KIM Jong-un has stepped across the border with South Korea for historic talks with President Moon Jae-in.

The meeting marks the first time one of the ruling Kim leaders has crossed over to the southern side of the Demilitarised Zone since fighting in the Korean War stopped in 1953. A South Korean leader last visited the North in 2007, more than a decade ago.

The two Koreas are technically still at war given no peace treaty was ever signed.

Holding hands, the two leaders met face-to-face for the first time in a moment that seemed impossible just months ago.

Walking over the world’s most heavily armed border to greet his rival, Kim invited Mr Moon to cross briefly north with him before they returned to the southern side.

Mr Moon shook hands with his North Korean counterpart, telling him: “I am happy to meet you.”

Kim said he was ready for “heartfelt, sincere and honest” talks and that the Koreas must not repeat the past where they were “unable to fulfil our agreements”.

“I came here determined to send a starting signal at the threshold of a new history,” Kim told Mr Moon promising a “frank, serious and honest mindset”.

Kim appeared to be in a jovial mood, joking that he hoped Mr Moon would enjoy North Korea’s famous cold noodles that will be brought to the banquet after the summit, saying it was difficult to bring the noodles from capital Pyongyang.



He then turned to his sister sitting to his left and said “maybe I shouldn’t have said (Pyongyang) was far”.

The North Korean leader also joked about his nation’s missile testing, apologising to Mr Moon for interrupting his sleep.

South Korean leaders were forced into early morning security council meetings every time Kim did nuclear testing.

“We won’t interrupt your early morning sleep anymore,” Kim said, reiterating his earlier promise to stop missile tests.

Mr Moon told South Korean news there had “been very good discussion today” and their newfound relationship would be “a gift to the world”.

Yoon Yougn-chan, the South Korean presidential spokesman, said the talks went for exactly 100 minutes.

The leaders spoke about denuclearisation of the Korea Peninsula and are drafting up a declaration concerning the issue.

The first round of the closed door talks has ended with the two leaders set to meet again this afternoon.

The North Korean delegation headed back across the border to break for lunch and are expected to continue the summit this afternoon.

Kim thanked Mr Moon for greeting him at a “historic place” at the border truce village and said that his heart “keeps throbbing.”

Mr Moon replied to Kim’s thanks by saying that the North Korean leader made a “very courageous decision” to come to the South.

HISTORIC MEETING

The two leaders were then escorted by South Korean honour guards to a welcoming ceremony before beginning official proceedings at Peace House, a South Korean building inside the border village of Panmunjom.

Kim’s promise to wind down his weapons program will be at the top of the agenda during the meeting.

The two leaders are expected to release a joint statement later today, possibly called the Panmunjom Declaration, which could address denuclearisation and peace.

Today’s meeting is only the third time that the leaders of the divided Koreas have met in the 65 years.

The first inter-Korean summit took place between former North Korean leader Kim Jong-l and the liberal former president of South Korea, Kim Dae-jung in 2000.

The Koreas held their second summit in October 2007 between Kim Jong-il and Roh Moo-hyun, Kim Dae-jung’s liberal successor and the political mentor of current South Korean President Moon.

WHY TODAY’S MEETING IS SIGNIFICANT?

Kim is the first North Korean leader to visit since 1953 when the Korean War ended with a ceasefire agreement.

The historic meeting comes ahead of a planned summit between the North Korean leader and Mr Trump.

Just months ago, the two leaders were trading threats and insults as North Korea’s advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the US sparked fears of conflict breaking out on the Korean peninsula.

In a bold move, Kim announced North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site.

However many experts remain sceptical about whether the North Korean leader is ready to abandon the hard-earned nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades.

In a statement, the White House said it hoped that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula.

“The United States appreciates the close co-ordination with our ally, the Republic of Korea, and looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks,” the statement said.

KIM’S MOTIVES

According to Dr Leonid Petrov, a leading expert on North Korea, Kim and Mr Moon may have completely different political motives and goals, but their intentions coincided this year.

Dr Petrov, a visiting fellow at the Australian National University College of Asia and the Pacific, said Kim desperately needs to steer North Korea away from an imminent disaster such a nuclear war, a domestic upheaval or both.

