SEOUL - South Korean President Moon Jae-un and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ended talks on the first day of their third summit in Pyongyang, with thousands of people on the streets receiving their flags, symbols and cheers.
The summit comes after two previous summits in April and May in the inter-Korean zone, and Moon, who has toured the streets of Pyongyang with the North Korean leader, hopes to move the stalled talks between North Korea and the United States on nuclear disarmament.
On Tuesday, Mon began his three-day visit to Pyongyang. The North Korean leader greeted the two men, who were accompanied by their wives before exchanging a few words, while crowds of people waved flags in the north and others raised the symbols of unification.
Thousands of people lined the roads in Pyongyang, holding bouquets of flowers and chanting "reunite the country." Kim and Moon set out in an open car in front of Komsosan Palace where Kim's father and grandfather were buried.
"I am very aware of the weight we carry, I feel a great responsibility, the whole world is watching, and I want to show the result of peace and prosperity to people around the world," Moon told Kim at the start of official two-hour talks at the ruling Labor Party headquarters.
Addressing his guest in respectful terms, Kim praised Moon's efforts in mediating the historic summit in Singapore with US President Donald Trump last June, adding that this has stabilized the region and predicted further progress.
In Singapore, Kim has committed to "denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula", a phrase that can be interpreted in many ways, and the two sides have since met to determine the exact meaning of the term.
Washington wants a final and complete verification of nuclear weapons to the North, while Pyongyang wants a formal declaration of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Mr Moon is in another round of official talks with Kim on Tuesday, as he tries to persuade him to take concrete steps toward disarmament, which Monem can present to Trump, who is expected to meet later this month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The visit will be accompanied by top business leaders, including officials from Samsung and Hyundai. The pro-dialogue South Korean leader will seek to promote inter-Korean rapprochement and bring closer talks between the United States and the North to reduce the threat of a devastating conflict on the peninsula.