Transcript for North Korea agrees to send athletes to Winter Olympics for first time in 8 years

from the Oprah show so many years ago there. Thank you, Cecilia. Overseas tonight, a remarkable moment on the Korean peninsula today. North and South Korea meeting for the first time in two years. You'll member this moment, a north Korean soldier defecting to the south there, shot multiple times by his fellow soldiers as he tried to defect. Today, north Korean representatives walking across that very same 3w0border to meet with the south. And what both sides decided about the olympics, and the moment the south told the north to let go of their nuclear weapons. ABC's chief global affairs anchor Martha Raddatz in south Korea tonight. Reporter: Officials from North Korea walking briskly across the world's most heavily fortified border. Inside that negotiating room, officials from the north on the left, the south on the right. Cordial. Shaking hands. The agree, for the first time in eight years, the north will send athletes to the winter olympics and a cheerleading group. The south even proposing the two countries March together at the opening ceremonies. The meeting wasn't all cordial. The south bringing up hopes for denuclearization, the north responding with silence, and later, expressing strong discontent at the mention. The backdrop of the meeting, the threat of war. Kim Jong-un could be just a test or two away from perfecting a nuclear-tipped missile that could potentially hit the united States. And Martha Raddatz reporting in from Seoul tonight. And Martha, what are the north Koreans really trying to accomplish here, walking across that border, willing to negotiate with the south? What message are they trying to send to the U.S.? Reporter: Well, David, I think the north is trying to drive a wedge between the U.S. And South Korea, but the south Koreans have promised the U.S. They will not soften their position on banning nuclear weapons or lifting sanctions.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.