After days of speculation -- and optimistic statements by the
two leaders -- President Trump and North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un met and shook hands Sunday at the Demilitarized Zone between North
and South Korea.
It was their first
face-to-face meeting since an ill-fated summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February.
Trump arrived at the
DMZ shortly before 2 a.m. Eastern U.S. time, accompanied by South Korean
President Moon Jae-in. They were shown awaiting Kim's arrival, along with
South Korean military members and other officials.
President Donald Trump
meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom
in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, Sunday, June 30, 2019. (Associated
Press)
But before the meeting
with Kim was expected to begin, Trump met with some military members and others
and was expected to review some relics from the Korean War era.
"We're with you
all the way," Trump told the service members, who included both U.S. troops
stationed in South Korea as well as South Korean forces.
Finally around 2:40
a.m. ET, the two leaders spotted one another from a short distance apart, then
walked toward one another. They met, shook hands, then briefly walked across
the border into North Korea before crossing back to the DMZ.
President Donald Trump
meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom
in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, Sunday, June 30, 2019. (Associated
Press)
Trump became the first
sitting U.S. president to step foot inside the Hermit Kingdom.
"I was proud to
step over the line," Trump told Kim later, inside the Freedom House on the
South Korea side, according to the Associated Press. "It is a great day
for the world."
President Donald Trump
meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom
in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, Sunday, June 30, 2019. (Associated
Press)
Kim appeared pleased
by the meeting, the report said.
"I believe this
is an expression of his willingness to eliminate all the unfortunate past and open
a new future," Kim said of Trump, according to the AP. He added that he
was "surprised" when Trump extended the invitation on Saturday.
"I believe this is an
expression of [President Trump's] willingness to eliminate all the unfortunate
past and open a new future."
— Kim Jong Un, North Korean
leader
President Donald Trump
meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with South Korean President Moon
Jae-in, right, at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone,
South Korea, Sunday, June 30, 2019. (Associated Press)
Earlier, while taking
in the view from Observation Post Ouellette at the DMZ before meeting with Kim,
Trump told reporters that there has been "tremendous" improvement in
U.S.-North Korea relations since the first summit with Kim in Singapore last
June.
Later, Trump said he
would invite Kim to visit the U.S., and possibly the White House.
"I would invite
him right now," Trump said, according to the AP.
Kim, speaking through
a translator, said he would invite Trump to Pyongyang, the North Korean
capital, "at the right time."
It was Trump's first
visit to the DMZ, which every president since Ronald Reagan -- except for
President George H.W. Bush -- has toured during their time in office, according
to the Associated Press. But the elder Bush, who died last year, visited the
DMZ while serving as vice president under Reagan, the AP reported.
President Donald Trump
views North Korea from the Korean Demilitarized Zone from Observation Post
Ouellette at Camp Bonifas in South Korea, Sunday, June 30, 2019. (Associated
Press)
Earlier Sunday, Moon
told reporters that Kim had agreed to meet with Trump. The confirmation came at
a joint news conference between Moon and Trump following their brief meeting in
Seoul.
"President Trump is the maker
of peace in the Korean Peninsula."
— South Korean President Moon
Jae-in
Prior to the news
conference, both Trump and Kim had expressed hopes that the meeting would be
possible. But Trump said earlier Sunday that logistical and security issues
still needed to be addressed.
The Marine One
helicopter, top, carrying President Donald Trump to the demilitarized zone
(DMZ) takes off from Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, June 30, 2019, as a staff
helicopter prepares en route to the DMZ. (Associated Press)
President Donald
Trump, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands following their
news conference at the Blue House in Seoul, Sunday, June 30, 2019. (Associated
Press)
At the news
conference, Moon told reporters that Kim had accepted Trump's invitation to
meet at the DMZ, the heavily fortified site at the Korean border village of
Panmunjom. Trump also offered to be the first U.S. president to step into North
Korea.
Trump told reporters
he was looking forward to the meeting with Kim, which would follow their
previous summits -- at Singapore last June and in Hanoi in February.