“Moon, in contrast, needs to keep South Korea in the comfort zone of the US alliance and export-oriented economic trajectory in the quickly changing global trade and political climate,” Dr Petrov said.

“Meeting and talking about inter-Korean reconciliation and economic co-operation will not only boost the two leaders’ popularity at home but will also give confidence to the neighbouring powers, who have been waging Hot and Cold Wars in Korea for regional domination since the late 19th century.”

Dr Petrov said everyone seems to realise that without peace in Korea there will be no ultimate security and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.

Dr Malcolm Davis, senior analyst in defence strategy and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said he expected Kim will want the South to make concessions in return for the North agreeing to a peace settlement.

However he warned any cut and dry deal was unlikely to happen today.

“This is the beginning of a long process,” Dr Davis said.

“The North Koreans have said the US can maintain forces on the Peninsula, but once a peace settlement is signed, I’m expecting the North Koreans to insist that those forces be dramatically reduced in size and posture changed to a peacekeeping role.”

Dr Davis said he remained sceptical over what Kim means by denuclearisation and warned the North could resist intrusive inspections.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

John Blaxland, Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies and director of ANU’s Southeast Asia Institute, told news.com.au that Kim has been playing a high stakes game for months.

Prof Blaxland said the West should remain sceptical of the North Korea’s promises and Kim’s intentions.

“This is the same man who was happy to have his half-brother assassinated and others executed mercilessly,” he said.

“So when thinking about expectations of the summit, it is important to remember he comes from a dynasty of hard-nosed survivors who have instilled a level of fear, nay, paranoia, in their society that leaves him with a strong grip on power and a commitment to maintaining the rhetorical line of America being evil.”

Prof Blaxland said we should expect the unexpected.

“Kim Jong-un likely will surprise again, offering a deal that his southern counterpart, Moon Jae-in and Trump, may find quite enticing; that appeals to the South’s desire for symbols of peace and reconciliation and to Trump’s desire to be seen as having won on the art of the deal,” he said.

However Prof Blaxland warned this made for a dangerous set of circumstances.

“The brinkmanship and elevated expectations conceivably could result in a breakthrough that sets the path for a final ending to the Korean War that has been in armistice limbo for longer than most people alive can even remember,” he said.

“But alternatively they could see either side leave angrily in a huff, having tripped over a precipice from which it may prove very difficult to return.”

Speaking about the historic meeting Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he hoped it would lead to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

However Mr Turnbull said he remained cautious of the outcome.

“We have seen this before, we have had false dawns before on the Korean peninsula,” he said.

“So that is why it is really important to maintain that the pressure of the sanctions. 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.”

AWKWARD ENCOUNTER

As today’s historic meeting takes place the White House released photos of its own awkward attempt at diplomacy with Kim Jong-un.

The photos, taken in Pyongyang last month, show ex-CIA director Mike Pompeo meeting and shaking hands with Kim.

There are no smiles in the pictures, with both men holding stoic expressions.

The newly sworn in Secretary of State travelled to Pyongyang over Easter after being nominated for the key role.

JUST RELEASED: Photos of Secretary of State Pompeo in North Korea. Secretary Pompeo will do an excellent job helping President Trump lead our efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. pic.twitter.com/pQ0P8hbMTN — The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 26, 2018

Mr Pompeo, who won Senate confirmation on April 26 to become Secretary of State, was the most senior US official to meet a North Korean leader since 2000.

Park Strategies senior vice president Sean King, an expert on Asian politics, told news.com.au the timing of the release could be strategic on the President’s part.

“Trump’s maybe trying to upstage Moon Jae-in (South Korea President) with those Pompeo in Pyongyang photos, reminding the world his guy met Kim before Moon did,” Mr King said.

Mr King said Kim is meeting Mr Moon because he knows that’s the path he needs to take in order to meet the US President.

“As America’s long told Pyongyang, the road to Washington runs through Seoul,” he said.

“But in the meantime, Kim will presumably be looking to Moon for sanctions relief of any kind. What’s more, he’ll play the Korean ethnicity card, telling Moon they should stand together as one against foreign forces.”

debra.killalea@news.com.au

— Additional reporting by wires