A three-day summit between North and South Korea began on Tuesday morning with a warm embrace, a military band and a rapturous welcome from a cheering crowd as Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, stepped off his plane at Pyongyang airport to greet a smiling Kim Jong-un.

Kim’s decision to personally welcome Moon Jae-in on the tarmac at Sunan International airport was a positive start to a meeting that aims to improve ties between the two countries and make progress on denuclearisation talks, despite a current stalemate between North Korea and the US.

The two leaders, Kim accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and Mr Moon by First Lady Kim Jung-sook, immediately hugged before proceeding together along a red carpet flanked by ceremonial guards.