Trump meets Kim at inter-Korean border village

Seoul, June 30 (IANS) US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday met at Panmunjom, a border village at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas, and shook hands.

This is the first time the two leaders have met since their February summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, which ended abruptly without an agreement.

Trump and Kim first came face-to-face during their first historic meeting last June in Singapore.

Sunday's meeting was also the first time for leaders of the two nations to hold a meeting at Panmunjom since the Korean War ended with the Armistice Agreement in 1953, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Trump, who is on a two-day visit to South Korea, said it was a "great honour to cross that line (DMZ)", while Kim deemed it "as a "historic moment".

Trump has also invited Kim to Washington, but it was not immediately clear if the latter has accepted the invitation.

If Kim accepts the invitation, it would be the first time a North Korean leader will visit the US.

Following the meeting at the DMZ, the two leaders walked into South Korea.

The Trump-Kim meeting was confirmed earlier in the day by South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Presidential Palace here during a joint press conference with his American counterpart, Yonhap reported.

Moon said he has been invited to the DMZ as well, but his "dialogue" with Kim will take place at a later time.

Trump arrived at the Presidential Palace after attending a "business leaders' event" on Sunday morning with the heads of some South Korean conglomerates.

During his previous visit to South Korea in November 2017, Trump pushed for a DMZ trip with Moon by chopper. But it was cancelled due to bad weather.