North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed his country's militarized border with South Korea on Friday for the first inter-Korean summit in more than 10 years.

Following two meetings between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the North and South released a joint statement that the North had agreed to work towards ridding the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons, with a long-term goal of "declaring an end to the Korean War."

Read more: North and South Korea: how different are they?

What the leaders said after the meeting

Moon said: "The joint call is to agree to have the Korean Peninsula without any nuclear arsenal — complete denuclearization. This is the start for going forward for the denuclearization of the peninsula."

"This is a turning point for the new world order and, whether it's the sky, sea or the land, the hostilities will be stopped."

"We will work together, Mr. Kim and I, having faith in each other … and through the hotline we will speak quite often and we will not go back."

Kim said: "There is no reason why we should fight each other — we are one nation."

The Koreas will work together to ensure they do not "repeat the unfortunate history in which past inter-Korean agreements ... fizzled out after beginning."

"There may be backlash, hardship and frustration on our way, but a victory cannot be achieved without pain."

Read more: Opinion: Hand in hand into no man's land

Kim and Moon walked hand-in-hand from North Korea into the South

'Very positive news'

Following the summit, US President Donald Trump took to Twitter, declaring "Korean war to end!"

"The United States, and all of its great people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" he wrote.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that Japan welcomed the summit between the leaders of North and South Korea as a positive step and that he expected Pyongyang to take concrete steps towards acting on its promises.

Japan would stay in close contact with the United States and South Korea over the topic of North Korea, Abe said, adding that Japan was "absolutely not" being left out of the denuclearization process.

The leaders of the South and North planted a commemorative tree together

Russia also praised the landmark summit as "very positive news," saying direct dialogue on the divided peninsula was promising.

"Today we see that this direct dialogue has taken place [and] it has certain prospects," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg hailed the meeting, saying it was "encouraging," but warned that more challenges lay ahead. "This is a first step, it is encouraging, but we have to realize there is still a lot of hard work that lies ahead of us," Stoltenberg said.

Read more: Opinion: A big stage for the 'little rocket man'

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga January 2, 2017: Missile test imminent North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year’s address that his country was in the "final stages" of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). US President-elect Donald Trump, whose inauguration was set for January 20, said on Twitter: "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US. It won't happen!"

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga July 4, 2017: North Korea's 'gift packages' North Korea tested its first ICBM — the Hwasong-14 — on US Independence Day. Kim reportedly told his scientists that "the US would be displeased" by the launch. This, he said, was because "it was given a 'package of gifts' ... on its 'Independence Day.'" Trump wrote on Twitter in response: "North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?"

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga July 28, 2017: US mainland threatened Pyongyang tested its second Hwasong-14 weeks later. Experts estimated the new rocket could reach the US mainland. Trump lashed out at North Korean ally China, writing in a Tweet: "I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk."

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga August 8, 2017: 'Fire and fury' Trump appeared to threaten swift military action against Pyongyang when he told reporters: "North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen." North Korea responded by threatening to fire a medium-range ballistic missile into the waters around Guam, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean. It did not follow through.

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga August 29, 2017: Japan rocket test Pyongyang sparked international outcry when it test-launched a mid-range ballistic missile — the Hwasong-12 — over Japan. The UN Security Council unanimously condemned the test. Trump said in a White House statement: "Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime’s isolation in the region and among all nations of the world. All options are on the table."

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga September 3, 2017: Hydrogen bomb test North Korea announced it had successfully tested its sixth nuclear weapon. Pyongyang said it was a powerful type of nuclear weapon called a hydrogen bomb and that it could be placed on top of a ballistic missile. Trump wrote on Twitter: "The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea."

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga September 19, 2017: Threat to 'Rocket Man' In his first speech at the United Nations, Trump called North Korea a "rogue state" and said Washington "will have no choice than to totally destroy North Korea" if Pyongyang failed to stop its nuclear weapons program. Referring to Kim, he added: "Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime." Kim called Trump a "mentally-deranged US dotard" two days later.

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga November 29, 2017: Third ICBM test North Korea test-fired its third ICBM of 2017. Pyongyang claimed it was a new missile, the Hwasong-15, which was superior to the Hwasong-14 and could hit any target on the US mainland. The US urged allies, including Germany, to break diplomatic ties with North Korea. Berlin ignored the call. Trump also called Kim a "sick puppy."

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga January 3, 2018: Who's got the bigger button? Kim said in his 2018 New Year's address that the North had completed its nuclear weapons program and that a "nuclear button" was on his desk at all times. Trump wrote two days later on Twitter: "Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!"

