North Korean State Media hails Trumps impromptu visit as ‘an amazing event’

North Korean state media has hailed the impromptu visit made by US President Donald Trump to the country as “an amazing event”.

On Sunday, President Trump became the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea, accompanied by leader Kim Jong-un.

President Trump had earlier tweeted asking Mr. Kim if he would like to meet while the US president was in South Korea.

On Monday, KCNA carried extensive coverage of the unprecedented meeting.

The North Korean state news agency said the meeting “at the suggestion of Trump”, was “historic”.

It said that in the 66 years since the Armistice agreement – which ended fighting in the Korean War – “there happened such an amazing event of the top leaders of the DPRK and the US exchanging historic handshakes at Panmunjom, place that had been known as the symbol of division”.

Confirming comments from President Trump, KCNA said the leaders had agreed to “keep in close touch in the future” and to “resume and push forward productive dialogues for making a new breakthrough in the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and in the bilateral relations”.

North Koreans rarely receive news of the outside world and the heavily controlled media has depicted the US as its most hated enemy for decades.

So images of the US president walking into the North as a friend of Mr. Kim is an extraordinary sight for ordinary North Koreans to see.

President Trump and Mr. Kim agreed that negotiators will meet in the next weeks to resume discussions about North Korea’s nuclear program, President Trump told reporters, saying he was “not looking for speed [but] looking to get it right”.

Sanctions on North Korea, he added, would remain in place though he appeared to leave open the possibility of easing them as part of the talks. President Trump also said he had invited Mr. Kim to visit Washington.