Trump becomes first sitting president to set foot into North Korea

President Trump steps into the northern side of the Military Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea, as North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, looks on. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump met Kim Jong Un at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea on Sunday, and briefly crossed into North Korea, marking the first time a sitting U.S. president had done that since an armistice was signed at the end of the Korean War 66 years ago.

The two men shook hands and Kim then invited Trump to become the first U.S. president to cross into North Korea. They stayed a few minutes then both crossed back into South Korea.

“Good to see you,” Kim said. “I never expected to see you in this place.”

Kim said the very fact of them meeting had a lot of significance.

“We want to bring an end to our unpleasant past and bring in a new future, so this is a very courageous and determined act,” he said. “This handshake of peace itself serves to demonstrate that today is different from yesterday. ”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he and US President Donald Trump have an “excellent relationship.”

“If it wasn’t for that good relationship, we would not have been able to make this sudden meeting possible,” Kim said, adding: “I had wanted to meet you again.”

“So this excellent relationship in the future as well, I hope that it can be the foundation for better things in the future that people will be not expecting. And this will be a very mysterious force that allows us to overcome many difficulties that existed in the past.”

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un then sat down together, with Kim saying he was “surprised” by the open invitation Trump issued over Twitter yesterday.

“I was very surprised to hear about your offer on the tweet and only late in the afternoon I was able to confirm your invitation. I had wanted to meet you again and especially for both Koreas, this place is a sign of unfortunate history of the past. So for our two Koreas to be able to have this opportunity for me to meet you here is very significant. It means that we can feel at ease and meet each other with positive mindsets. I believe that this will have a positive influence in all our discussions in the future,” Kim said.

Trump said it was an honor to meet Kim and to cross into North Korea.

“A lot of really great things are happening, tremendous things,” he said. “We met and we liked each other from Day One, and that was very important.”

The two men then met with South Korean leader Moon Jae-in, before adjourning for talks in the Inter-Korean House of Freedom, on the southern side of the border.