ­Korean peninsula.”

The Trump administration wants North Korea to, in the words of Mr Trump, “get rid of its nukes” as a precondition for the summit. Kim has promised to halt ­nuclear and missile tests and close a nuclear facility but has not yet given a pledge to dismantle his country’s nuclear weapons.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the Korean leaders’ meeting represented the first time in 65 years a leader from North Korea had crossed the border. She said Australia should maintain its ­expectations regarding denuclearisation. “North Korea has in the past made promises, signed agreements, yet failed to honour them, so we cautiously welcome this summit. For a North Korean leader to cross the border into the southern side of the demilitarised zone is quite some progress, but we will see how the discussion progresses.”

Additional reporting: Rachel Baxendale and agencies

Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia.