This is the first time a North Korean leader has met a sitting President of the US. (Photo: AP)

China's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said on Tuesday Beijing welcomes and supports the summit between the U.S. and North Korean leaders and hopes the two countries can reach a basic consensus on achieving denuclearisation.

"At the same time, there needs to be a peace mechanism for the peninsula, to resolve North Korea's reasonable security concerns," Wang told reporters in Beijing.