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga February 10, 2018: Tensions thawing? South Korean President Moon Jae-in welcomed Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, at the presidential house in the South Korean capital. She handed a letter to Moon inviting him to meet the North Korean leader in Pyongyang. Tensions appeared to be thawing. Seoul and Pyongyang had already agreed to send a unified hockey team to compete at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga March 6, 2018: Momentum builds South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong led a delegation on March 5 to Pyongyang to discuss the potential for peace talks. The next day, Chung said both sides had agreed to hold a joint summit in April and set up a telephone hotline between the two capitals. He also said Pyongyang would agree to stop its nuclear weapons and missile tests if the US agreed to hold talks with the North.

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga March 9, 2018: Trump agrees Chung flew on to Washington, D.C. to speak with Trump. After the meeting, Chung told reporters the US president had agreed to meet Kim by May. Trump later wrote on Twitter: "no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned!" Foreign leaders welcomed the historic breakthrough.

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga April 19, 2018: 'Denuclearization' A week before the scheduled meeting at the border between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Moon said North Korea wanted "an end to the hostile relations" and had expressed a commitment to "complete denuclearization" of the peninsula. The next day, the telephone hotline was connected for the first time since February 2016, so Moon and Kim could talk directly.

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga April 21, 2018: Kim ends missile tests Kim announced North Korea would stop nuclear and missile tests. Kim said: "We no longer need any nuclear test or test launches of intermediate and intercontinental range ballistic missiles, and because of this the northern nuclear test site has finished its mission." However, no mention was made of its stored nuclear materials and equipment.

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga April 27, 2018: Historic summit Kim and Moon Jae-in meet in the border town of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that has divided the two Koreas since the Korean War in 1953. The two leaders vowed to work towards a nuclear-free Korea and pledged an end to war. It was the first time a North Korean leader had set foot across the border since the 1950s and paves the diplomatic way for a Trump-Kim meeting in May or June.

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga April 30, 2018: Seoul turns off broadcasts South Korea announces its propaganda loudspeakers are to be switched off for good. They had been silenced temporarily ahead of the inter-Korean summit, which prompted the North to halt its broadcasts, too. Pyongyang also said it would adjust its time zone to that of the South as a symbolic gesture. North Korea has been half an hour behind the South since 2015.

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga May 24, 2018: Trump calls off Kim summit After North Korea slammed US Vice President Mike Pence for comparing North Korea and Libya, Donald Trump abruptly canceled the summit. Trump said the move was due to "tremendous anger and open hostility" displayed by Pyongyang.

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga June 1, 2018: Trump backtracks A day after scrapping the summit, Trump suggested he was still open to meeting Kim. US and North Korean officials met during the following week and on June 1, Trump met one of Kim's closest aides, Kim Yong Chol, in the White House. Shortly thereafter, Trump said the summit would indeed take place on June 12 in Singapore. "I think you're going to have a very positive result in the end," he said.

North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's nuclear saga June 12, 2018: Smiles in Singapore Trump and Kim met in Singapore as planned. They smiled, shook hands and praised how far they had come in overcoming their previous animosity. The summit ended with both leaders signing a short joint declaration that committed Pyongyang to denuclearize and the US to providing unspecified "security guarantees" to the North. Trump also said he would invite Kim to the White House. Author: Alexander Pearson, Nicole Goebel



Where did the Korean summit take place?

The summit was held in the inter-Korean Peace House in the south section of the Joint Security Area (JSA) between North and South Korea. The JSA, also known as the Truce Village of Panmunjom, is where all meetings between North Korea and the United Nations Command or South Korea have taken place since 1953.

Read more: South Korea's border residents pin hopes on upcoming summit

Why was this summit historic?

Kim is the first North Korean leader to cross to the southern side of the JSA since fighting in the Korean War ended in 1953. North and South Korean leaders have met just three previous times in the demilitarized zone. The last meeting occurred in 2007, when the late Kim Jong Il, who was North Korea's leader from 1994 until his death in 2011, met with the then-South Korean president, Roh Moo-hyun.

Kim Jong Un's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, took a prominent place at the negotiating table

What did they discuss?

The denuclearization of North Korea was at the top of the agenda and the North has now agreed to denuclearize. The North has conducted several weapons tests, including one involving a hydrogen bomb, since Kim assumed power in 2011. The North Korean leader announced last week that the country will suspend nuclear tests and missile tests indefinitely.

Read more: South Korean makes 'Pizzas for the People' of North Korea

What happens next?

A second meeting between the Koreas is planned for May, where they will hold military talks to further discuss reducing tensions. The Korean summit was a precursor to a meeting between Kim and US President Donald Trump, which could take place in late May or early June. The Trump administration has applied a "maximum pressure" approach to North Korea and is credited with getting Kim to come to the table.

law, rs/kms (AFP, AP, Reuters)