World hails Trump-Kim DMZ meeting

DPRK state media says breakthrough achieved in leaders' 'historic' talk

The Sunday meeting between Kim Jong-un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and US President Donald Trump at the truce village of Panmunjom was hailed by the international community, as it relights the hope of advancing the long-stalemated denuclearization talks.

In a news conference held on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the meeting between Trump and Kim, as well as a friendly meeting that included the Republic of Korea's President Moon Jae-in, are welcomed and constructive.

China has always insisted on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, maintaining the peninsula's peace and stability and resolving the issue through talks, Geng said, adding that the successful visit that President Xi Jinping paid to the DPRK recently has injected new momentum to the political settlement of the peninsula issue.

The interaction between the United States, the DPRK, and the ROK, are in line with the common aspiration of the international community, Geng said, encouraging parties involved to work together for a solution that takes into account one another's concerns.

In a Monday's report, DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency said that the meeting is "historic", as the two leaders agreed to keep in close touch in the future, resume and push forward productive dialogues for making a new breakthrough in the denuclearization of the peninsula.

"They discussed easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, ending the inglorious relations between the two countries and making a dramatic turn, and also discussed issues of mutual concern and interest which have become a stumbling block in solving those problems. They also voiced full understanding and sympathy," the report said.

Sunday's meeting took place at the Demilitarized Zone of the border village of Panmunjom that divides the DPRK and the ROK. Kim had accepted Trump's impromptu offer to meet at the DMZ during the US president's two-day visit in the ROK.

"It was the good personal relationship with Trump that made such a dramatic meeting possible at just one-day's notice, and our relations would continue to produce good results and work at a mysterious force to overcome manifold difficulties in the future," Kim was quoted by the state KCNA news agency.

The DMZ talks were the first meeting between the pair since their Hanoi summit in late February this year, which broke down due to differences over the definition of substantive denuclearization in return for sanctions relief.

Before their one-on-one talks, Trump briefly crossed the Military Demarcation Line onto DPRK soil together with Kim, becoming the first sitting US president to set foot in the DPRK.

According to The Associated Press, DPRK's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accompanied the two leaders during the meeting. During the talks, the two sides agreed to resume working-level nuclear negotiations for the first time since the collapse of their Hanoi summit.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Pompeo said he expects the negotiations to resume in mid-July.

Seoul on Monday said it welcomes the meeting, as the momentum would help revive inter-Korean dialogue and engagement.

Lee Sang-min, spokesman of the ROK Unification Ministry, said the meeting could "breathe new life into the nuclear negotiations and benefit Seoul's efforts to keep alive momentum for talks and cooperation with Pyongyang".

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan also supports the meeting. Japan's Kyodo News Service quoted Abe as saying that he hopes "the meeting will lead to progress and result in positive developments".

Pan Mengqi and Wang Qingyun in Beijing, AP, Xinhua and Yonhap contributed to this story.