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Kim Jong Un makes history with short walk over Korean border

Bloomberg Published on Fri, Apr 27, 2018 / 8:41 AM GMT+8

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TOKYO/SEOUL (Apr 27): Kim Jong Un on Friday became the first North Korean leader to enter South Korea since the peninsula was divided almost seven decades ago as talks begin over dismantling his nuclear weapons program.

At 9:30 a.m. local time, a smiling Kim was greeted by South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Panmunjom village before stepping across the border. They together stepped onto the northern side of the dividing line before returning to the south. The symbolism-laden meeting -- the third between leaders of the nations since the Korean War and the first since 2007 -- will go a long way in determining whether Kim can eventually strike a deal with US President Donald Trump.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. Kim’s regime is on the cusp of developing a missile capable of striking any US city with one of his estimated 60 nuclear bombs. Trump has tightened economic sanctions against Kim’s regime and warned of military action if he continues to threaten the US