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The leaders of North and South Korea pledged to "cease all hostile acts" amid a "new era of peace" after a historic summit.
The leaders of North and South Korea signed a declaration Friday stating there would be "no more war" between the neighbors and agreeing to the common goal of "complete denuclearization" on the Korean Peninsula.
The countries, which technically remain in a state of war, heralded the deal as part of "a new era of peace" after a historic summit.
The agreement between North Korea's Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in also included vows to "cease all hostile acts" and to "transform the Demilitarized Zone into a peace zone."
Moon said he would visit Pyongyang in the fall.
The summit laid the foundation for a meeting between Kim and President Donald Trump, amid concerns about North Korea's nuclear program. Kim has repeatedly threatened to destroy both the U.S and South Korea.
A senior South Korean official later said the declaration confirmed the neighbors were committed to implementing "a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula."
Earlier, Kim and Moon briefly crossed into each other's countries before a meeting that appeared to mark a turning point in one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints.
Kim stepped across a low concrete military demarcation line separating the rival nations and greeted Moon with smiles and handshakes.
As cameras clicked, he took Moon by the hand and invited him to briefly step back into North Korea.
After breaking off for lunch, the leaders met again to plant a commemorative pine tree and strolled together through the village without aides.
Kim made an unconventional attempt to break the ice with a comment about his recent missile tests, according to a briefing to reporters by Moon’s spokesman, Yoon Young Chan.
In the first meeting between North and South leaders in a decade, Kim also said that he looks forward to "making the most of this opportunity so that we have the chance to heal the wounds between the North and the South. Let’s meet more often from now on."
Before the declaration was signed, China applauded the leaders for taking a "historic step" toward peace. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing that China hopes for "new journey of long-term peace and stability on the peninsula."
With North Korea’s nuclear weapons program having reached what American policymakers describe as a critical stage, expectations are high that Friday's talks will lay the foundation for reduced tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.
The proposed meeting between Kim and Trump would be the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader. It is not clear when it would take place, although American officials have said it could be from late May to mid-June. Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden and Mongolia have all been cited as possible venues.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that the U.S. "looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks."
Meetings between leaders of the two Koreas have occurred in the past, in 2000 and 2007, but in each of those instances the South Korean president traveled to Pyongyang.
Friday's summit comes after last week's news that Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, recently held one-on-one talks with the reclusive strongman. The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Pompeo on Thursday.
The leaders of North and South Korea signed a declaration Friday stating there would be "no more war" between the neighbors and agreeing to the common goal of "complete denuclearization" on the Korean Peninsula.
The countries, which technically remain in a state of war, heralded the deal as part of "a new era of peace" after a historic summit.
The agreement between North Korea's Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in also included vows to "cease all hostile acts" and to "transform the Demilitarized Zone into a peace zone."
Moon said he would visit Pyongyang in the fall.
The summit laid the foundation for a meeting between Kim and President Donald Trump, amid concerns about North Korea's nuclear program. Kim has repeatedly threatened to destroy both the U.S and South Korea.
A senior South Korean official later said the declaration confirmed the neighbors were committed to implementing "a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula."
Earlier, Kim and Moon briefly crossed into each other's countries before a meeting that appeared to mark a turning point in one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints.
Kim stepped across a low concrete military demarcation line separating the rival nations and greeted Moon with smiles and handshakes.
As cameras clicked, he took Moon by the hand and invited him to briefly step back into North Korea.
After breaking off for lunch, the leaders met again to plant a commemorative pine tree and strolled together through the village without aides.
Kim made an unconventional attempt to break the ice with a comment about his recent missile tests, according to a briefing to reporters by Moon’s spokesman, Yoon Young Chan.
In the first meeting between North and South leaders in a decade, Kim also said that he looks forward to "making the most of this opportunity so that we have the chance to heal the wounds between the North and the South. Let’s meet more often from now on."
Before the declaration was signed, China applauded the leaders for taking a "historic step" toward peace. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing that China hopes for "new journey of long-term peace and stability on the peninsula."
With North Korea’s nuclear weapons program having reached what American policymakers describe as a critical stage, expectations are high that Friday's talks will lay the foundation for reduced tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.
The proposed meeting between Kim and Trump would be the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader. It is not clear when it would take place, although American officials have said it could be from late May to mid-June. Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden and Mongolia have all been cited as possible venues.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that the U.S. "looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks."
Meetings between leaders of the two Koreas have occurred in the past, in 2000 and 2007, but in each of those instances the South Korean president traveled to Pyongyang.
Friday's summit comes after last week's news that Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, recently held one-on-one talks with the reclusive strongman. The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Pompeo on Thursday.
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